• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1537-1546
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• 2021

Objective: To assess the role of arterial spin-labeling (ASL) perfusion MRI in identifying cerebral perfusion changes after indirect revascularization in children with moyamoya disease. Materials and Methods: We included pre- and postoperative perfusion MRI data of 30 children with moyamoya disease (13 boys and 17 girls; mean age ± standard deviation, 6.3± 3.0 years) who underwent indirect revascularization between June 2016 and August 2017. Relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and qualitative perfusion scores for arterial transit time (ATT) effects were evaluated in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory on ASL perfusion MRI. The rCBF and relative time-to-peak (rTTP) values were also measured using dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion MRI. Each perfusion change on ASL and DSC perfusion MRI was analyzed using the paired t test. We analyzed the correlation between perfusion changes on ASL and DSC images using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results: The ASL rCBF values improved at both the ganglionic and supraganglionic levels of the MCA territory after surgery (p = 0.040 and p = 0.003, respectively). The ATT perfusion scores also improved at both levels (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). The rCBF and rTTP values on DSC MRI showed significant improvement at both levels of the MCA territory of the operated side (all p < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between the improvements in rCBF values on the two perfusion images (r = 0.195, p = 0.303); however, there was a correlation between the change in perfusion scores on ASL and rTTP on DSC MRI (r = 0.701, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Recognizing the effects of ATT on ASL perfusion MRI may help monitor cerebral perfusion changes and complement quantitative rCBF assessment using ASL perfusion MRI in patients with moyamoya disease after indirect revascularization.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.980-997
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• 2024

To improve the brightness of images and reveal hidden information in dark areas is the main objective of low-light image enhancement (LLIE). LLIE methods based on deep learning show good performance. However, there are some limitations to these methods, such as the complex network model requires highly configurable environments, and deficient enhancement of edge details leads to blurring of the target content. Single-scale feature extraction results in the insufficient recovery of the hidden content of the enhanced images. This paper proposed an edge detection-based multi-scale feature enhancement network for LLIE (EDMFEN). To reduce the loss of edge details in the enhanced images, an edge extraction module consisting of a Sobel operator is introduced to obtain edge information by computing gradients of images. In addition, a multi-scale feature enhancement module (MSFEM) consisting of multi-scale feature extraction block (MSFEB) and a spatial attention mechanism is proposed to thoroughly recover the hidden content of the enhanced images and obtain richer features. Since the fused features may contain some useless information, the MSFEB is introduced so as to obtain the image features with different perceptual fields. To use the multi-scale features more effectively, a spatial attention mechanism module is used to retain the key features and improve the model performance after fusing multi-scale features. Experimental results on two datasets and five baseline datasets show that EDMFEN has good performance when compared with the stateof-the-art LLIE methods.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.784-794
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• 2023

Objective: To determine whether dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced (DSC) perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to evaluate posterior cerebral circulation in pediatric patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) who underwent anterior revascularization. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively included 73 patients with MMD who underwent DSC perfusion MRI (age, 12.2 ± 6.1 years) between January 2016 and December 2020, owing to recent-onset clinical symptoms during the follow-up period after completion of anterior revascularization. DSC perfusion images were analyzed using a dedicated software package (NordicICE; Nordic NeuroLab) for the middle cerebral artery (MCA), posterior cerebral artery (PCA), and posterior border zone between the two regions (PCA-MCA). Patients were divided into two groups; the PCA stenosis group included 30 patients with newly confirmed PCA involvement, while the no PCA stenosis group included 43 patients without PCA involvement. The relationship between DSC perfusion parameters and PCA stenosis, as well as the performance of the parameters in discriminating between groups, were analyzed. Results: In the PCA stenosis group, the mean follow-up duration was 5.3 years after anterior revascularization, and visual disturbances were a common symptom. Normalized cerebral blood volume was increased, and both the normalized time-topeak (nTTP) and mean transit time values were significantly delayed in the PCA stenosis group compared with those in the no PCA stenosis group in the PCA and PCA-MCA border zones. TTP_PCA (odds ratio [OR] = 6.745; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.665-17.074; P < 0.001) and CBV_PCA-MCA (OR = 1.567; 95% CI = 1.021-2.406; P = 0.040) were independently associated with PCA stenosis. TTP_PCA showed the highest receiver operating characteristic curve area in discriminating for PCA stenosis (0.895; 95% CI = 0.803-0.986). Conclusion: nTTP can be used to effectively diagnose PCA stenosis. Therefore, DSC perfusion MRI may be a valuable tool for monitoring PCA stenosis in patients with MMD.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.87-108
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study was to precede the acceptance study based on automation steps and user experience that was lacked in the past study on the core technology of autonomous vehicle, ADAS. The first objective was to construct the acceptance model of ADAS technology that is the core technology, and draw factors that affect behavioral intention through user experience-based evaluation by applying driving simulator. The second one was to see the change of factors on automation step of autonomous vehicle through the UX/UA score. Background: The number of vehicles with the introduction of ADAS is increasing, and it caused change of interaction between vehicle and driver as automation is being developed on the particular drive factor. For this reason, it is becoming important to study the technology acceptance on how driver can actively accept giving up some parts of automated drive operation and handing over the authority to vehicle. Method: We organized the study model and items through literature investigation and the scenario according to the 4 stages of automation of autonomous vehicle, and preceded acceptance assessment using driving simulator. Total 68 men and woman were participated in this experiment. Results: We drew results of Performance Expectancy (PE), Social Influence (SI), Perceived Safety (PS), Anxiety (AX), Trust (T) and Affective Satisfaction (AS) as the factors that affect Behavioral Intention (BI). Also the drawn factors shows that UX/UA score has a significant difference statistically according to the automation steps of autonomous vehicle, and UX/UA tends to move up until the stage 2 of automation, and at stage 3 it goes down to the lowest level, and it increases a little or stays steady at stage 4. Conclusion and Application: First, we presented the acceptance model of ADAS that is the core technology of autonomous vehicle, and it could be the basis of the future acceptance study of the ADAS technology as it verifies through user experience-based assessment using driving simulator. Second, it could be helpful to the appropriate ADAS development in the future as drawing the change of factors and predicting the acceptance level according to the automation stages of autonomous vehicle through UX/UA score, and it could also grasp and avoid the problem that affect the acceptance level. It is possible to use these study results as tools to test validity of function before ADAS offering company launches the products. Also it will help to prevent the problems that could be caused when applying the autonomous vehicle technology, and to establish technology that is easily acceptable for drivers, so it will improve safety and convenience of drivers.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2024

