• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.41-51
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• 1999

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of local climatic conditions on the annual increment of Korean white pine planted in Gapyung and Yaungdong. For this, stand variables such as mean DBH, mean height, basal area per hectare, and volume per hectare by stand age were measured and summarized for each locality. Based on these statistics, annual increments for 8 years from stand age 10 to 18 were calculated for each of stand variables. A topoclimatological technique which makes use of empirical relationships between the topography and the weather in study sites was applied to produce normal estimates of monthly mean, maximum, minimum temperatures, relative humidity, precipitation, and hours of sunshine. Then, the yearly climatic variables from 1990 to 1997 for each study site were derived from the spatial interpolation procedures based on inverse- distance weighting of the observed deviation from the climatic normals at the nearest 11 standard weather stations. From these estimates, 17 weather variables such as warmth index, coldness index, index of aridity etc., which affect the tree growth, were computed on yearly base for each locality. The deviations of measured annual increments from the expected annual increments for 8 years based on yield table of Korean white pine were then correlated with and regressed on the yearly weather variables to examine effects of local climatic conditions on the growth. Gapyung area provides better conditions for the growth of Korean white pine in the early stage than Youngdong area. This indicates that the conditions such as low temperature, high relative humidity, and large amount of precipitation provide favor environment for the early growth of Korean white pine. A ccording to the correlation and regression an analysis using local climatic conditions and annual increments, the growth pattern of Gapyung area corresponds to this tendency. However, it was found that the relationship between annual increments and local climatic conditions in Youngdong area shows different tendency from Gapyung. These results mean that the yearly growth pattern could not sufficiently be explained by climatic conditions with high variance in yearly weather variables. In addition, the poor growth in Youngdong area might not only be affected by climatic conditions, but also by other environmental factors such as site quality.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.66-73
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• 2014

Purpose: Various diagnostic imaging modalities have been used to evaluate the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for osteosarcoma early and noninvasively. We evaluated the effectiveness of imaging studies of plain radiographs and positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in predicting neoadjuvant chemotherapy effect for osteosarcoma and tried to establish a general principle in interpretation of PET/CT parameters. Materials and Methods: Eighteen patients who underwent two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgical excision for osteosarcoma were enrolled. There were 13 males and 5 females, with a median age of 19 (11-63) years. Fifteen patients of 18 had the American Joint Committe on Cancer (AJCC) stage IIB. They had plain radiographs and PET/CT before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The resected tumor specimens were pathologically examined to determine histological response grade using a conventional mapping method. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between histopathological necrosis rate, and radiographic finding category, post-chemotherapy maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), average standardized uptake value and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) as well as reduction rates of them. Results: Eight patients were good responders to neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on histological evaluation. Median SUVmax reduction rate was 73 (23-77) % in good responders and 42 (-32-76) % in poor responders. Median MTV reduction rate was 93.5 (62-99) % in good responders and 46 (-81-100) % in poor responders. While radiographic finding category was not different according to histological response (p=1.0), SUVmax reduction rate was significantly different (p=0.041). Difference in MTV reduction rates approached statistical significance as well (p=0.071). Conclusion: While radiographic finding category was not reliable to assess neoadjuvant chemotherapy effect for osteosarcoma, reduction rate of SUVmax was a useful indicator in this study. As parameters of PET/CT can be influenced by various factors of settings, different centers have to make an effort to establish their own standard of judgement with reference of previous studies.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.277-291
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• 2008

