• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.169-175
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• 2019

The aim of this study is to examine the relative economic benefits between the septic tank and exclusive sewage pipe line in designing the large building at combined sewer districts. With the case study of Lotte World Tower Building, we analyze a cost-benefit between two alternatives. The research results showed 2 years of payback period, about ￦6.17 billion of NPV, and 1.93 of B/C ratio for installing the exclusive sewage pipe line in comparison with septic tank. This results provide useful guidelines for policy establishment of the septic tank closure and for plausibility of installing exclusive sewage pipe line when constructing a large building. In the future, it will be necessary to consider additional cost-benefit analysis including burden charge borne by causers, the burden of management responsibility with a exclusive sewage pipe line, and the economic benefits of reducing odor.

• 한국노년학
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.853-870
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• 2017

This study examined the changes of depression and life satisfaction among the elderly living together in group-home and congregate housing. And in this course, it was to verify the practical effects of the recent government and local authority community life of elderly people by comparing them with the groups of elders living alone. The study was divided into Time 1 and Time 2, and 205 person's data were used for the final analysis. PASW Statistics 18.0 was utilized to analysis the data of this study, because it is difficult to explain the results of this analysis, secondary qualitative research has been used to identify additional contextual information. The major results of this study are as follows. First, the depression of the subjects was significantly improved in the case of living in group-home and congregate housing, and it was significantly worse in the group of elders living alone. Second, the life satisfaction of survey subjects was significantly improved when living in congregate housing, group-home was significantly worse, and the group of elders living alone were not statistically significant but slightly worse. Third, mixed research methods were applied to make accurate interpretation of changes of life satisfaction of the elderly living in group-home. Based on the results of this study, it is possible to establish appropriate measures for the elderly to improve early adjustment and quality of life in community life. And the community life of the elderly can contribute to a real social safety net by solving the blind spot of welfare. At the national level, it can be utilized as a standard reference to improve and strengthen existing policies by providing data that can simultaneously examine the performances and problems of various policies related to housing or the welfare of the elderly.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.34 no.6_3
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• pp.1427-1443
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• 2018

Object-based image analysis (OBIA) allows higher computation efficiency and usability of information inherent in the image, as it reduces the complexity of the image while maintaining the image properties. Superpixel methods oversegment the image with a smaller image unit than an ordinary object segment and well preserve the edges of the image. SLIC (Simple linear iterative clustering) is known for outperforming the previous superpixel methods with high image segmentation quality. Although the input parameter for SLIC, number of superpixels has considerable influence on image segmentation results, impact analysis for SLIC parameter has not been investigated enough. In this study, we performed optimal parameter analysis and evaluation of change detection for SLIC-based superpixel techniques using KOMPSAT data. Forsuperpixel generation, three superpixel methods (SLIC; SLIC0, zero parameter version of SLIC; SNIC, simple non-iterative clustering) were used with superpixel sizes in ranges of $5{\times}5$ (pixels) to $50{\times}50$ (pixels). Then, the image segmentation results were analyzed for how well they preserve the edges of the change detection reference data. Based on the optimal parameter analysis, image segmentation boundaries were obtained from difference image of the bi-temporal images. Then, DBSCAN (Density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise) was applied to cluster the superpixels to a certain size of objects for change detection. The changes of features were detected for each superpixel and compared with reference data for evaluation. From the change detection results, it proved that better change detection can be achieved even with bigger superpixel size if the superpixels were generated with high regularity of size and shape.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.169-180
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• 2018

White light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are more economical than fluorescent lights, and provide high brightness, a high lifetime expectancy, and greater durability. As LEDs are closely connected with people's daily lives, dimming control of LED is an important component in providing energy savings and improving quality of life. In visible light communications systems using these LEDs, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology has attracted a lot of attention, in that it can attain the channel capacity in proportion to the number of antennas. This paper analyzes the power performance of three kinds of modulation in visible light communications (VLC) systems applied space-time block code (STBC) techniques. The modulation schemes are return-to-zero on-off keying (RZ-OOK), variable pulse position modulation (VPPM), and overlapping pulse position modulation (OPPM), and dimming control was applied. The power requirements and power consumption were used as metrics to compare the power efficiency in $2{\times}2$ STBC-VLC environments under the three kinds of modulation. We confirm that dimming control affects the communications performance of each modulation scheme. VPPM showed greater consumption among the three modulations, and OPPM showed energy savings comparable to VPPM.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1455-1460
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• 2018

