• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.53-62
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• 2023

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships of serum folate (vitamin B9), cobalamin (vitamin B12) levels and diet with semen parameters (semen standard parameters [SSP] and DNA fragmentation index [DFI]) in infertile men. Methods: Sperm samples were assessed for SSP and DFI (using the sperm chromatin dispersion test). Serum vitamin concentrations were measured with an immuno-electrochemiluminescence assay, and men completed a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Results: Serum folate levels were positively correlated with sperm progressive motility and DFI. A comparison of SSP between two groups of patients according to serum folate concentration (B9 <4.840 ng/mL and B9 ≥4.840 ng/mL) showed significantly higher sperm concentration and sperm progressive motility in the latter group. However, there was no difference between these groups regarding DFI. Interestingly, serum folate levels were significantly higher in patients with a high DFI (using the cut-offs of 30% or 18%). FFQ data showed that the consumption of fruits and egg yolk correlated positively with sperm concentration and sperm motility, respectively. Conclusion: Serum folate levels showed significant associations with sperm concentration and sperm progressive motility. However, the positive association of serum folate with DFI raises the need for careful prescription of folate supplements.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.59-72
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• 2024

A comprehensive survey of mungbean-growing areas was conducted to observe leaf spot disease caused by Alternaria alternata. Alternaria leaf spot symptoms were observed on the leaves. Diversity of 50 genotypes of mungbean was assessed against A. alternata and data on pathological traits was subjected to cluster analysis. The results showed that genotypes of mungbean were grouped into four clusters based on resistance parameters under the influence of disease. The principal component biplot demonstrated that all the disease-related parameters (% disease incidence, % disease intensity, lesion area, and % of infection) were strongly correlated with each other. Alt a 1 gene that is precisely found in Alternaria species and is responsible for virulence and pathogenicity. Alt a 1 gene was amplified using gene specific primers. The isolated pathogen produced similar symptoms when inoculated on mungbean and tobacco. The sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, a 600 bp fragment amplified using specific primers, ITS1 and ITS2 showed 100% identity with A. alternata. Potato virus X (PVX) -based silencing vector expressing Alt a 1 gene was constructed to control this pathogen through RNA interference in tobacco. Out of 50 inoculated plants, 9 showed delayed onset of disease. Furthermore, to confirm our findings at molecular level semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used. Both phenotypic and molecular investigation indicated that RNAi induced through the VIGS vector was efficacious in resisting the pathogen in the model host, Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). To the best of our knowledge, this study has been reported for the first time.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2024

This research aims to study and confirm enabling factors affecting the knowledge transfer and business process of community enterprise groups in Pattani province, Thailand. Key informants were community enterprise entrepreneurs; 30 people were selected purposively with criteria. This study used a mixed-methods approach and conducted semi-structured interviews to collect data. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis and classification, while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Moreover, inferential statistics chi-square value, Phi Cramer's V, and multiple regression analysis with the R program for statistical computing were employed to analyze the relationship between the variables, test the research hypothesis, and create forecasting equations. The research results revealed that the overview of enabling factors had a very high relationship (Cramer's V=0.965). Regarding community enterprise, it was found that enabling factors related to the knowledge transfer and business process consisted of four factors: regulations and administrative guidelines, business plan, reinforcement, and brainstorming. Reinforcement was the factor with the highest degree of correlation (Cramer's V=0.873) and predictor of influence on the knowledge transfer and business process (R₂=0.670, p<0.05). This study's findings can lead to the developing of guidelines for promoting community enterprises properly and timely. These guidelines are expected to be used to develop knowledge about business models for community enterprises, which will help to improve their competency and competitiveness.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.593-601
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• 2018

Recently in nuclear medicine, to improve diagnostic value, SUV, semi-quantitative indicator used in PET-CT, is adopted in SPECT-CT. Therefore, this research analyzed correlation of $SUV_{max}$ of two scanners through phantom test, and evaluated possibility of clinical application. Radiopharmaceuticals ($^{18}F$, $^{99m}Tc$) were injected with the ratios of 8:1 and 4:1, considering background radioactivity, into the phantom manufactured with 6 globes of different sizes, and, based on clinical protocol, positive phases were acquired with PET-CT and SPECT-CT scanners, and interesting areas were divided into ROI and VOI, and $SUV_{max}$ of them were measured, and analyzed. Tests found out no statistically significant difference in $SUV_{max}$ measured with two scanners (P>0.05). Thus, $SUV_{max}$ of PET-CT and SPECT-CT had a certain correlation within significant levels, and were evaluated as the same. Accordingly, it seems that $SUV_{max}$ quantitative analysis using SPECT-CT can provide significant diagnostic information as the case of PET-CT.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.217-225
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• 2014

