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This Letter focuses on extracting the heartbeat information using ultra‐wideband impulse radar, and a new method that can extract not only the heart rate but also the timing of the heartbeat with high accuracy is proposed herein. As the first step towards achieving this goal, radar pulses are projected towards a human body, and the reflected pulses are accumulated along the time axis at specific time intervals. The accumulated pulses pass through a digital filter to reveal the heartbeat information and are converted to a greyscale image. A pattern that reflects the heartbeats is used as a template to find similar patterns in the entire image. After all the significant patterns are found, the timing information corresponding to the locations where the patterns appear is calculated, and this indicates the time when the heartbeats actually occur. From the experimental results, the authors confirmed that the proposed method could estimate the heart rate with high accuracy and extract the timing information of the heartbeats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of acupuncture and intervention types on weight loss. We searched electronic databases, including Embase, PubMed, CENTRAL, RISS, KISS and CNKI, for randomized controlled trials that used acupuncture to treat obesity before June 2017. We found 27 trials involving 32 intervention arms and 2,219 patients. Acupuncture plus lifestyle modification (LM) was more effective than LM alone (Hedges' g = 1.104, 95% CI = 0.531–1.678) and sham acupuncture plus LM (Hedges' g = 0.324, 95% CI = 0.177–0.471), whereas acupuncture alone was not more effective than sham acupuncture alone and no treatment. Auricular acupuncture (Hedges' g = 0.522, 95% CI = 0.152–0.893), manual acupuncture (Hedges' g = 0445, 95% CI = 0.044–0.846) and pharmacopuncture (Hedges' g = 0.411, 95% CI = 0.026–0.796) favoured weight loss. Finally, acupuncture treatment was effective only in subjects with overweight (25 ≤ body mass index < 30, Hedges' g = 0.528, 95% CI = 0.279–0.776), not in subjects with obesity (body mass index ≥30). Our study suggests that the effect of acupuncture on weight loss may be maximized when auricular and manual acupuncture or pharmacopuncture treatment is combined with LM in patients with overweight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3) complex is critical for regulation of actin polymerization, which is associated with sperm motility and capacitation status. However, the function of the Arp2/3 complex in male fertility has not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the role of the Arp2/3 complex in different processes in spermatozoa and its consequences on fertilization and early embryonic development. In this in vitro study, mouse spermatozoa were incubated with different concentrations (10, 100, and 500 µM) of CK-636, an Arp2/3 complex antagonist. Our results demonstrated that inhibition of the Arp2/ 3 complex by high concentrations (100 and 500 µM) of CK-636 induced hyper-activated motility and acrosomal reaction, whereas intracellular calcium and tyrosine phosphorylation levels in spermatozoa were inhibited. Moreover, exposure of spermatozoa to the highest concentration of CK-636 reduced fertilization and embryo development. Interestingly, fertilization was significantly increased after treatment with 100 µM CK-636, whereas embryonic development was significantly decreased. Therefore, we conclude that the Arp2/3 complex plays a decisive role in regulation of sperm function and male fertility via actin polymerization. We anticipate that the Arp2/3 complex may have clinical application as marker for male fertility and male contraceptive targeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the passive layers in galvanic corrosion of Ti-Nb alloys and commercially pure titanium (cp-Ti). Ti-Nb alloys with 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt% niobium (Nb) content were prepared using an arc-melting technique under high purity Ar gas. The cp-Ti was used as a control. The electrochemical corrosion behaviors were investigated by A.C. impedance, potentiodynamic polarization, and galvanic corrosion tests. According to the results of impedance analysis, the passivation layer on Ti-Nb alloys consisted of outer, intermediate, inner, and metal defect layers, while the passivation layer on cp-Ti consisted of outer, intermediate, and inner layers. According to the results of anodic polarization tests, Ti-Nb alloys exhibited better zero potentials and reduced zero current densities. The outer layer and the inner layer of Ti-Nb alloys and cp-Ti had an effect mainly on the values of the initial galvanic current density and the sign of galvanic current density, respectively. Ti-10Nb alloy exhibited a relatively high initial galvanic current density compared to the other Ti-Nb alloys. Unlike Ti-5Nb, Ti-10Nb, and Ti-15Nb, which exhibited galvanic current densities with a minus sign, Ti-20Nb exhibited a galvanic current density with a plus sign due to its weaker inner layer than that of Ti. