• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2020

Background and Objectives: Currently limited information is available on speech stimuli processing at the subcortical level in the recipients of cochlear implant (CI). Speech processing in the brainstem level is measured using speech-auditory brainstem response (S-ABR). The purpose of the present study was to measure the S-ABR components in the sound-field presentation in CI recipients, and compare with normal hearing (NH) children. Subjects and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, participants were divided in two groups: patients with CIs; and NH group. The CI group consisted of 20 prelingual hearing impairment children (mean age=8.90±0.79 years), with ipsilateral CIs (right side). The control group consisted of 20 healthy NH children, with comparable age and sex distribution. The S-ABR was evoked by the 40-ms synthesized /da/ syllable stimulus that was indicated in the sound-field presentation. Results: Sound-field S-ABR measured in the CI recipients indicated statistically significant delayed latencies, than in the NH group. In addition, these results demonstrated that the frequency following response peak amplitude was significantly higher in CI recipients, than in the NH counterparts (p<0.05). Finally, the neural phase locking were significantly lower in CI recipients (p<0.05). Conclusions: The findings of sound-field S-ABR demonstrated that CI recipients have neural encoding deficits in temporal and spectral domains at the brainstem level; therefore, the sound-field S-ABR can be considered an efficient clinical procedure to assess the speech process in CI recipients.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2007

Fruitful findings have been produced from five out of sixty cells which were obtained from each 63 individual Aplisia caught at the Jeju coast. Spiking patterns of three out of five cells, such as relaxation oscillator, bursting within a short time of the inter-burst interval, chaotic bursting, period doubling sequences, bursting with long trains of action potentials separated by short silent periods, regular repeated beating or elliptic bursting, and silent states had been changed in order as the temperature was lowered to $10^{\circ}C\;from\;32^{\circ}C$. In the intervals of every about 40 minutes repeated ups and downs of temperature produced similar firing patterns at the allowable temperature ranges. The other two cells showed difference from these. The amplitudes of the action potentials of the two cells will not be highly decreased in 24 hours. Average spike frequencies, the inter-burst interval, peak to peak spike amplitude of action potentials, minimum potential values are compared and analyzed by using the computer programme. The spike frequencies according to temperature show the distribution of bell type, with maximal spike frequencies at intermediate temperatures and minimal ones at either end. The most common pattern consist of high spike frequency during failing and low one during rising temperatures.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.5-12
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• 2021

Climate change caused by global warming increases the frequency of occurrence of super typhoons and causes various types of sediment disasters such as debris flows in the mountainous area. This study is to evaluate the behavior of debris flow according to the multiplier value of the precipitation characteristics and the quantity of debris flow according to the typhoon category. For the analysis of the debris flow, the finite difference method for time elapse was applied. The larger the typhoon category, the higher the peak value of the flow discharge of debris flow and the faster the arrival time. When the precipitation characteristic multiplier is large, the fluctuation amplitude is high and the bandwidth is wide. When the slope angle was steeper, water discharge increased by 2~2.5 times or more, and the fluctuation of the flow discharge of debris flow increased. All of the velocities of debris flow were included to the class of "Very rapid", and the distribution of the erosion or sedimentation velocity of debris flows showed that the magnitude of erosion increased from the beginning, large-scale erosion occurred, and flowed downstream. The results of this study will provide information for predicting debris flow disasters, structural countermeasures and establishing countermeasures for reinforcing resilience in vulnerable areas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.196-213
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• 2001

