• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.89-97
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• 2012

In this paper, we propose a novel approach to noise power estimation for speech enhancement in noisy environments. The method based on IMCRA (improved minima controlled recursive averaging) which is widely used in speech enhancement utilizes a rough VAD (voice activity detection) algorithm which excludes speech components during speech periods in order to improves the performance of the noise power estimation by reducing the speech distortion caused by the conventional algorithm based on the minimum power spectrum derived from the noisy speech. However, since the VAD algorithm is not sufficient to distinguish speech from noise at non-stationary noise and low SNRs (signal-to-noise ratios), the speech distortion resulted from the minimum tracking during speech periods still remained. In the proposed method, minimum power estimate obtained by IMCRA is modified by SMT (spectral minima tracking) to reduce the speech distortion derived from the bias of the estimated minimum power. In addition, in order to effectively estimate minimum power by considering the distribution characteristic of the speech and noise spectrum, the presented method combines the minimum estimates provided by IMCRA and SMT depending on the weighting factor based on the subband. Performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by subjective and objective quality tests under various environments and better results compared with the conventional method are obtained.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.619-628
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• 2019

In this paper, we designed a beta ray sensor for a true random number generator. Instead of biasing the gate of the PMOS feedback transistor to a DC voltage, the current flowing through the PMOS feedback transistor is mirrored through a current bias circuit designed to be insensitive to PVT fluctuations, thereby minimizing fluctuations in the signal voltage of the CSA. In addition, by using the constant current supplied by the BGR (Bandgap Reference) circuit, the signal voltage is charged to the VCOM voltage level, thereby reducing the change in charge time to enable high-speed sensing. The beta ray sensor designed with 0.18㎛ CMOS process shows that the minimum signal voltage and maximum signal voltage of the CSA circuit which are resulted from corner simulation are 205mV and 303mV, respectively. and the minimum and maximum widths of the pulses generated by comparing the output signal through the pulse shaper with the threshold voltage (VTHR) voltage of the comparator, were 0.592㎲ and 1.247㎲, respectively. resulting in high-speed detection of 100kHz. Thus, it is designed to count up to 100 kilo pulses per second.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.320-328
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• 2005

The most common five chlorophenols (4-chloro-3-methylphenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol, pentachlorophenol) were determined from the industrial wastewater by GC/MS. The samples were collected from the petrochemical company, textile company and leather making company. The developed analytical method was modified by USEPA Method 3510. The samples were extracted with dichloromethane under pH 2 and pH 5-6, and determined by the GC/MS with SIM mode. There were good linearities (above $R^2=0.9943$) on e ranges of the 0.1 ng/mL~10 ng/mL and 0.5 ng/mL~10 ng/mL, and the limit of detection were between 0.1 ng/mL and 0.5 ng/mL. The absolute recoveries were measured at the concentration of 1, 5, and 10 ng/mL, and the recovery was 71.6~98.9% except for PCP. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 1.2~14.3% and it gave a good reproducibility for the assay. The bias, which shows the accuracy, was a good although it was a little high values (11.3~22.1%) at the low concentration (1 ng/mL).

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.451-459
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• 1999

During the electromyographic evaluation for the diagnosis of neuropathy, presence for site of lesion could be predicted by a detection of denervation potentials such as fibrillation potentials or positive sharp waves in a group of muscles. Unfortunately, since denervation potentials are distinguished by examiner's experience, it is possible to make mistake identifying endplate spikes as a denervation potential. The aim of the study was to extract parameters to make an algorithm for quantitative distinction between denervation potentials and endplate spikes. It will help to minimize the examiner's bias and to localize the site of lesion thus increase the reliability on EMG diagnosis. There types of signals, endplate spike, fibrillation potential and positive sharp wave were obtained from the EDB(extensor digitorum brevis) muscle using then neuropathic patients. Eight parameters such as duration, area, slope, peak-to-peak amplitude, positive peak negative peak amplitude, ratio of positive to negative peak amplitude, and number of phase were extracted and compared. As a results, peak-to-peak amplitude, positive peak amplitude, ratio of positive to negative peak amplitude showed statistically significant differences between endplate spikes and denervation potentials. It was concluded that those parameters could be used to establish an algorithm which will improve the accuracies in automated quantitative EMG diagnosis.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1407-1412
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• 2014