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To compare the penetration resistance ( PR) of six thermoplastic gutta-percha ( GP) materials against needle penetration at different temperatures. Methodology The PR of the following materials based on warm gutta-percha techniques, Beefill GP Cartridge (Beefill), GP Obturator-Hard/Medium/Soft (Dia-H, Dia-M, Dia-S), Obtura (Obtura) and Tactendo Gutta (Tactendo), was measured as a function of temperature change (from 30 °C to 200 °C). The PR was measured using a force gauge, mounted on a motor-driven micrometre stage, which pushed the penetration needle against GP in a glass cylinder at the designated temperatures. Data were analysed using Kruskal-Wallis anova and Duncan's multiple range tests at 5% significance. Results The mean PR values for all assessed materials ranged from 15.55 MPa to 26.02 MPa at 30 °C, decreased to 0.18-1.61 MPa at 60 °C, and finally reached 0.02-0.12 MPa at 200 °C. The Obtura had the highest PR values at most of the measured temperatures. At 40-60 °C, Obtura had the highest PR value ( P < 0.05), and Tactendo had the lowest amongst the tested materials. At 70-200 °C, both the mean PR values and melt flow temperature ( MFR) of Obtura, Dia-H and Dia-M were significantly higher than those of other materials ( P < 0.05). Conclusions The PR values were changed by both the heating temperature and the brand or type of GP materials tested. Each material was associated with drastic decreases before reaching 60 °C in different degrees, and Obtura had the highest PR at most of the measured temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium nitroprusside is a nitric oxide donor involved in the regulation of the motility, hyperactivation, capacitation, and acrosome reaction ( AR) of spermatozoa. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this regulation has not yet been elucidated. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the molecular basis for the effects of sodium nitroprusside on different processes in spermatozoa and its consequences on subsequent oocyte fertilization and embryo development. In this in vitro study, mouse spermatozoa were incubated with various concentrations of sodium nitroprusside (1, 10, and 100 μ m) for 90 min. Our results showed that sodium nitroprusside inhibited sperm motility and motion kinematics in a dose-dependent manner by significantly enhancing intracellular iron and reactive oxygen species ( ROS), and decreasing Ca2+, and adenosine triphosphate levels in spermatozoa. Moreover, short-term exposure of spermatozoa to sodium nitroprusside increased the tyrosine phosphorylation of sperm proteins involved in PKA-dependent regulation of intracellular calcium levels, which induced a robust AR. Finally, sodium nitroprusside significantly decreased the rates of fertilization and blastocyst formation during embryo development. Based on these results, we propose that sodium nitroprusside increases ROS production and precocious AR may alter overall sperm physiology, leading to poor fertilization and compromised embryonic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesions of Behçet's disease (BD) show vascular infiltrates of immune cells expressing integrins. β2 integrins (CD11/CD18) play a major role in cell migration to the inflammatory lesion and also induce cytokine production. Thus, genetic polymorphisms of CD11/CD18 may be associated with the pathogenesis of BD. In this study, nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the CD11a, CD11c, and CD18 were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and haplotype analysis in 305 BD patients and 266 healthy controls. The frequencies of genotype rs11574944 CC and haplotype rs11574944C-rs2230433G-rs8058823A in CD11a were significantly lower in BD patients. The frequencies of genotype rs2230429 CC, rs2929 GG, and haplotype rs2230429C-rs2929G in CD11c were higher in BD patients. The frequencies of genotype rs235326CC and haplotype rs2070946A-rs235326C-rs760456G-rs684G in CD18 were significantly higher in the BD patients than in the controls. Other SNPs in CD11a, CD11c, and CD18 gene were not significantly different. Therefore, the major genotype and haplotype of CD11a/CD18 may play a role in decreasing the susceptibility of BD, whereas the major genotype and haplotype of CD11c/CD18 may play a role in increasing the susceptibility of BD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A formula for the optimal relation between the width of a planar conductor (w0), the total width of parallel straight planar conductors (W), and the number of the parallel conductors (N) for the minimum ohmic resistance is presented. The formula is verified for the frequency range between 2 and 27.12 MHz according to N by using the finite element method. By experimentation, it is also shown that the proposed formula can be applied to design low‐loss circular planar coils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The main goal of this study was to develop a multiparametric cell population data ( CPD) model that combines information from several morphologic parameters generated by DxH800, in addition to the traditional parameters regularly reported in the CBC-diff, and to test the performance of this model in screening the general population for primary tuberculosis ( TB). Methods A total of 3741 study cases were divided into two groups, test and validation set at cut-off value of 6000 WBCs/μL. We developed multiparametric model for primary TB screening ( TB hemeprint), selected CPD, and calculated parameters which could discriminate primary TB from other non- TB diseases and normal control in test set. We applied it to the validation set, which was a set of completely different samples, to test its reproducibility if applied to a routine laboratory test. Results After screening