In order to carry out river basin management, it is necessary to evaluate the state of the river basin and make site-specific measures on the basis of management goals and objectives. A river basin is divided into several watersheds, which are composed of several components: water resources, social and economic systems, law and institution, user, land, ecosystems, etc. They are connected among them and form network holistically. In this study, a methodology for evaluating watershed management was developed by consideration of the various features of a watershed system. This methodology employed factor analysis to develop sub-indexes for evaluating water use management, environment and ecosystem management, and flood management in a watershed. To do this, first, the related data were gathered and classified into six groups that are the components of watershed systems. Second, in all sub-indexes, preliminary tests such as KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett's test of sphericity were conducted to check the data's acceptability to factor analysis, respectively. Third, variables related to each sub-index were grouped into three factors by consideration of statistic characteristics, respectively. These factors became indicators and were named, taking into account the relationship and the characteristics of included variables. In order to check the study results, the computed factor loadings of each variable were reviewed, and correlation analysis among factor scores was fulfilled. It was revealed that each factor score of factors in a sub-index was not correlated, and grouping variables by factor analysis was appropriate. And, it was thought that this indicator system would be applied effectively to evaluating the states of watershed management.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.44-54
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• 2001

This study was conducted to estimate microclimate of natural deciduous forest in national forest of Pyungchang, Kangwon province and to investigate the effects of the microclimatic conditions on the periodic annual increment of diameter by site types. In this study, site was first classified by nine types considering both elevation (higher than 1,000 m, 700∼1,000 m, and lower than 700 m) and topographical conditions (ridge, slope and valley). For each of site types, diameter growth was measured by using increment borer and periodic annual increment of diameter was then analyzed. A topoclimatological technique, for estimating microclimatic conditions, which make use of empirical relationships between the topographical factor and the climatic normals in the study area was applied to produce monthly mean, maximum and minimum temperatures, relative humidity, precipitation and hours of sunshine. From these monthly estimtes, 17 weather variables such as warmth index, coldness index, index of aridity etc. which affect the diameter growth were computed for each of site types. The periodic annual increment of diameter was then correlated with and regressed on the 17 weather variables to examine effects of microclimatic conditions on the diameter growth by site types. From the correlation analysis, it was found that the diameter growth by site types was positively correlated with all of 17 weather variables except the warmth index. Especially, the conditions such as high relative humidity and large amount of sunshine hours provide favorable environment for the growth of diameter. On the other hand, it was also found that diameter growth was negatively iufluenced by warmth index. According to the regression analysis, the periodic annual increment of diameter could be well predicted by index of aridity and mean relative humidity for the growing season.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2006

Purpose: We proposed a new classification of pediatric intussusception based on clinical and radiologic findings. Methods: Data from 88 consecutive patients with intussusception were reviewed. We retrospectively analyzed six factors; patient age, sites of intussusception, symptoms, therapeutic methods, existence of enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes, and ultrasonographic (US) findings from clinical records. Results: 1) There was one neonatal case (1.1%), the others (98.9%) were infants and children. 2) These 87 infant and child cases consisted of 14 cases (16.1%) of small bowel intussusception (SBI) and 73 cases (83.9%) of ileo-colic intussusception (ICI). Of the 14 SBI cases, 12 cases were symptomatic and 2 cases were asymptomatic. The symptomatic group comprised 8 transient cases (66.7%), 3 operative cases (25.0%), and 1 enema-reduction case (8.3%). Two asymptomatic cases were incidentally captured by computed tomography. Of the 73 ICI cases, 19 cases (26.0%) required operation, and 54 (74.0%) enema-reduction. 3) When transient SBI cases were compared with operated SBI cases, enema-reduced and operated ICI cases, the age ($38.0{\pm}22.9$ months) of transient SBI cases were significantly higher than those of the others (p=0.003). Mean mass size ($20.8{\pm}2.7mm$) in transient SBI was significantly smaller than in the others (p=0.0001). 4) No correlation was found between the existence of enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes and therapeutic method or concomitant illness. 5) Most of the target types observed by US were in transient SBI cases, the remainder were in the enema-reduced ICI cases. In terms of the doughnuts type, all 8 cases (34.8%) with an external hypoechoic rim thickness of >8.9mm were treated surgically. Conclusion: Pediatric intussusception may be classified based on clinical and radiologic findings, which are likely to indicate appropriate therapies.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.422-429
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• 1999

