• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.1
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• pp.166-175
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• 2020

Purpose This study aimed to compare the image quality and adverse events between Iopamidol 250 and Ioversol 320 usage during transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods Medical records and hepatic angiography from 113 patients who underwent TACE with Iopamidol 250 (44 patients) and Ioversol 320 (69 patients) were retrospectively reviewed. Vessel perception on hepatic angiography was graded into three categories by two radiologists for hepatic subsegmental arteries, the right gastroepiploic artery, right gastric artery, and pancreaticoduodenal artery. Imaging concordance was assessed by comparing the number of detected HCCs on hepatic angiography and CT. The adverse events before and after hepatic angiography were evaluated. Results The mean vessel perception scores were 2.92 and 2.94 for Iopamidol 250 and Ioversol 320, respectively. The imaging concordance was 31 (70.5%) and 46 (66.7%) patients for Iopamidol 250 and Ioversol 320, respectively. There were no statistical differences in vessel perception or imaging concordance (p > 0.05). One and six patients experienced nausea for Iopamidol 250 and Ioversol 320, respectively. There was no statistical difference in adverse events (p = 0.24). Conclusion Iopamidol 250 can be used in hepatic angiography for TACE without significant difference in image quality or occurrence of adverse events from Ioversol 320.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.833-846
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• 2023

Onions are essential vegetables for Koreans' diet and have various physiological activities. However, problems arise every year due to the imbalance between production and demand. Therefore, in this study, nutritional and functional components, and antioxidant activity were analyzed for each growth period in order to utilize onions at the disposal period. Whole onions harvested before June showed higher values of general ingredients, inorganic ingredients, organic acids, spiraeoside, quercetin, total chlorophyll, and antioxidant activity than bulbs harvested in June. On the other hand, the free sugar content was higher in the bulb of the harvest season in June than in whole onions. The total thiosulfinate content was similar to that of whole onions and bulbs in the early stages of growth. In addition, as a result of comparing the flavonoid compound and antioxidant activity of each onion variety, whole onions harvested at 25 weeks were higher in content than onion bulbs harvested in June. In conclusion, onions before the harvest season in June had excellent utilization value as food. Harvesting before 21 weeks is desirable for growing onions with excellent nutritional value, while harvesting after 23 weeks is recommended for excellent functional components and antioxidant activity in onions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.83 no.3
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• pp.669-679
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• 2022

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility of pediatric low-dose facial CT reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) using adequate kernels. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and imaging data of children aged < 10 years who underwent facial CT at our emergency department. The patients were divided into two groups: low-dose CT (LDCT; Group A, n = 73) with a fixed 80-kVp tube potential and automatic tube current modulation (ATCM) and standard-dose CT (SDCT; Group B, n = 40) with a fixed 120-kVp tube potential and ATCM. All images were reconstructed with FBP using bone and soft tissue kernels in Group A and only bone kernel in Group B. The groups were compared in terms of image noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Two radiologists subjectively scored the overall image quality of bony and soft tissue structures. The CT dose index volume and dose-length product were recorded. Results Image noise was higher in Group A than in Group B in bone kernel images (p < 0.001). Group A using a soft tissue kernel showed the highest SNR and CNR for all soft tissue structures (all p < 0.001). In the qualitative analysis of bony structures, Group A scores were found to be similar to or higher than Group B scores on comparing bone kernel images. In the qualitative analysis of soft tissue structures, there was no significant difference between Group A using a soft tissue kernel and Group B using a bone kernel with a soft tissue window setting (p > 0.05). Group A showed a 76.9% reduction in radiation dose compared to Group B (3.2 ± 0.2 mGy vs. 13.9 ± 1.5 mGy; p < 0.001). Conclusion The addition of a soft tissue kernel image to conventional CT reconstructed with FBP enables the use of pediatric low-dose facial CT protocol while maintaining image quality.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.4
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• pp.889-902
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• 2021