Objective: To investigate whether reader training improves the performance and agreement of radiologists in interpreting unenhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Materials and Methods: A study of 96 breasts (35 cancers, 24 benign, and 37 negative) in 48 asymptomatic women was performed between June 2019 and October 2020. High-resolution DWI with b-values of 0, 800, and 1200 sec/mm² was performed using a 3.0-T system. Sixteen breast radiologists independently reviewed the DWI, apparent diffusion coefficient maps, and T1-weighted MRI scans and recorded the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category for each breast. After a 2-h training session and a 5-month washout period, they re-evaluated the BI-RADS categories. A BI-RADS category of 4 (lesions with at least two suspicious criteria) or 5 (more than two suspicious criteria) was considered positive. The per-breast diagnostic performance of each reader was compared between the first and second reviews. Inter-reader agreement was evaluated using a multi-rater κ analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Before training, the mean sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the 16 readers were 70.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 59.4-79.9), 90.8% (95% CI: 85.6-94.2), and 83.5% (95% CI: 78.6-87.4), respectively. After training, significant improvements in specificity (95.2%; 95% CI: 90.8-97.5; P = 0.001) and accuracy (85.9%; 95% CI: 80.9-89.8; P = 0.01) were observed, but no difference in sensitivity (69.8%; 95% CI: 58.1-79.4; P = 0.58) was observed. Regarding inter-reader agreement, the κ values were 0.57 (95% CI: 0.52-0.63) before training and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.62-0.74) after training, with a difference of 0.11 (95% CI: 0.02-0.18; P = 0.01). The ICC was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.69-0.74) before training and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.76-0.80) after training (P = 0.002). Conclusion: Brief reader training improved the performance and agreement of interpretations by breast radiologists using unenhanced MRI with DWI.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.299-303
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• 2007

The objective of this study was the development of immunochromatography (ICG) for the rapid and accurate detection of Listeria monocytogenes. Here, monoclonal antibodies (MAb) were conjugated with 40 nm colloidal gold particles, where the conjugate was used as the detection reagent in the ICG. The ICG was composed of three pads (sample, conjugate, and absorbance pads) and one nitrocellulose membrane. The colloidal gold-MAb conjugate was applied to the conjugate pad, and the test line and control line on the membrane were treated with MAb (FKLM-3BI2-37) and anti-mouse IgG, respectively. The detection limit of the ICG was $10^{5}$ cell/mL and it showed no cross-reaction to food borne pathogens. We inoculated meat and lettuce samples with various counts of L. monocytogenes, and analyzed them by ICG. All the inoculated meat samples gave positive results after enrichment for 24 h in LEB. These results indicate that ICG was able to serve as a primary screening tool for L. monocytogenes in various foods and agricultural products within 20 min after enrichment.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.182-192
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• 2008

