• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.103-109
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• 2013

Background: The objective of this study is to determine knowledge about lung cancer among secondary school male teachers in Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among three secondary schools located in Kudat district, Sabah, Malaysia during the period from June until September 2012. The protocol of this study was approved by ethics committee of Management and Science University, Malaysia. The aims were explained and a consent form was signed by each participant. Respondents were chosen randomly from each school with the help of the headmasters. Self-administrated questionnaires, covering socio-demographic characteristics and general knowledge of lung cancer, were distributed. Once all 150 respondents completed the questionnaire, they passed it to their head master for collecting and recording. All the data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 13. ANOVA and t-test were applied for univariate analysis; and multiple linear regression for multivariate analysis. Results: A total of 150 male secondary school teachers participated in this study. Their mean age was $35.6{\pm}6.5$ (SD); maximum 50 and minimum 23 years old. More than half of the participants were Malay and married (52%, 79%; respectively). Regarding the knowledge about lung cancer, 57.3% of the participants mentioned that only males are affected by lung cancer. Some 70.7% mentioned that lung cancer can be transmitted from one person to another. More than half (56.7%) reported that lung cancer is not the leading cause of death in Malaysian males. As for risk factors, the majority reported that family history of lung cancer is not involved. However, 91.3% were aware that cigarettes are the main risk factor of lung cancer and more than half (52%) believed that second-hand smoking is one of the risk factor of lung cancer. More than half (51.3%) were not aware that asbestos, ionizing radiation and other cancer causing substances are risk factors for lung cancer. Quitting smoking, avoiding second-hand smoking and avoiding unnecessary x-ray image of the chest (53.3%, 96.0%, 87.3%; respectively) are the main preventive measures mentioned by the participants. For the factors that influence the participants knowledge, univariate and multivariate analysis showed that only race was significant. Conclusions: Overall, the knowledge of school male teachers about lung cancer was low. However, few items were scored high: cigarettes are the main risk factor; avoiding second-hand smoking; and avoiding x-rays. Interventions to increase lung cancer awareness are needed to improve early detection behavior. Increase the price of pack of cigarettes to RM 20 and banning smoking in public places such as restaurants are highly recommended as primary preventive measures.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1-13
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• 2014

The paper gives an overview of the concepts, basic requirements, and trends regarding packaging technologies of power modules in hybrid (HEV) and electric vehicles (EV). Power electronics is gaining more and more importance in the automotive sector due to the slow but steady progress of introducing partially or even fully electric powered vehicles. The demands for power electronic devices and systems are manifold, and concerns besides aspects such as energy efficiency, cooling and costs especially robustness and lifetime issues. Higher operation temperatures and the current density increase of new IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) generations make it more and more complicated to meet the quality requirements for power electronic modules. Especially the increasing heat dissipation inside the silicon (Si) leads to maximum operation temperatures of nearly $200^{\circ}C$. As a result new packaging technologies are needed to face the demands of power modules in the future. Wide-band gap (WBG) semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride (GaN) have the potential to considerably enhance the energy efficiency and to reduce the weight of power electronic systems in EVs due to their improved electrical and thermal properties in comparison to Si based solutions. In this paper, we will introduce various package materials, advanced packaging technologies, heat dissipation and thermal management of advanced power modules with extended reliability for EV applications. In addition, SiC and GaN based WBG power modules will be introduced.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2014

Flip chip bonded LED packages possess lower thermal resistance than wire bonded LED packages because of short thermal path. In this study, thermal and bonding properties of flip chip bonded high brightness LED were evaluated for Au-Sn thermo-compression bonded LEDs and Sn-Ag-Cu reflow bonded LEDs. For the Au-Sn thermo-compression bonding, bonding pressure and bonding temperature were 50 N and 300oC, respectively. For the SAC solder reflow bonding, peak temperature was $255^{\circ}C$ for 30 sec. The shear strength of the Au-Sn thermo-compression joint was $3508.5gf/mm^2$ and that of the SAC reflow joint was 5798.5 gf/mm. After the shear test, the fracture occurred at the isolation layer in the LED chip for both Au-Sn and SAC joints. Thermal resistance of Au-Sn sample was lower than that of SAC bonded sample due to the void formation in the SAC solder.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.83-93
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• 2012

