• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.76-76
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• 2003

Purpose: To assess clinical proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) as a noninvasive method for evaluating tumor malignancy at 3T high field system. Methods: Using 3T MRI/MRS system, localized water-suppressed single-voxel technique in patients with brain tumors was employed to evaluate spectra with peaks of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline-containing compounds (Cho), creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr) and lactate. On the basis of Cr, these peak areas were quantificated as a relative ratio. Results: The variation of metabolites measurements of the designated region in 10 normal volunteers was less than 10%. Normal ranges of NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios were 1.67$\pm$018 and 1.16:1:0.15, respectively. NAA/Cr ratio of all tumor tissues was significantly lower than that of the normal tissues (P=0.005). Cho/Cr ratio of high-grade gliomas was significantly higher than that of low-grade gliomas (P= 0.001), Except 4 menigiomas, lactate signal was observed in all tumor cases. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that the neuronal degradation or loss was observed in all tumor tissues. Higher grade of brain tumors was correlated with higher Cho/Cr ratio, indicating a significant dependence of Cho levels on malignancy of gliomas. This results suggest that clinical proton MR spectroscopy could be useful to predict tumor malignancy. Acknowledgement: This study was supported by a grant of the Mid and Long Term Nuclear R/D Plan Program, Ministry of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.345-351
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to assess clinical proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) as a noninvasive method for evaluating brain tumor malignancy at 3T high field system. Using 3T MRI/MRS system, localized water-suppressed single-voxe1 technique in patients with brain tumors was employed to evaluate spectra with peaks of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline-containing compounds (Cho), creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr) and lactate. On the basis of Cr, these peak areas were quantificated as a relative ratio. The variation of metabolites measurements of the designated region in 10 normal volunteers was less than 10%. Normal ranges of NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios were 1.67${\pm}$018 and 1.16${\pm}$0.15, respectively. NAA/Cr ratio of all tumor tissues was significantly lower than that of the normal tissues (p=0.005), but Cho/Cr ratio of all tumor tissue was significantly higher (p=0.001). Cho/Cr ratio of high-grade gliomas was significantly higher than that of low-grade gliomas (P=0.001). Except 4 menigiomas, lactate signal was observed in all tumor cases. The present study demonstrated that the neuronal degradation or loss was observed in all tumor tissues. Higher grade of brain tumors was correlated with higher Cho/Cr ratio, indicating a significant dependence of Cho levels on malignancy of gliomas. Our results suggest that clinical proton MR spectroscopy could be useful to predict tumor malignancy.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.86-93
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• 2004

Purpose: We evaluated $^1H$ MR spectroscopy improves the preoperative diagnosis of diffuse infiltrative type of primary central nervous system lymphomas. Materials and methods: After review of conventional MR images and medical records, we retrospectively reviewed proton MR spectra in seven patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma diagnosed by means of biopsy. Relative ratio of choline (Cho), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and lipid-lactate (Lip-Lac) to creatine (Cr) were measured for quantitative analysis. Results: The average ratio of Cho/Cr was $1.80{\pm}0.95$, NAA/Cr was $1.34{\pm}0.41$, and Lip-Lac/Cr was $1.12{\pm}0.16$. All cases of lymphomas showed increased Lip-Lac peak. Two case of mass forming lymphoma showed decreased NAA/Cr significantly, whereas five cases of lymphoma without mass formation showed preserved NAA/Cr. Conclusion : We thought the presence of Lip-Lac peak without significant reduction of NAA on the MR spectroscopy was helpful for diagnosis of diffuse infiltrative type of central nervous system lymphoma.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.86-93
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• 1997

Purpose: To assess the ability of in vivo H-1 MRS to determine the degree of malignancy and to characterize the histopathologic type of intracranial solid tumors. Materials and Methods: In vivo H-1 MR spectra of the pathologically-proven 81 intracranial soild tumors (low-grade glioma 17 cases, high-grade glioma 31 cases, lymphoma 9 cases, meningioma 8 cases, central neurocytoma 4 cases, medulloblastoma 3 cases, PNET 3 cases, metastasis 2 cases, others 4 cases) were analyzed. H-1 MR spectroscopy was performed on a 1.5T MR unit using PRESS sequence with a TR of 2000ms, a TE of 270 or 135ms and a voxel size of $2{\times}2{\times}2cm^3$ for all spectra. N-acetyl aspartate (NAA)/Creatine complex(Cr), Choline complex (Cho)/Cr, and lactate (Lac)/Cr ratios were measured on the peak heights of each resonance and compared among the different tumors. Results: All intracranial solid tumors demonstrated decreased NAA, elevated Cho and lactate, and variable Cr levels. All tumors showed increased Cho/Cr and Lac/Cr, whereas NAA/Cr level was decreased. Mean Cho/Cr and Lac/Cr ratios were significantly higher in high-grade gliomas than in low-grade gliomas. However, NAA/Cr ratio showed no significant difference between low-grade and high-grade gliomas. Very high Cho peaks were seen in lymphomas, meningiomas, medulloblastomas, and neurocytomas in addition to high-grade gliomas. Conclusion: H-1 MRS may be useful in differentiating between low-grade and high-grade gliomas, however cannot characterize the histologic types or subtypes of tumors.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.28-36
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• 2004

