• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.547-555
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of routine liver ultrasonography on the basis of the scoring system according to the morphological parameters of liver ultrasound images and the histopathological results of liver biopsy. The morphological parameters of the liver through ultrasonography were divided into liver surface, liver edge and liver parenchyma. Pathologic results of liver biopsy were classified as mild fibrosis(F1), significant fibrosis(F2), severe fibrosis(F3), and cirrhosis(F4). In conclusion, routine ultrasound examination showed a sensitive predictive factor for fibrosis with mild fibrosis (F1) to severe fibrosis (F3) were liver edge>liver parenchyma>liver surface. However, the predictive factors for detecting cirrhosis (F4) were liver parenchyma>liver surface>liver edge. The use of three variable combinations rather than individual variables in routine ultrasonography may be useful in evaluating the degree and progress of liver fibrosis.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.79-85
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• 2017

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the clinical and the instrument of convergence utility of transient elastography (FibroScan(R):electromagnetic wave) in diagnosing and treating liver ailments through a comparison and an analysis between liver function blood test and transient elastography (FibroScan(R)) in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Of all the patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection who visited clinic B in Daejeon City between July 1, 2015, and February 28, 2016, 75 who underwent a FibroScan(R) test were selected for this study. Their laboratory and liver function test results were compared for a correlation analysis before constructing an ROC (Receiver Operation Characteristic) curve. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were 0.572 and 0.502, respectively, and showed highest correlation with fibrosis score, with statistical significance (p<0.000). Gamma glutamyltranspeptidase, total bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase levels also showed relatively significant correlations in this order of sequence, while -fetoprotein and total protein levels did not show any statistically significant values. Albumin (-0.449) and platelet levels (-0.373) showed negative correlations with each other and no correlation with fibrosis score (p < 0.000). As liver fibrosis worsened, the accuracy of the ROC curve increased. At the F4 stage, which is the cirrhotic stage, the largest area under the curve was observed. FibroScan(R) showed significant correlation with the ALT (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase) and AST (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase) levels in the liver function test, which is a routine test for patients with chronic liver ailments. This implies that fibrosis correlates with liver inflammation severity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.710-720
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• 2013

Radiotherapy is commonly used in treating many kinds of cancers which cannot be cured by other therapeutic strategies. However, radiotherapy also induces the damages on the normal tissues. Radiation-induced fibrosis is frequently observed in the patients undergoing radiotherapy, and becomes a major obstacle in the treatment of intrahepatic cancer. Hedgehog (Hh) that is an essential in the liver formation during embryogenesis is not detected in the healthy liver, but activated and modulates the repair process in damaged livers in adult. The expression of Hh increases with the degree of liver damage, regulating the proliferation of hepatic progenitors and hepatic stellate cells (HSC). In addition, Hh induces epithelial-to-mesencymal transition (EMT) and activation of myofibroblasts. In the irradiated livers, up-regulated expression of Hh signaling was associated with proliferation of progenitors, EMT induction, and increased fibrosis. Female-specific expression of Hh leaded to the expansion of progenitors and the accumulation of collagen in the irradiated livers of female mice, indicating that gender disparity in Hh expression may be related with radiation-susceptibility in female. Hence, Hh signaling becomes a novel object of studies for fibrogenesis induced by radiation. However, the absence of the established experimental animal models showing the similar physiopathology with human liver diseases and fibrosis-favorable microenvironment hamper the studies for the radiation-induced fibrosis, providing a few descriptive results. Therefore, further research on the association of Hh with radiation-induced fibrosis can identify the cell and tissue-specific effects of Hh and provides the basic knowledge for underlying mechanisms, contributing to developing therapies for preventing the radiation-induced fibrosis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1795-1803
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• 2011

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease accompanies the rise in the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and the tendency toward high-fat dietary habits. Specifically, the higher prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in men and postmenopausal women seems to be caused by the protective effects of estrogen against liver fibrosis, or lack thereof. There are no effective preventive therapies for liver diseases because the mechanisms underlying the progression of fatty liver diseases to chronic liver diseases and the protective effects of estrogen against fibrogenesis remain unclear. Recently, it has been reported that the hedgehog signaling pathway plays an important role in the progression of chronic liver diseases. Hedgehog, a morphogen regulating embryonic liver development, is expressed in injured livers but not in adult healthy livers. The level of hedgehog expression parallels the stages of liver diseases. Hedgehog induces myofibroblast activation and hepatic progenitor cell proliferation and leads to excessive liver fibrosis, whereas estrogen inhibits the activation of hepatic stellate cells to myofibroblasts and prevents liver fibrosis. Although the mechanism underlying the opposing actions of hedgehog and estrogen on liver fibrosis remain unclear, the suppressive effects of estrogen on the expression of osteopontin, a profibrogenic extracellular matrix protein and cytokine, and the inductive effects of hedgehog on osteopontin transcription suggest that estrogen and hedgehog are associated with liver fibrosis regulation. Therefore, further research on the estrogen-mediated regulatory mechanisms underlying the hedgehog-signaling pathway can identify the mechanism underlying liver fibrogenesis and contribute to developing therapies for preventing the progression of fibrosis to chronic liver diseases.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2022.11a
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• pp.462-464
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• 2022

