peR Amplification of DNA Extracted from Formalin-Fixed Tissue

In this study we try to confirm whether the DNA from formalin-fixed tissue be suitable for forensic application such as individual identification or examination of medicolegal evidences using PCR. Fresh placenta were taken from 18 different women and DNA was extracted . Some portion of placenta were fixed in 10% buffered neutral formalin for 24 hour and DNA was extracted. Two loci of DlS80 and D17S30 were used for PCR amplification. The amplification pattern were identical between fresh tissue and formalin fixed tissue suggesting that the formalin fixed tissue can be used for medicolegal situation. But the DNA from formalin seemed to be degraded as the fixation time prolonged

Allele Frequency and Genotype Distribution of STR SE33 locus in Koreans

DNA was obtained from placental tissue and peripheral blood of 268 unrelated Koreans in order to analyze the applicability of PCR amplification of human beta-actin related pseudogene H-beta-Ac-psi-2 (AClBP-2, SE33) SlR locus for forensic medicine in the field of individual identification and paternity tests. After amplification using two primers specific to the SE33 locus, the products were analyzed by polyacrylmide gel electrophoresis, so called Amp-FLP(Amplification Fragment Length Polymorphism) procedure followed by silver staining. To improw the differentiation of the allele an automatic sequencer, Licor 4000-L was used and the result was compared with that of routine acrylamide gel electrophoresis. 36 alleles were deteced, and the distribution was somewhat homogenous, and none of the alleles were above 0.1 in frequency. Allele 12 and allele 14 were most frequent with frequencies of 0.09701 and 0.08022, and alleles of two base repeat such as allele 17, allele 19 were also encountered. 144 kinds of genotypes were found, among which 22 were homozygotes, and the heterozygosity was 91.85%. In 164 gametes of 64 families whose parent-child relationship were confirmed through other studies and information, Mendelian inheritance was well presented although two mutations were observed

Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of N-Bit Reconfigurable Retrodirective Metasurface

The PIN diode-based N-bit reconfigurable retrodirective metasurface (N-bit RRDM) is a next-generation retro-reflector that offers the advantages of effective electronical control of the retro-reflection angle, low loss, and thin planar structure. However, since the unit cell of an N-bit RRDM is controlled by a quantized N-bit phase (360°/2N), it encounters operational errors, such as beam gain reduction and spurious beams. This can be a fatal disadvantage in military radar or satellite communication, which requires accurate beam tracking. This paper theoretically analyzes the operation of the N-bit RRDM by utilizing generalized Snell’s law and array factor theory. The analysis results present the design criteria for an N-bit RRDM that eliminates issues related to beam gain reduction and spurious beam errors. Furthermore, to verify the theoretical analysis results, High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) full-wave simulation and experimentation are conducted using the 1-bit RRDM

The Development of Web3D-based Open-pit Mine Monitoring System

Large-scale open-pit mines are critical infrastructure for acquiring natural resources. However, this type of mine can experience environmental and safety problems during operations and thus requires continuous monitoring. In this study, a web three-dimensional(3D)-based monitoring system is constructed using geospatial information open platform and open-source geospatial information software which targets open-pit mines in Gangwon-do, Korea. The purpose is to develop a monitoring system of open-pit mines that enables any person to monitor the topographic and environmental changes caused by mine operations and to develop and restore the area’s ecology. Open-pit mines were classified into active or inactive mines and monitoring items and methodologies were established for each type of mine. Cesium which is a WebGL-based open-source platform was chosen as it supports dynamic data visualization and hardware-accelerated graphics related to elapsed time which is the essential factor in the monitoring. The open-pit mine monitoring system was developed based on the geospatial database which contains information required for mine monitoring as time elapses, and by developing the open-source-based system software. The geospatial information database for monitoring consists of digital imagery and terrain data and also includes vector data and the restoration plan datas. The basic geospatial information used in the monitoring includes high resolution ortho image(GSD 0.5 m or above) for all areas of the mines. This is acquired by periodically using an airborne laser scanning system and a LiDAR DEM (grid size 1m × 1 m). In addition, geospatial information data were acquired by using an UAV and terrestrial LiDAR for small-scale areas; these tools are frequently used for rapid and irregular data acquisition. The geospatial information acquired for the monitoring of the open-pit mines represents various spatial resolutions and different terrain data. The database was constructed by converging this geospatial information with the Cesium-based geospatial information open platform of the ESRI World Imagery map and with SDK World Terrain meshes. The problems that resulted from the process of fusing aerial imagery and terrain data were solved in the Cesium-based open source environment. The prototype menu for the monitoring system was designed according to the monitoring item which was determined by the type of mine. The scene of the mine and changes in terrain were controlled and analyzed using the raster function of PostGIS according to the elapsed time. Using the GeoServer, the aerial imagery, terrain and restoration information for each period were serviced using the web standard interface, and the monitoring system was completed by visualizing these elements in Cesium in 3D format according to the elapsed time. This study has established a monitoring methodology for open-pit mines according to the type of mine and proposes a method for upgrading the imagery and terrain data required for monitoring. The study also showed the possibility of developing a Web3D-based open-pit mine monitoring system that is applicable to a wide range of mashup service developments

