• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1909-1917
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• 2021

Objective: Muscle quantity and quality can be measured with an automated system on CT. However, the effects of contrast phases on the muscle measurements have not been established, which we aimed to investigate in this study. Materials and Methods: Muscle quantity was measured according to the skeletal muscle area (SMA) measured by a convolutional neural network-based automated system at the L3 level in 89 subjects undergoing multiphasic abdominal CT comprising unenhanced phase, arterial phase, portal venous phase (PVP), or delayed phase imaging. Muscle quality was analyzed using the mean muscle density and the muscle quality map, which comprises normal and low-attenuation muscle areas (NAMA and LAMA, respectively) based on the muscle attenuation threshold. The SMA, mean muscle density, NAMA, and LAMA were compared between PVP and other phases using paired t tests. Bland-Altman analysis was used to evaluate the inter-phase variability between PVP and other phases. Based on the cutoffs for low muscle quantity and quality, the counts of individuals who scored lower than the cutoff values were compared between PVP and other phases. Results: All indices showed significant differences between PVP and other phases (p < 0.001 for all). The SMA, mean muscle density, and NAMA increased during the later phases, whereas LAMA decreased during the later phases. Bland-Altman analysis showed that the mean differences between PVP and other phases ranged -2.1 to 0.3 cm² for SMA, -12.0 to 2.6 cm² for NAMA, and -2.2 to 9.9 cm² for LAMA.The number of patients who were categorized as low muscle quantity did not significant differ between PVP and other phases (p ≥ 0.5), whereas the number of patients with low muscle quality significantly differed (p ≤ 0.002). Conclusion: SMA was less affected by the contrast phases. However, the muscle quality measurements changed with the contrast phases to greater extents and would require a standardization of the contrast phase for reliable measurement.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.217-223
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• 2023

The 886-bp sequence of the mitochondrial region encoding the cytb gene was used to identify the origin of the Goryeong (GR) population of Pungitius kaibarae and to characterize genetic diversity and structure among wild populations. The GR population showed the lowest haplotype diversity (H_d=0.000), while the highest haplotype diversity was confirmed at 0.755 among the Goseoung (GS) population. Nucleotide diversity ranged was the highest diversity at 0.00291 in the GS population and the lowest diversity at 0.00000 in the GR population. The GR population was genetically closest to the Pohang (PH) population. The haplotype network confirmed that the GR population was most similar to the PH population. The GR population also clustered with the PH population with high bootstrap support (98%) in a phylogenetic tree. We thus conclude that the GR population is derived from a population similar to the PH population.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.63-75
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• 2024

Drinking water is an essential element to ensure the basic human right to live, and the quality of clean water must always be ensured. However, domestic water facilities, which were installed intensively in the early 2000s, are deteriorating. The accidents such as discoloration of water such as chromaticity and turbidity as well as leakage of substances frequently occur. However, since it is virtually impossible to replace all water pipes, the detailed standards for maintenance of water pipe network facilities established in 2021 require water pipe cleaning. The swab pig method, one of the water pipe cleaning methods, is a method of physically removing substances in pipes and is evaluated as having the highest cleaning efficiency. However, Swab is highly likely to be damaged or deformed during the cleaning process, and may even be lost. Therefore, in this study, the material of the pig was changed to a material with high compressibility, and it was made as close as possible to the inner wall of the water pipe. And, to maximize cleaning efficiency, a rotation swab pig with a rotation blade was developed. In addition, high-strength wire and winding equipment were additionally developed to eliminate the possibility of loss and to determine the location of the pig. The inlet and outlet are connected with wires, and after verifying the performance of each detailed technology, the technology was applied on a test bed with a 30m section. As a result of the application, the performance of the technology was verified by measuring the process time and evaluating applicability.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1579-1586
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• 2021