Purpose: The objective of this study is to find out physical properties and the flexural strength changed by the low temperature degradation of the block which is needed to make bio-prosthetic dentistry which is better than feldspar affiliated ceramic made by building up ceramic powder and also to apply this to the clinical use of zirconia monolithic all-ceramic crown. Methods: Flexural strength of each sample was evaluated before and after the Low Temperature Degradation, and physical properties of the Tetra Zirconia Block containing 3mol % was evaluated as well. The average and standard deviation of each experimental group were came out of the evaluation. Statistical package for social science 18.0 was used for statistics. Results: The average density of the monolithic all-ceramic crown was $6.0280{\pm}0.0147g/cm$, the relative density was 99.01 %. When the sample was sintered at $1480^{\circ}C$ the diameter of average particle was $396.62{\pm}33.71nm$. All the samples had no monolithic peak after XRD evaluation but only had tetragonal peak. There were statistically significant differences in the result of flexural strength of the samples evaluated after and before the low temperature degradation, the flexural strength before the low temperature degradation was $1747.40{\ss}{\acute{A}}$, at the temperature of $130^{\circ}C$ the flexural strength after the low temperature degradation was 1063.99MPa (p<0.001). There was statistically significant difference in the result of strength of 1020.07MPa after the low temperature degradation at the temperature of $200^{\circ}C$ (p<0.001). Conclusion: The block which was made for this evaluation possesses such an excellent strength among dental restorative materials that it is thought to have no problems to use for tetragonal zirconia polycrystal.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7169-7174
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• 2014

Background: NPAS2 is a product of the circadian clock gene. It acts as a putative tumor suppressor by playing an important role in DNA damage responses, cell cycle control and apoptosis. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) appears to be an apoptosis related disorder and alteration in the NPAS2 gene might therefore be directly involved in the etiology of CLL. Here, the Ala394Thr polymorphism (rs2305160:G>A) in the NPAS2 gene was genotyped and melatonin concentrations were measured in a total of seventy-four individuals, including thirty-seven CLL cases and an equal number of age- and sex-matched healthy controls in order to examine the effect of NPAS2 polymorphism and melatonin concentrations on CLL risk in a Pakistani population. Materials and Methods: Genotyping of rs2305160:G>A polymorphism at NPAS2 locus was carried out by amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR). Melatonin concentrations were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. Results: Our results demonstrated no association of the variant Thr genotypes (Ala/Thr and Thr/Thr) with risk of CLL. Similarly, no association of rs2305160 with CLL was observed in either females or males after stratification of study population on a gender basis. Moreover, when the subjects with CLL were further stratified into shift-workers and non-shift-workers, no association of rs2305160 with CLL was seen in either case. However, significantly low serum melatonin levels were observed in CLL patients as compared to healthy subjects (p<0.05). Also, lower melatonin levels were seen in shift-workers as compared to non-shift-workers (p<0.05). There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the melatonin levels across NPAS2 genotypes in all subjects, subjects with CLL who were either shift workers or non-shift-workers. General Linear Model (GLM) univariate analysis revealed no significant association (p>0.05) of the rs2305160 polymorphism of the NPAS2 gene with melatonin levels in any of the groups. Conclusions: While low melatonin levels and shift-work can be considered as one of the risk factors for CLL, the NPAS2 rs2305160 polymorphism does not appear to have any association with risk of CLL in our Pakistani population.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.45-56
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• 2002