의료영상기반의 인공지능 연구는 질환의 조기진단 및 예측 분야에 눈부신 기술발전이 되어왔다. 장기 섬유증은 만성 염증성 질환의 질병 진행을 특징짓고 전 세계적으로 모든 원인으로 인한 사망률의 45%에 기여하며, 그중 간 섬유증은 주로 삶의 질과 예후를 결정한다. 해당 질환은 임상 현장에서 혈액데이터 분석 그리고 간생검을 통해 진단을 하고 있으나 최근 의료영상 분석을 통해 진단에 활용하고 있는 추세이다. 본 논문에서는 인공지능을 기반으로 하여, 간 섬유화를 진단하기 위해 MRI영상을 학습하여 질환에 대한 중증도 진단을 돕는 인공지능 모델을 제시하고자 한다. 이를 위해 인공지능 모델을 개발하는 과정과 그 결과를 보인다. 본 논문에서 제시한 모델을 통해 간 섬유화를 빠르게 진단할 수 있을 것으로 기대한다.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.123-129
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• 2017

This study has been conducted to see influence of fibroid hepatic tissue on alpha-tocopherol and its histologic changes. Experimental groups were divided into 3 groups, one where fibrosis was caused by carbon tetrachloride and the other where alpha-tocopherol and carbon tetrachloride were administered together and another normal group. Results of test showed fibrosis reaction is weak compared to the group administered with carbon tetrachloride in the group administered with alpha-tocopherol. In conclusion, we could observe proliferation of collagen fibers through Hematoxylin&Eosin and Massom trichrom dye and increase in ALT, AST, ALP in fibroid hepatic tissues, indicating convergence anti-oxidation reaction by changes of alpha-tocopherol intake. Thus, it is considered that we can expect to utilize alpha-tocopherol as secondary treatment and find clinical meanings of diagnosis on hepatic diseases through results of this study.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.1
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• pp.116-127
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• 2021

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility of texture analysis of gray-scale ultrasound (US) images for staging of hepatic fibrosis. Materials and Methods Altogether, 167 patients who had undergone routine US and laboratory tests for a fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index were included. Texture parameters were measured using a dedicated in-house software. Regions of interest were placed in five different segments (3, 5, 6, 7, 8) for each patient. The FIB-4 index was used as the reference standard for hepatic fibrosis grade. Comparisons of the texture parameters between different fibrosis groups were performed with the Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test. Diagnostic performance was evaluated by receiver operating curve analysis. Results The study population comprised of patients with no fibrosis (FIB-4 < 1.45, n = 50), mild fibrosis (1.45 ≤ FIB-4 ≤ 2.35, n = 37), moderate fibrosis (2.35 < FIB-4 ≤ 3.25, n = 27), and severe fibrosis (FIB-4 > 3.25, n = 53). Skewness in hepatic segment 5 showed a difference between patients with no fibrosis and mild fibrosis (0.2392 ± 0.3361, 0.4134 ± 0.3004, respectively, p = 0.0109). The area under the curve of skewness for discriminating patients with no fibrosis from those with mild fibrosis was 0.660 (95% confidence interval, 0.551-0.758), with an estimated accuracy, sensitivity, specificity of 64%, 87%, 48%, respectively. Conclusion A significant difference was observed regarding skewness in segment 5 between patients with no fibrosis and patients with mild fibrosis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.87-90
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• 2003

Polyvinyl Alcohol(PVA)와 같이 분자간 결합력이 큰 극성고분자에 극성의 가소제를 도입하여 가역적 가소화기법을 이용하여 비결정영역뿐만 아니라 결정영역까지도 가소화시켜 연신성을 개선시키고자하는 연구가 일부 이루어져 왔다. 특히 요드는 극성고분자의 비결정 영역뿐만 아니라 결정영역까지 침투한다는 사실이 밝혀지면서 PVA의 요드 처리에 대한 연구가 많이 이루어져왔다[1-3]. 그러나 지금까지의 연구에서는 대부분 필름이나 섬유와 같이 성형가공된 상태에서, 즉 결정화가 이루어진 후에 요드화를 시켰기 때문에 그 응용범위나 연구에 있어서 한계를 지니고 있다고 할 수 있다. (중략)

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.170-173
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• 1998

텐셀은 고결정성 부분이 섬유축방향으로 고배향되어 있어, 섬유축방향으로 피브릴이 발생하는데, 특히 습윤 상태에서는 팽윤에 의해 피브릴간의 결합력이 약해져 저배향 부분의 내부 피브릴 영역이 커져, 기계적 마찰을 부여하면 피브릴이 발생한다[1-6]. 텐셀의 피브릴화 경향은 목적에 따라서 장점과 단점이 될 수 있다. 텐셀의 피브릴화 가공은 피치스킨 효과, 태 향상, 반발감 등을 지닌 우수한 직물의 외관을 부여할 수 있다. (중략)

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2011

Purpose: Based on previous research findings, it is well-known that the timing of surgery is generally considered the most important prognostic factor for a Kasai portoenterostomy, the primary treatment for biliary atresia. This research aimed to identify the optimal timing of a Kasai portoenterostomy and to verify if the proposed optimal timing corresponds to previous studies. All patients were classified by the timing of surgery, and pre- and post-operative fibrotic changes of the liver were measured with the elasticity value from fibroscans. Methods: The stiffness scores of the pre- and post-operative fibroscans in 34 patients who were treated by Kasai portoenterostomy from October 2007 to September 2010 in Severance children's hospital were reviewed. Results: The earlier the patients were treated by Kasai portoenterostomy, the lower the fibroscan scores. When the patients were treated prior to the 8th week, the post-operative scores of the fibroscans were significantly better than those patients who were treated after the 8th week, and some even recovered partially. Moreover, when operated before the 8th week, the differences between each pre- and postoperative fibroscan score also showed statistical relevance (p=0.0002). Conclusion: The earlier the patient was treated by Kasai portoenterostomy, the less liver fibrosis that developed, the lower the level of post-operative fibrosis, and the less the degree of fibrotic progress before and after the operation. Thus, this research proposal reconfirms once more that the 8th week is the optimal timing for a Kasai portoenterostomy.