A Novel Visual Saliency Detection Method Using Motion Segmentation

Man Hua,Yanling Li 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of Multimedia and Ubiquitous Vol.11 No.5

In this paper, we propose a novel visual saliency detection method using motion segmentation. We group the corner point trajectories using a two stage clustering algorithm. The most stable trajectories are pre-clustered using mean shift in the first stage. Then, we propose an unsupervised clustering method to cluster the trajectories and detect the number of motions automatic. At last, the motion saliency map is generated with the segmented spare feature points. Experimental results show that our proposed method is capable of achieving both good accurate and the stable performance.

Investigation of Interleukin-10 Promoter Polymorphisms and Interleukin-10 Levels in Children with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

( Man Chin Hua ),( Hsun Chin Chao ),( Tsung Chieh Yao ),( Ming Wei Lai ),( Jing Long Huang ),( The Patch Study Group ) 대한소화기학회 2013 Gut and Liver Vol.7 No.4

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate whether genetic variations at positions -1082, -819, and 592 in the interleukin (IL)-10 promoter affect IL-10 production in children with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Methods: Ninety-four children with IBS and 102 children as healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. Genomic DNA was extracted, and IL-10 -1082, -819, and -592 polymorphisms were detected by direct sequencing from all participants. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 46 IBS children and 38 HCs were isolated and cultured with and without 5 ng/mL Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS). IL-10 levels in the culture supernatants were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: There were no significant differences in the distribution of IL-10 -1082, -819, and -592 polymorphisms or in the allele and haplotype frequencies between IBS children and HCs. PBMCs from children with IBS had significantly lower IL-10 levels after LPS stimulation than PBMCs from HCs (p=0.011); however, LPS-induced IL-10 levels in PBMCs with different genotypes of -819 and 592 polymorphisms were not significantly different between IBS patients and HCs. Conclusions: Although significantly lower LPS-induced IL-10 production by PBMCs was noted, it is unlikely that IL-10 production was fully genetically determined in our IBS children. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01131442. (Gut Liver 2013; 7:430-436)

Influence of carbonitriding on microstructure, residual stress and mechanical properties of graded cemented carbides

Man Feng Gong,Jian Chen,Qiang Guo Jiang,Shang Hua Wu 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2016 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.17 No.3

The influences of carbonitriding treatment on the microstructure, residual stress and mechanical properties of Ti-containingcemented carbides are investigated. Three powder compacts of WC-7.0Co-2.0Ni-3.0Mo-0.5TiC cemented carbides were liquidphase sintered in vacuum at 1,300 oC for 1h. Three specimens with cobalt-enriched surface layers were obtained. They weresubsequently carbonized by a post-sintering heat treatment process in nitrogen. The carbonitriding treatment results in theformation of fine-grained TiN phases and N-diamond C phases in situ on their surfaces. X-ray diffraction spectrums revealtheir differences in the grain size and forming phases of the Ti-containing phases for cemented carbides before and aftercarbonitriding treatment. This method can reduce the grain size of Ti-containing hard phase and increase microstrains in it. To analyze the residual stress, the specimen before and after carbonitriding was measured by recording the peak positions foreach 2θ at five different tilt angles (ψ = 0 o,20.7 o, 30 o, 37.8 oand 45 o) by a X-ray diffractometer. The microstructure anddefects of cemented carbides were investigated by SEM before and after the carbonitriding treatment. It is concluded that:(1) high bond strength between the Ti-containing skin and the WC-Co substrate, (2) high wear resistance of the Ti-containing skinafter carbonitriding, (3) compression stress state existing in Ti-containing skin, (4) the technology of carbonitriding treatmentcontributes to form an aesthetic Ti-containing skin in the surface of cemented carbides and improve its wear resistance.

Prodomain Processing of Recombinant Plasmepsin II and IV, the Aspartic Proteases of Plasmodium falciparum, Is Auto- and Trans-Catalytic

Man Kim, Yong,Hyang Lee, Mi,Gwang Piao, Tae,Wha Lee, John,Ho Kim, Jong,Lee, SungGa,Min Choi, Kyung,Hua Jiang, Jing,Ue Kim, Tae,Park, Hyun Japanese Biochemical Society 2006 The Journal of biochemistry Vol.139 No.2

<P>Prodomain processing of the four food vacuole plasmepsins (PMs), the malarial aspartic proteases, is prerequisite for their activity on hemoglobin degradation of the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Although previous studies have suggested the involvement of a calpain-like PM convertase in the processing of PMs, the underlying mechanism of their processing remains to be clarified. Here, to investigate the mechanism by which food vacuole PM II and IV are processed, we used their wild-type and mutant proteins in which the catalytic Asp residue in two active-site motifs was mutated, as well as protease inhibitors. Autocatalytic processing of wild-type PM II and IV was inhibited only by an aspartic protease inhibitor pepstatin A. Unexpectedly, their proteolytic activities were inhibited not only by pepstatin A but also by calpain inhibitor ALLN. The active-site mutants of both PM II and IV showed neither autocatalytic processing nor proteolytic activities. However, the mutants of both PMs were efficiently processed upon incubation with their respective wild type proteins. Furthermore, the mutants of both PMs were processed upon incubation with each other's wild-type PM in both pepstatin A- and ALLN-sensitive manners. These results suggest that the processing of PM II and IV occurs via an intra- and inter-molecular autocatalytic event as well as via a transcatalytic event between them.</P>