primary TB using TB hemeprint, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 85.4%, 89.6%, 31.1%, and 99.1%, respectively, in primary TB with lower than 6000 WBCs/μL of test set (test set-L). In primary TB with higher than 6000 WBCs/μL of test set (test set-H), those values were 83.1%, 85.6%, 29.7%, and 98.6%, respectively. There were only 0.4% (2/461) and 0.6% (2/326) of normal control samples included in test set-L and -H, respectively. Diagnostic efficiencies except sensitivity in each validation set were very comparable with those in each test set. Conclusion Tuberculosis hemeprint may allow us to screen primary TB with acceptable sensitivity and specificity using combination of TB-specific CPD and calculated parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To assess the antibacterial efficacy of a human β-defensin-3 ( HBD3) peptide against Enterococcus faecalis biofilms. Methodology Standardized human dentine blocks were infected with E. faecalis ATCC 29212 for 3 weeks. Aqueous calcium hydroxide paste ( n = 12, CH), a 2% chlorhexidine gel ( n = 12, CHX), an HBD3 peptide gel ( n = 12) and saline ( n = 12) were tested as experimental groups. A mismatched peptide gel group ( n = 12, MP) and sterilized but noninoculated block group ( n = 12) were included as controls. After 1 week of medication, the dentinal samples at the depth of 200 and 400 μm were collected from medicated canal lumens. Bacterial growth was assessed by spectrophotometric analysis of optical density ( OD) after 72 h of incubation. Statistical analysis was performed with repeated-measures anova and Tukey's post hoc test. Results The HBD3 group was associated with significantly lower OD values ( P < 0.05) than the CH or CHX groups at both depths. The CH group did not differ significantly from MP or Saline group at either depth ( P > 0.05). There was no significant difference ( P > 0.05) in the OD values of the inner (200 μm) and outer (400 μm) dentinal samples for any group. Conclusions The HBD3 peptide inhibited the growth of E. faecalis biofilms in infected dentine blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The utility of WBC cell population data (CPD) for the differential diagnosis of viral infection from normal control, bacterial infection, and tuberculosis in children was investigated. Methods: A data set of 602 total whole-blood samples were analyzed on the DxH 800 System for complete blood cell count (CBC) with leukocyte differential from children with the following sample breakdown: 77 confirmed diagnoses of viral infections (Epstein-Barr virus; 30, influenza A; 19, rota virus; 11, other viruses;17), 54 normal control, 71 bacterial infection, 17 TB patients, and 383 with various diseases. The mean (MN) and standard deviation (SD) of the volume (V), conductivity (C), five light-scatter measurements, and 14 calculated parameters were obtained for the leukocytes. Results: Using a combination of the CBC and CPD parameter values, a decision rule, composed of 21 parameters, for the screening of viral infection in children was developed. Using this decision rule, 74 of 77 (96.1%) viral infections, two of 54 (3.7%) normal samples, one of 17 (5.9%) TB, and six of 71 (8.5%) bacterial infection samples were identified. The sensitivity was 96.1%, and specificity for normal control was 96.3% with an overall specificity of 93.7%. Fifty-nine samples of 383 samples (15.4%) collected from in-patient children with various diseases without confirmation of viral infection were included in this decision rule. Conclusion: In conclusion, the implementation of leukocytes CPD parameters can be useful in the detection of viral infection in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Introduction: Plasmodium vivax malaria is one of the most important infectious diseases plaguing humanity and causes significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. The gold standard of P. vivax malaria diagnosis is the microscopy of blood smears. Although microscopy is a rapid, cost-effective, and readily applicable method, it has many disadvantages, including low sensitivity, specificity, and precision. Therefore, there is a clear need for an effective screening test for P. vivax malaria detection both in high-prevalence areas and developed countries. Methods: A total of 1761 complete blood count (CBC) samples generated by the automated hematology analyzer (DxH 800™; Beckman Coulter Inc., Miami, FL, USA) were retrospectively analyzed. The sample pool contained 123 samples from 52 P. vivax malaria patients and 1504 nonmalarial samples including 509 patients with leukopenia (white blood cell <2000/μL) and 134 normal subjects. Results: The P. vivax malaria samples exhibited easily recognizable typical malaria signals on the nucleated red blood cell (nRBC) plots (sensitivity 100%) in DxH 800™. All 1504 samples without P. vivax infection were negative for malaria signal (specificity 100%). The size of P. vivax malaria signals correlated roughly with the parasite burden. Conclusion: DxH800™ provides very sensitive and specific, easily recognizable P. vivax malaria signals on routine CBC without need for the additional reagents or special procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precipitation-induced overland and groundwater flow and mixing processes are quantified to analyze the temporal (event and pre-event water) and spatial (groundwater discharge and overland runoff) origins of water entering