• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7091-7094
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• 2013

DNA repair capacity is crucial in maintaining cellular functions and homeostasis. However, it can be altered based on DNA sequence variations in DNA repair genes and this may lead to the development of many diseases including malignancies. Identification of genetic polymorphisms responsible for reduced DNA repair capacity is necessary for better prevention. Homologous recombination (HR), a major double strand break repair pathway, plays a critical role in maintaining the genome stability. The present study was performed to determine the frequency of the HR gene XRCC3 Exon 7 (C18067T, rs861539) polymorphisms in Saudi Arabian population in comparison with epidemiological studies by "MEDLINE" search to equate with global populations. The variant allelic (T) frequency of XRCC3 (C>T) was found to be 39%. Our results suggest that frequency of XRCC3 (C>T) DNA repair gene exhibits distinctive patterns compared with the Saudi Arabian population and this might be attributed to ethnic variation. The present findings may help in high-risk screening of humans exposed to environmental carcinogens and cancer predisposition in different ethnic groups.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2018

A novel carbon paste electrode modified with $Cu-TiO_2$ nanocomposite, 2-(ferrocenylethynyl)fluoren-9-one (2FF) and ionic liquid (IL) (2FF/$Cu-TiO_2$/IL/CPE) was fabricated and employed to study the electrocatalytic oxidation of droxidopa, using cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CHA) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) as diagnostic techniques. It has been found that the oxidation of droxidopa at the surface of modified electrode occurs at a potential of about 295 mV less positive than that of an unmodified CPE. DPV exhibits a linear dynamic range from $5.0{\times}10^{-8}$ to $4.0{\times}10^{-4}M$ and a detection limit of 30.0 nM for droxidopa. Finally this modified electrode was used for simultaneous determination of droxidopa and tryptophan. Also the 2FF/$Cu-TiO_2$/IL/CPE shows excellent ability to determination of droxidopa and tryptophan in real samples.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.341-346
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• 2014

Paeonol is a major phenolic micromolecular component of Moutan cortex Radicis, a traditional Chinese Medicine. It has shown antitumor effects in previous studies; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This study investigated the mechanism by giving treatments of placebo, cyclophosphamide, paeonol of 150 and 300 mg/kg to 4 groups of mice bearing EMT6 breast cancer. Apoptosis in tumor cells were confirmed by morphology analysis, including hematoxylin, eosin staining and TUNEL staining. The results showed that the weight of EMT6 breast tumor was significantly reduced in the groups treated with both 150 and 300 mg/kg of paeonol. Immunohistochemical and Western blot results showed that the expression of Bcl-2 was down-regulated while the expression of Bax, caspase 8 and caspase 3 was up-regulated respectively. These results suggest that paeonol exhibits antitumor effects and the mechanism of the inhibition is via induction of apoptosis, regulation of Bcl-2 and Bax expression, and activation of caspase 8 and caspase 3.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.755-778
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• 2010

Near-fault ground motion with directivity or fling effects is significantly influenced by the rupture mechanism and substantially different from ordinary records. This class of ground motion has large amplitude and long period, exhibits unusual response spectra shapes, possesses high PGV/PGA and PGD/PGA ratios and is best characterized in the velocity and the displacement time-histories. Such ground motion is also characterized by its energy being contained in a single or very few pulses, thus capable of causing severe damage to the structures. This paper investigates the characteristics of near-fault pulse-like ground motions and their implications on the structural responses using new proposed measures, such as, the effective frequency range, the energy rate (in time and frequency domains) and the damage indices. The paper develops also simple mathematical expressions for modeling this class of ground motion and the associated structural responses, thus eliminating numerical integration of the equations of motion. An optimization technique is also developed by using energy concepts and damage indices for modeling this class of ground motion for inelastic structures at sites having limited earthquake data.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 2018

The Arabidopsis SHL1 (${\underline{Sh}}ort$ ${\underline{L}}ife$ 1) gene encodes a small nuclear protein that is critical for the proper expression of the developmental programs that are responsible for controlling plant stature, senescence, flowering and seed formation. The SHL1 contains a single PHD finger domain that works in conjunction with a bromo-adjacent homology (BAH) motif that is thought to function significantly in protein-protein interactions. The TCH4 gene of the Arabidopsis encodes a xylogluclan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase that is transcriptionally regulated by a variety of hormonal and environmental stimuli. We report here in this study that the SHL1 exhibits sequence specific DNA binding properties, recognizing a 14 bp region of the TCH4 promoter in vitro, spanning nucleotides -262 to -275 (GGAAAAAACTCCCA). Chiefly, the nuclear extracts of Arabidopsis contain a protein with similar binding properties as recombinant SHL1, which is absent in identified transgenic plants that are noted as expressing antisense SHL1 RNA. Interestingly, the SHL1 gene expression with a BL treatment in characteristically wild types of seedlings showed that the transcript level of SHL1 is significantly down regulated by the BL treatment. The SHL1 may play a subtle role in regulating the kinetics of induction of the TCH4 in response to several stimuli in vivo.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.606-613
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• 2010