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the modified Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS), and compare it with the 2016 version of K-TIRADS using the Thyroid Imaging Network of Korea. Materials and Methods: Between June and September 2015, 5708 thyroid nodules (≥ 1.0 cm) from 5081 consecutive patients who had undergone thyroid ultrasonography at 26 institutions were retrospectively evaluated. We used a biopsy size threshold of 2 cm for K-TIRADS 3 and 1 cm for K-TIRADS 4 (modified K-TIRADS 1) or 1.5 cm for K-TIRADS 4 (modified K-TIRADS 3). The modified K-TIRADS 2 subcategorized the K-TIRADS 4 into 4A and 4B, and the cutoff sizes for the biopsies were defined as 1 cm for K-TIRADS 4B and 1.5 cm for K-TIRADS 4A. The diagnostic performance and the rate of unnecessary biopsies of the modified K-TIRADS for detecting malignancy were compared with those of the 2016 K-TIRAD, which were stratified by nodule size (with a threshold of 2 cm). Results: A total of 1111 malignant nodules and 4597 benign nodules were included. The sensitivity, specificity, and unnecessary biopsy rate of the benign nodules were 94.9%, 24.4%, and 60.9% for the 2016 K-TIRADS; 91.0%, 39.7%, and 48.6% for the modified K-TIRADS 1; 84.9%, 45.9%, and 43.5% for the modified K-TIRADS 2; and 76.1%, 50.2%, and 40.1% for the modified K-TIRADS 3. For small nodules (1-2 cm), the diagnostic sensitivity of the modified K-TIRADS decreased by 5.2-25.6% and the rate of unnecessary biopsies reduced by 19.2-32.8% compared with those of the 2016 K-TIRADS (p < 0.001). For large nodules (> 2 cm), the modified K-TIRADSs maintained a very high sensitivity for detecting malignancy (98%). Conclusion: The modified K-TIRADSs significantly reduced the rate of unnecessary biopsies for small (1-2 cm) nodules while maintaining a very high sensitivity for malignancy for large (> 2 cm) nodules.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.47-58
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• 2024

This study were conduced experimentally to analyze the heat-generating performance, flexural strength, and microstructure of conductive mortar mixed with micro steel fiber and multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT). In the conductive mortar heat-generating performance and flexural strength tests, the mixing concentration of MWCNT was selected as 0.0wt%, 0.5wt%, and 1.0wt% relative to the weight of cement, and micro steel fibers were mixed at 2.0vol% relative to the volume. The performance experiments were conducted with various applied voltages (DC 10V, 30V, 60V) and different electrode spacings (40 mm, 120 mm) as parameters, and the flexural strength was measured at the curing age of 28 days and compared and analyzed with the normal mortar. Furthermore, the surface shape and microstructure of conductive mortar were analyzed using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The results showed that the heat-generating performance improved as the mixing concentration of MWCNT and the applied voltage increased, and it further improved as the electrode spacing became narrower. However, even if the mixing concentration of MWCNT was added up to 1.0 wt%, the heat-generating performance was not significantly improved. As a result of the flexural strength test, the average flexural strength of all specimens except the PM specimen and the MWCNT mixed specimens was 4.5 MPa or more, showing high flexural strength due to the incorporation of micro steel fibers. Through FE-SEM image analysis, Through FE-SEM image analysis, it was confirmed that a conductive network was formed between micro steel fibers and MWCNT particles in the cement matrix.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.93-104
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to investigate brain activity both during the processing of a scientific hypothesis about biological phenomena and mental arithmetic using 3.0T fMRI at the KAIST. For this study, 16 healthy male subjects participated voluntarily. Each subject's functional brain images by performing a scientific hypothesis task and a mental arithmetic task for 684 seconds were measured. After the fMRI measuring, verbal reports were collected to ensure the reliability of brain image data. This data, which were found to be adequate based on the results of analyzing verbal reports, were all included in the statistical analysis. When the data were statistically analyzed using SPM2 software, the scientific hypothesis generating process was found to have independent brain network different from the mental arithmetic process. In the scientific hypothesis process, we can infer that there is the process of encoding semantic derived from the fusiform gyrus through question-situation analysis in the pre-frontal lobe. In the mental arithmetic process, the area combining pre-frontal and parietal lobes plays an important role, and the parietal lobe is considered to be involved in skillfulness. In addition, the scientific hypothesis process was found to be accompanied by scientific emotion. These results enabled the examination of the scientific hypothesis process from the cognitive neuroscience perspective, and may be used as basic materials for developing a learning program for scientific hypothesis generation. In addition, this program can be proposed as a model of scientific brain-based learning.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.730-740
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary science teachers' brain activation and functional connectivity during scientific observation on the biological phenomena. Twenty six right-handed healthy science teachers volunteered to be in the present study. To investigate science teachers' brain activities during the tasks, 3.0T fMRI system with block design was used to measure BOLD signals in their brains. The SPM2 software package was applied to analyze the acquired initial image data from the fMRI system. The results have shown that the left inferior frontal gyrus, the bilateral superior parietal lobule, the left inferior parietal lobule, the left precuneus, the left superior occipital gyrus, the right middle occipital gyrus, the right precuneus, the left inferior occipital gyrus and bilateral fusiform gyrus were significantly activated during participants' scientific observation. The network model consisted of eleven nodes (ROIs) and its ten connections. These results suggested the notion that scientific observation needs a connective cooperation among several brain regions associated with observing over just a sensory receiving process.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.132-145
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• 2024