a stream. Using a distributed-parameter control volume finite-element simulator that can simultaneously solve the fully coupled partial differential equations describing 2-D Manning and 3-D Darcian flow and advective-dispersive transport, mechanical flow (driven by hydraulic potential) and tracer-based hydrograph separation (driven by dispersive mixing as well as mechanical flow) are simulated in response to precipitation events in two cross sections oriented parallel and perpendicular to a stream. The results indicate that as precipitation becomes more intense, the subsurface mechanical flow contributions tend to become less significant relative to the total pre-event stream discharge. Hydrodynamic mixing can play an important role in enhancing pre-event tracer signals in the stream. This implies that temporally tagged chemical signals introduced into surface-subsurface flow systems from precipitation may not be strong enough to detect the changes in the subsurface flow system. It is concluded that diffusive/dispersive mixing, capillary fringe groundwater ridging, and macropore flow can influence the temporal sources of water in the stream, but any sole mechanism may not fully explain the strong pre-event water discharge. Further investigations of the influence of heterogeneity, residence time, geomorphology, and root zone processes are required to confirm the conclusions of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We determined the utility of leukocyte cell population data (CPD) for the screening of sepsis and fungemia. Blood culture-positive CBC samples, 117 bacteremia and 27 fungemia, and 134 CBC samples from healthy controls were analyzed using the DxH800 and CPD of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes were analyzed. Immature granulocytes (IG) were counted using Sysmex XE-2100. The neutrophils and monocytes volume were increased significantly, and the neutrophils light scattering values were reduced significantly in the sepsis samples. ROC curves evidenced excellent sensitivity in the lymphocyte SD parameters (sensitivity 78-89%, specificity 78-87%), monocytes volume (at 177.5, sensitivity 88.2% specificity 87.3%), and monocytes volume SD (at 22.16, sensitivity 93.1% specificity 91.0%) for sepsis. The IG value was significantly higher in sepsis and the ROC curve evidenced a sensitivity of 82.8% and a specificity of 90.8% for sepsis. Only lower angle light scatter of lymphocytes SD value evidenced good sensitivity and specificity in the discrimination of fungemia from bacteremia (sensitivity 74.1%, specificity 72.4% at 12.6). Many of the leukocyte CPD have been identified as useful parameters of sepsis. Hopefully, these parameters can ultimately be incorporated into a decision rule for the screening of sepsis samples and to discriminate fungemia from bacteremia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With 7 figures and 6 tables Garlic is widely consumed for its culinary and medical benefits. Six hundred and thirteen accessions of garlic and its relatives with diverse origin were evaluated for genetic diversity at eight recently novel simple sequence repeat loci in this study. A total of 113 alleles were detected, the average allelic richness was 14.1 alleles per locus. Using a heuristic approach, a core set of 95 accessions was successfully developed, which showed 100% coverage of alleles with minimum redundancy. The model‐based structure analysis here revealed the presence of four subpopulations in the selected core set, which was basically consistent with clustering based on the genetic distance. The analysis of molecular variance based on this core set showed that between‐population component of genetic variance is <15.6% in contrast to 84.4% for the within population component. Overall FST value was 0.1560, indicating a moderate differentiation among the four groups. These results will provide an effective aid for future allele mining, association genetics, mapping and cloning gene(s), germplasm conservation, and improvement programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity, population structure and linkage disequilibrium (LD) of weedy rice in Korea using 73 weedy rice, 24 landrace lines, 12 breeding lines and 24 international varieties. In total, 772 alleles were detected in 63 microsatellite loci. The number of alleles per marker locus ranged from two to 40, with an average of 12.3. The gene diversity and polymorphism information content value averaged 0.694 and 0.668, with a range of 0.016-0.941 and 0.016-0.946 respectively. In a model-based analysis of population structure, Korean rice germplasm was classified into four subpopulations, designated 'cultivated indica', 'cultivated japonica', 'weedy indica', 'weedy japonica.' Pair-wise estimates of FST indicated different degrees of differentiation between the four model-based populations, with values ranging from 0.073 (between cultivated and weedy japonica) to 0.474 (between weedy japonica and weedy indica). The weedy indica population appeared to be highly differentiated, compared with the other populations. The cultivated indica lines had the highest gene diversity (0.58), followed by cultivated japonica (0.50), weedy japonica (0.42) and weedy indica (0.35). The total number of private alleles in weedy indica and japonica populations was 39 (23 markers) and 55 (22 markers) respectively. The average of LD (r2) of weedy indica and japonica types was higher than that