In order to improve spectrum sensitivity of photodiode for detection of the laser at 850 nm ~ 1000 nm of near-infrared wavelength band, this study has produced silicon-based fast film PIN photodiode and analyzed electrical and optical properties. The manufactured device is packaged in TO-18 type. The electrical properties of the dark currents both Anode 1 and Anode 2 have valued of approximately 0.055 nA for 5 V reverse bias, while the capacitance showed 19.5 pF at frequency range of 1 kHz and about 19.8 pF at the range of 200 kHz for 0 V. In addition, the rising time of output signal was verified to have fast response time of about 30 ns for 10 V. For the optical properties, the best spectrum sensitivity was 0.66 A/W for 880 nm, while it was relatively excellent value of 0.45 A/W for 1,000 nm.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2013

An analytical methodology based on solid-space extraction (SPE) with with Bond Elut Certify cartridge (Varian, 130 mg) has been developed for the qualification and quantitation of strychnine in blood. After the elution layer was evaporated, the residue was reconstituted with methanol for GC/MS. Internal standard was used 10 mg/l dextromethorphan. Strychnine is a potent central nervous stimulant and convulsant, and an alkaloid found in seeds of Strychnos nux-vomica. It was used therapeutically to improve circulation and muscle tone in oral or intramuscular doses of 0.05~8 mg. The fatal dose of strychnine for humans is 50~100 mg. A man was found dead lying curled up the corner of the large room in a roof house after the fire fighter opened a locked door inside to put out the fire. The postmortem blood and gastric contents were analyzed for toxicological testing. Strychnine and brucine were detected using GC/MS first in gastric contents extracts. The contents of strychnine was 0.083 mg/l in heart blood, 0.088 mg/l in peripheral blood and 4.0 mg/kg in gastric contents, respectively. Method validation was carried out in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision (intraday, interday) in blood. The assay is linear over 0.05~10 mg/l ($r^2$=0.999). Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) in blood were determined 0.02 mg/l (S/N=3) and 0.07 mg/l (S/N=10), respectively. Accuracy (bias%) of strychnine with 0.1, 1 and 10 mg/l was 12.0% (n=6), 9.3% (n=6) and 6.9% (n=6), respectively. Intraday precision (CV%) of strychnine with, 0.1, 1 and 10 mg/l were 6.4%, 10.4%, 1.2% (n=6), respectively. Interday precision (CV%) of strychnine with 0.1, 1 and 10 mg/l over three days were 24.0%, 18.5%, 13.8% (n=18), respectively. Relative recovery with 0.1, 1 and 10 mg/l (in blood) were 114.9%, 99.3% and 87.4% (n=6), respectively. The described method can be applied in forensic toxicology to determine strychnine in blood samples.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.107-112
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to determine potential contributing factors associated with biosecurity level of farrow-to-finish pig farms and to develop a classification tree model to explore how these factors related to each other based on prediction model. To this end, the author analyzed data (n = 193) extracted from a cross-sectional study of 344 farrow-to-finish farms which was conducted between March and September 2014 aimed to explore swine disease status at farm level. Standardized questionnaires with information about basic demographical data and management practices were collected in each farm by on-site visit of trained veterinarians. For the classification of the data sets regarding biosecurity level as a dependent variable and predictor variables, Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) algorithm was applied for modeling classification tree. The statistics of misclassification risk was used to evaluate the fitness of the model in terms of prediction results. Categorical multivariate input data (40 variables) was used to construct a classification tree, and the target variable was biosecurity level dichotomized into low versus high. In general, the level of biosecurity was lower in the majority of farms studied, mainly due to the limited implementation of on-farm basic biosecurity measures aimed at controlling the potential introduction and transmission of swine diseases. The CHAID model illustrated the relative importance of significant predictors in explaining the level of biosecurity; maintenance of medical records of treatment and vaccination, use of dedicated clothing to enter the farm, installing fence surrounding the farm perimeter, and periodic monitoring of the herd using written biosecurity plan in place. The misclassification risk estimate of the prediction model was 0.145 with the standard error of 0.025, indicating that 85.5% of the cases could be classified correctly by using the decision rule based on the current tree. Although CHAID approach could provide detailed information and insight about interactions among factors associated with biosecurity level, further evaluation of potential bias intervened in the course of data collection should be included in future studies. In addition, there is still need to validate findings through the external dataset with larger sample size to improve the external validity of the current model.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.916-930
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• 2019