Objectives: Recently, recombinant FSH (rFSH) has been manufactured using a Chinese hamster ovary cell line transfected with the gene encoding human FSH. Both rFSH and urinary gonadotropin (uFSH) could be used for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). However, uFSH implies a number of disadvantages, such as batch-to-batch inconsistency, no absolute source control, dependence on large amounts of urine, low specific activity, and low purity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of rFSH in human IVF-ET program. Materials and Methods: A total of 508 infertile women was enrolled in this study. They are classified into rFSH group (n=177) or uFSH group (n=331), and all of them were matched by age and cause of infertility in same period. The $Puregon^{(R)}$ (Organon, Holland) was used as rFSH, and the Metrodin-$HP^{(R)}$ (Serono, Switzeland) and $Humegon^{(R)}$ (Organon, Holland) was used as uFSH. We subdivided the patients into three age groups. The outcomes of IVF-ET program were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Results: There was no significant differences in the level of estradiol on hCG injection day, the numbers of retrieved oocytes, matured oocytes, fertilized oocytes, transferred embryos, frozen embryos between the two groups. The total dose (IU) of gonadotropin for COH was significantly lower in the rFSH group compared to uFSH group ($1339{\pm}5491.1$ vs $2527.8{\pm}1075.2$ IU, p<0.001). Clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer in the rFSH group showed increasing tendency, compared to the uFSH group, but there was no statistical significance (35.2% vs 29.3%). Our results demonstrated that the relative efficiency of rFSH compared with uFSH is higher in older patients. Conclusions: The ovarian stimulatory effect and clinical outcome of recombinant FSH was similar to that of the urinary gonadotropin. The IVF-ET cycles with significantly lower dose of gonadotropin in rFSH group showed comparable results. Therefore, we suggest that recombinant FSH is more potent and effective than urinary gonadotropin.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2004

Background and Objectives : It has been shown that the epilaryngeal tube in the human airway is responsible for vocal ring, or the singer's formant. In previous study, authors showed that in trained tenors, besides the conventional singer's formant in the region of ,5500Hz, another energy peak was observed in the region of 8,000Hz. This peak was interpreted as the second resonance of the epilarynx tube. Singers in other voice categories who produce vocal ring are assumed to have the same peak, but no measurements have as yet been made. Materials and Methods : Fifteen tenors, fourteen baritones, seven sopranos and five mezzo sopranos attending the music college, department of vocal music who could reliably produce the head and chest registers were chosen for this study. Each subject was asked to produce an/ah/sound for at least three seconds for the head register sound(tenors ; G4, barions ; E4 sopranos ; F5 and mezzosopranos ; C5) and for the chest register sound (tenors ; C3, baritones ; D3, sopranos ; D4 and Mezzosoprano ; A3). The sound data was analyzed using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)-based power spectrum, Long term average(LTA) power spectrum using the FFT algorithm of the Computerized Speech Lab (CSL, Kay elemetrics, Model 4300B, USA). Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney test of the Statistical Package for Social sciences(SPSS). Results : For head register sounds, a significant increase was seen in the 2,200-3,400Hz region(p<0.05) and the Similar to the head register sounds, there was a significant increase in energy in the four trained singer group compared with the untrained group in the 2,200-3,100Hz region(p<0.05), the 7,800-8,400Hz region(p<0.05) for the chest register sounds. Conclusions : When good vocal production was made for the head and chest registers, an energy peak was observed near 2,500Hz, a frequency already known as the "singer's formant', in all subjects in the study group. Another region of increased energy was observed around 8,000Hz that had not been noticed previously. The authors believe this region to be the second singer's formant.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.174-182
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• 2001

This study was performed to find out the differences between noise levels of hospital wards and the nurses efforts for noise management in some general hospitals. The hospital wards selected were the intensive care unit(ICU), the emergency room(ER), the nursery room(NR), the internal medicine(IM), the general surgery(GS) among the 5 general hospitals located in Seoul. The data were collected from August 3 to September 13, 1999 through questionnaire survey and noise measurement in each nursing station of hospital wards. Data analysis was done by SPSS 8.0 package among the 305 questionnaires and 24 hours monitored noise levels. Frequency, Chi-square and ANOVA test were used. The study results were as belows: 1. The noise level measured by 24 hours monitoring survey were exceeded on the standard limit in all the hospital wards. Data also showed that noise levels were significantly different in each ward among the three shifts working duties. 2. The subjects were all female nurses. They were mostly working in the ICU ward(28.9%). They were 26~30 years old (43.9%), junior college graduates(57.0%), working for 1~5 years(55.1%) as staff-nurse(85.6%). There were no significant differences between hospital wards and general characteristics of nurses. 3. The noise levels perceived by nurses were regarded as 'Highly noisy'(56.4%), especially during the 11:30 and 15:30 (30.2%) o'clock. Data also showed that noise education was not ever given to nurses(89.9%). Nurses also responded that they hardly put an effort to reduce noise level(54.8%). However, there were significant differences between wards and noisy working time, experience of noise education and level of effort for noise reduction. 4. Nurses also perceived the ventilator alarm and EKG-alarm as the most disturbing sounds in the ICU, human voice and telephone ringing in the ER, human voice and EKG-alarming in the NR, human voices and telephone ringing in IM and GS both wards respectively in order. There were significant differences between hospital wards and noise making factors. 5. Nurses were shown that they regarded highly 'Sound reduction of the human voice', 'Careful handling on medical instruments', and 'Immediate appliances on alarming materials' as the practical method for noise management. There were significant differences between hospital wards and behavioral practical efforts for noise management. According to that results, the statistical differences were shown in the 24 hour monitored noise levels in each ward. Also, nurses perceived the noise severity differently and they approached variously on the practical efforts for noise reduction in each ward. Thus, author thinks that concrete and systematic endeavor will be necessary for noise reduction and management in hospitals for better working and healing environment for both of patients and staffs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.133-137
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• 2015

