• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.104-116
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to systematically determine an optimal percentile cut-off in histogram analysis for calculating the mean parameters obtained from a non-Gaussian continuous-time random-walk (CTRW) diffusion model for differentiating individual glioma grades. This retrospective study included 90 patients with histopathologically proven gliomas (42 grade II, 19 grade III, and 29 grade IV). We performed diffusion-weighted imaging using 17 b-values (0-4000 s/mm²) at 3T, and analyzed the images with the CTRW model to produce an anomalous diffusion coefficient (D_m) along with temporal (𝛼) and spatial (𝛽) diffusion heterogeneity parameters. Given the tumor ROIs, we created a histogram of each parameter; computed the P-values (using a Student's t-test) for the statistical differences in the mean D_m, 𝛼, or 𝛽 for differentiating grade II vs. grade III gliomas and grade III vs. grade IV gliomas at different percentiles (1% to 100%); and selected the highest percentile with P < 0.05 as the optimal percentile. We used the mean parameter values calculated from the optimal percentile cut-offs to do a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis based on individual parameters or their combinations. We compared the results with those obtained by averaging data over the entire region of interest (i.e., 100th percentile). We found the optimal percentiles for D_m, 𝛼, and 𝛽 to be 68%, 75%, and 100% for differentiating grade II vs. III and 58%, 19%, and 100% for differentiating grade III vs. IV gliomas, respectively. The optimal percentile cut-offs outperformed the entire-ROI-based analysis in sensitivity (0.761 vs. 0.690), specificity (0.578 vs. 0.526), accuracy (0.704 vs. 0.639), and AUC (0.671 vs. 0.599) for grade II vs. III differentiations and in sensitivity (0.789 vs. 0.578) and AUC (0.637 vs. 0.620) for grade III vs. IV differentiations, respectively. Percentile-based histogram analysis, coupled with the multi-parametric approach enabled by the CTRW diffusion model using high b-values, can improve glioma grading.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.183-189
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• 2023

Objective : The facial nerve trace on the ipsilateral side of the vestibular schwannoma was reconstructed by diffusion tensor imaging tractography to identify the adjacent relationship between the facial nerve and the tumor, and to improve the level of intraoperative facial nerve protection. Methods : The clinical data of 30 cases of unilateral vestibular schwannoma who underwent tumor resection via retrosigmoid approach were collected between January 2019 and December 2020. All cases underwent magnetic resonance imaging examination before operation. Diffusion tensor imaging and anatomical images were used to reconstruct the facial nerve track of the affected side, so as to predict the course of the nerve and its adjacent relationship with the tumor, to compare the actual trace of the facial nerve during operation, verify the degree of coincidence, and evaluate the nerve function (House-Brackmann grade) after surgery. Results : The facial nerve of 27 out of 30 cases could be displayed by diffusion tensor imaging tractography, and the tracking rate was 90% (27/30). The intraoperative locations of facial nerve shown in 25 cases were consistent with the preoperative reconstruction results. The coincidence rate was 92.6% (25/27). The facial nerves were located on the anterior middle part of the tumor in 14 cases, anterior upper part in eight cases, anterior lower part in seven cases, and superior polar in one case. Intraoperative facial nerve anatomy was preserved in 30 cases. Among the 30 patients, total resection was performed in 28 cases and subtotal resection in two cases. The facial nerve function was evaluated 2 weeks after operation, and the results showed grade I in 12 cases, grade II in 16 cases and grade III in two cases. Conclusion : Preoperative diffusion tensor imaging tractography can clearly show the trajectory and adjacent position of the facial nerve on the side of vestibular schwannoma, which is beneficial to accurately identify and effectively protect the facial nerve during the operation, and is worthy of clinical application and promotion.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.62-69
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• 2023

For the nuclear power concrete plant structures in the UAE, it is necessary to consider the deterioration from high sulfate ions in the atmosphere and high chloride ions from the coast. In this study, two strength grade concrete mixture (40 MPa and 27 MPa) and two curing/diffusion temperatures (20 ℃ and 50 ℃) were considered for evaluating the temperature effects on diffusion and strength due to high average temperature above 38 ℃ a year in UAE. When the initial curing temperature was high, the compressive strength increased in high-temperature curing to 7 days, but the strength slightly increased in the 20 ℃ curing condition at 28 days. Regarding diffusion test, unlike the compressive test results, reduced chloride diffusion coefficients were evaluated both in 40 MPa and 27 MPa grade at 28 days. In the case of 91 days of curing, an increase in diffusivity due to high temperature and a decrease in diffusivity due to age effect occur simultaneously. Compared to the results of the curing and diffusion tests at 20 ℃ and 28 days, when the curing and diffusion tests were conducted at 50 ℃ in 91 days, the diffusion coefficients decreased to 76.2 % in 40 MPa grade and 85.4 % in 37 MPa grade with increasing curing period, respectively.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.191-200
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to investigate the misconceptions and the understanding of students on diffusion and osmosis, and to examine the shifts in concept development that result from maturation and additional instruction. In addition, the textbooks were assessed for the sources of the misconceptions. The subjects of this study were 195 students in middle school, 191 students in high school and 195 students in university in Seoul. And the multiple-choice test developed by Odom and Barrow(1995) was used. The results were analyzed by two-way ANOVA in the statistical packages SAS. The major findings of this study are as follows. 1. The mean score of the understanding on the concepts of diffusion and osmosis of junior high school students was 31, that of high school students was 51 and that of university students was 67. In this study, the higher grade students got the higher scores, and it showed significant difference(p<0.01). 2. The mean score of girls was higher than that of boys in all grades. And the difference of the score according to gender showed great difference in high school(p<0.01). 3. An analysis of the patterns of misconceptions about diffusion and osmosis indicated that certain misconceptions prevail across grade levels. 4. An analysis of the contents of textbooks indicated that textbooks may be the source of students' misconceptions about diffusion and osmosis.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.383-394
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• 2008

We analyzed the description of diffusion phenomena in a 7th-grade textbook, and investigated teachers' understanding and teaching methods on diffusion concepts. The data were collected from textbook analysis and questionnaires from 46 science teachers and interviews with 5 teachers. Based on texts' analysis by definition, example, and representation of the diffusion, we found that most of the representations were macroscopically explained by observing the movement of ink in water and smelling the fragrance of perfume in the air. The analysis of questionnaire and interviews also revealed that the definition and the explanation of the diffusion were too abstract for teachers to understand and teach the concept without further information about the microscopic concept of collision of the matter with the medium. Such examples and models lead science teachers to form indistinctive concepts such as dissolution, effusion, and evaporation. Furthermore, the analytical data showed that teachers' understanding of the diffusion concept has been heavily dependent upon the textbook and the level of the understanding was very similar with that of textual description.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.117-122
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• 2006

Hydrogen permeation measurements have been carried out on API X65 grade linepipe steel. In order to study the effect of steel microstructure on hydrogen diffusion behavior in linepipe steel, the accelerated cooling condition was applied and then three different kinds of microstructures were obtained. Hydrogen permeation measurement has been performed in reference to modified ISO17081 (2004) and ZIS Z3113 method. Hydrogen trapping parameters in these steels were evaluated in terms of the effective diffusivity ($D_{eff}$), permeability ($J_{ss}L$) and the amount of diffusible hydrogen. In this study, microstructures which affect both hydrogen trapping and diffusion were degenerated pearlite (DP), acicular ferrite (AF), bainite and martensite/austenite constituents (MA). The low $D_{eff}$ and $J_{ss}L$ mean that more hydrogen can be trapped reversibly or irreversibly and the corresponding steel microstructure is dominant hydrogen trapping site. The large amount of diffusible hydrogen means that corresponding steel microstructure is predominantly reversible. The results of this study suggest that the hydrogen trapping efficiency increases in the order of DP, bainite and AF, while AF is the most efficient reversible trap.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.34-41
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• 2000

