• Journal of the Korea Computer Graphics Society
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 2017

Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease because it shows not only the whole anatomical structure of the cardiovascular three-dimensionally but also provides information on the lesion and type of plaque. However, due to the large size of the image, there is a limitation in manually extracting coronary arteries, and related researches are performed to automatically extract coronary arteries accurately. As the coronary artery originate from the ascending aorta, the ascending aorta and ostium should be detected to extract the coronary tree accurately. In this paper, we propose an automatic segmentation for the ostium as a starting structure of coronary artery in CTA. First, the region of the ascending aorta is initially detected by using Hough circle transform based on the relative position and size of the ascending aorta. Second, the volume of interest is defined to reduce the search range based on the initial area. Third, the refined ascending aorta is segmented by using a two-dimensional geodesic active contour. Finally, the two ostia are detected within the region of the refined ascending aorta. For the evaluation of our method, we measured the Euclidean distance between the result and the ground truths annotated manually by medical experts in 20 CTA images. The experimental results showed that the ostia were accurately detected.

• Atmosphere
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 2013

We examine the effects of the sea surface temperature (SST) distribution on heavy snowfall over the Yellow Sea using high-resolution SST products and WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model simulations in 30 December 2010. First, we evaluate the model by comparing the simulated and observed fresh snowfall over the Korean peninsula (Ho-Nam province). The comparison shows that the model reproduces the distributions and magnitudes of the observed snowfall. We then conduct sensitivity model simulations where SST perturbations by ${\pm}1.1^{\circ}C$ relative to baseline SST values (averaged SST for $5{\sim}15^{\circ}C$) are uniformly specified over the region of interest. Results show that ${\pm}1.1^{\circ}C$ SST perturbation simulations result in changes of air temperature by $+0.37/-0.38^{\circ}C$, and by ${\pm}0.31^{\circ}C$ hPa for sea level pressure, respectively, relative to the baseline simulation. Atmospheric responses to SST perturbations are found to be relatively linear. The changes in SST appear to perturb precipitation variability accounting for 10% of snow and graupel, and 18% of snowfall over the Yellow Sea and Ho- Nam province, respectively. We find that anomalies of air temperature, pressure, and hydrometeors due to SST perturbation propagate to the upper part of cloud top up to 500 hPa and show symmetric responses with respect to SST changes.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.609-619
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• 1989

During aortic valve surgery, cardioplegic solution is delivered through direct cannulation of both coronary ostia. Since this approach may cause an intimal injury leading to acute dissection or late ostial stenosis, this study was undertaken to evaluate myocardial protective effect of retrograde perfusion of cardioplegia [RCSP <% RRAP] in 18 clinical cases, which were compared with antegrade perfusion of cardioplegia in 27 clinical cases. This study were investigated 1] cease and return of electromechanical activity after cardioplegia infusion 2] the myocardial temperature during operation 3] the aortic cross clamping time and total bypass time 4] frequency of DC shock for defibrillation 5] need for inotropic drugs after operation 6] electrocardiographic evidence of myocardial infarction or ventricular arrhythmia after operation 7] the enzymes activity during preoperative and postoperative period as an evaluation of myocardial ischemic injury and 8] operative mortality rate The combination of retrograde cardioplegia and topical cooling with ice slush yielded promptly hypothermia of myocardium and shorter aortic cross-clamping time compared with antegrade cardioplegia [P < 0.05]. The temperature of the interventricular septum was maintained below 20oC by continuous perfusion or intermittent perfusion of cold blood cardioplegia and other results were no statistically significant difference between the two methods [P >0.05]. This technique provides clear operative field and avoids some serious complications which are caused by coronary ostial cannulation. These results suggested that the retrograde perfusion of cardioplegia is a simple, safe, and effective means of myocardial protection during open heart surgery.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.sup1
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• pp.84-87
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• 2016