Purpose To assess the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for additional MR-detected enhancing lesions and to determine whether or not kinetic pattern results comparable to dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) of the breast can be obtained using the quantitative analysis of CEUS. Materials and Methods In this single-center prospective study, a total of 71 additional MR-detected breast lesions were included. CEUS examination was performed, and lesions were categorized according to the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS). The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of CEUS were calculated by comparing the BI-RADS category to the final pathology results. The degree of agreement between CEUS and DCE-MRI kinetic patterns was evaluated using weighted kappa. Results On CEUS, 46 lesions were assigned as BI-RADS category 4B, 4C, or 5, while 25 lesions category 3 or 4A. The diagnostic performance of CEUS for enhancing lesions on DCE-MRI was excellent, with 84.9% sensitivity, 94.4% specificity, and 97.8% positive predictive value. A total of 57/71 (80%) lesions had correlating kinetic patterns and showed good agreement (weighted kappa = 0.66) between CEUS and DCE-MRI. Benign lesions showed excellent agreement (weighted kappa = 0.84), and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) showed good agreement (weighted kappa = 0.69). Conclusion The diagnostic performance of CEUS for additional MR-detected breast lesions was excellent. Accurate kinetic pattern assessment, fairly comparable to DCE-MRI, can be obtained for benign and IDC lesions using CEUS.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.267-275
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• 2024

Artemisia fukudo Makino belongs to the Asteraceae family, is a halophyte that can grow in salinity soils and is known for its various physiological activities. However, few studies were comparing it according to the growth environment. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the antioxidant activity, functional ingredients, and safety of Artemisia fukudo Makino according to the growth environment. Total polyphenol content was the highest in native mature leaves, but 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity was higher in cultivated leaves than in native leaves. The total mineral content, excluding sodium, was higher in cultivated than in native leaves. The content of potassium and calcium was higher in cultivated leaves than in native leaves. In addition, heavy metal analysis showed that cultivated leaves were generally lower than those of native leaves. Residual pesticides were not detected in all samples. In conclusion, since there is no significant difference in cultivated leaves compared to native leaves, it was judged that cultivated leaves could be used as a variety to be grown and mass-produced.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.145-162
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• 2023

Asset management is a complex and difficult field that requires insight into numerous variables and even human psychology. Thus, it has traditionally been the domain of professionals, and these services have been expensive to obtain. Changes are taking place in these markets, and the driving force is the digital revolution, so-called the fourth industrial revolution. Among them, the Robo-Advisor service using artificial intelligence technology is the highlight. The reason is that it is possible to popularize investment advisory services with convenient accessibility and low cost. This study aims to clarify what factors are critically important when selecting robo-advisors for service users and providers in Korea, and what perception differences exist in the selection factors between user and provider groups. The framework of the study was based on the marketing mix 4C model, and the design and analysis of the model used Delphi survey and AHP. Through the study design, 4 main criteria and 15 sub-criteria were derived, and the findings of the study are as follows. First, the importance of the four main criteria was in the order of customer needs > customer convenience > customer cost > customer communication for both groups. Second, looking at the 15 sub-criteria, it was found that investment purpose coverage, investment propensity coverage, fee level and accessibility factors were the most important. Third, when comparing between groups, the user group found that the fee level and accessibility factors were the most important, and the provider group recognized the investment purpose coverage and investment propensity coverage factors as important. This study derived useful implications in practice. First, when designing for the spread of the robo-advisor service, the basis for constructing a user-oriented system was prepared by considering the priority of importance according to the weight difference between the four main criteria and the 15 sub-criteria. In addition, the difference in priority of each sub-criteria shown in the group comparison and the cause of the sub-criteria with large weight differences were identified. In addition, it was suggested that it is very important to form a consensus to resolve the difference in perception of factors between those in charge of strategy and marketing and system development within the provider group. Academically, it is meaningful in that it is an early study that presented various perspectives and perspectives by deriving a number of robo-advisor selection factors. Through the findings of this study, it is expected that a successful user-oriented robo-advisor system can be built and spread in Korea to help users.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.181-193
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• 2024

The increasing atmospheric imbalance caused by climate change leads to an elevation in precipitation, resulting in a heightened frequency of flooding. Consequently, there is a growing need for technology to detect and monitor these occurrences, especially as the frequency of flooding events rises. To minimize flood damage, continuous monitoring is essential, and flood areas can be detected by the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, which is not affected by climate conditions. The observed data undergoes a preprocessing step, utilizing a median filter to reduce noise. Classification techniques were employed to classify water bodies and non-water bodies, with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of each method in flood detection. In this study, the Otsu method and Support Vector Machine (SVM) technique were utilized for the classification of water bodies and non-water bodies. The overall performance of the models was assessed using a Confusion Matrix. The suitability of flood detection was evaluated by comparing the Otsu method, an optimal threshold-based classifier, with SVM, a machine learning technique that minimizes misclassifications through training. The Otsu method demonstrated suitability in delineating boundaries between water and non-water bodies but exhibited a higher rate of misclassifications due to the influence of mixed substances. Conversely, the use of SVM resulted in a lower false positive rate and proved less sensitive to mixed substances. Consequently, SVM exhibited higher accuracy under conditions excluding flooding. While the Otsu method showed slightly higher accuracy in flood conditions compared to SVM, the difference in accuracy was less than 5% (Otsu: 0.93, SVM: 0.90). However, in pre-flooding and post-flooding conditions, the accuracy difference was more than 15%, indicating that SVM is more suitable for water body and flood detection (Otsu: 0.77, SVM: 0.92). Based on the findings of this study, it is anticipated that more accurate detection of water bodies and floods could contribute to minimizing flood-related damages and losses.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.138-146
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• 2024

