• English & American cultural studies
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.89-110
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• 2016

Since he was an exile, Henry James himself was well aware of agonies as an outsider in either Europe or America. Such an anguish is deftly depicted in the character of Felix Young with James's unique ironic tone. Unlike James, however, Felix is neither affluent nor distinguished as an artist. Nor is he supported by any patron. Furthermore, at first, he doesn't seem to survive the strict joyless environment in New England, but he possesses his own survival value. His unique esthetic value and his beautiful smile enable him to win Gertrude's heart. His adroit balance between pleasure-seeker and respect for American serious culture without hostility ultimately ends up with his marrying Gertrude. His arrival in Boston might pose a threat as Mr. Wentworth fears. Actually he subverts the traditional idea of an artist. He is armed with amiability and frankness, which are incongruous with a stereotypical idea of an artist: a willful, freakish, and self-righteous person. Felix here suggests to us that a new kind of modern art be possible. Gertrude is also a new woman who opposes to staying put under the patriarchal society. She is always wavering in and out of the house, searching for opportunities to quench her curiosity to see the world by breaking the bond of New England. Her ceaseless quest for independent values results in fortuitous encounter with a new species of artist Felix. Unlike Henry James's other novels, in which male characters assume a role of sophisticated "fortune-hunter," the union of Felix and Gertrude in The Europeans represents the compromise between two different cultures. According to Nietzsche, the birth of superman is possible by the union of Athens and Jerusalem. In other words, the matrimony of Felix and Gertrude means the commingling of his liberal arts and Gertrude's moral seriousness might contribute to the birth of the new culture.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.94-102
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• 1997

Purpose: There have been some efforts to diagnose intracranial aneurysm through a non-invasive method using MRA, although the process may be difficult when the lesion is less than 3mm. The present study prospectively compares the results of high resolution, fast speed slice interpolation MRA and DSA thereby examing the potentiality of primary non-invasive screening test. Materials and Methods: A total of 26 cerebral aneurysm lesions from 14 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage from ruptured aneurysm (RA) and 5 patients with unruptured aneurysm(UA). In all subjects, MRA was taken to confirm the vessel of origin, definition of aneurysm neck and the relationship of the aneurysm to nearby small vessels, and the results were compared with the results of DSA. The images were obtained with 1.5T superconductive machine (Vision, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) on 4 slabs of MRA using slice interpolation. The settings include TR/TE/FA=30/6.4/25, matrix $160{\times}512$, FOV $150{\times}200$, 7minutes 42 seconds of scan time, effective thickness of 0.7 mm and an entire thickness of 102. 2mm. The images included structures from foramen magnum to A3 portion of anterior cerebral artery. MIP was used for the image analysis, and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) technique was used in cases of intracranial aneurysm. Results: A total of 26 intracranial aneurysm lesions from 19 patients with 2 patients having 3 lesion, 3 patients having 2 lesions and the rest of 14 patients having 1 lesion each were examined. Among those, 14 were RA and 12 were UA. Eight lesions were less than 2mm in size, 9 lesions were 3-5mm, 7 were 6-9mm and 2 were larger than IOmm. On initial exams, 25 out of 26 aneurysm lesions were detected in either MRA or DSA showing 96% sensitivity. Specificity cannot be estimated since there was no true negative of false positive findings. When MRA and MPR were used concurrently for the confirmation of size and shape, the results were equivalent to those of DSA, while in the confirmation of aneurysm neck and parent vessels, the concurrent use of MRA and MPR was far superior to the sole use of either MRA or DSA. Conclusion: High resolution MRA using slice interpolation technique showed equal results as those of DSA for the detection of intracranial aneurysm, and may be used as a primary non-invasive screening test in the future.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.160-169
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• 2014

