Measuring Willingness to Accept for GM Food by Characteristics

Korean consumers' willingness to accept (WTA) for GM food are studied in this paper. This study compares hypothetical and nonhypothetical responses to choice experiment questions. We test for hypothetical bias in a choice experiment involving GM rice with differing characteristic attributes and multinomial logit model is applied to predict the estimated results. In general, hypothetical responses predicted higher probabilities of purchasing GM rice than nonhypothetical responses. Thus, hypothetical choices overestimate willingness to accept for GM rice. The results of this paper could contributes to government's GM food policies and subsequent studies, also improving economic welfare of farmers and consumers.GM Food, Willingness to Accept, Choice experiment, Hypothetical bias, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

A Comparison of the Query Execution Algorithms in Secure Database System

In accordance with the database management, DAS(Database as Service) model is one solution for outsourcing. However, we need some data protection mechanisms in order to maintain the database security The most effective algorithm to secure databases from the security threat of third party attackers is to encrypt the sensitive data within the database. However, once we encrypt the sensitive data, we have difficulties in queries execution on the encrypted database. In this paper, we focus on the search process on the encrypted database. We proposed the selective tuple encryption method using Bloom Filter which could tell us the existence of the data. Finally, we compare the search performance between the proposed method and the other encryption methods we know

Correlation between ambulatory function and clinical factors in hemiplegic patients with intact single lateral corticospinal tract: A pilot study

To define the relationship between the complete destruction of 1 lateral corticospinal tract (CST), as demonstrated by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography, and ambulatory function 6 months following stroke. Twenty-six adults (17 male, 9 female) with poststroke hemiplegia who were transferred to the physical medicine and rehabilitation department. Participants underwent DTI tractography, which showed that 1 lateral CST had been clearly destroyed. Functional ambulation classification (FAC) scores at admission, discharge, and 6 months after discharge were used to evaluate the patients’ ability to walk. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the Korean version of the modified Barthel index (K-MBI) at admission, discharge, and 6 months after discharge were used to evaluate the degree of functional recovery. Of the 26 patients, 18 were nonambulatory (FAC level 1–3), and 8 were able to walk without support (FAC level 4–6). The type of stroke (infarction or hemorrhage), site of the lesion, spasticity of lower extremities, cranioplasty, and the time taken from onset to MRI were not statistically significantly correlated with the ability to walk. However, statistically significant correlations were found in relation to age, K-MBI scores, and initial NIHSS scores. Despite the complete damage to the lesion site and the preservation of 1 unilateral CST, as shown by DTI, good outcomes can be predicted on the basis of younger age, low NIHSS scores, and high MBI scores at onset

Immunogene therapy with fusogenic nanoparticles modulates macrophage response to Staphylococcus aureus.

The incidence of adverse effects and pathogen resistance encountered with small molecule antibiotics is increasing. As such, there is mounting focus on immunogene therapy to augment the immune system's response to infection and accelerate healing. A major obstacle to in vivo gene delivery is that the primary uptake pathway, cellular endocytosis, results in extracellular excretion and lysosomal degradation of genetic material. Here we show a nanosystem that bypasses endocytosis and achieves potent gene knockdown efficacy. Porous silicon nanoparticles containing an outer sheath of homing peptides and fusogenic liposome selectively target macrophages and directly introduce an oligonucleotide payload into the cytosol. Highly effective knockdown of the proinflammatory macrophage marker IRF5 enhances the clearance capability of macrophages and improves survival in a mouse model of Staphyloccocus aureus pneumonia

Insight into highly conserved H1 subtype-specific epitopes in influenza virus hemagglutinin

Influenza viruses continuously undergo antigenic changes with gradual accumulation of mutations in hemagglutinin (HA) that is a major determinant in subtype specificity. The identification of conserved epitopes within specific HA subtypes gives an important clue for developing new vaccines and diagnostics. We produced and characterized nine monoclonal antibodies that showed significant neutralizing activities against H1 subtype influenza viruses, and determined the complex structure of HA derived from a 2009 pandemic virus A/Korea/01/2009 (KR01) and the Fab fragment from H1-specific monoclonal antibody GC0587. The overall structure of the complex was essentially identical to the previously determined KR01 HA-Fab0757 complex structure. Both Fab0587 and Fab0757 recognize readily accessible head regions of HA, revealing broadly shared and conserved antigenic determinants among H1 subtypes. The beta-strands constituted by Ser110-Glu115 and Lys169-Lys170 form H1 epitopes with distinct conformations from those of H1 and H3 HA sites. In particular, Glu112, Glu115, Lys169, and Lys171 that are highly conserved among H1 subtype HAs have close contacts with HCDR3 and LCDR3. The differences between Fab0587 and Fab0757 complexes reside mainly in HCDR3 and LCDR3, providing distinct antigenic determinants specific for 1918 pdm influenza strain. Our results demonstrate a potential key neutralizing epitope important for H1 subtype specificity in influenza virus

511 keV γ\gamma-ray emission from the galactic bulge by MeV millicharged dark matter

We propose a possible explanation for the recently observed anomalous 511 keV line with a new "millicharged" fermion. This new fermion is light [${\cal O}({\rm MeV})$]. Nevertheless, it has never been observed by any collider experiments by virtue of its tiny electromagnetic charge $\epsilon e$. In particular, we constrain parameters of this millicharged particle if the 511 keV cosmic $\gamma$-ray emission from the galactic bulge is due to positron production from this new particle.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, A talk given by J.C.Park at the 16th International Conference on Supersymmetry and the Unification of Fundamental Interactions (SUSY08), Seoul, Korea, June 16-21, 200