of the two cultivated populations, both for inter- and intrachromosome values, indicating the possible reproductive and geographical isolation of sub-populations in cultivated rice fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproductive activities of many fish species are, to some extent, entrained to cues from the moon. During the spawning season, synchronous spawning is repeated at intervals of c. 1 month (lunar spawning cycle) and 2 weeks (semi-lunar spawning cycle) or daily according to tidal changes (tidal spawning cycle). In species showing lunar-related spawning cycles, oocytes in the ovary develop towards and mature around a specific moon phase for lunar spawners, around spring tides for semi-lunar spawners and at daytime high tides for tidal spawners. The production of sex steroid hormones also changes in accordance with synchronous oocyte development. Since the production of the steroid hormones with lunar-related reproductive periodicity is regulated by gonadotropins, it is considered that the higher parts of the hypothalamus–pituitary–gonad axis play important roles in the perception and regulation of lunar-related periodicity. It is likely that fishes perceive cues from the moon by sensory organs; however, it is still unknown how lunar cues are transduced as an endogenous rhythm exerting lunar-related spawning rhythmicity. Recent research has revealed that melatonin fluctuated according to the brightness at night, magnetic fields and the tidal cycle. In addition, cyclic changes in hydrostatic pressure had an effect on monoamine contents in the brain. These factors may be indirectly related to the exertion of lunar-related periodicity. Molecular approaches have revealed that mRNA expressions of light-sensitive clock genes change with moonlight, suggesting that brightness at night plays a role in phase-shifting or resetting of biological clocks. Some species may have evolved biological clocks in relation to lunar cycles, although it is still not known how lunar periodicities are endogenously regulated in fishes. This review demonstrates that lunar-related periodicity is utilized and incorporated by ecological and physiological mechanisms governing the reproductive success of fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective calculation method for AC resistance and the inductance of planar rectangular spiral coils is proposed. For the calculation, a volume filament model and its equivalent circuit are provided. By using the method, AC resistance and inductance are calculated accurately in megahertz frequency range by including both skin and proximity effects. The method is verified with experiments and used to optimise rectangular spiral coils for the maximum quality factor (Q‐factor) at 6.78 MHz. A small planar rectangular coil is shown to have the maximum Q‐factor when the width of the innermost coil loop is about a half of that of the outermost coil loop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on thermal transport models in a surface/subsurface framework. Thermal energy transport exchange is relevant to determine ecosystem health and water resources management. To be able to address the issue of simulating thermal energy transport exchange processes, the transport model HydroGeoSphere was enhanced. It notes that the HydroGeoSphere became successful in matching the spatial variations in the thermal patterns observed in the riverbed, surface and groundwater.

A letter to the editor is presented which discusses the use of mucoperiosteal rotating flap as a surgical technique for repairing an anterior near-total perforation of the nasal septum.

A transposon mutant library was constructed from the bacterial blight pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv . oryzae ( Xoo) KACC10331 by Tn5 transposon mutagenesis. The susceptible rice cultivar Milyang 23 was inoculated with a total of 24 540 mutants resistant to kanamycin and 67 avirulent or reduced-pathogenicity mutant strains were selected for study. Southern hybridization verified that 84 mutant strains had single-copy insertions and their single-transposon insertion sites were identified by sequencing analysis combined with thermal asymmetric interlaced (TAIL)-PCR. The single-transposon-tagged sequences of 21 mutant strains belonged to pathogenicity-related genes previously reported in Xanthomonas species, while the other 46 single-transposon-tagged sequences included diverse functional genes encoding, five cell-wall-degrading enzymes, three fimbrial and flagella assembly regulators, five regulatory proteins, 15 metabolic regulators and 18 hypothetical proteins, which were identified as novel pathogenicity genes of Xoo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of conservative geochemical and isotopic tracers along with mass balance equations to determine the pre-event groundwater contributions to streamflow during a rainfall event is widely used for hydrograph separation; however, aspects related to the influence of surface and subsurface mixing processes on the estimates of the pre-event contribution remain poorly understood. Moreover, the lack of a precise definition of 'pre-event' versus 'event' contributions on the one hand and 'old' versus 'new' water components on the other hand has seemingly led to confusion within the hydrologic community about the role of Darcian-based groundwater flow during a storm event. In this work, a fully integrated surface and subsurface