Telomeres are the ends of the eukaryotic chromosomes and consist of a tandem repetitive DNA sequence and shelterin protein complex. The function of telomere is to protect chromosome. Telomere length in somatic cells tends to decrease with organismal age due to the end replication problem. However, several factors at the genetic, epigenetic and environmental level affect telomere length. In this study, we estimated heritability of telomere length and investigated inheritance of telomeres in a chicken. Telomere length of lymphocytes was analyzed by semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction using telomere primer and quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization using telomeric DNA probe. In results, heritability of telomere length was estimated 0.9 at birth by offspring-parent regression analysis and was estimated 0.03 and 0.04 at 10 and 30 weeks old, respectively, by parental variance analysis. There was a significant positive correlation in telomere length between father and their offspring (r=0.348), and mother and their offspring (r=0.380). In inheritance patterns of telomere length, the influence of paternal and maternal effect on their offspring was similar. The influence of inherited telomeres on male and female progeny was also roughly alike. These results implicated that imprinting of parental telomere length was regulated by autosomal genes, not sex linked genes. In addition, telomere length of offspring at birth did not differ along with their maternal age. Thus, maternal age does not affects telomere length in their offspring at birth owing to cellular reprogramming at early embryonic stage.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2012

Purpose : This study is designed to compare two parameters reflecting $^{18}F$-FDG uptake, SUV and radioactivity, for diagnosis of thyroid cancer in dual time $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT imaging and to find which parameter is more useful to decide whether the tumor is malignant or not. Materials and Methods : We performed retrospective study for 40 patients. All patients are diagnosed as primary thyroid cancer and examined $^{18}F$-FDG PET/CT. First, we got the dispersion of scattering beam of neck and lung apex to set a background and compared each dispersion, mean value, standard deviation of maxSUV and radioactivity. Also, mean maxSUV, ${\Delta}maxSUV$, ${\Delta}maxBq$/ml(%) and radioactivity between groups according to lesion's size based on biopsy are compared with independent-sample t-test. Results : the values that were from maxSUV and radioactivity measurement technique were compensated and calculated to practical values for mean comparison and patients were divided to two groups based on tumor size, Group1 ($size{\leq}1$ cm, n=21), Group2 (size>1 cm, n=19) for accurate comparison. In Group1, maxSUV (semi-quantitative analysis) was increased from $5.64{\pm}5.85$ (1.89~17.84) at first image to $5.90{\pm}5.01$ (1.95~18.22) at second image and radioactivity (Bq/ml) (quantitative analysis) showed similar increase from $5.93{\pm}6.38$ (2.50~16.75) at first image to $6.01{\pm}5.25$ (2.66~16.58) at second image. In Group2, TFmaxSUV was $10.54{\pm}14.36$ (2.54~33.89) in true first image, TSmaxSUV was $9.85{\pm}12.88$ (2.62~26.20) in true second image separately. The maxSUV showed a significant difference in the mean comparison between the two groups (p=0.035) But, mean radioactivity (Bq/ml) was $5.93{\pm}6.38$ (4.81~40.99) in true first image, $6.01{\pm}5.25$ (4.51~36.93) in true second image and didn't show a significant difference statistically (p=0.126) Conclusion : In diagnosis of thyroid tumor, SUV and radioactivity depending on $^{18}F$-FDG uptake showed high similarity with coefficient of determination (R2=0.939) and malignant evaluation results using dual time also showed similar aspect. Radioactivity for evaluation of malignant tumor didn't show better specificity or sensitivity than maxSUV.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.352-360
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• 2007

Several nutrients are known to affect bone mineral density (BMD). However, these nutrients are combined with food intake and dietary patterns and little is known about the association of dietary patterns and BMD. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of dietary patterns with BMD in Korea Genome Epidemiology Study subjects. Among 2,884 women (40-69 yr) recruited at baseline study (2001), 861 subjects with BMD measurements at baseline and a 4-year follow up study (2005) completed the semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. BMD was measured by the Quantitative Ultrasound method. One hundred three food items were combined into 17 food groups and 4 dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis. Cluster analysis using factor score classified each subject into one of three dietary pattern groups named 'Rice and kimchi eating' (n = 617), 'Contented eating' (n = 124), and 'Healthy and light eating' (n = 120). The 'Healthy and light eating' group, characterized by higher intake of fruit, vegetables, fish, milk and dairy products, and younger age, more exercise, higher education, and higher income than other groups. The tibia BMD of the 'Healthy and light eating' group was higher than the other groups after adjusting for the age. After the adjustment for the age BMI and exercise, the 'Healthy and light eating' group showed significantly lower odds of tibia osteopenia/osteoporosis risk compared to the 'Rice and kimchi eating' group both at the baseline [OR(95% CI) : 0.50(0.30-0.84)] and follow-up [OR(95% CI) : 0.59(0.36-0.97)] examinations. The dietary pattern with low calorie and high intakes of fruit, vegetables, fish, milk and dairy products may have beneficial effects on BMD in middle-aged women.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.90-101
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of various quantitative indices for the differentiation of benign from malignant primary soft tissue tumors by FDG-PET. A series of 32 patients with a variety of histologically or clinically confirmed benign (20) or malignant (12) soft tissue lesions were evaluated with emission whole body (5min/bed position) PET after injection of [$^{18}F$]FDG. Regional 20min transmission scan for the attenuation correction and calculation of SUV was performed in 16 patients (10 benign, 6malignant) followed by dynamic acquisition for 56min. Postinjection transmission scan for the attenuation correction and calculation of SUV was executed in the other 16 patients (10 benign, 6 malignant). The following indices were obtained. the peak and average SUV (pSUV, aSUV) of lesions, tumor-to-background ratio acquired at images of 51 min p.i. ($TBR_{51}$), tumor-to-background ratio of areas under time-activity curves ($TBR_{area}$) and the ratio between the activities of tumor ROI at 51 min p. i. and at the time which background ROI reaches maximum activity on the time-activity curves ($T_{51}/T_{max}$). The pSUV, aSUV, $TBR_{51}$, and $TBR_{area}$ in malignant lesions were significantly higher than those in benign lesions. We set the cut-off values of pSUV, aSUV, $TBR_{51},\;TBR_{area}$ and $T_{51}/T_{max}$ for the differentiation of benign and malignant lesions at 3.5, 2.8, 5.1, 4.3 and 1.55, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 91.7%, 80.0%, 84.4% by pSUV and aSUV, 83.3%, 85.0%, 84.4% by $TBR_{51}$, 83.3%, 100%, 93.8% by $TBR_{area}$ and 66.7%, 70.0%, 68.8% by $T_{51}/T_{max}$. The time-activity curves did not give additional information compared to SUV or TBR. The one false negative was a case with low-grade fibrosarcoma and all four false positives were cases with inflammatory change on histology. The visual, analysis of FDG-PET also detected the metastatic lesions in malignant cases with comparable accuracy In conclusion, all pSUV, aSUV, $TBR_{51}$, and $TBR_{area}$ are useful metabolic semi-quantitative indices with good accuracy for the differentiation of benign from malignant soft-tissue lesions.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.477-486
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• 1998

