• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.13.1-13.12
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• 2022

Background: Toxoplasma gondii can infect humans and most animals and has a very high infection rate worldwide, including in China. The number of people infected with T. gondii in China increases with the number of cats. Objectives: We investigated the seropositive rate of T. gondii in cats over the last five years and analyzed the risk factors via meta-analysis. Methods: We retrieved 20 studies, with a total of 5,158 cats, published between 2016 and 2020, used the DerSimonian-Laird model and calculated seroprevalence estimates with the variance stabilizing double arcsine transformation. Results: The overall seroprevalence rate after sinusoidal conversion was 19.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.9-23.9; 966/5,158), lower than the domestic report from 1995 to 2015 (24.5%, 95% CI, 20.1-29.0). There was substantial heterogeneity among studies (χ² = 262.32; p < 0.001; I² = 64.6%). Regression analysis of possible heterogeneous causes and subgroup analysis showed that age and whether cats were stray or not have a significant effect on the seropositive rate. Conclusions: Articles published in recent five years suggest that the seroprevalence estimates of Toxoplasma gondii in cats has decreased. Cats, as the final host of T. gondii, are an important cause of the spread of the parasite, and this is an important concern for public health.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.924-935
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• 2023

Purpose: The central aim of this study is to leverage machine learning techniques for the classification of Intrusion Detection System (IDS) data, with a specific focus on identifying the variables responsible for enhancing overall performance. Method: First, we classified 'R2L(Remote to Local)' and 'U2R (User to Root)' attacks in the NSL-KDD dataset, which are difficult to detect due to class imbalance, using seven machine learning models, including Logistic Regression (LR) and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN). Next, we use the SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) for two classification models that showed high performance, Random Forest (RF) and Light Gradient-Boosting Machine (LGBM), to check the importance of variables that affect classification for each model. Result: In the case of RF, the 'service' variable and in the case of LGBM, the 'dst_host_srv_count' variable were confirmed to be the most important variables. These pivotal variables serve as key factors capable of enhancing performance in the context of classification for each respective model. Conclusion: In conclusion, this paper successfully identifies the optimal models, RF and LGBM, for classifying 'R2L' and 'U2R' attacks, while elucidating the crucial variables associated with each selected model.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.328-349
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• 2024

In the last decade, Korean culture has progressively facilitated the assimilation of appearance-related norms established by modern Korean society among young generations in Vietnam. Of note, Vietnamese consumers residing in Korea, under the influence of diverse sociocultural factors, are aligning themselves with an ideal standard of Korean beauty through cultural adaptation. This study explores how Vietnamese students internalize Korean beauty standards and the resultant negative behavioral reactions. We investigated the effects of sociocultural pressures (media, in-group, and out-group pressure) on risky appearance management and irrational purchase behavior by mediating sociocultural internalization toward appearance. We tested how the mechanism underlying these variables differs based on how long one has resided in Korea. A total of 213 female participants were surveyed online. The research model was tested using structural equation modeling through AMOS 22.0. The findings show that media and out-group pressure significantly increased sociocultural internalization, which led to consumer behavior in the form of risky appearance management and irrational purchases. The influence of internalization on consumption behavior was stronger for short-term residents of Korea. This study contributes to the literature on acculturation by investigating how foreign consumers accept the host country's ideal beauty standards.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.2_spc
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• pp.360-369
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• 2024

Ruminal methane production functions as the main sink for metabolic hydrogen generated through rumen fermentation and is recognized as a considerable source of greenhouse gas emissions. Methane production is a complex trait affected by dry matter intake, feed composition, rumen microbiota and their fermentation, lactation stage, host genetics, and environmental factors. Various mitigation approaches have been proposed. Because individual ruminants exhibit different methane conversion efficiencies, the microbial characteristics of low-methane-emitting animals can be essential for successful rumen manipulation and environment-friendly methane mitigation. Several bacterial species, including Sharpea, uncharacterized Succinivibrionaceae, and certain Prevotella phylotypes have been listed as key players in low-methane-emitting sheep and cows. The functional characteristics of the unclassified bacteria remain unclear, as they are yet to be cultured. Here, we review ruminal methane production and mitigation strategies, focusing on rumen fermentation and the functional role of rumen microbiota, and describe the phylogenetic and physiological characteristics of a novel Prevotella species recently isolated from low methane-emitting and high propionate-producing cows. This review may help to provide a better understanding of the ruminal digestion process and rumen function to identify holistic and environmentally friendly methane mitigation approaches for sustainable ruminant production.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.295-309
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• 2019

This paper demonstrates that the verification and analysis of the increase of hosting capacity of distributed energy resources in distribution system for the high penetration of distributed energy resources. In the case of generally designed distribution feeders in South Korea, it can host up to 10 MVA of distributed energy resources and the over voltage due to reverse power flow is prohibited beyond the range by the law of electric utility. However, it should take into consideration that there are some factors of extra hosting capacity such as generation characteristics of distributed energy resources and minimum loads that always exist to distribution system. For these reason, we choose a specific distribution system hosted 10 MVA of distributed energy resources monitored by distribution system operator and verify the impact of increasing hosting capacity such as power flow and voltage profile of distribution system. By the result, we could find that it is possible to increase the hosting capacity and define the factors to expand the hosting capacity of distributed energy resources in distribution system.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.167-173
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• 2018

