• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.679-684
• /
• 2023

Venous puncture is widely used to obtain blood samples for pathological examination. Because the invasive venipuncture method using a needle is repeatedly performed, the pain suffered by the patient increases, so our research team pre-developed a miniaturized near-infrared (NIR) imaging system in advance. To improve the image quality of the acquired NIR images, this study aims to model the non-local means (NLM) algorithm, which is well known to be efficient in noise reduction, and analyze its applicability in the system. The developed NIR imaging system is based on the principle that infrared rays pass through dichroic and long-pass filters and are detected by a CMOS sensor module. The proposed NLM algorithm is modeled based on the principle of replacing the pixel from which noise is to be removed with a value that reflects the distances between surrounding pixels. After acquiring an NIR image with a central wavelength of 850 nm, the NLM algorithm was applied to segment the final vein area through histogram equalization. As a result, the coefficient of variation of the NIR image of the vein using the NLM algorithm was 0.247 on average, which was an excellent result compared to conventional filtering methods. In addition, the dice similarity coefficient value of the NLM algorithm was improved by 62.91 and 9.40%, respectively, compared to the median filter and total variation methods. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the NLM algorithm can acquire accurate segmentation of veins acquired with a NIR imaging system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.911-917
• /
• 2023

The method of observing nodular changes on the liver surface using clinical ultrasonography is useful for diagnosing cirrhosis. However, the speckle noise that inevitably occurs in ultrasound images makes it difficult to identify changes in the liver surface and echo patterns, which has a negative impact on the diagnosis of cirrhosis. The purpose of this study is to model the median modified Wiener filter (MMWF), which can efficiently reduce noise in cirrhotic ultrasound images, and confirm its applicability. Ultrasound images were acquired using an ACR phantom and an actual cirrhotic patient, and the proposed MMWF algorithm and conventional noise reduction algorithm were applied to each image. Coefficient of variation (COV) and edge rise distance (ERD) were used as quantitative image quality evaluation factors for the acquired ultrasound images. We confirmed that the MMWF algorithm improved both COV and ERD values compared to the conventional noise reduction algorithm in both ACR phantom and real ultrasound images of cirrhotic patients. In conclusion, the proposed MMWF algorithm is expected to contribute to improving the diagnosis rate of cirrhosis patients by reducing the noise level and improving spatial resolution at the same time.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.71-89
• /
• 2023

A groundwater potential map (GPM) was built for the Nakdonggang River Basin based on ten variables, including hydrogeologic unit, fault-line density, depth to groundwater, distance to surface water, lineament density, slope, stream drainage density, soil drainage, land cover, and annual rainfall. To integrate the thematic layers for GPM, the criteria were first weighted using the Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) and then overlaid using the Technique for Ordering Preferences by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) model. Finally, the groundwater potential was categorized into five classes (very high (VH), high (H), moderate (M), low (L), very low (VL)) and verified by examining the specific capacity of individual wells on each class. The wells in the area categorized as VH showed the highest median specific capacity (5.2 m³/day/m), while the wells with specific capacity < 1.39 m³/day/m were distributed in the areas categorized as L or VL. The accuracy of GPM generated in the work looked acceptable, although the specific capacity data were not enough to verify GPM in the studied large watershed. To create GPMs for the determination of high-yield well locations, the resolution and reliability of thematic maps should be improved. Criterion values for groundwater potential should be established when machine learning or statistical models are used in the GPM evaluation process.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.49 no.6
• /
• pp.334-343
• /
• 2023