44 compounds and 9 minerals were isolated from and detected in the New Zealand deer velvet antler Cervus elaphus var. scoticus L$\ddot{o}$nnberg. The chemical structures of (1 - 26) were identified on the basis of the spectroscopic methods and comparisons with literature, respectively. The structures were identified as cholesterol (CS, 6), 7-keto-CS (7), $7{\beta}$-hydroxy-CS (8), and $7{\alpha}$-hydroxy-CS (9), and included 12 steroid $3{\beta}$-O-(palmitic/stearic/myristic acid esters; PM/SA/MS) [CS-$3{\beta}$-O-PM (1 - 1), CS-$3{\beta}$-O-SA (1 - 2), CS-$3{\beta}$-O-MR (1 - 3), 7-keto-CS-$3{\beta}$-O-PM (2 - 1), 7-keto-CS-$3{\beta}$-O-SA (2 - 2), 7-keto-CS-$3{\beta}$-O-MR (2 - 3), $7{\beta}$-hydroxy-CS-$3{\beta}$-O-SA (3 -1), $7{\beta}$-hydroxy-CS-$3{\beta}$-O-PM (3 - 2), $7{\beta}$-hydroxy-CS-$3{\beta}$-O-MR (3 - 3), $7{\alpha}$-hydroxy-CS-$3{\beta}$-O-SA (4 - 1), $7{\alpha}$-hydroxy-CS-$3{\beta}$-O-PM (4 - 2), and $7{\alpha}$-hydroxy-CS-$3{\beta}$-O-MR (4 - 3)], dinonyl phthalate (5), 8 nucleic acids analogues [uracil (10), deoxyguanosine (11), deoxyuridine (12), uridine (13), deoxyadenosine (14), adenosine (15), inosine (16), and guanosine (17)], and the 9 free amino acids [L-phenylalanine (18), L-isoleucine (19), L-leucine (20), L-tyrosine (21), L-valine (22), L-proline (23), L-threonine (24), L-alanine (25), and L-hydroxyproline (26)]. Also, there are 8 kinds of amino acids [asparagine, serine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, arginine, methionine, and lysine], 2 sialic acids [N-acetylneuraminic acid (27), ketodeoxynonulosonic acid (28)], and 9 minerals [Na > K > Ca > Mg > Fe > Zn > B > Al > Cu] were detected from the autoaminoacid analyzer and ICP spectrometer, HPAEC-PAD/HPLC-FLD, respectively. 9 kinds of oxycholesterol-$3{\beta}$-O-fatty acid ester (2 - 1, 2 - 2, 2 - 3, 3 - 1, 3 - 2, 3 - 3, 4 - 1, 4 - 2, and 4 - 3) and 3 nucleic acids (12, 14, and 15) were isolated from the velvet antler for the first time. 6 kinds of steroids (7, 8, 9, 2 - 1, 3 - 1, and 4 - 1) were examined for their anti-proliferative effects against L1210, P388D1, K562, MEG-01, KG-1, MOLT-4, A549, HepG2, MCF-7, SK-OV-3, and SW-620 cancer cell lines. They showed anti-proliferative effects with $IC_{50}$ values of 0.06, 2.16, 2.42, > 50.0, 1.66 and $8.31{\mu}M$ against L1210, while the values were 24.05, 9.44, 5.22, 0.25. 9.48 and $49.77{\mu}M$ against P388D1, respectively. The others were inactive.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2009

Purpose : To evaluate the characteristic MR imaging findings of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) in the skull and to compare them with those of plain radiography and computed tomography. Materials and Methods : A total of 10 lesions in 9 patients (Age range; 5-42 years, Mean age; 18, all women) with Langerhans cell histiocytosis in the skull were included in our study. Nine lesions in nine patients were histologically confirmed by surgery or fine needle aspiration biopsy. All patients performed with MRI, and plain radiography and CT scan were done in 7 patients (8 lesions). Two experienced neuroradiologists reviewed the radiological examinations independently with attention to location, size, shape and nature of the lesions in the skull and compared the extent and extension of the lesions to adjacent structures. Results : The lesions were distributed in all of the skulls without predilection site. On MRI, the masses were shown as well-enhancing soft tissue masses (10/10) mainly in diploic spaces (8/10) with extension to scalp (9/10) and dura mater (7/10). Dural enhancement (7/10) and thickening (4/10) were seen. The largest diameter of the soft tissue masses ranged 1.1 cm to 6.8 cm, shaped as round (5/10) or oval (5/10). On CT scans, the lesions were presented as soft tissue masses involving diploic space (6/8) and scalp extension (7/8) were also well visualized. Although bony erosion or destruction was more clearly seen on CT rather than those of MRI, enhancement of soft tissue masses and dura were not well visualized on CT. In contrast, all of the lesions in LCH were seen as punched out (4/8), beveled-edge appearance (4/8) osteolytic masses in plain radiography, but scalp and dural extension could not be seen. Conclusion : Characteristic MR findings in patients with LCH are soft tissue mass in diploic space with extension to dura and scalp, and MRI would be better imaging modality than plain radiography or CT.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.115-125
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the usefulness of CT arthrography (CTA) by conducting a comparative study of CTA and MR arthrography (MRA) with the arthroscopic findings in the same patients. Materials and methods: Forty nine patients who suffered from shoulder disease underwent MRA and CTA concurrently. The sensitivity and specificity of CTA was evaluated, as compared to MRA, in the case of four types of shoulder pathological lesions. The accuracy of CTA was evaluated by analyzing the arthroscopic findings of thirty four patients. Results: Compared to MRA, CTA showed a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 100% for diagnosing supraspinatus tendon (SST) full thickness tear, and CTA showed a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 97.5% for making the diagnosis of superior labrum anterior to posterior (SLAP) lesion. For diagnosing partial articular side supraspinatus avulsion (PASTA) lesion, some studies have shown the usefulness of CTA with a sensitivity of 71.4% and a specificity of 97.7%. However, for diagnosing SST bursal side partial tear, the sensitivity of CTA was as low as 10%. CTA has been shown to be relatively accurate when the diagnoses were verified with the arthroscopic findings; diagnosing SST full thickness tear and SLAP lesion with CTA has shown an accuracy of 100% and87.5% respectively, and CTA showed 71.4% diagnostic accuracy for PASTA lesion. Conclusion: CTA was a useful tool and it was equivalent to MRA for the assessment of SST full thickness tear, SLAP lesion and PASTA lesion, but not bursal side partial tear. Thus, it may be used preferably to diagnose shoulder pathology and for follow up as an inexpensive tool after operation.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.219-230
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• 2010