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of diffusion weighted MR imaging(DWI) in the differential diagnosis of brain tumors. Materials and methods: DWI and conventional MR images of nineteen patients with brain tumors(10 metastatic tumors, 4 high grade gliomas, 4 low grade astrocytomas, one oligodendroglioma)were obtained on 1.5T unit. DWI was obtained using single shot spin echo planar imaging with b-value near 1000. We analyzed the signal intensities of lesions including solid portion, necrotic or cystic portion and peritumoral edema of brain tumors (classified five grades comparison with the signal intensities of brain parenchyma and CSF)and calculate the SIR(signal intensity ratio)of lesions to the contralateral normal brain parenchyma. We analyzed statistically the signal intensities and SIR of tumors using independence T test. Results: In solid portions of tumors, all the metastatic tumors and high grade gliomas showed high signal intensities, but low grade astrocytomas and oligodendroglioma showed iso or slight high signal intensities to the normal brain parenchyma. The SIR of solid portion has positive correlation with malignant pot ential(metastatic tumors 1.52, high grade gliomas 1.38, low grade astrocytomas 1.16, oligodendroglioma 1.31)(p < 0.05). In peritumoral edema where seen in 14 tumors, seven of 10 metastatic tumors and two of 4 high grade gliomas showed iso signal intensities, whereas edemas in other 5 brain tumors showed hyperintense to the normal brain parenchyma. The SIRs of peritumoral edemas in metastatic tumors (1.14) was lower than high grade gliomas(1.31),but statistically insignificant. The SIR of cystic or necrotic portion of brain tumors was 0.63. In non enhancing solid portions, three of six cases showed hyperintense to the adjacent peritumoral edema. Conclusion: On DWI, the signal intensities of solid portion has positive correlation with malignant potential, and perilesional edema of brain tumors appear various signal intensities owing to "T2 shine through effect" and the extensiveness of vasogenic edema. Another merit using DWI on the evaluation of brain tumors is to improved better delineation of tumor margins from the adjacent edemas, especially at the non enhancing solid portion of the tumors.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.421-429
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• 1993

Dissolution reactions of chemical grade zinc sulfide and natural sphalerite were studied in ferric chloride solution as an oxidant. To enhance the leaching reaction, ultrasonic technique was employed in this investigation. For the reaction with pure zinc sulfide, chemical reaction was the rate limiting step in the range of low conversion irrespective of applying ultrasonic wave. And the diffusion through liquid film instead of diffusion through product layer of free sulfur was the rate determining step because ultrasonic vibration removes the product from reaction zone. In the case of sphalerite with the ultrasonic vibrator, it was found that inert mineral layer diffusion was the rate determining step, in which the elemental sulfurs formed were removed by the ultrasonic action. Experimental results showed that the ultrasonic technique proved to be the methods which can significants improve the leaching performance.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.400-406
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• 1998

We investigated the preparation and guided-mode properties of $Ti:LiNbO_3$ waveguides which were fabricated by Ti in-diffusion. The diffusion method to reduce the Li out-diffusion was proposed. The optical guided-mode and propagation loss based on butt-coupling pigtailed with PMF-input were measured. How to improve the polishing grade of waveguide endfaces is newly proposed in this paper. To show the mode propagations, the BPM simulations of channel waveguide are described.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.326-332
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• 2023

The high cost of Si-based solar cells remains a substantial challenge to their widespread adoption. To address this issue, it is essential to reduce the production cost of solar-grade Si, which is used as raw material. One approach to achieve this is Si electrodeposition in molten salts containing Si sources, such as SiO₂. In this study, we present the pulse electrodeposition of Si in molten CaCl₂ containing SiO₂ nanoparticles. Theoretically, SiO₂ nanoparticles with a diameter of less than 20 nm in molten CaCl₂ at 850℃ have a comparable diffusion coefficient with that of ions in aqueous solutions at room temperature. However, we observed a slower-than-expected diffusion of the SiO₂ nanoparticles, probably because of their tendency to aggregate in the molten CaCl₂. This led to the formation of a non-uniform Si film with low current efficiency during direct current electrodeposition. We overcome this issue using pulse electrodeposition, which enabled the facile supplementation of SiO₂ nanoparticles to the substrate. This approach produced a uniform and thick electrodeposited Si film. Our results demonstrate an efficient method for Si electrodeposition in molten CaCl₂ containing SiO₂ nanoparticles, which can contribute to a reduction in production cost of solar-grade Si.