Background: South Korea's Act on Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals (known as K-REACH) was established to protect public health and the environment from hazardous chemicals. 4,4'-Methylenedianiline (MDA), which is used as a major intermediate in industrial polymer production and as a vulcanizing agent in South Korea, is classified as a toxic substance under the K-REACH act. Although MDA poses potential ecological risks due to industrial emissions and hazards to aquatic ecosystems, no ecological risk assessment has been conducted. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the ecological risk of MDA by identifying the actual exposure status based on the K-REACH act. Methods: Various toxicity data were collected to establish predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs) for water, sediment, and soil. Using the SimpleBox Korea v2.0 model with domestic release statistical data and EU emission factors, predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) were derived for ten sites, each referring to an MDA-using company. Hazard quotient (HQ) was calculated by ratio of the PECs and PNECs to characterize the ecological risk posed by MDA. To validate the results of modeling-based assessment, concentration of MDA was measured using in-site freshwater samples (two to three samples per site). Results: PNECs for water, sediment, and soil were 0.000525 mg/L, 4.36 mg/kg dw, and 0.1 mg/kg dw, respectively. HQ for surface water and sediment at several company sites exceeded 1 due to modeling data showing markedly high PEC in each environmental compartment. However, in the results of validation using in-site surface water samples, MDA was not detected. Conclusions: Through an ecological risk assessment conducted in accordance with the K-REACH act, the risk level of MDA emitted into the environmental compartments in South Korea was found to be low.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.204-214
• /
• 2023

This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the potential impact of deforestation and forest restoration on carbon storage in North Korea until 2050, employing rigorous analyses of trends of land use change in the past periods and projecting future land use change scenarios. We utilized the CA-Markov model, which can reflect spatial trends in land use changes, and verified the impact of forest restoration strategies on carbon storage by creating land use change scenarios (reforestation and non-reforestation). We employed two distinct periods of land use maps (2000 to 2010 and 2010 to 2020). To verify the overall terrestrial carbon storage in North Korea, our evaluation included estimations of carbon storage for various elements such as above-ground, below-ground, soil, and debris (including litters) for settlement, forest, cultivated, grass, and bare areas. Our results demonstrated that effective forest restoration strategies in North Korea have the potential to increase carbon storage by 4.4% by the year 2050, relative to the carbon storage observed in 2020. In contrast, if deforestation continues without forest restoration efforts, we predict a concerning decrease in carbon storage by 11.5% by the year 2050, compared to the levels in 2020. Our findings underscore the significance of prioritizing and continuing forest restoration efforts to effectively increase carbon storage in North Korea. Furthermore, the implications presented in this study are expected to be used in the formulation and implementation of long-term forest restoration strategies in North Korea, while fostering international cooperation towards this common environmental goal.

• Information Systems Review
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.21-37
• /
• 2022

Drug repositioning, one of the methods of developing new drugs, is a useful way to discover new indications by allowing drugs that have already been approved for use in people to be used for other purposes. Recently, with the development of machine learning technology, the case of analyzing vast amounts of biological information and using it to develop new drugs is increasing. The use of machine learning technology to drug repositioning will help quickly find effective treatments. Currently, the world is having a difficult time due to a new disease caused by coronavirus (COVID-19), a severe acute respiratory syndrome. Drug repositioning that repurposes drugsthat have already been clinically approved could be an alternative to therapeutics to treat COVID-19 patients. This study intends to examine research trends in the field of drug repositioning using machine learning techniques. In Pub Med, a total of 4,821 papers were collected with the keyword 'Drug Repositioning'using the web scraping technique. After data preprocessing, frequency analysis, LDA-based topic modeling, random forest classification analysis, and prediction performance evaluation were performed on 4,419 papers. Associated words were analyzed based on the Word2vec model, and after reducing the PCA dimension, K-Means clustered to generate labels, and then the structured organization of the literature was visualized using the t-SNE algorithm. Hierarchical clustering was applied to the LDA results and visualized as a heat map. This study identified the research topics related to drug repositioning, and presented a method to derive and visualize meaningful topics from a large amount of literature using a machine learning algorithm. It is expected that it will help to be used as basic data for establishing research or development strategies in the field of drug repositioning in the future.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.55-63
• /
• 2024