flow and solute transport model is used to analyze flow system dynamics during a storm event, concomitantly with advective-dispersive tracer transport, and to investigate the role of hydrodynamic mixing processes on the estimates of the pre-event component. A number of numerical experiments are presented, including an analysis of a controlled rainfall-runoff experiment, that compare the computed Darcian-based groundwater fluxes contributing to streamflow during a rainfall event with estimates of these contributions based on a tracer-based separation. It is shown that hydrodynamic mixing processes can dramatically influence estimates of the pre-event water contribution estimated by a tracer-based separation. Specifically, it is demonstrated that the actual amount of bulk flowing groundwater contributing to streamflow may be much smaller than the quantity indirectly estimated from a separation based on tracer mass balances, even if the mixing processes are weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recognition of certain limitations of ex situ methods for conservation of plant genetic resources the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the ‘Earth Summit’ in 1992 highlighted the importance of traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities that are relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and gave considerable attention to on-farm and other forms of in situ conservation. Unlike semi-static nature of ex situ conservation the in situ or on-farm conservation (OFC) is a dynamic evolutionary process. In developing countries like Republic of Korea, where there is a continuum between the use of traditional and modern cultivars, integration of OFC with already existing gene-bank activities in the country will be an effective approach for conservation and sustainable use of the country's crop genetic resources. However, very little efforts have been made so far in developing strategies for OFC, therefore, in this paper we describe the importance of OFC and strategies for its development in Republic of Korea. Surveys over the last 20 years have shown that the landraces of major crops have been almost replaced by newly bred varieties in the country. But some vegetatively propagated or minor crop species are still being maintained in the farmers’ fields. We have identified crop landraces, which can be classified into four different categories from the OFC point of view. These are vegetatively propagated landraces, sexually reproduced landraces, landraces with improved varieties and landraces cultivated for the reasons of personal preference. The related issues on OFC including implementation methods from the point of national cooperative system in designated specific condition are also discussed to ensure the genetic diversity in the fast changing agro-ecosystem of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined whether the common polymorphisms of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) gene are associated with Type 2 diabetes or obesity in the Korean population. We genotyped two common PPARγ polymorphisms (Pro12Ala and 161C > T) and examined their association with the clinical phenotypes found in 684 patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and 291 non-diabetic control subjects. The 12Ala allele was less frequent in the Type 2 diabetic patients than in the non-diabetic control subjects (0.036 vs. 0.053, P = 0.024). The allele frequencies of the 161C > T polymorphism did not differ between the control and Type 2 diabetic group (0.158 vs. 0.173). In the non-diabetic controls, those with the T allele had lower BMI and fasting serum triglyceride (TG) concentrations than those with the C/C homozygote (22.7 ± 2.9 vs. 23.8 ± 3.2 kg/m2, P = 0.002; 1.45 ± 0.81 vs. 1.65 ± 0.83 mmol/l, P = 0.03, respectively). The 12Ala-161T haplotype was associated with a decreased risk for Type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.47, P = 0.009), whereas the 12Pro-161T haplotype was associated with lower BMI and lower fasting serum TG (22.5 ± 2.8 vs. 23.7 ± 3.2 kg/m2, P = 0.004; 1.41 ± 0.87 vs. 1.64 ± 0.79 mmol/l, P = 0.02, respectively). The PPARγ 12Ala allele was associated with a reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes, whereas the PPARγ 161T allele was associated with lower BMI and fasting serum TG concentrations in the Korean subjects. The subjects with 12Ala-161T haplotypes had a reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes. Diabet. Med. 22, 1161–1166 (2005) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate any association between Type 2 diabetes mellitus and two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the adiponectin gene, T45G and G276T, in the Korean population.We genotyped 427 non-diabetic controls and 493 Type 2 diabetic patients for SNPs T45G and G276T of adiponectin gene, measured plasma adiponectin concentrations, and examined clinical parameters in Koreans.There were no statistically significant differences in allele frequencies of SNPs 45 and 276 comparing control with Type 2 diabetic subjects (T frequency 68.3% vs. 71.6%,P = 0.13 for SNP45, G frequency 72.2% vs. 68.9%,P = 0.12 for SNP276). The genotype distributions of these SNPs had no association with the risk of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic parameters of insulin resistance. Plasma levels of adiponectin were not statistically different according to T45G and G276T either, in