Objective: To investigate the relationships of T₂^*-corrected 6-echo Dixon volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) imaging-based fat fraction (FF) and R₂^* values with bone mineral density (BMD); determine their associations with sex, age, and menopause; and evaluate the diagnostic performance of the FF and R₂^* for predicting osteopenia and osteoporosis. Materials and Methods: This study included 153 subjects who had undergone magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, including MR spectroscopy (MRS) and T₂^*-corrected 6-echo Dixon VIBE imaging. The FF and R₂^* were measured at the L4 vertebra. The male and female groups were divided into two subgroups according to age or menopause. Lin's concordance and Pearson's correlation coefficients, Bland-Altman 95% limits of agreement, and the area under the curve (AUC) were calculated. Results: The correlation between the spectroscopic and 6-echo Dixon VIBE imaging-based FF values was statistically significant for both readers (p_c = 0.940 [reader 1], 0.908 [reader 2]; both p < 0.001). A small measurement bias was observed for the MRS-based FF for both readers (mean difference = -0.3% [reader 1], 0.1% [reader 2]). We found a moderate negative correlation between BMD and the FF (r = -0.411 [reader 1], -0.436 [reader 2]; both p <0.001) with younger men and premenopausal women showing higher correlations. R₂^* and BMD were more significantly correlated in women than in men, and the highest correlation was observed in postmenopausal women (r = 0.626 [reader 1], 0.644 [reader 2]; both p < 0.001). For predicting osteopenia and osteoporosis, the FF had a higher AUC in men and R₂^* had a higher AUC in women. The AUC for predicting osteoporosis was highest with a combination of the FF and R₂^* in postmenopausal women (AUC = 0.872 [reader 1], 0.867 [reader 2]; both p < 0.001). Conclusion: The FF and R₂^* measured using T₂^*-corrected 6-echo Dixon VIBE imaging can serve as predictors of osteopenia and osteoporosis. R₂^* might be useful for predicting osteoporosis, especially in postmenopausal women.

• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.305-317
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• 2024

The study examines the effects of parameters that define the characteristics of raindrops on the simulated precipitation during the summer season over Korea using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Double-Moment 6-class (WDM6) cloud microphysics scheme. Prescribed parameters, defining the characteristics of hydrometeors in the WDM6 scheme such as a_R, b_R, and f_R in the fall velocity (V_R) - diameter (D_R) relationship and shape parameter (𝜇_R) in the number concentration (N_R) - D_R relationship, presents different values compared to the observed data from Two-Dimensional Video Disdrometer (2DVD) at Boseong standard meteorological observatory during 2018~2019. Three experiments were designed for the heavy rainfall event on August 8, 2022 using WRF version 4.3. These include the control (CNTL) experiment with original parameters in the WDM6 scheme; the MUR experiment, adopting the 50th percentile observation value for 𝜇_R; and the MEDI experiment, which uses the same 𝜇_R as MUR, but also includes fitted values for a_R, b_R, and f_R from the 50th percentile of the observed V_R - D_R relationship. Both sensitivity experiments show improved precipitation simulation compared to the CNTL by reducing the bias and increasing the probability of detection and equitable threat scores. In these experiments, the raindrop mixing ratio increases and its number concentration decreases in the lower atmosphere. The microphysics budget analysis shows that the increase in the rain mixing ratio is due to enhanced source processes such as graupel melting, vapor condensation, and accretion between cloud water and rain. Our study also emphasizes that applying the solely observed 𝜇_R produces more positive impact in the precipitation simulation.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.323-330
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• 2015

Alkaptonuria, a rare inherited metabolic disease, is characterized by a lack of homogentisate dioxygenase and accumulation of homogentisic acid (HGA), leading to homogentisic aciduria, arthritis, and ochronosis. In this study, a rapid analytical method, without an expensive and tedious solid phase extraction step, was developed to quantify HGA in plasma using GC-MS. HGA-spiked pooled plasma samples were subjected to liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with ethyl acetate, followed by trimethylsilyl derivatization (TMS) and GC-MS quantification using selected ion monitoring. The formation of TMS derivative of the 1 carboxylic and 2 hydroxyl functional groups was performed by reacting BSTFA (with 10% TMCS) for 5 min at 80 ℃. For selected ion monitoring, quantification and confirmation ions were determined based on specific ions (m/z 384, m/z 341 and m/z 252) of the TMS derivative of HGA. Calibration curves of pooled normal plasma specimens showed a linear relationship in the range of 1-100 ng/µL. The precision and accuracy were within a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1 to 15% and a bias of -5 to 25%. Recoveries were obtained in the range of 99-125% and 95-115% for intra-day and inter-day assay, respectively, at 2, 20 and 80 ng/µL. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.4 ng/µL and 4 ng/µL, respectively. No homogentisic acid was excreted from normal Korean plasma samples. Collectively, the results from the present study suggest that this method could be useful for routine diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of alkaptonuria patients with excellent sensitivity and rapidity.