Midaortic syndrome (MAS) is a rare vascular disease that commonly causes renovascular hypertension. The lumen of the abdominal aorta narrows and the ostia of the branches show stenosis. MAS is associated with diminished pulses in the lower extremities compared with the upper extremities, severe hypertension with higher blood pressure in the upper rather than lower extremities, and an abdominal bruit. The clinical symptoms are variable, and recognition in children with hypertension can aid early diagnosis and optimal treatment. Hypertension with MAS is malignant and often refractory to several antihypertensive drugs. Recently, radiologic modalities have been developed and have led to numerous interventional procedures. We describe the case of a 3-year-old boy presenting with left ventricular hypertrophy whose severely elevated blood pressure led to the diagnosis of idiopathic MAS. This case highlights the importance of measuring blood pressure and conducting a detailed physical examination to diagnose MAS. This is the first reported case of idiopathic MAS diagnosed in childhood in Korea.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.457-462
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• 1993

We retrospectively studied 34 patients who underwent operations of ascending aortic aneurysm and aortic valve replacement from August 1979 to July 1992 at the Yonsei Cardiovascular Center. Eight patients underwent supracoroanry non-composite graft replacement and separate aortic valve replacement[group I]. Twenty six patients underwent valved composite graft replacement with reimplantation of coronary arteries[group II]. Two cases in group II died within 1 month after the operation. Among the 32 survivors 28 patients have been followed up for an average of 59 months ranging from 1 months to 159 months. During the follow up periods, a pseudoaneurysm around the ascending aorta and a newly developed dissecting aneurysm in remaining aorta were noted in group II. There were 6 late deaths: 2 cases in group I and 4 cases in group II. Three cases among the 6 late deaths have stigmata of Marfan`s syndrome[1 cases in group I and 2 case in group II]. There was no statistically significant difference in actuarial survival rates between group I and group II[p > 0.05]. This study suggests that non-composite supracoronary graft interposition with separate aortic valve replacement is a safe surgical technique in patients who have normal aortic annulus and normal position of coronary ostia. However in degenerative disease such as cystic medial necrosis, composite graft replacement is recommended because this procedure eliminates entire abnormal tissue.But it seems to be important that the suture technique and strict follow-up in patients with diseased aortic wall.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.527-544
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• 2018

This paper presents a nighttime sea fog detection algorithm incorporating unsupervised learning technique. The algorithm is based on data sets that combine brightness temperatures from the $3.7{\mu}m$ and $10.8{\mu}m$ channels of the meteorological imager (MI) onboard the Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS), with sea surface temperature from the Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA). Previous algorithms generally employed threshold values including the brightness temperature difference between the near infrared and infrared. The threshold values were previously determined from climatological analysis or model simulation. Although this method using predetermined thresholds is very simple and effective in detecting low cloud, it has difficulty in distinguishing fog from stratus because they share similar characteristics of particle size and altitude. In order to improve this, the unsupervised learning approach, which allows a more effective interpretation from the insufficient information, has been utilized. The unsupervised learning method employed in this paper is the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm that is widely used in incomplete data problems. It identifies distinguishing features of the data by organizing and optimizing the data. This allows for the application of optimal threshold values for fog detection by considering the characteristics of a specific domain. The algorithm has been evaluated using the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) vertical profile products, which showed promising results within a local domain with probability of detection (POD) of 0.753 and critical success index (CSI) of 0.477, respectively.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.179-194
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• 2020