Malaria is one of the most important public health problems in tropical areas on the globe. Several factors are associated with susceptibility to malaria and disease severity, including innate immunity such as blood group, hemoglobinopathy, and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) polymorphisms. This study was carried out to investigate association among ABO blood group, thalassemia types and HO-1 polymorphisms in malaria. The malarial blood samples were collected from patients along the Thai-Myanmar border. Determination of ABO blood group, thalassemia variants, and HO-1 polymorphisms were performed using agglutination test, low pressure liquid chromatography and polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Plasmodium vivax was the major infected malaria species in the study samples. Distribution of ABO blood type in the malaria-infected samples was similar to that in healthy subjects, of which blood type O being most prevalent. Association between blood group A and decreased risk of severe malaria was significant. Six thalassemia types (30%) were detected, i.e., hemoglobin E (HbE), ${\beta}$-thalassemia, ${\alpha}$-thalassemia 1, ${\alpha}$-thalassemia 2, HbE with ${\alpha}$-thalassemia 2, and ${\beta}$-thalassemia with ${\alpha}$-thalassemia 2. Malaria infected samples without thalassemia showed significantly higher risk to severe malaria. The prevalence of HO-1 polymorphisms, S/S, S/L and L/L were 25, 62, and 13%, respectively. Further study with larger sample size is required to confirm the impact of these 3 host genetic factors in malaria patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.591-595
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• 2016

The liver is one of the most common sites of cancer in the world, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) predominating. Chronic hepatitis B virus infection (CHB) is considered as an important potential risk factors for HCC. Different people have diverse responses to HBV infection regarding the likelihood of HCC development, and host factors such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) might account for this. The present study was conducted to evaluate any association between SNP frequencies in two genes, XRCC4 (rs1805377) and ATF6 (rs2070150), and the risk of CHB and HCC development in Thai patients. The study covered 369 subjects including 121 HCC patients, 141 with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (CHB) and 107 healthy controls. With TaqMan real-time PCR, the results showed that no significant association between XRCC4 (rs1805377) and ATF6 (rs2070150) and risk of HCC in the Thai population. From this first study of the 2 polymorphisms and HCC in Thailand it can concluded that rs1805377 and rs2070150 polymorphisms may not be applicable as genetic markers in the Thai population for HCC assessment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1806-1816
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• 2019

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungus possessing multiple virulence factors controlling pathogenicity. Cell wall proteins are the most important among these factors, being the first elements contacting the host. Ddr48 is a cell wall protein consisting of 212 amino acids. A DDR48 haploinsufficient mutant strain was previously found necessary for proper oxidative stress response and drug resistance. In this study, we aimed to further elucidate the role of Ddr48 by performing additional phenotypic characterization assays. A combinatory proteomic and bioinformatics approach was also undertaken to determine differentially expressed cell wall proteins. Results showed that the mutant strain exhibited a 10% decrease in adhesion mirrored by a 20% decrease in biofilm formation, and slight sensitivity to menadione, diamide, and SDS. Both strains showed similar hyphae formation, virulence, temperature tolerance, and calcofluor white and Congo red sensitivities. Furthermore, a total of 8 and 10 proteins were identified exclusively in the wild-type strain grown under filamentous and non-filamentous conditions respectively. Results included proteins responsible for superoxide stress resistance (Sod4 and Sod6), adhesion (Als3, Hyr4, Pmt1, and Utr2), biofilm formation (Hsp90, Ece1, Rim9, Ipp1, and Pra1) and cell wall integrity (Utr2 and Pga4). The lack of detection of these proteins in the mutant strain correlates with the observed phenotypes.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.341-347
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• 2011

Acanthamoeba infection is difficult to treat because of the resistance property of Acanthamoeba cyst against the host immune system, diverse antibiotics, and therapeutic agents. To identify encystation mediating factors of Acanthamoeba, we compared the transcription profile between cysts and trophozoites using microarray analysis. The DNA chip was composed of 12,544 genes based on expressed sequence tag (EST) from an Acanthamoeba ESTs database (DB) constructed in our laboratory, genetic information of Acanthamoeba from TBest DB, and all of Acanthamoeba related genes registered in the NCBI. Microarray analysis indicated that 701 genes showed higher expression than 2 folds in cysts than in trophozoites, and 859 genes were less expressed in cysts than in trophozoites. The results of real-time PCR analysis of randomly selected 9 genes of which expression was increased during cyst formation were coincided well with the microarray results. Eukaryotic orthologous groups (KOG) analysis showed an increment in T article (signal transduction mechanisms) and O article (posttranslational modification, protein turnover, and chaperones) whereas significant decrement of C article (energy production and conversion) during cyst formation. Especially, cystein proteinases showed high expression changes (282 folds) with significant increases in real-time PCR, suggesting a pivotal role of this proteinase in the cyst formation of Acanthamoeba. The present study provides important clues for the identification and characterization of encystation mediating factors of Acanthamoeba.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6631-6636
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• 2013

Through years of effort, researchers have made notable progress in gene and microRNA fields about retinoblastoma morbidity. However, experimentally validated data for genes, microRNAs (miRNAs) and transcription factors (TFs) can only be found in a scattered form, which makes it difficult to conclude the relationship between genes and retinoblastoma systematically. In this study, we regarded genes, miRNAs and TFs as elements in the regulatory network and focused on the relationship between pairs of examples. In this way, we paid attention to all the elements macroscopically, instead of only researching one or several. To show regulatory relationships over genes, miRNAs and TFs clearly, we constructed 3 regulatory networks hierarchically, including a differentially expressed network, a related network and a global network, for analysis of similarities and comparison of differences. After construction of the three networks, important pathways were highlighted. We constructed an upstream and downstream element table of differentially expressed genes and miRNAs, in which we found self-adaption relations and circle-regulation. Our study systematically assessed factors in the pathogenesis of retinoblastoma and provided theoretical foundations for gene therapy researchers. In future studies, especial attention should be paid to the highlighted genes and miRNAs.