Associations of HSP90AA2 gene polymorphisms with disease susceptibility, glucocorticoids efficacy and health-related quality of life in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus patients

Man Zhang,Su‑Su Li,Qiao‑Mei Xie,Jian‑Hua Xu,Xiu‑Xiu Sun,Fa‑Ming Pan,Sheng‑Qian Xu,Sheng‑Xiu Liu,Jin‑Hui Tao,Shuang Liu,Jing Cai,Pei‑Ling Chen,Long Qian,Chun‑Huai Wang,Chun‑Mei Liang,Hai‑Liang Huang,Ha 한국유전학회 2018 Genes & Genomics Vol.40 No.10

Although the current glucocorticoids (GCs) treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is effective to a certain extent, the difference in therapeutic effect between patients is still a widespread problem. Some patients can have repeated attacks that greatly diminish their quality of life. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between HSP90AA2 polymorphisms and disease susceptibility, GCs efficacy and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Chinese SLE patients. A case–control study was performed in 470 SLE patients and 470 normal controls. Then, 444 patients in the case group were followed up for 12 weeks to observe efficacy of GCs and improvement of HRQoL. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of HSP90AA2 were selected for genotyping: rs1826330 and rs6484340. HRQoL was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. The minor T allele of rs1826330 and the TT haplotype formed by rs1826330 and rs6484340 showed associations with decreased SLE risk (T allele: PBH = 0.022; TT haplotype: PBH = 0.033). A significant association between rs6484340 and improvement of HRQoL was revealed in the follow-up study. Five subscales of SF-36 were appeared to be influenced by rs6484340: total score of SF-36 (additive model: PBH = 0.026), physical function (additive model: PBH = 0.026), rolephysical (recessive model: PBH = 0.041), mental health (dominant model: PBH = 0.047), and physical component summary (additive model: PBH = 0.026). No statistical significance was found between HSP90AA2 gene polymorphisms and GCs efficacy. These results revealed a genetic association between HSP90AA2 and SLE. Remarkably, HSP90AA2 has an impact on the improvement of HRQoL in Chinese population with SLE.

Understanding Taiwanese Women's Decisional Experiences Regarding Prenatal Screening Procedures And Diagnostics: A Phenomenological Study

Mei-Man Chen,Bi-Hua Cheng 한국간호과학회 2020 Asian Nursing Research Vol.14 No.4

Purpose: This study sought to understand Taiwanese women’s decisional experiences regarding prenatalscreening procedures and diagnostics. Methods: A hermeneutic phenomenological design guided semistructured interviews with 33 womenwho were 36 weeks pregnant. Data were collected between February and October 2016. Verbatimtranscripts were analyzed following hermeneutic circle to cocreate an understanding of Taiwanesewomen’s decision-making in prenatal screening and diagnostics. Results: Women’s existential experiences were derived from their decision-making process on prenatalscreening procedures and diagnostics for chromosomal aneuploidy. These decisional experiences werecaptured by four theme clusters and eight themes, which were inductively derived from 16 meaningunits: (1) accessing health information; (2) considering what was best for my baby; (3) consideringfamily finance; and (4) feeling anxiety posttest. Conclusion: Participants made informed choices on several prenatal screening procedures, ostensibly,based on their personal values and considerations. During the decision-making process, often-citedbenefits of genetic screenings were emphasized, but test limitations were often unheeded. A fundamentalneed for supportive information in decision making was further identified with recommendedstrategies. Hence, a revision of traditional genetic counseling approaches is recommended. As genomicstechnologies are increasingly available during antenatal services, women should be sufficiently educatedabout them to support decision making.

Quantitative Evaluation of Viability- and Apoptosis-Related Genes in Ascaris suum Eggs under Different Culture-Temperature Conditions

Yong-Man Yu,You-Hang Cho,Young-Nam Youn,Juan Hua Quan,In-Wook Choi,Young-Ha Lee 대한기생충학열대의학회 2012 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.50 No.3