Purpose To evaluate whether the image quality of chest radiographs obtained using a camera-type portable X-ray device is appropriate for clinical practice by comparing them with traditional mobile digital X-ray devices. Materials and Methods Eighty-six patients who visited our emergency department and underwent endotracheal intubation, central venous catheterization, or nasogastric tube insertion were included in the study. Two radiologists scored images captured with traditional mobile devices before insertion and those captured with camera-type devices after insertion. Identification of the inserted instruments was evaluated on a 5-point scale, and the overall image quality was evaluated on a total of 20 points scale. Results The identification score of the instruments was 4.67 ± 0.71. The overall image quality score was 19.70 ± 0.72 and 15.02 ± 3.31 (p < 0.001) for the mobile and camera-type devices, respectively. The scores of the camera-type device were significantly lower than those of the mobile device in terms of the detailed items of respiratory motion artifacts, trachea and bronchus, pulmonary vessels, posterior cardiac blood vessels, thoracic intervertebral disc space, subdiaphragmatic vessels, and diaphragm (p = 0.013 for the item of diaphragm, p < 0.001 for the other detailed items). Conclusion Although caution is required for general diagnostic purposes as image quality degrades, a camera-type device can be used to evaluate the inserted instruments in chest radiographs.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.80-94
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• 2024

This study aimed to examine the morphological characteristics and variation in main traits by comparing the growth of individuals of Ecklonia cava Kjellman(Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) under an aquaculture environment. This survey was conducted from April 2018 to November 2019 at the aquafarm in Jindo-gun, Jeollanam-do(South coast of Korea). To classify the morphology of individuals in the aquaculture farm of E. cava, we investigated fourteen morphological characteristics and calculated four ratios between the measured values. Juvenile individuals showed a simple or oblong lanceolate, and at 3-4 months, a short stipe and holdfast developed, along with a bladelet that developed into the secondary blade form. At 5-7 months, secondary blades were found to develop irregularly on the primary blade. At 8-10 months, the primary blade expanded and secondary blades elongated. At 11-12 months, the secondary blades became oblong. At 13-14 months, the thallus area expanded. At 15-16 months, tertiary blades were formed, the thallus became more complex, the stipe thickened, and the holdfast widened. At 17-18 months, secondary blades clearly developed along with lobes. At 19-20 months, tertiary blades developed and became similar to mature natural blades. In the principal component analysis (PCA), the monthly population of the first year(Q1) and that of the second year(Q2) of the cultured population were divided along PC1, which is related to secondary blade morphological characteristics and the holdfast width. Q2 and natural populations are distributed in descending order of volume in Jeju(J), East Coast(E), and South Coast(S) along PC2, which is related to primary blade and stipe morphological characteristics. The results of this study were judged to offer important criteria for the development of different varieties of E. cava.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.473-481
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• 2023

Pinus densiflora is a fixed-growth coniferous species that elongates its shoot once a year and finishes growing in early summer. However, it may produce additional shoots in the same year in response to external stimuli, called abnormal shoot growth. This study investigated the effects of open-field summer warming and drought on the abnormal shoot growth of P. densiflora seedlings. In March 2022, two factorial combinations were constructed, including two temperature treatments (control and 4℃ increase) and two precipitation treatments (control and drought), with five replicates for each combination. The temperature treatment was performed for 87 days from May 14 to August 8, 2022, and the precipitation treatment was performed for 33 days from May 14 to June 15, blocking 100% of the ambient rainfall. The abnormal shoot occurrence rate and leaf unfolding stages were measured in November, and the shoot and root collar diameter growth rates were calculated by comparing the seedling height and root collar diameter measured in August(after the cessation of treatment) and October(after the end of growing period) with the initial values (i.e., May 2022). The abnormal shoot occurrence rate significantly increased under the warming treatment, showing a 410.6% increase in the warming plots (38.4%) compared to the control plots (7.5%). There was no significant difference in the shoot and root collar diameter growth rate regarding warming and drought treatments. Abnormal shoots may have been affected by high temperatures by inducing early transition to the next ontogenetic stage.