Background: Cancer is a major public health problem and the leading cause of mortality in both males and females in developed and developing countries. The incidence of cancer is gender dependent. Among Iranians, it is the third cause of death. Materials and Methods: The information recorded in the files of all patients (7,695 individuals) pathologically diagnosed with cancer in Imam Reza referral hospital of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences during the four year period of 2006-2009 were reviewed and analyzed using SPSS statistical software package version 16.0. Results: Around 61.6% of reported cancer cases were males and 38.4% were females. The most prevalent reported malignant tumors occurred at the age group of 70-79 years in males and in females these tumors were presented in the ages of 60-69 years. The most prevalent cancers among studied patients were gastrointestinal (GI) cancers with a frequency of 22.9% [gastric 10.7%, colorectal 6.9%, and esophageal 6%]. The second, third and forth prevalent cancers were blood at 16.4%, lung 13.5% and bladder 12.8%, respectively. In males the cancers of GI (25.6%) were the most prevalent followed in order of frequency by bladder (18%), blood (17.6%), lung (17.4%) and prostate (6.8%). In females the most frequent recorded cancer was breast (24.1%) followed in order of frequency by GI (20.5%), blood (14.4%), lung (7.3%), uterus (6.2%) and ovary (5.1%). Breast cancer was the most prevalent cancer (27%) in the age group of 40-49 years. Conclusions: The present study provides frequency data for various types of cancers in both males and females from a referral hospital of Kermanshah that are comparable with some reports from other areas of the country.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2015

Background: Follow-up clinical consultations could improve overall health status as well provide knowledge and education for cancer prevention. Materials and Methods: This is the cross-sectional study using the Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS) 6th edition for 2012, with 115,083 respondents who underwent cancer checkups selected as subjects. Associations between the presence of consultation and the socioeconomic status were determined using statistical methods with the SAS 9.3 statistical package (Cary, NC, USA). Findings: Among the recipients, 32,179 (28.0%) received clinical consultations after cancer screenings. Those in rural areas (odds ratio, OR=0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.69-0.73) visited follow-up clinics less frequently than did those in urban areas. Starting at the elementary school level, as the education level increased to middle school (OR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.19-1.34), high school (OR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.23-1.36) or college (OR=1.76, 95% CI: 1.65-1.89), the participation rates also increased. When compared with the lowest quartile group, the quartile income level showed a statistical trend and difference as follows: second lowest quartile (OR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.07-1.16), third lowest (OR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.07-1.17) and highest quartile income (OR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.23-1.35). In addition, the people with economic activities (OR=0.87, 95% CI: 0.84-0.90) visited follow-up clinics less frequently than did the others. Current smokers (OR=0.93, 95% CI: 0.89-0.98) and inveterate drinkers (OR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.85-0.94) had a tendency to visit less often than did non-smokers and other drinkers with all cancers combined. Interpretation: We suggest primary prevention through lifestyle modifications including smoking and drinking, and environmental interventions may offer the most cost-effective approach to reduce the cancer burden.