both control and Type 2 diabetic subjects.The T45G and G276T of the adiponectin gene may not be an important determinant of Type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance in Korean subjects.Diabet. Med. 22, 569–575 (2005) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transition probability and Markov chain geostatistical approach is applied to synthesize the discrete permeability structure of moderately fractured rock. The approach can infuse either hard or subjective categorical information that is consistent with geological interpretations. The methodology is tested using data collected from the Moderately Fractured Rock (MFR) experiment area of the Underground Research Laboratory (URL) in southeastern Manitoba, Canada. Attributes pertaining to fracture location, frequency, and orientation along an array of boreholes intersecting the MFR experiment area, taken together with results from hydraulic response tests within packed-off intervals along the boreholes, are used to produce conditional stochastic realizations of hydraulic conductivity and effective porosity. Using the generated hydraulic conductivity and porosity realizations, we compare predicted tracer concentrations to the results of measured breakthrough data in a stochastic framework. The results show that solute migration behavior in moderately fractured rock can be successfully characterized and reasonably predicted upon careful error analysis of the results obtained from the various medium realizations synthesized from the conditional categorical descriptions of the fractured crystalline rock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated five single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) promoter, the distribution of five-locus TNF-α haplotypes, and extended human leukocyte antigen (HLA)/TNF-α haplotypes in 200 parents from 100 unrelated Korean families. TNF-α SNPs were typed using polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. The frequencies of −1031C, −863A, −857T, −308A, and −238A alleles were 0.185, 0.145, 0.140, 0.060, and 0.040, respectively. The allele frequencies in Koreans were similar to those of Japanese. A total of five TNF-α haplotypes (−1031/−863/−857/−308/−238) were detected in 196 parents: TCCGG (frequency 0.617), CACGG (0.143), TCTGG (0.143), TCCAG (0.061), and CCCGA (0.036). Five most common extended HLA/TNF-α haplotypes (frequencies >0.020) accounted for 16% (63/392) of the total haplotypes. A total of 223 HLA haplotypes and 239 HLA/TNF-α haplotypes were detected, indicating that most HLA haplotypes are exclusively associated with particular TNF-α haplotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sinus tenderness has not been quantitatively assessed. Objective: We sought to compare sinus and systemic tenderness in rhinosinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and healthy (non-CFS) groups. Methods: Cutaneous pressures (kg/cm2) causing pain at 5 sinus and 18 systemic sites were measured in acute and chronic rhinosinusitis, active allergic rhinitis, healthy non-CFS/no rhinosinusitis, and CFS subjects. Results: Sinus thresholds differed significantly (P ≤ 10−11, ANOVA) between non-CFS/no rhinosinusitis (1.59 ± 0.14 kg/cm2, mean ± 95% CI, n = 117), allergic rhinitis (1.19 ± 0.31, n = 30), exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis (1.25 ± 0.26, n = 25), non-CFS/chronic rhinosinusitis (1.23 ± 0.27, n = 23), acute rhinosinusitis (1.10 ± 0.20, n = 22), CFS/no rhinosinusitis (0.98 ± 0.15, n = 70), and CFS/chronic rhinosinusitis (0.78 ± 0.12, n = 56). Systemic pressure thresholds were lower for CFS (1.46 ± 0.15) than for non-CFS (2.67 ± 0.22, P ≤ 10−11). Conclusions: The lower sinus thresholds of rhinosinusitis groups validated the sign of sinus tenderness. Sinus and systemic thresholds were both 44% lower in CFS than in non-CFS subjects, suggesting that systemic hyperalgesia contributed to CFS sinus tenderness and “rhinosinusitis” complaints. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2002;127:387-97.) [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary objective This study was designed to investigate whether an elevated serum antithyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) reflects cancer recurrence in thyroglobulin (Tg)-undetectable patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) after thyroid ablation. design We measured serum TgAb level and evaluated the disease status in 226 DTC patients who had undergone remnant ablation and showed an undetectable Tg result as assessed by immunoradiometric assay. measurements Radioligand assay of TgAb was performed. Recurrence was assessed by 131 I scan, 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, sonography, computed tomography, or by surgical operation. results Fifty-one patients (22·6%) of the Tg-undetectable patients showed positive TgAb, and 25 (49·0%) of these were confirmed with recurrence. The recurrence rate of TgAb-positive patients was higher than that of TgAb-negative patients (3·4%; P < 0·0001). During follow-up, 73·1% of the disease-free patients showed spontaneously decreased TgAb levels. A total of 71·4% of patients with recurrent cancer, who showed responses to surgical operation or radio-iodine treatment, also showed a decreased TgAb level. conclusions Persistently elevated TgAb levels appear to serve as a useful marker for recurrent or persistent DTC in patients with undetectable serum Tg results. Thus, the