Authors investigated whether there is a lateral effect of $^1$H MRS observable metabolite ratios between the symptomatic and the nonsymptomatic side in the early stage of Parkinson's disease with unilateral symptom. Localized in vivo $^1$H MR spectroscopy (MRS) was used to measure the metabolite levels in the symptomatic and the nonsymptomatic sides of the lentiform nucleus in Parkinson"s disease with unilateral symptom (N=25). The metabolite ratios of NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr in the symptomatic side were compared with those in the nonsymptomatic side. Significant metabolic lateral effect of NAA/(Cho+Cr) ratio was established between the symptomatic and the nonsymptomatic side of lentiform nucleus in Parkinson's disease with unilateral symptom (p<0.05). The ratio of NAA/(Cho+Cr) homolateral to the sympatomatic side of the patient is also lower than that of the control (P<0.05). On the basis of NAA/Cr ratios of lentiform nucleus between the symptomatic and the nonsymptomatic side, the present $^1$H MRS study shows a significant neuronal laterality in Parkinson's disease with unilateral symptom. In vivo $^1$H MRS may provide a diagnostic marker for neuronal dysfunction in Parkinson's disease with unilateral symptom.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.120-128
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• 2002

To investigate differences between the metabolic ratios of normal controls and brain tumors such as astrocytomas and glioblastoma multiforme (GM) by proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) at 37 high field system. Using 3T MRI/MRS system, localized water-suppressed single-voxel technique in patients with brain tumors was employed to evaluate spectra with peaks of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline-containing compounds (Cho), creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr) and lactate. On the basis of Cr, these peak areas were quantificated as a relative ratio. The variation of metabolites measurements of the designated region in 10 normal volunteers was less than 10%. Normal ranges of NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios were 1.67$\pm$018 and 1.16$\pm$0.15, respectively. NAA/Cr ratio of all tumor tissues was significantly lower than that of the normal tissues (P=0.005). Cho/Cr ratio of glioblastoma multiforme was significantly higher than that of astrocytomas (P=0.001). Lactate was observed in all tumor cases. The present study demonstrated that the neuronal degradation or loss was observed in all tumor tissues. Higher grade of brain tumors was correlated with higher Cho/Cr ratio, indicating a significant dependence of Cho levels on malignancy of gliomas. This results suggest that clinical proton MR spectroscopy could be useful to predict tumor malignancy.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 1998

The crystal structures, the lattice parameters and the characteristics of hydrogen storage at 303K has been investigated in the ternary alloys of Ti-Cr-V system. All of these alloys, in the range of this study, have shown a bcc structure. The hydrogen storage capacities and the effective hydrogen storage capacities of the alloys were strongly dependant on the composition ratio of Ti/Cr, showing their maximum values at the Ti/Cr ratio of about 0.75. It was also found that the lattice parameters of the alloys increased linearly with an increase of the Ti/Cr ratio. The differences in affinities to hydrogen and lattice parameters of pure metal states of the three elements have been adopted in oder to explain the Ti/Cr ratio dependance of the lattice parameter and hydrogen storage capacity of the alloys.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.687-694
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• 2005

Lab-scale experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of F/R ratio of ASBR (Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor) process on the removal of the organic matters in ammonia stripped swine wastewater. Three ASBR inoculated with sludge mixed with granular sludge of UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) and anaerobic digested sludge of municipal wastewater treatment plant were operated. Ammonia stripped swine wastewater was used as influent. Prior to conducting the experiments with varied conditions, the effect of increasing organic loading rate from 2.34 to $5.79gTCOD_{Cr}/L$-day at a fixed F/R ratio of 0.1 on the organic removal efficiency has been studied during start-up period. As the result of the experiment, under the condition of varied organic loadings, less than $4.14gTCOD_{Cr}/L$-day, the removed efficiency $TCOD_{Cr}$ of the ASBR process is 83% resulted from the mean value of effluent $TCOD_{Cr}$, 9,125 mg/L during the start-up period. Then ASBRs were operated with F/R ratio of 0.024, 0.303 and 0.91 respectively. Organic loading rate was increased from 4.56 to $15.43gTCOD_{Cr}/L$-day to investigate the effects of F/R ratio and organic loading rate on the organic removal efficiency. As the result of the experiment, less than $6.23gTCOD_{Cr}/L$/L-day, F/R ratio haven't an effect on the organic removal efficiency and the mean removal efficiency of TSS, $TCOD_{Cr}$ and $SCOD_{Cr}$ was about 80%, 86% and 78% at the all of F/R ratio. But as organic loading rate was increased from 8.54 to $12.04gTCOD_{Cr}/L$-day at the F/R ratio of 0.024, the removal efficiency of $SCOD_{Cr}$ decreased from 71% to 63%. The range of decreased removal efficiency of $SCOD_{Cr}$ at the F/R ratio of 0.024 was much more higher than at the F/R ratio of 0.303, 0.91. Thus, as organic loading rate was increased, ASBRs were operated with high F/R ratio to obtain high removal efficiency.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2000