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate on the antimicrobial effect on the periodontal pathogens and anti-inflammatory effect of Eriobotryae folium. Eriobotryae folium are constituent herbs of Gagamgamroum, which has been used for a long time in oriental medicine as a herbal medicine for treating halitosis and toothache. Method: Eriobotryae folium was prepared by extracting medicinal herb with water. We investigated antimicrobial activity by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. We also investigated inhibition of $IL-1{\beta}-induced$ collagenase (mmp-1), stromelysin-1 (mmp-3), interleukin-6 gene expression in human gingival fibroblasts using RTPCR analysis. Result: The antimicrobial effects of Eriobotryae folium was evaluated with MIC against periodontopathogens; Porphyromonas gingivalis 2561, W50, A7A1-28, 9-14K-1, Prevotella intermedia 28, and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4. MICs of Eriobotryae folium were 1.25 mg/ml, 2.5 mg/ml, 0.625 mg/ml, 1.25 mg/ml, 10 mg/ml and 10 mg/ml. The anti-inflammatory effect of Eriobotryae folium was evaluated with influence of herbs on the $IL-1{\beta}-induced$ expression of mmp-1, mmp-3, and interleukin-6. $IL-1{\beta}$ increased mmp-1, mmp-3, and interleukin-6 mRNA levels. Eriobotryae folium significantly inhibited $IL-1{\beta}-induced$ mmp-1, mmp-3, and interleukin-6 gene expressions in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: These results suggested that Eriobotryae folium might reduce the excessive proteolytic capacity of the gingival fibroblast during inflammation and could be developed as a new drug for periodontitis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.734-740
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• 2017

A frame rate up-conversion scheme is needed when moving pictures with a low frame rate is played on appliances with a high frame rate. Frame rate up-conversion methods interpolate the frame with two consecutive frames of the original source. This can be divided into the frame repetition method and motion estimation-based the frame interpolation one. Frame repetition has very low complexity, but it can yield jerky artifacts. The interpolation method based on a motion estimation and compensation can be divided into pixel or block interpolation methods. In the case of pixel interpolation, the interpolated frame was classified into four areas, which were interpolated using different methods. The block interpolation method has relatively low complexity, but it can yield blocking artifacts. The proposed method is the frame rate up-conversion method based on a block motion estimation and compensation using the linearity of motion. This method uses two previous frames and one next frame for motion estimation and compensation. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm effectively enhances the objective quality, particularly in a high resolution image. In addition, the proposed method has similar or higher subjective quality than other conventional approaches.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2013

Objective: We evaluated the fertilization potential of immature oocytes obtained from controlled ovarian hyperstimulation cycles of patients undergoing ICSI. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 463 ICSI cycles containing at least one immature oocyte at oocyte denudation. ICSI was performed on mature oocytes at oocyte denudation (metaphase-II [MII] oocytes) and the oocytes that extruded the first polar body between oocyte denudation and ICSI (MI-MII oocytes). Fertilization and early embryonic development were compared between MII and MI-MII oocytes. To investigate the pregnancy potential of MI-MII oocytes, the pregnancy outcome was analyzed in 24 ICSI cycles containing only immature oocytes at retrieval. Results: The fertilization rate of MI-MII oocytes (37.0%) was significantly lower than that of MII oocytes (72.3%). The rates of delayed embryos and damaged embryos did not significantly differ. Eighty-one immature oocytes were retrieved in 24 cycles that retrieved only immature oocytes and 61 (75.3%) of them were in the MI stage. ICSI was performed on 36 oocytes (59.0%) that extruded the first polar body before ICSI and nine MI-MII oocytes (25.0%) were fertilized. Embryo transfers were performed in five cycles. Pregnancy was observed in one cycle, but it ended in biochemical pregnancy. Conclusion: In ICSI cycles, oocytes that extruded the first polar body between denudation and ICSI can be used as a source of oocytes for sperm injection. However, their fertilization and pregnancy potential are lower than that of mature oocytes. Therefore, ovarian stimulation should be performed carefully for mature oocytes obtained at retrieval, especially in cycles with a small number of retrieved oocytes.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.43-53
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• 2005

Objective : The use of herbal therapy is becoming an increasingly attractive approach for the treatment of various inflammatory disorders. The Alpiniae officinari Rhizoma is popular in Aisa as a traditional herbal medicine. Alpiniae officinari Rhizoma is a species of the ginger family(Zingiberacease). Method : This study was performed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of Alpiniae officinari Rhizoma extract by the methods of 'carrageenan induced paw edema' and 'Lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory mediators in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells'. Result : We suggest that Alpiniae officinari Rhizoma extract decreased paw volume induced by plantar injection of carrageenan. Also Alpiniae officinari Rhizoma extract inhibited nitric oxide, prostaglandin $E_2$ production and induced nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression in Mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Conclusion : This study shows that Alpinia officinari Rhizoma extract seems to have anti-inflammatory effect by inhibition of nitric oxide, prostaglandin $E_2$ production and nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression.