• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.183-188
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• 2014

Purpose: The accepted general management principle after ankle arthrodesis is to maintain non-weight bearing for 6 to 8 weeks. The aim of this study was to report clinical outcome of patients allowed early weight bearing after arthroscopic arthrodesis. Materials and Methods: We analyzed medical records and radiographs to determine fusion rate and complication risk of 22 sequential patients allowed to walk under short leg cast within 3 days after arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis using 2 screws from January 2008 to June 2012. The minimum follow-up period was 18 months, and the mean age of the patients was 67 years. Results: The mean visual analog scale was decreased from 8.9 points preoperatively to 2.3 points after 12 months. Complete ankle fusion was achieved in 19 patients (86.4%) at 3-month follow-up. There were 2 cases of delayed union and one case of nonunion at 12-month follow-up. There was no other complication such as wound problem, persistent swelling of the ankle. Conclusion: Bony union may not be interfered even though patients were allowed to walk under cast within a few days after arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.3534-3553
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• 2021

The low cost of Bluetooth technology has led to its wide usage in indoor positioning. However, some inherent shortcomings of Bluetooth technology have limited its further development in indoor positioning, such as the unstable positioning state caused by the fluctuation of Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and the low transmission frequency accompanied by a poor real-time performance in positioning and tracking moving targets. To address these problems, an indoor fusion positioning algorithm of Bluetooth technology and pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) based on a particle filter with dynamic adjustment of weights calculation strategy (BPDW) will be proposed. First, an orderly statistical filter (OSF) sorts the RSSI values of a period and then eliminates outliers to obtain relatively stable RSSI values. Next, the Group-based Trilateration algorithm (GTP) enhances positioning accuracy. Finally, the particle filter algorithm with dynamic adjustment of weight calculation strategy fuses the results of Bluetooth positing and PDR to improve the performance of positioning moving targets. To evaluate the performance of BPDW, we compared BPDW with other representative indoor positioning algorithms, including fingerprint positioning, trilateral positioning (TP), multilateral positioning (MP), Kalman filter, and strong tracking filter. The results showed that BPDW has the best positioning performance on static and moving targets in simulation and actual scenes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.59-67
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• 2020

Polycarbonate thermoplastic composite materials are anisotropic and exhibit physical properties in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the physical properties depend on the type and direction of reinforcements. The thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and resin impregnation can be controlled by adding carbon nanotubes to polycarbonate resin. However, the carbon fiber used as a reinforcing material is expensive, interfacial adhesion issues occur, and simulation values are different from actual values, making it difficult to perform mathematical analysis. However, carbon nanotubes have advantages such as light weight, rigidity, impact resistance, and reduced number of parts compared to metals. Due to these advantages, it has been applied to various products to reduce weight, improve corrosion resistance, and increase impact durability. As the content of carbon nanotubes or carbon fibers increases, the mechanical properties and antistatic and electromagnetic shielding performance improve. It is expected that the amount of carbon nanotubes or carbon fibers can be optimized and applied to various industrial products.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.576-584
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• 2017

Objective: To generate recombinant Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) engineered for expression of porcine ${\beta}-defensin-2$ (pBD-2) and cecropin P1 (CP1) fusion antimicrobial peptide and investigate their anti-bacterial activity in vitro and their growth-promoting and disease resisting activity in vivo. Methods: The pBD-2 and CP1 fused gene was synthesized using the main codons of B. subtilis and inserted into plasmid pMK4 vector to construct their expression vector. The fusion peptide-expressing B. subtilis was constructed by transformation with the vector. The expressed fusion peptide was detected with Western blot. The antimicrobial activity of the expressed fusion peptide and the recovered pBD-2 and CP1 by enterokinase digestion in vitro was analyzed by the bacterial growth-inhibitory activity assay. To analyze the engineered B. subtilis on growth promotion and disease resistance, the weaned piglets were fed with basic diet supplemented with the recombinant B. subtilis. Then the piglets were challenged by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). The weight gain and diarrhea incidence of piglets were measured after challenge. Results: The recombinant B. subtilis engineered for expression of pBD-2/CP1 fusion peptide was successfully constructed using the main codons of the B. subtilis. Both expressed pBD-2/CP1 fusion peptide and their individual peptides recovered from parental fusion peptide by enterokinase digestion possessed the antimicrobial activities to a variety of the bacteria, including gram-negative bacteria (E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Haemophilus parasuis) and grampositive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). Supplementing the engineered B. subtilis to the pig feed could significantly promote the piglet growth and reduced diarrhea incidence of the piglets. Conclusion: The generated B. subtilis strain can efficiently express pBD-2/CP1 fusion antimicrobial peptide, the recovered pBD-2 and CP1 peptides possess potent antimicrobial activities to a variety of bacterial species in vitro. Supplementation of the engineered B. subtilis in pig feed obviously promote piglet growth and resistance to the colibacillosis.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.140-145
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• 2010

Purpose: The diabetic charcot neuroarthropathy of ankle is an infrequent site (around 5%), but is definitely the location that, because of the instability and progressive deformity it involves, cause ulceration in a high percentage of patients, and this can then become a reason for amputation. However, the treatment of this disastrous disease is still challenging. We analyzed the clinical and radiological results of ankle arthrodesis by our fixation method in Charcot neuroarthropathy. Materials and Methods: Seven cases that were diagnosed as charcot neuroarthropathy of ankle arthrodesis were followed for more than 16 months postoperatively. Mean age was 57 years, and the mean follow-up period was 27 months. Anterior approach was used in arthrodesis, and internal fixation by 3 or more cannulated screws and hybrid type external fixation were used. Auto iliac bone for grafting was combined in all cases. External fixator was kept for 3 months without weight-bearing. Then, boots brace was applied for more 3 months allowing partial weight-bearing. Four cases had minor complications such as pin site infection. Preoperative and postoperative AOFAS score, time to fusion and postoperative complications were checked. Results: Postoperative fusion was completed in all cases, and the mean time to fusion was 3.4 months. No postoperative complication was checked. At the last follow-up, the mean AOFAS score had increased from 54 points to 72 points. Patient's satisfaction was over 80%. Conclusion: Satisfactory results were obtained after ankle arthrodesis using internal and hybrid type external fixation combined with auto iliac bone graft in charcot neuroarthropathy with minor complications.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.443-453
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• 2008

In this paper, the 1-level DWT(Discrete Wavelet Transform) coefficients of a binary logo image are used as the watermark. The watermark should be inserted in the same band which is equivalent to the host image when the watermark is inserted in the wavelet domain. This is the image fusion of the proposed watermarking method. The watermark is inserted in relatively significant coefficients after the insertion area is defined. The more significant coefficients have the important information because they are identified as the edge and major surface in images. The significant coefficients are defined when their absolute value exceeds the threshold. The standard deviation is used as the weight value of watermark insertion in order to strengthen the weight of the watermark insertion according to the value of the coefficients. The proposed watermarking method is an adaptive scheme, and the proposed two detection algorithms can be adaptively used when the watermarked image is distorted by cropping, filtering, or compression.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.110-119
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• 2021

In this study, the high-temperature oxidation properties of austenitic 316L stainless steel manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is investigated and compared with conventional 316L manufactured by hot rolling (HR). The initial microstructure of LPBF-SS316L exhibits a molten pool ~100 ㎛ in size and grains grown along the building direction. Isotropic grains (~35 ㎛) are detected in the HR-SS316L. In high-temperature oxidation tests performed at 700℃ and 900℃, LPBF-SS316L demonstrates slightly superior high-temperature oxidation resistance compared to HR-SS316L. After the initial oxidation at 700℃, shown as an increase in weight, almost no further oxidation is observed for both materials. At 900℃, the oxidation weight displays a parabolic trend and both materials exhibit similar behavior. However, at 1100℃, LPBF-SS316L oxidizes in a parabolic manner, but HR-SS316L shows a breakaway oxidation behavior. The oxide layers of LPBF-SS316L and HR-SS316L are mainly composed of Cr₂O₃, Fe-based oxides, and spinel phases. In LPBF-SS316L, a uniform Cr depletion region is observed, whereas a Cr depletion region appears at the grain boundary in HR-SS316L. It is evident from the results that the microstructure and the high-temperature oxidation characteristics and behavior are related.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.240-247
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• 2015

Zeolite A was prepared from coal fly ash upon NaOH fusion treatment, followed by hydrothermal treatment. The effects of treatment conditions such as NaOH/ash ratio, fusion temperature, the amount of sodium aluminate added, hydrothermal treatment temperature and time on the type and the crystallinity of zeolites were investigated. The optimal NaOH/ash weight ratio and fusion temperature to produce high crystalline zeolite A were 1.2 and $550^{\circ}C$, respectively. The dissolution of $Si^{4+}$ and $Al^{3+}$ from the fused fly ash was not affected by stirring time. The type of synthetic zeolites was found to be dependent on the amount of sodium aluminate added. The low amount of sodium aluminate favored zeolite X, while a single phase zeolite A was produced by increasing the amount sodium aluminate. Zeolite A was transformed into hydroxysodalite with increasing hydrothermal treatment time and temperature. A high crystalline zeolite A could be obtained by decreasing the temperature increasing time up to the reaction temperature.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.357-362
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• 2015

Objective : To investigate risk factors for S1 screw loosening after lumbosacral fusion, including spinopelvic parameters and paraspinal muscles. Methods : We studied with 156 patients with degenerative lumbar disease who underwent lumbosacral interbody fusion and pedicle screw fixation including the level of L5-S1 between 2005 and 2012. The patients were divided into loosening and non-loosening groups. Screw loosening was defined as a halo sign larger than 1 mm around a screw. We checked cross sectional area of paraspinal muscles, mean signal intensity of the muscles on T2 weight MRI as a degree of fatty degeneration, spinopelvic parameters, bone mineral density, number of fusion level, and the characteristic of S1 screw. Results : Twenty seven patients showed S1 screw loosening, which is 24.4% of total. The mean duration for S1 screw loosening was $7.3{\pm}4.1$ months after surgery. Statistically significant risk factors were increased age, poor BMD, 3 or more fusion levels (p<0.05). Among spinopelvic parameters, a high pelvic incidence (p<0.01), a greater difference between pelvic incidence and lumbar lordotic angle preoperatively (p<0.01) and postoperatively (p<0.05). Smaller cross-sectional area and high T2 signal intensity in both multifidus and erector spinae muscles were also significant muscular risk factors (p<0.05). Small converging angle (p<0.001) and short intraosseous length (p<0.05) of S1 screw were significant screw related risk factors (p<0.05). Conclusion : In addition to well known risk factors, spinopelvic parameters and the degeneration of paraspinal muscles also showed significant effects on the S1 screw loosening.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.123-131
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• 2020

Purpose: Joint label fusion (JLF) is a popular multi-atlas-based segmentation algorithm, which compensates for dependent errors that may exist between atlases. However, in order to get good segmentation results, it is very important to set the several free parameters of the algorithm to optimal values. In this study, we first investigate the feasibility of a JLF algorithm for prostate segmentation in MR images, and then suggest the optimal set of parameters for the automatic prostate segmentation by validating the results of each parameter combination. Materials and Methods: We acquired T2-weighted prostate MR images from 20 normal heathy volunteers and did a series of cross validations for every set of parameters of JLF. In each case, the atlases were rigidly registered for the target image. Then, we calculated their voting weights for label fusion from each combination of JLF's parameters (r_pxy, r_pz, r_sxy, r_sz, β). We evaluated the segmentation performances by five validation metrics of the Prostate MR Image Segmentation challenge. Results: As the number of voxels participating in the voting weight calculation and the number of referenced atlases is increased, the overall segmentation performance is gradually improved. The JLF algorithm showed the best results for dice similarity coefficient, 0.8495 ± 0.0392; relative volume difference, 15.2353 ± 17.2350; absolute relative volume difference, 18.8710 ± 13.1546; 95% Hausdorff distance, 7.2366 ± 1.8502; and average boundary distance, 2.2107 ± 0.4972; in parameters of r_pxy = 10, r_pz = 1, r_sxy = 3, r_sz = 1, and β = 3. Conclusion: The evaluated results showed the feasibility of the JLF algorithm for automatic segmentation of prostate MRI. This empirical analysis of segmentation results by label fusion allows for the appropriate setting of parameters.