Ascaris suum eggs are inactivated by composting conditions; however, it is difficult to find functional changes in heat-treated A. suum eggs. Here, unembryonated A. suum eggs were incubated at 20˚C, 50˚C, and 70˚C in vitro, and the gene expression levels related to viability, such as eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (IF4E), phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK1), and thioredoxin 1 (TRX1), and to apoptosis, such as apoptosis-inducing factor 1 (AIF1) and cell death protein 6 (CDP6), were evaluated by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. No prominent morphological alterations were noted in the eggs at 20˚C until day 10. In contrast, the eggs developed rapidly, and embryonated eggs and hatched larvae began to die, starting on day 2 at 50˚C and day 1 at 70˚C. At 20˚C, IF4E, PFK1, and TRX1 mRNA expression was significantly increased from days 2-4; however, AIF1 and CDP6 mRNA expression was not changed significantly. IF4E, PFK1, and TRX1 mRNA expression was markedly decreased from day 2 at 50˚C and 70˚C, whereas AIF1 and CDP6 mRNA expression was significantly increased. The expressions of HSP70 and HSP90 were detected for 9-10 days at 20˚C, for 3-5 days at 50˚C, and for 2 days at 70˚C. Taken together, incremental heat increases were associated with the rapid development of A. suum eggs, decreased expression of genes related to viability, and earlier expression of apoptosis-related genes, and finally these changes of viability- and apoptosis-related genes of A. suum eggs were associated with survival of the eggs under temperature stress.

The Pedagogical Effects of Lexical Chunks on Chinese EFL Learners’ Writing Proficiency

Jian-hua Liu,Seung-Man Kang 한국중원언어학회 2021 언어학연구 Vol.0 No.58

This paper probes into the impact of lexical chunks explicitly learned from English news supplementaries on Chinese EFL learners’ writing proficiency via a survey among 63 non-English major freshmen. For the survey, we have divided them into an experimental group (EG, N=31) and a control group (CG, N=32). The EG were provided with lexical chunks excerpted from the texts of some major news media such as VOA, BBC, CGTN, and CRI, which are within their current vocabulary level and/or at the i+1 level in the sense of Krashen (1985). Then we administered a pre- and post-test before and after 16 weeks’ instruction on lexical chunks. The findings of the survey are as follows. First, the EG exhibit a higher rate than the CG in the frequency of lexical chunks in their writing. Second, the EG are shown to be better at ‘cohesion/coherence’, ‘fluency’, ‘idiomaticity’, and ‘variation’, but not at ‘accuracy’. Finally, the EG exhibit higher writing proficiency than the CG, evaluated in terms of the five categories in question.

In Vitro Screening of Potato Genotypes for Resistance to Common Scab Using Thaxtomin A

Dong-Man Khu,Stephen L. Love,Hwang-Sung Mo,Kui-Hua Li,Hak-Tae Lim 한국원예학회 2007 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.48 No.4

Thaxtomin A is a bio-toxin produced by Streptomyces scabies and is thought to be responsible for visible tuber symptoms associated with the common scab disease. It was hypothesized that response of in vitro plantlets to the toxin may be related to tuber reaction in the field. A population of 100 genotypes originating from a resistant x susceptible cross was evaluated for both in-vitro thaxtomin response and field occurrence of common scab on the tubers. The shoot height of plantlets grown on the medium containing thaxtomin A was used as a measure of the tolerance of each genotype. The surface area infected index (SAII) of each genotype was measured and used as gauge of resistance level of each genotype in the field. The correlation coefficient between in vitro shoot height of plantlets, grown on media containing 1.0 mgㆍL<SUP>-1</SUP> of thaxtomin A, and SAII of each genotype was highly significant (r = - 0.656). in vitro screening of potato germplasm using thaxtomin shows promise as a method to select for resistance to common scab.

Evaluation of Potato Varieties with High Antioxidant Activities by Measuring Phenolic Acids in Different Tuber Parts

Kui-Hua Li,Eung-Jun Park,Hoi-Seon Lee,Dong-Man Khu,Stephen L. Love,Hak-Tae Lim 한국원예학회 2006 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.47 No.3

Potato is a valuable source of antioxidants in the human diet and their genetic variability exists for antioxidant activity. This study was carried out to define selection criteria for potato varieties and breeding clones with high antioxidant levels as measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl methods. There were significant differences in antioxidant activities among potato genotypes. Radical scavenging activities (RC??) of 29 potato genotypes ranged from 64.8 to 493.6 ㎍ㆍmL?¹. We further analyzed the antioxidant activities in three different sections including cortex, perimedullary, and pith tissue were separately measured for five selected potato varieties. At least, two-fold higher antioxidant activity for cortex tissue (5 ㎜-thick of periderm tissue with skin) was found in all five ‘Valley’ potatoes, compared to that in ‘Atlantic’. Very low antioxidant activity was detected in perimedullary and pith tissue of all potato varieties, except for ‘Bora Valley’, which had purple flesh. Based on the varieties tested, purple skinned varieties showed higher antioxidant activity than red skinned tubers, while tubers with yellow skins showed the lowest antioxidant activity. The levels of three major phenolic compounds such as chlorogenic, caffeic, and ferulic acids were highly correlated to RC50 values for cortex tissue as well as whole tubers. Although chlorogenic, caffeic, and ferulic acids were the major phenolic acids contributing to the total antioxidant activity of potato tubers, caffeic acid was the most effective compound contributing to the total tuber antioxidant activity based on RC?? values.