This paper proposes a novel current-based maximum power point tracking (CMPPT) method for a single-phase photovoltaic power conditioning system (PV PCS) by using a modified incremental conductance method. The CMPPT method simplifies the entire control structure of the power conditioning system and uses an inherent current source characteristic of solar cell arrays. Therefore, it exhibits robust and fast response under a rapidly changing environmental condition. Digital phase locked loop technique using an all-pass filter is also introduced to detect the phase of grid voltage, as well as the peak voltage. Controllers of dc/dc boost converter, dc-link voltage, and dc/ac inverter are designed for coordinated operation. Furthermore, a current control using a pseudo synchronous d-q transformation is employed for grid current control with unity power factor. A 3 kW prototype PV PCS is built, and its experimental results are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.21-30
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• 1989

In this study, the dynamic behavior of a continuous bridge under moving load is studied considering roughness of the road surface. Vehicle model includes the spring effects of axes, and due to these effects, equations of motions for the vehicle and bridge are derived in coupled form. And then iteration method is used to solve the equations. In experimental study a bridge model is constructed considering the similarity rule in order that the model exhibits dynamic behavior similar to that of prototype. Three types of roughness such as uneven random roughness, uplift on the approach and piece-wise constant roughness are used to describe road roughness. Through the numerical analysis and experiments, the effects of surface roughness, sprung mass, and velocity on the dynamic behavior of the bridge are examined.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2015

Bee venom (BV) has long been used in traditional Eastern and Western medicine for chronic inflammation, pain and skin therapy. Human exposure to BV, however, often causes unwanted adverse effects and is even fatal in some cases. Phospholipase $A_2$ ($PLA_2$) of BV is now suspected to play a key role in these adverse effects. We investigated the potential use of $PLA_2$-free bee venom (PBV) as a replacement for BV in cosmetic products. PBV prepared by molecular weight cut-off ultrafiltration exhibits a superior profile in comparison with regular BV, by inhibiting elastase activity and suppressing the induction of nitric oxide (NO) and metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), while retaining the effects of cell proliferation and protection against ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced damage in human dermal fibroblast cells. PBV thus appears to be more promising than BV as a cosmetic ingredient with a reduced potential for adverse reactions in the recipient.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.2213-2216
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• 2009

A novel carbazole functionalized bis-$\beta$-diketone type organic ligand, 1,1′-(2,6-bispyridyl)bis-3-(9-ethylcarbazole- 3-yl)-1,3-propanedione ($H_2L$) and its corresponding lanthanide complexes $Eu_2(L)_3\;and\;Tb_2(L)_3$ were successfully prepared. The ligand and complexes were characterized in detail based on FT-IR spectra, $^1H$ NMR and elemental analysis. The observed UV-Vis absorption and photoluminescence properties of the complexes were investigated, it shows that the Eu(III) and Tb(III) ions can be sensitized efficiently by the ligand ($H_2L$) to some extent, in particular, the complex $Tb_2(L)_3$ exhibits a more excellent luminescence property than the Eu(III) complex. Meanwhile, the introduction of the carbazole moiety can enlarge the $\Pi$-conjugated system of the ligand and enhance the luminescent intensity of the complexes. The results show that the complexes would be used as excellent luminescent materials.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.271-278
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• 2003

Conventional backlight for liquid crystal display (LCD) uses mercury which leads to environmental pollution. In this study, characteristics of AC coplanar type mercury-free plasma flat lamp have been studied. Pollution-free Xe-He is adopted as a discharge gas system. Since the Xe gas has a lower efficiency in generating vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) than mercury, the improvement of luminance and luminous efficiency in the Xe gas system is very important. The electrode, dielectric, and phosphor layers constituting lamp are formed on the bottom glass by the screen printing method. The effects of pulse shape, on-time, and pulse frequency on the luminance and luminous efficiency have been examined. For Xe(5%)-He gas, the lamp exhibits higher efficiency with sharper pulse shape, higher peak voltage, and shorter pulse on-time (up to 2 $\mu\textrm{s}$). Higher efficiency and lower consumption of power were obtained at 30 kHz than at 60 kHz. The collision of ion to bottom electrodes is a dominant factor to raise the lamp temperature. Therefore the high voltage and low current discharge system is necessary for reduction of the lamp temperature as well as for enhancement of the luminous efficiency.