Purpose: The measurement of radiation absorbed dose is useful to predict the response after I-131 labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) therapy and determine therapy dose in patients with unresectable or malignant pheochromocytoma. We estimated the absorbed dose in tumor tissue after high dose I-131 MIBG in a patient with pheochromocytoma using a gamma camera and Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) formula. Materials and Methods: A 64-year old female patient with pheochromocytoma who had multiple metastases of mediastinum, right kidney and periaortic lymph nodes, received 74 GBq (200 mCi) of I-131 MIBG. We obtained anterior and posterior images at 0.5, 16, 24, 64 and 145 hours after treatment. Two standard sources of 37 and 74 MBq of I-131 were imaged simultaneously. Cummulated I-131 MIBG uptake in tumor tissue was calculated after the correction of background activity, attenuation, system sensitivity and count loss at a high count rate. Results: The calculated absorbed radiation dose was 32-63 Gy/ 74 GBq, which was lower than the known dose for tumor remission (150-200 Gy). follow-up studies at 1 month showed minimally reduced tumor size on computed tomography, and mildly reduced I-131 MIBG uptake. Conclusion: We estimated radiation absorbed dose after therapeutic I-131 MIBG using a gamma camera and MIRD formula, which can be peformed in a clinical nuclear medicine laboratory. Our results suggest that the measurement of radiation absorbed dose in I-131 MIBG therapy is feasible as a routine clinical practice that can guide further treatment plan. The accuracy of dose measurement and correlation with clinical outcome should be evaluated further.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.33
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• pp.89-97
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare and evaluate the dose change according to the gas volume variations in the rectum, which was not included in the treatment plan during radiation therapy for cervical cancer. Materials and methods: Static Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (S-IMRT) using a 9-field and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) using 2 full-arcs were established with treatment planning system on Computed Tomography images of a human phantom. Random gas parameters were included in the Planning Target Volume(PTV) with a maximum change of 2.0 cm in increments of 0.5 cm. Then, the Conformity Index (CI), Homogeneity Index (HI) and PTV D_max for the target volume were calculated, and the minimum dose (D_min), mean dose (D_mean) and Maximum Dose (D_max) were calculated and compared for OAR(organs at risk). For statistical analysis, T-test was performed to obtain a p-value, where the significance level was set to 0.05. Result: The HI coefficients of determination(R²) of S-IMRT and VMAT were 0.9423 and 0.8223, respectively, indicating a relatively clear correlation, and PTV D_max was found to increase up to 2.8% as the volume of a given gas parameter increased. In case of OAR evaluation, the dose in the bladder did not change with gas volume while a significant dose difference of more than D_mean 700 cGy was confirmed in rectum using both treatment plans at gas volumes of 1.0 cm or more. In all values except for D_mean of bladder, p-value was less than 0.05, confirming a statistically significant difference. Conclusion: In the case of gas generation not considered in the reference treatment plan, as the amount of gas increased, the dose difference at PTV and the dose delivered to the rectum increased. Therefore, during radiation therapy, it is necessary to make efforts to minimize the dose transmission error caused by a large amount of gas volumes in the rectum. Further studies will be necessary to evaluate dose transmission by not only varying the gas volume but also where the gas was located in the treatment field.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.673-680
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• 2022

In this study, based on PLA, we analyzed the Hounsfield Unit (HU) of materials containing 20% each of aluminum, wood, copper, carbon, and marble, and tried to analyze how they affect the image. A cylindrical phantom of 5×30×30 ㎣ (thickness×diameter×height) was fabricated using a entry-level 3D printer. The kV was changed to 80, 100 and 120, and the mAs was changed to 100 and 200 mAs, and the phantom in the center of the table was cross-scanned under a total of six conditions. A circular ROI was set using image J program and the quantification value of the material part HU and the quantification value of the peripheral part CNR were obtained. The HU average of the material part increased in the order of [PLA - wood 20%], [PLA - marble 20%], [PLA - carbon 20%], [PLA 100%], [PLA - aluminum 20%], [PLA - copper 20%] (p<0.05) a negative correlation was confirmed with the HU by increasing kV. It was confirmed that the CNR value in the peripheral area increased in the order of [PLA - marble 20%], [PLA - copper 20%], [PLA - carbon 20%], [PLA - wood 20%], [PLA - aluminum 20%], and [PLA - 100%] (p<0.05). Human organs with similar HU values for each material are [PLA - copper 20%] compact bone, [PLA - aluminum 20%] cancellous bone, [PLA 100%] coagulated blood, [PLA - carbon 20%] and [PLA - marble 20%] liver, muscle, spleen and [PLA - wood 20%] had similar values to fat. In addition, we confirmed the blur phenomenon that blurs the image around the filament with all materials, and confirmed that [PLA 100%] especially has the most blur around the filament. Therefore, it is considered desirable to reflect the HU value of the target organ and consider cloudiness around the phantom when selecting materials for medical phantom fabrication, and this research can provide basic data.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.5
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• pp.1151-1163
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• 2020