Negotiating Asian American Identities: Collaborative Self-Study of Korean Immigrant Scholars’ Reading Group on AsianCri

The purpose of this study is to understand how Korean immigrant women early career scholars in higher education in the United States explore their Asian American identities in the identity-based community space. The study considered qualitative data generated by five authors in a collaborative reading group learning more about AsianCrit literature. Our analysis revealed that AsianCrit was used as a tool for revisiting our racialized experiences, negotiating tensions around key constructs of AsianCrit informed by transnational perspectives, and embracing Asian American identities in pursuit of solidarity. The findings contribute to expanding the scholarship of AsianCrit by highlighting its utility and possibilities to support transnational or first-generation Asian immigrants’ identity exploration in higher education. Moreover, the findings signify the identity-informed peer mentoring as a way to build Asian solidarity. Includes Appendix A and Appendix B

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Sample Preparation of Si(1-x)Gex in c-Plane Sapphire Substrate

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration-invented X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods, including the total defect density measurement method and the spatial wafer mapping method, have confirmed super hetero epitaxy growth for rhombohedral single crystalline silicon germanium (Si1-xGex) on a c-plane sapphire substrate. However, the XRD method cannot observe the surface morphology or roughness because of the method s limited resolution. Therefore the authors used transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with samples prepared in two ways, the focused ion beam (FIB) method and the tripod method to study the structure between Si1-xGex and sapphire substrate and Si1?xGex itself. The sample preparation for TEM should be as fast as possible so that the sample should contain few or no artifacts induced by the preparation. The standard sample preparation method of mechanical polishing often requires a relatively long ion milling time (several hours), which increases the probability of inducing defects into the sample. The TEM sampling of the Si1-xGex on sapphire is also difficult because of the sapphire s high hardness and mechanical instability. The FIB method and the tripod method eliminate both problems when performing a cross-section TEM sampling of Si1-xGex on c-plane sapphire, which shows the surface morphology, the interface between film and substrate, and the crystal structure of the film. This paper explains the FIB sampling method and the tripod sampling method, and why sampling Si1-xGex, on a sapphire substrate with TEM, is necessary

Differentiation of Foot-and-Mouth Disease-Infected pigs from Vaccinated Pigs Using Antibody-Detecting Sandwich ELISA

The presence of serum antibodies for nonstructural proteins of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) can differentiate FMDV-infected animals from vaccinated animals. In this study, a sandwich ELISA was developed for rapid detection of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) antibodies; it was based on an Escherichia coli-expressed, highly conserved region of the 3ABC nonstructural protein of the FMDV O/TW/99 strain and a monoclonal antibody derived from the expressed protein. The diagnostic sensitivity of the assay was 98.4%, and the diagnostic specificity was 100% for naïve and vaccinated pigs; the detection ability of the assay was comparable those of the PrioCHECK and UBI kits. There was 97.5, 93.4 and 66.6% agreement between the results obtained from our ELISA and those obtained from the PrioCHECK, UBI and CHEKIT kits, respectively. The kappa statistics were 0.95, 0.87 and 0.37, respectively. Moreover, antibodies for nonstructural proteins of the serotypes A, C, Asia 1, SAT 1, SAT 2 and SAT 3 were also detected in bovine sera. Furthermore, the absence of cross-reactions generated by different antibody titers against the swine vesicular disease virus and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) was also highlighted in this assay's specificit

Effect of an Ethanol Extract of Scutellaria baicalensis on Relaxation in Corpus Cavernosum Smooth Muscle

Aims of study. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether an ethanol extract of Scutellaria baicalensis (ESB) relaxes penile corpus cavernosum muscle in organ bath experiments. Materials and methods. Changes in tension of cavernous smooth muscle strips were determined by penile strip chamber model and in penile perfusion model. Isolated endothelium-intact rabbit corpus cavernosum was precontracted with phenylephrine (PE) and then treated with ESB. Results. ESB relaxed penile smooth muscle in a dose-dependent manner, and this was inhibited by pre-treatment with NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor, and 1H-[1, 2, 4]-oxadiazolo-[4,3-α]-quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), a soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) inhibitor. ESB-induced relaxation was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with tetraethylammonium (TEA), a nonselective K+ channel blocker, and charybdotoxin, a selective Ca2+-dependent K+ channel inhibitor. ESB increased the cGMP levels of rabbit corpus cavernosum in a concentration-dependent manner without changes in cAMP levels. In a perfusion model of penile tissue, ESB also relaxed penile corpus cavernosum smooth muscle in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion. Taken together, these results suggest that ESB relaxed rabbit cavernous smooth muscle via the NO/cGMP system and Ca2+-sensitive K+ channels in the corpus cavernosum