Due to a rapidly expanding aging population, the incidence of degenerative bone disease has increased, and efforts to handle the issue using regenerative medicine have become more important. In order to control various bone diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, regenerative medicine utilizing adult stem cells has been extensively studied. And it is now clear that the mitochondrial energy metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, is important for the process of stem cell differentiation. Interestingly, a recent study reported that salicylate promotes mitochondrial biogenesis by regulating the expression of $PGC-1{\alpha}$ in murine cells. However, the possible effects of salicylate on osteogenic differentiation through increased mitochondrial biogenesis in stem cells remain unknown. Thus, here we investigated whether salicylate could influence osteogenic differentiation and mitochondrial biogenesis of periosteum-derived mesenchymal stem cells (POMSCs). We found that salicylate treatments of POMSCs undergoing osteogenic differentiation increased the activity of alkaline phosphatase, a well-known early marker of bone cell differentiation. In addition, we observed that mitochondrial mass was increased by salicylate treatments in POMSCs. Together, these results indicate that salicylate can enhance osteogenic differentiation and mitochondrial biogenesis in POMSCs. Therefore, the findings in this study suggest that small molecules augmenting mitochondrial function such as salicylate can be a novel modulator for osteogenic differentiation and regenerative medicine.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.596-608
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• 2018

As urban infrastructure is aging, the possibility of accidents due to the failures or breakdowns of infrastructure increases. Especially, aging underground infrastructures like sewer pipes, waterworks, and subway have a potential to cause an urban ground sink. Urban ground sink is defined just as a local and erratic collapse occurred by underground cavity due to soil erosion or soil loss, which is separated from a sinkhole in soluble bedrock such as limestone. The conventional measurements such as differential settlement gauge, inclinometer or earth pressure gauge have a shortcoming just to provide point measurements with short coverage. Therefore, these methods are not adequate for monitoring of an erratic subsidence caused by underground cavity due to soil erosion or soil loss which occurring at unspecified time and location. Therefore, an alternative technology is required to detect a change of underground physical condition in real time. In this study, the feasibility of a novel magnetic resonance based monitoring method is investigated through laboratory tests, where the changes of path loss (S21) were measured under various testing conditions: media including air, water, and soil, resonant frequency, impedance, and distances between transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX). Theoretically, the transfer characteristic of magnetic field is known to be independent of the density of the medium. However, the results of the test showed the meaningful differences in the path loss (S21) under the different conditions of medium. And it is found that the reflection coefficient showed the more distinct differences over the testing conditions than the path loss. In particular, input reflection coefficient (S11) is more distinguishable than output reflection coefficient (S22).

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.587-594
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to develop the indirect dosimetry by calculation (IDC) method for diagnostic X-ray equipment. The experiments were performed with inverter type X-ray tubes: Toshiba (E7252X, Japan) and Varian (RAD-14, USA). For the development method, we first applied the standard quality of X-ray beam shown in the TRS457 document, and second, to produce the constants of trendline for the IDC, the total filtration on X-ray beam was subdivided. Third, in order to increase the precision, the energy region was divided into the high energy region and the low energy region and developed by the IDC. In order to verify the IDC, mean dose (mR) values were measured for three Toshiba X-ray tubes and three Varian X-ray tubes at clinical medical institutions and then compared with the IDC on the 2013. As a result, compared with the previous study, the accuracy of the IDC of this study were improved by 2.71% and 9.91% in Toshiba and Varian X-ray tubes, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1179-1186
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• 2018