routine measurement of TgAb in such patient populations may be indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The constituents of nasal mucus may be contaminated by plasma if there is epistaxis. Gross epistaxis is apparent as a red lavage fluid, while microepistaxis may yield a clear fluid. If gross or microepistaxis are present, it will be difficult to decide whether plasma protein concentrations are elevated because of plasma exudation or bleeding. In order to discriminate between these two possibilities, we measured erythrocyte-derived free hemoglobin (fHb) in nasal lavage fluids. Methods: Single-blinded subjects underwent standard hypertonic saline nasal provocation. Unilateral hypertonic nasal provocation was performed in normal, allergic rhinitis (AR) and nonallergic rhinitis (NAR) subjects (total of 1316 specimens). fHb was measured using the Sigma-Aldrich kit (St. Louis, MO). Grossly bloody specimens were analyzed separately from the remainder. Statistical analysis defined the means and 95th percentiles for fHb and albumin in the nonbloody normal group. Results: fHb concentrations ranged from below the limits of detection (< 1 µg/ml) to > 164 µg/ml fHb was 79.3 µg/ml ± 4.7 (mean ± SEM) in four normal, 31 AR and 25 NAR grossly bloody specimens. The 95th percentile of fHb in the nonbloody normal samples (n = 68 subjects, n = 681 specimens) was 16.5 µg/ml. This value was defined as the threshold to detect potential microepistaxis, and corresponded to approximately 245 000 erythrocytes per ml of lavage fluid. Total protein (P < 0.05) and albumin (P < 0.001), but not markers of glandular secretion, were significantly increased in samples with fHb > 16.5 µg/ml compared to those ≤ 16.5 µg/ml. Elevations of fHb without changes in albumin were more prevalent in nonallergic rhinitis. Conclusions: Significant bleeding into nasal lavage samples can contaminate the specimens and increase the concentrations of both fHb and plasma proteins. Increased albumin alone would indicate increased vascular... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biological effects of drug-loaded biodegradable novel membrane for guided bone regeneration (GBR) was evaluated .The membranes were polyglycolic acid mesh coated with poly-L--lactic acid containing flurbiprofen, tetracycline or PDGF-BB Porous structure was generated in the membranes by using a phase inversion method The membrane was less toxic, nicely biodegradable and biocompatible for 8 wk after implantation in the dorsal skin of the rat. The drugs released from the membranes were shown to be effective for new bone formation. Tetracycline, flurbiprofen or PDGF-BB loaded membrane was markedly effective for osteoid tissue and new bone formation in the bony defect prepared in rat calvaria to compare with that by unloaded membrane. These results suggested that drug-loaded biodegradable harrier membrane might be a potential tool for GBR in periodontal therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the use of a temperature sensor that would detect temperature changes during the respiratory cycle in the pharynx, electrical stimulation of the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle was achieved in dogs whose recurrent laryngeal nerves were artificially paralyzed. Due to the temperature difference between inspiratory and expiratory air flow, a trigger pulse was generated at the beginning of inspiration. The stimulation pulse following the trigger pulse stimulated the electrodes inserted into the posterior cricoarytenoid muscles. In all five canines, obvious abduction of the vocal folds synchronized with inspiration was observed during electrical pacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A planar coil of multiple loops connected in series and in parallel is proposed for wireless power transfer (WPT). The current direction in each loop is mixed in forward and in reverse. The proposed coil gives uniform mutual inductance and enables simple impedance matching for free‐positioning WPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have identified a new HLA-B*15 allele and a new HLA-DRB1*12 allele, named B*1568 and DRB1*1208, respectively. The alleles were identified using a combination of sequence specific primers, reverse line sequence specific oligonucleotide probing and sequence-based typing. Both alleles were identified in a single individual of Korean origin. HLA-B*1568 appears to be an HLA-B*4801/B*1507 hybrid combining the exon 2 sequence of B*4801 and the exon 3 and 4 sequences of B*1507. Exon 2 of DRB1*1208 was most similar to DRB1*1201 or 1206, with a single mismatch at nucleotide position 165 (A to C). At the protein level, this substitution results in a phenylalanine substitution at position 26 that creates an identical amino acid sequence to DRB3*0202 between amino acid positions 17 and 36. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the display technologies using colloidal quantum dot (QD) materials have become one of the most important technologies in the display industry. But, the organic charge transport layer for quantum dot-light-emitting diode (QD-LED) can cause the device stability issues. In this article, we describe the QD-LED devices with inorganic charge transport layer and the solution-based oxide thin-film transistor (TFT) using non-thermal treatment. And we also show the active matrix driving using both technologies simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]