Purpose: A 2-dose varicella vaccination strategy has been introduced in many countries worldwide, aiming to increase vaccine effectiveness (VE) against varicella infection. In this network meta-analysis, we aimed to provide a comprehensive evaluation and an overall estimated effect of varicella vaccination strategies, via a Bayesian model. Methods: For each eligible study, we collected trial characteristics, such as: 1-dose vs. 2-dose, demographic characteristics, and outcomes of interest. For studies involving different doses, we aggregated the data for the same number of doses delivered into one arm. The preventive effect of 1-dose vs. 2-dose of varicella vaccine were evaluated in terms of the odds ratio (OR) and corresponding equal-tailed 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: A total of 903 studies were retrieved during our literature search, and 25 interventional or observational studies were selected for the Bayesian network meta-analysis. A total of 49,265 observed individuals were included in this network meta-analysis. Compared to the 0-dose control group, the OR of all varicella infections were 0.087 (95% CI, 0.046-0.164) and 0.310 (95% CI, 0.198-0.484) for 2-doses and one-dose, respectively, which corresponded to VE of 69.0% (95% CI, 51.6-81.2) and VE of 91.3% (95% CI, 83.6-95.4) for 1- and 2-doses, respectively. Conclusions: A 2-dose vaccine strategy was able to significantly reduce varicella burden. The effectiveness of 2-dose vaccination on reducing the risk of infection was demonstrated by sound statistical evidence, which highlights the public health need for a 2-dose vaccine recommendation.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.61-77
• /
• 2024

The purpose of this study was to develop a method for rapidly diagnosing urban thermal comfort using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based data. The research was conducted at Changwon National University's College of Engineering site and Yongji Park, both located in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do. Baseline data were collected using field measurements and UAVs. Specifically, the study calculated field measurement-based thermal comfort indices PET and UTCI, and used UAVs to create and analyze vegetation index (NDVI), sky view factor (SVF), and land surface temperature (LST) images. The results showed that UAV-predicted PET and UTCI had high correlations of 0.662 and 0.721, respectively, within a 1% significance level. The explanatory power of the prediction model was 43.8% for PET and 52.6% for UTCI, with RMSE values of 6.32℃ for PET and 3.16℃ for UTCI, indicating that UTCI is more suitable for UAV-based thermal comfort evaluation. The developed method offers significant time-saving advantages over traditional approaches and can be utilized for real-time urban thermal comfort assessment and mitigation planning

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.57 no.2
• /
• pp.177-184
• /
• 2024

This study was conducted to find a way to reduce the production of cakes generated in the domestic aggregate production process. Cakes from 8 wet aggregate producers were collected and particle size was analyzed. Samples were collected step by step from an aggregate producer A, particle size analysis was performed, and the material balance was calculated before and after an sand recovery unit by modeling the production process. As a result of the particle size analysis of eight cakes, one sample contained 50% sand, and the rest contained about 5% to 25% sand. The results showing that the cake contained a variety of sand in cakes may indicate that the recovery efficiency of the sand recovery units in the field varied. Sieve analysis of the samples showed that the generation of sand particles increased 2.8 times during the third crushing compared to the second crushing, and more cake particles were generated. As a result of simulating the sand recovery unit model, the lower the cut point of the cyclone and dewatering screen, the higher the sand production and the less cake production appeared. In order to reduce the production of cake in the field, it was determined that an optimal operation of the sand recovery unit was necessary in the aggregate production process.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.70-81
• /
• 2024

In this study, Tridimensional Hybrid Isolation System(THIS) was proposed as a vibration isolator for traffic loads, combining vertical and horizontal isolation systems. Its efficacy in improving serviceability for vertical vibration was analytically evaluated. Firstly, for the analysis, the major vibration modes of the existing apartment were identified through eigenvalue analysis for the system and pulse response analysis for the bedroom slab using commercial structural analysis software. Subsequently, a 16-story model with horizontal, vertical and rotational degrees of freedom for each slab was numerically organized to represent the achieved modes. The dynamic analysis for the measured acceleration from an adjacent ground to high-speed railway was performed by state-space equations with the stiffness and damping ratio of THIS as variables. The result indicated that as the vertical period ratio increased, the threshold period ratio where the slab response started to be suppressed varied. Specifically, when the period ratio is greater than or equal to 5, the acceleration levels of all slabs decreased to approximately 70% or less compared to the non-isolated condition. On the other hand, it was ascertained that the influence of damping ratios on the response control of THIS is inconsequential in the analysis. Finally, the improvement in vertical vibration performance of THIS was evaluated according to design guidelines for floor vibration of AIJ, SCI and AISC. It was confirmed that, after the application of THIS, the residential performance criteria were met, whereas the non-isolated structure failed to satisfy them.