A split beam ultrasonic transducer operating at a frequency of 70 kHz to use in the fish sizing echo sounder was developed and the acoustic radiation characteristics were experimentally analyzed. The amplitude shading method utilizing the properties of the Chebyshev polynomials was used to obtain side lobe levels below -20 dB and to optimize the relationship between main beam width and side lobe level of the transducer, and the amplitude shading coefficient to each of the elements was achieved by changing the amplitude contribution of elements with 4 weighting transformers embodied in the planar array transducer assembly. The planar array split beam transducer assembly was composed of 36 piezoelectric ceramics (NEPEC N-21, Tokin) of rod type of 10 mm in diameter and 18.7 mm in length of 70 kHz arranged in the rectangular configuration, and the 4 electrical inputs were supplied to the beamformer. A series of impedance measurements were conducted to check the uniformity of the individual quadrants, and also in the configurations of reception and transmission, resonant frequency, and the transmitting and receiving characteristics were measured in the water tank and analyzed, respectively. The results obtained are summarized as follows : 1. Average resonant and antiresonant frequencies of electrical impedance for four quadrants of the split beam transducer in water were 69.8 kHz and 83.0 kHz, respectively. Average electrical impedance for each individual transducer quadrant was 49.2$\Omega$ at resonant frequency and 704.7$\Omega$ at antiresonant frequency. 2. The resonance peak in the transmitting voltage response (TVR) for four quadrants of the split beam transducer was observed all at 70.0 kHz and the value of TVR was all about 165.5 dB re 1 $\mu$Pa/V at 1 m at 70.0 kHz with bandwidth of 10.0 kHz between -3 dB down points. The resonance peak in the receiving sensitivity (SRT) for four combined quadrants (quad LU+LL, quad RU+RL, quad LU+RU, quad LL+RL) of the split beam transducer was observed all at 75.0 kHz and the value of SRT was all about -177.7 dB re 1 V/$\mu$Pa at 75.0 kHz with bandwidth of 10.0 kHz between -3 dB down points. The sum beam transmitting voltage response and receiving senstivity was 175.0 dB re 1$\mu$Pa/V at 1 m at 75.0 kHz with bandwidth of 10.0 kHz, respectively. 3. The sum beam of split beam transducer was approximately circular with a half beam angle of $9.0^\circ$ at -3 dB points all in both axis of the horizontal plane and the vertical plane. The first measured side lobe levels for the sum beam of split beam transducer were -19.7 dB at $22^\circ$ and -19.4 dB at $-26^\circ$ in the horizontal plane, respectively and -20.1 dB at $22^\circ$ and -22.0 dB at $-26^\circ$ in the vertical plane, respectively. 4. The developed split beam transducer was tested to estimate the angular position of the target in the beam through split beam phase measurements, and the beam pattern loss for target strength corrections was measured and analyzed.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.452-464
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• 1990

It is well known that extracellular Calcium plays a very important role in several steps of smooth muscle excitability and contractility, and there have been many concerns about factors influencing the distribution of extracellular Ca++ and the Ca++ flux through the cell membrane of the smooth muscle. Based on the assumption that Mg++ may also play an important role in the excitation and contraction processes of the smooth muscle by taking part in affecting Ca++ distribution and flux, many researches are being performed about the exact role of Mg++, especially in the vascular smooth muscle. But yet the effect of Mg++ in the smooth muscle activity is not clarified, and moreover the mechanism of Mg++ action is almost completely unknown. Present study attempted to clarify the effect of Mg++ on the excitability and contractility in the multiunit and unitary smooth muscle, and the mechanism concerned in it. The preparations used were the guinea-pig aortic strip as the experimental material of the multiunit smooth muscle and the rat uterine strip as the one of the unitary smooth muscle. The tissues were isolated from the sacrificed animal and were prepared for recording the isometric contraction. The effects of Mg++ and Ca++ were examined on the electrically driven or spontaneous contraction of the preparations. And the effects of these ions were also studied on the K+ or norepinephrine contracture. All experiments were performed in tris-buffered Tyrode solution which was aerated with 100% 02 and kept at 35oC. The results obtained were as follows: 1] Mg++ suppressed the phasic contraction induced by electrical field stimulation dose-dependently in the guinea-pig aortic strip, while the high concentration of Ca++ never recovered the decreased tension. These phenomena were not changed by the a - or b - adrenergic blocker. 2]Mg++ played the suppressing effect on the low concentration [20 and 40 mM] of K+-contracture in the aortic muscle, but the effect was not shown in the case of 100mM K+-contracture. 3] Mg++ also suppressed the contracture induced by norepinephrine in the aortic preparation. And the effect of Mg++ was most prominent in the contracture by the lowest [10 mM] concentration of norepinephrine. 4] In both the spontaneous and electrically driven contractions of the uterine strip, Mg++ decreased the amplitude of peak tension, and by the high concentration of Ca++ the amplitude of tension was recovered unlike the aortic muscle. 5] The frequency of the uterine spontaneous contraction increased as the [Ca++] / [Mg++] ratio increased up to 2, but the frequency decreased above this level. 6] Mg++ decreased the tension of the low[20 and 40mM] K+-contracture in the uterine smooth muscle, but the effect did not appear in the 100mM K+-contracture. From the above results, the following conclusion could be made. 1] Mg++ seems to suppress the contractility directly by acting on the smooth muscle itself, besides through the indirect action on the nerve terminal, in both the aortic and uterine smooth muscles. 2] The fact that the depressant effect of Mg++ on the K+-contracture is in inverse proportion to an increase of K+ concentration appears resulted from the extent of the opening state of the Ca++ channel. 3] Mg++ may play a depressant role on both the potential dependent and the receptor-operated Ca++ channels. 4] The relationship between the actions of Mg++ and Ca++ seems to be competitive in uterine muscle and non-competitive in aortic strip.