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate changes of subprosthetic pannus on cardiac CT and determine its relationship to echocardiographic findings in patients with mechanical aortic valve replacement (AVR). Materials and Methods Between April 2011 and November 2017, 17 AVR patients (56.8 ± 8.9 years, 12% male) who showed pannus formation on CT and had undergone both follow-up CT and echocardiography were included. The mean interval from AVR to the date of pannus detection was 10.5 ± 7.1 years. In the initial and follow-up CT and echocardiography, the pannus extent and echocardiographic parameters were compared using paired t-tests. The relationship between the opening angle of the prosthetic valve and the pannus extent was evaluated using Pearson correlation analysis. Results The pannus extent was significantly increased on CT (p < 0.05). The peak velocity (3.9 ± 0.8 m/s vs. 4.2 ± 0.8 m/s, p = 0.03) and mean pressure gradient (36.4 ± 15.5 mm Hg vs. 42.1 ± 15.8 mm Hg, p = 0.03) were significantly increased. The mean opening angles of the mechanical aortic leaflets were slightly decreased, but there was no statistical significance (73.1 ± 8.3° vs. 69.4 ± 12.1°, p = 0.12). The opening angle of the prosthetic leaflets was inversely correlated with the pannus extent (r = -0.57, p < 0.001). Conclusion The pannus extent increases over time, increasing transvalvular peak velocity and the pressure gradient. CT can be used to evaluate the pannus extent associated with hemodynamic changes that need to be managed by surgical intervention.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.6
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• pp.1493-1504
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• 2021

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the utility of the 16-cm axial volume scan technique for calculating the coronary artery calcium score (CACS) using non-enhanced chest CT. Materials and Methods This study prospectively enrolled 20 participants who underwent both, non-enhanced chest CT (16-cm-coverage axial volume scan technique) and calcium-score CT, with the same parameters, differing only in slice thickness (in non-enhanced chest CT = 0.625, 1.25, 2.5 mm; in calcium score CT = 2.5 mm). The CACS was calculated using the conventional Agatston method. The difference between the CACS obtained from the two CT scans was compared, and the degree of agreement for the clinical significance of the CACS was confirmed through sectional analysis. Each calcified lesion was classified by location and size, and a one-to-one comparison of non-contrast-enhanced chest CT and calcium score CT was performed. Results The correlation coefficients of the CACS obtained from the two CT scans for slice thickness of 2.5, 1.25, and 0.625 mm were 0.9850, 0.9688, and 0.9834, respectively. The mean differences between the CACS were -21.4% at 0.625 mm, -39.4% at 1.25 mm, and -76.2% at 2.5 mm slice thicknesses. Sectional analysis revealed that 16 (80%), 16 (80%), and 13 (65%) patients showed agreement for the degree of coronary artery disease at each slice interval, respectively. Inter-reader agreement was high for each slice interval. The 0.625 mm CT showed the highest sensitivity for detecting calcified lesions. Conclusion The values in the non-contrast-enhanced chest CT, using the 16-cm axial volume scan technique, were similar to those obtained using the CACS in the calcium score CT, at 0.625 mm slice thickness without electrocardiogram gating. This can ultimately help predict cardiovascular risk without additional radiation exposure.