Objective: The purposes of this study were to evaluate size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) of low-dose CT (LDCT) in the Korean Lung Cancer Screening (K-LUCAS) project and to determine whether CT protocols from Western countries are appropriate for lung cancer screening in Korea. Materials and Methods: For participants (n = 256, four institutions) of K-LUCAS pilot study, volume CT dose index ($CTDI_{vol}$) using a 32-cm diameter reference phantom was compared with SSDE, which was recalculated from $CTDI_{vol}$ using size-dependent conversion factor (f-size) based on the body size, as described in the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Report 204. This comparison was subsequently assessed by body mass index (BMI) levels (underweight/normal vs. overweight/obese), and automatic exposure control (AEC) adaptation (yes/no). Results: Size-specific dose estimate was higher than $CTDI_{vol}$ ($2.22{\pm}0.75mGy$ vs. $1.67{\pm}0.60mGy$, p < 0.001), since the f-size was larger than 1.0 for all participants. The ratio of SSDE to $CTDI_{vol}$ was higher in lower BMI groups; 1.26, 1.37, 1.43, and 1.53 in the obese (n = 103), overweight (n = 70), normal (n = 75), and underweight (n = 4), respectively. The ratio of SSDE to $CTDI_{vol}$ was greater in standard-sized participants than in large-sized participants independent of AEC adaptation; with AEC, SSDE/$CTDI_{vol}$ in large- vs. standard-sized participants: $1.30{\pm}0.08$ vs. $1.44{\pm}0.08$ (p < 0.001) and without AEC, $1.32{\pm}0.08$ vs. $1.42{\pm}0.06$ (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Volume CT dose index based on a reference phantom underestimates radiation exposure of LDCT in standard-sized Korean participants. The optimal radiation dose limit needs to be verified for standard-sized Korean participants.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.1002-1011
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• 2018

Background and Objectives: The prognostic impact of left axis deviation (LAD) on clinical outcomes in acute heart failure syndrome (AHFS) with left bundle branch block (LBBB) is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic significance of axis deviation in acute heart failure patients with LBBB. Methods: Between March 2011 and February 2014, 292 consecutive AHFS patients with LBBB were recruited from 10 tertiary university hospitals. They were divided into groups with no LAD (n=189) or with LAD (n=103) groups according to QRS axis <-30 degree. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Results: The median follow-up duration was 24 months. On multivariate analysis, the rate of all-cause death did not significantly differ between the normal axis and LAD groups (39.7% vs. 46.6%, adjusted hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.66, 1.53; p=0.97). However, on the multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate the predictors of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), presence of LAD significantly predicted a worse LVEF (adjusted beta, -3.25; 95% confidence interval, -5.82, -0.67; p=0.01). Right ventricle (RV) dilatation was defined as at least 2 of 3 electrocardiographic criteria (late R in lead aVR, low voltages in limb leads, and R/S ratio <1 in lead V5) and was more frequent in the LAD group than in the normal axis group (p<0.001). Conclusions: Among the AHFS with LBBB patients, LAD did not predict mortality, but it could be used as a significant predictor of worse LVEF and RV dilatation (Trial registry at KorAHF registry, ClinicalTrial.gov, NCT01389843).

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.901-908
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• 2018

Graphite is used as a sample anode active material. However, since the maximum theoretical capacity is limited to $372mA\;h\;g^{-1}$, a new anode active material is required for the development of a high capacity lithium ion battery. The maximum theoretical capacity of Si is $4200mA\;h\;g^{-1}$, which is higher than that of graphite. However, it is not suitable for direct application to the anode active material because it has a volume expansion of 400%. In order to minimize the decrease of the discharge capacity due to the volume expansion, the Si was pulverized by the dry method to reduce the mechanical stress and the volume change of the reaction phase, and the change of the volume was suppressed by coating the carbon layers to the particle size controlled Si particles. And carbon fiber is grown like a thread on the particle surface to control secondary volume expansion and improve electrical conductivity. The physical and chemical properties of the materials were measured by XRD, SEM and TEM, and their electrochemical properties were evaluated. In this study, we have investigated the synthesis method that can be used as anode active material by improving cycle characteristics of Si.