In this paper, we implemented the urine analysis system capable of measuring a qualitative and semi-quantitative and assay using strip. The analysis algorithm of urine analysis was adopted a fuzzy logic-based classifiers that was robust to external error factors such as temperature and electric power noises. The spectroscopic properties of 9 pads In a strip were studied to developing the urine analysis system was designed for robustnesss and stability. The urine analysis system was consisted of hardware and software. The hardware of the urine analysis system was based on one-chip microprocessor, and Its peripherals which composed of optic modulo, tray control, preamplifier, communication with PC, thermal printer and operating status indicator. The software of the urine analysis system was composed of system program and classification program. The system program did duty fort system control, data acquisition and data analysis. The classification program was composed of fuzzy inference engine and membership function generator. The membership function generator made triangular membership functions by statical method for quality control. Resulted data was transferred through serial cable to PC. The transferred data was arranged and saved be data acquisition program coded by C+ + language. The precision of urine analysis system and the stability of fuzzy classifier were evaluated by testing the standard urine samples. Experimental results showed a good stability states and a exact classification.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1251-1251
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• 2001

The routine analysis of milk chemical components is of major importance both for the management of animals in dairy farms and for quality control in dairy industries. NIRS technology is an analytical technique which greatly simplifies this routine. One of the most critical aspects in NIRS analysis of milk is sample preparation and analysis modes which should be fast and straightforward. An important difficulty when obtaining NIR spectra of milk is the high water content (80 to 90%) of this product, since water absorbs most of the infrared radiation, and, therefore, limits the accuracy of calibrating for other constituents. To avoid this problem, the DESIR system was set up. Other ways of radiation-sample interaction adapted for liquids or semi-liquids exist, which are practically instantaneous and with limited or null necessity of sample preparation: Transmission and Folded Transmission or Transflectance. The objective of the present work is to compare the precision and accuracy of milk calibration equations in two analysis modes: Reflectance (dry milk) and Folded Transmission (liquid milk). A FOSS-NIR Systems 6500 I spectrophotometer (400-2500 nm) provided with a spinning module was used. Two NIR spectroscopic methods for milk analysis were compared: a) folded transmission: liquid milk samples in a 0.1 pathlength sample cell (ref. IH-0345) and b) reflectance: dried milk samples in glass fibre filters placed in a standard ring cell. A set of 101 milk samples was used to develop the calibration equations, for the two NIR analysis modes, to predict casein, protein, fat and dry matter contents, and 48 milk samples to predict Somatic Cell Count (SCC). The calibrations obtained for protein, fat and dry matter have an excellent quantitative prediction power, since they present $r^2$ values higher than 0.9. The $r^2$ values are slightly lower for casein and SCC (0.88 and 0.89 respectively), but they still are sufficiently high. The accuracy of casein, protein and SCC equations is not affected by the analysis modes, since their ETVC values are very similar in reflectance and folded transmission (0.19% vs 0.21%; 0.16% vs 0.19% and 55.57% vs 53.11% respectively), Lower SECV values were obtained for the prediction of fat and dry matter with the folded transmission equations (0.14% and 0.25% respectively) compared to the results with the reflectance ones (0.43% and 0.34% respectively). In terms of accuracy and speed of analytical response, NIRS analysis of liquid milk is recommended (folded transmission), since the drying procedure takes 24 hours. However, both analysis modes offer satisfactory results.