Objectives: This study compares cases of Dalgubeol Health Care Project, 301 Network Project, and 3 for 1 Project based on program logic models to derive measures for promoting integrated healthcare and welfare services centered around medical institutions. Methods: From January to December 2021, information on the implementation systems and performance of each institution was collected. Data sources included prior academic research, project reports, operational guidelines, official press releases, media articles, and written surveys from project managers. A program logic model analysis framework was applied, structuring the information based on four elements: situation, input, activity, and output. Results: All three projects aimed to address the fragmentation of health and welfare services and medical blind spots. Despite similar multidisciplinary team compositions, differences existed in specific fields, recruitment scale, and employment types. Variations in funding sources led to differences in community collaboration, support methods, and future directions. There were discrepancies in the number of beneficiaries and medical treatments, with different results observed when comparing the actual number of people to input manpower and project cost per beneficiary. Conclusions: To design an integrated health and welfare service provision system centered on medical institutions, securing a stable funding mechanism and establishing an appropriate target population and service delivery system are crucial. Additionally, installing a dedicated department within the medical institution to link activities across various sectors, rather than outsourcing, is necessary. Ensuring appropriate recruitment and stable employment systems is needed. A comprehensive provision system offering services from mild to severe cases through public-private cooperation is suggested.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2024

In the fourth industrial-revolution era, the construction industry is transitioning from traditional methods to digital processes. This shift has been challenging owing to the industry's employment of diverse processes and extensive human resources, leading to a gradual adoption of digital technologies through trial and error. One critical area of focus is the safety management at construction sites, which is undergoing significant research and efforts towards digitization and automation. Despite these initiatives, recent statistics indicate a persistent occurrence of accidents and fatalities in construction sites. To address this issue, this study utilizes large-scale language-model artificial intelligence to analyze big data from a construction safety-management information network. The findings are integrated into on-site models, which incorporate real-time updates from detailed design models and are enriched with location information and spatial characteristics, for enhanced safety management. This research aims to develop a big-data-driven safety-management platform to bolster facility and worker safety by digitizing construction-site safety data. This platform can help prevent construction accidents and provide effective education for safety practices.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.277-287
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• 2024

Water distribution system (WDS) is exposed to various water quality incidents during its operation. This study utilized Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) to analyze the risk associated with potential virus intrusion in WDSs. Additionally, the study determined the location and operation of rechlorination facilities to minimize potential risk. In addition, water quality resilience was calculated to confirm that the chlorine concentration maintains within the target range (0.1-1.0 mg/L) during normal operation. Hydraulic analysis was performed using EPANET, while EPANET-MSX was linked to simulate the reactions between viruses and chlorine. The proposed methodology was applied to the Bellingham network in the United States, where rechlorination facilities capable of injecting chlorine concentrations ranging from 0.5 mg/L to 1.0 mg/L were considered. Results indicated that without rechlorination facilities, the Average risk was 0.0154. However, installing rechlorination facilities and injecting chlorine at a concentration of 1.0 mg/L could reduce the Average risk to 39.1%. It was observed that excessive chlorine injection through rechlorination facilities reduced water quality resilience. Consequently, a rechlorination facility with a concentration of 0.5 mg/L was selected, resulting in a reduction of approximately 20% in average risk. This study provides insights for designing rechlorination facilities to enhance preparedness against potential virus ingress in the future.