According to previous reports, intra-articular bee venom injection is very effective for synovitis, intra-articular lesions. In this article, we report 4 cases of well-treated meniscal tear with intra-articular bee venom injection. We used intra-articular bee venom injection on meniscal tear diagnosed by MR imaging and prescribed herbal medication, physiotherapy if necessary. Outcomes were measured by Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) and Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale. Patients who are treated by intra-articular bee venom injection had a significant effect on the pain reduction, improved range of motion and knee function. Further well-designed, controlled studies and more cases are needed to define the effect of intra-articular bee venom injection on knee.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.409-424
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• 2015

Structural nonlinearity is a common phenomenon encountered in engineering structures under severe dynamic loading. It is necessary to localize and identify structural nonlinearities using structural dynamic measurements for damage detection and performance evaluation of structures. However, identification of nonlinear structural systems is a difficult task, especially when proper mathematical models for structural nonlinear behaviors are not available. In prior studies on nonparametric identification of nonlinear structures, the locations of structural nonlinearities are usually assumed known and all structural responses are measured. In this paper, an identification algorithm is proposed for locating and identifying model-free structural nonlinearities and systems using incomplete measurements of structural responses. First, equivalent linear structural systems are established and identified by the extended Kalman filter (EKF). The locations of structural nonlinearities are identified. Then, the model-free structural nonlinear restoring forces are approximated by power series polynomial models. The unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is utilized to identify structural nonlinear restoring forces and structural systems. Both numerical simulation examples and experimental test of a multi-story shear building with a MR damper are used to validate the proposed algorithm.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.180-188
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• 2007

In vivo studies have demonstrated that aldosterone is an independent contributor to glomerulosclerosis. In the present study, we have investigated whether aldosterone itself mediated glomerulosclerosis, as angiotensin II (Ang II) did, by inducing cultured renal mesangial cells to produce plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and whether these effects were mediated by aldosterone-induced increase in transforming growth factor $\beta_1$ (TGF-$\beta_1$) expression and cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity. Quiescent rat mesangial cells were treated by aldosterone alone or by combination of aldosterone and spironolactone, Ang II, neutralizing antibody to TGF-$\beta_1$ or antioxidant Nacetylcysteme (NAC). This study indicate that aldosterone can increase PAI-1 mRNA and protein expression by cultured mesangial cells alone, which is independent of aldosterone-induced increases in TGF-$\beta_1$ expression and cellular ROS. The effects on PAI-1, TGF-$\beta_1$ and ROS generation were markedly attenuated by spironolactone, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, which demonstrate that mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) may play a role in mediating these effects of aldosterone.

• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2012

To test the real image quality of a spectral attenuated inversion-recovery (SPAIR) fat-suppression (FS) techniquein clinical abdominal MRI by comparison to turbo spin echo inversion-recovery (TSEIR) fat-suppression (FS) technique. 3.0T MRI studies of the abdomen were performed in 30 patients with liver lesions (hemangiomas n: 15; HCC n: 15). T2W sequences were acquired using SPAIR TSEIR. Measurements included retroperitoneal and mesenteric fat signal-to-noise (SNR) to evaluate FS; liver lesion contrast-to-noise (CNR) to evaluate bulk water signal recovery effects; and bowel wall delineation to evaluate susceptibility and physiological motion effects. SPAIR-TSEIR images produce significantly improved FS and liver lesion CNR. The mean SNR of the retroperitoneal and mesenteric fat for SPAIR were 20.5, 10.2 and TSEIR were 43.2, 24.1 (P<0.05). SPAIR-TSEIR images produced higher CNR for both hemangiomas CNR 164.88 vs 126.83 (P<0.05) and metastasis CNR 75.27 vs 53.19 (P<0.05). Bowel wall visualization was significantly improved using in both SPAIR-TSEIR (P< 0.05). The real image quality of SPAIR was better than over conventional TSEIR FS on clinical abdominal MRI scans.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2007

Elasticity is an important physical property of biological tissues. Differences in elasticity can help facilitate the diagnosis of tumors and their extent. Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) tries to visualize images of tissue elasticity by externally applying shear stress on the surface of an imaging object. Applied shear stress induces internal displacements that can be measured from MR phase images. In order to conduct MRE imaging experiments, we need to first develop a vibrator. We found that there does not exist enough technical information to design the MRE vibrator. In this paper, we describe the theory, design and construction of an MRE vibrator. We report the performance of the developed vibrator using two different test methods. We found that the vibrator successfully induces enough internal displacements that can be imaged using an MRI scanner. We suggest future studies of numerous MRE imaging experiments using the vibrator.