The present study aims to evaluate the effects of satellite-based SST (OSTIA) assimilation on a regional ocean circulation model for the Yellow and East China Seas (YECS), using three different assimilation methods: the Ensemble Optimal Interpolation (EnOI), Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF), and 4-Dimensional Variational (4DVAR) techniques, which are widely used in the ocean modeling communities. The model experiments show that an improved initial condition by assimilating the SST affects the seasonal water temperature and water mass distributions of the YECS. In particular, the SST data assimilation influences the temperature structures horizontally and vertically in winter, thereby improving the behavior of the YS warm current water. This is due to the fact that during wintertime the water column is well mixed, which is directly updated by the SST assimilation. The model comparisons indicate that the SST assimilation can improve the model performance in resolving the subsurface structures in wintertime, but has a relatively small impact in summertime due to the strong stratification. The differences among the different assimilation experiments are obvious when the SST was sharply changed due to a typhoon passage. Overall, the EnKF and 4DVAR show better agreement with the observations than the EnOI. The relatively low performance of EnOI under storm conditions may be related with a limitation of EnOI method whereby an analysis is obtained from a number of climatological fields, and thus the typhoon-induced SST changes in short-time scales may not be adequately reflected in the data assimilation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2013

Background: Minimal infusion of cardioplegic solution (CPS) during aortic surgery using total circulatory arrest (TCA) may reduce several potential side effects: clamping on a diseased aorta, insult of coronary ostia, and edema. Materials and Methods: From 2006 to 2009, 72 patients underwent aortic surgery without infusion of cardioplegic solution at the initiation of circulatory arrest. The diagnoses were acute aortic dissection (44), aneurysm (22), and intramural hematoma (6). Results: The duration of TCA, the lowest nasopharyngeal temperature, bypass time, and aortic clamp time was 45 minutes, $16.4^{\circ}C$, 162 minutes, and 100 minutes, respectively. The amount of CPS was 1,050 mL, and 15 patients underwent surgery without CPS. The average inotrope score was 113 points (range, 6.25 to 5,048.5 points) corresponding to the dopamine infusion of 5 mcg/kg/min for 1 day. Seven patients showed a level of creatine kinase-MB above 50 ng/mL, postoperatively, compared with the average of 12.75 ng/mL. The ischemic change was found on electrocardiogram in 5 patients, postoperatively. There was no cardiac morbidity requiring mechanical assist. The average of intensive care unit stay and postoperative hospital stay was 40 hours (range, 15 to 482 hours) and 11 days, respectively. Conclusion: Minimal infusion of only retrograde CPS during rewarming without initial infusion at TCA in aortic surgery is feasible and can be used with acceptable results.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.325-333
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• 2003

Fine structural characteristics of the heart tube and its cardiac muscle cells in spider, Araneus ventricosus are investigated by both of scanning and transmission electron microscopes. The heart tube of the spider is extended mid-dorsally along the anterior part of the abdomen, and is consisted of the thin outer layer of connective tissue (epicardium) and the thick muscle layer (myocardium). The myocardium in the spider has a typical fanlike spiral structure toward anterior part put across between the muscle fibers. Therefore, it did not give rise to the intima, and muscle cells are in direct contact to the hemolymph. The heart tube appeared to be three pairs of ostia and numerous hemocytes accumulated at the inner surface of the myocardial layer. Among several kinds of the hemocytes, the oenocytoids are the most predominant hemocytes accumulated along the myocardial folds which stretched toward heart lumen. The heart muscle cells are cross striated, branched, and multinucleated. They contain a lot of mitochondria, which provide for the continuous energy demands of the heart. Thread-like ganglion on the dorsal side of the heart tube gives off axons that innervate the heart muscle cells.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.646-650
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• 1996

The usual methods for the re-attachment of coronary ostia to the ascending aortic conduit have several disadvantages and potential complications. A novel, straight forward technique is described that allows for tension free anastomoses to be co structed with minimal risk of blood loss and a reduced risk of reoperation for false aneurysms at the anastomoses. We performed this technique for the treatment of a 40-yrs-old male patient of acute aortic dissection (Stanford Type A, DeBakey Type I) with severe aortic re- gurgitation. The techinque comprised anastomosis of a beveled interposition tube graft to the left main coronary artery ostium, and its proximal anastomosis to the ascending aortic graft after seating the com- posite valve graft in the prepared aortic annulus. With this technique, the low-Iying or distant left main coronary ostium can be easily reattached to the ascending conduit without undue tension.