Authors evaluated alterations of observable metabolite ratios between the cerebral lesion and the contralateral region related to the clinical symptomatic side in levodopa-treated Parkinson's disease (PD) and investigated correlation between age in patients with PD and metabolite ratios of the lesion. Patients with levodopa-treated PD (n = 54) and age-matched normal controls (n = 15) underwent magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) examinations using a stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) pulse sequence that provided 2$\times$2$\times$2 cm3 volume of interest in the selected regions of substantia nigra (SN) and putamed-globus pallidus (PG). To evaluate dependence of metabolite ratios on age, we divided into two groups (i.e., younger and older age). We quantitatively measured N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline-containing compounds (Cho), inositols (Ins), and the sum of glutamate (Glx) and GABA levels and obtained proton metabolite ratios relative to Cr using a Marquart algorithm. Compared with the contralateral region, a significant neuronal laterality of the NAA/Cr ratio in the lesion of SN related to the clinical symptomatic side was established (P = 0.01), but was not established in the lesion of PG (P = 0.24). Also, Cho/Cr ratio tended toward significance in the lesion of SN (P = 0.07) and was statistically significant in the lesion of PG(P = 0.01). Compared with that in the younger age group, NAA/Cr ratio in the older age was decreased in the lesion of SN (P = 0.02), while NAA/Cr ratio was not statistically significant in the lesion of PG ( P = 0.21). Significant metabolic alterations of NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios might be closely related with functional changes of neuropathological process in SN and PG of levodopa treated PD and could be a valuable finding for evaluation of the PD. A trend of NAA/Cr reduction, being statistically significant in older patients, could be indicative of more pronounced neuronal damage in the SN of the progressive PD.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.123-129
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• 2001

Purpose: The purposes of this study are to evaluate normal MR spectroscopy (MRS) data of the cerebellum and pons, and to evaluate intra-unit and inter-unit differences of the results. Materials and methods: Nine normal volunteers (mean age 23 years) were studied with two 1.5 Tesla MR units (A and B units). A total of four sessions of MRS study were performed with two sessions in ea.ch MR unit in each volunteer. In each session, MRS data were obtained from bilateral cerebellar hemisphere and pons. MRS was performed using spin-echo single voxel technique with repetition time of 2000 ms, echo time of 288ms and 128 averagings. Voxel size was $2{\;}{\times}{\;}2{\;}{\times}{\;}1.5{\;}cm$ in the cerebellum and $1.5{\;}{\times}{\;}1.5{\;}{\times}{\;}1.5{\;}cm$ in the pons. Metabolite ratios of NAA/Cho, NAAcCr, NAAc(Cho+Cr) and Cr/Cho (both peak heights and the peak areas) were compared among the results of four sessions of MRS for evaluation of intra-unit and inter-unit differences. Results: In the cerebellum, mean (SO values of peak height NAA/Cho, NAA/Cr, NAA/(Cho+Cr) and Cr/Cho ratios obtained in the first session of A unit were $1.08{\pm}O.16,{\;}1.44{\pm}O.286,{\;}0.61{\pm}O.09{\;}and{\;}O.76{\pm}0.13$, respectively. Comparing with the results of the second session, intra-unit differences were 3-7%. In B unit intra-unit differences were 1-9%, except for 22% of Cr/Cho ratio. Inter-unit differences between A and B units were 1-26%. In the pons, mean ISD values of peak height NANCho, NANCr, NANICho + Cr) and Cr/Cho ratios obtained in the first session of A unit were $1.51{\pm}O.35,{\;}3.35{\pm}O.78,{\;}1.02{\pm}0.16{\;}and{\;}0.47{\pm}O.14$, respectively. Mean NAAfCho, NANCr and NAAI(Cho+ Cr} ratios of the pons were significantly higher than those of the cerebellum. Intra-unit differences were 2-21 % in A unit and 4-18 % in B unit. Inter-unit differences between A and B units were 1-18%. The mean values obtained by using peak area were generally higher and wider in range than those of peak height in both units. Conclusion: Mean NAAfCho, NAAlCr and NAAf(Cho+Cr) ratios of the cerebellum were significanHy lower than those of the pons. Intra-unit differences of most metabolites ratios were generally not significant, whereas inter-unit differences were greater than intra-unit differences in more metabolite ratios. Therefore, normal MRS data of the cerebellum and the pons should be obtained in every MR unit, before MRS applications in the diseases of the cerebellum and the pons.