• Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.281-287
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• 2018

Objectives. Regenerative treatment using stem cells may serve as treatment option for empty nose syndrome (ENS), which is caused by the lack of turbinate tissue and deranged nervous system in the nasal cavity. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of the autologous stromal vascular fraction (SVF) in the treatment of ENS. Methods. In this prospective observational clinical study, we enrolled 10 ENS patients who volunteered to undergo treatment of ENS through the injection of autologous SVF. Data, including demographic data, pre- and postoperative Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-25 (SNOT-25) scores, overall patient satisfaction, and postoperative complications, were prospectively collected. Nasal secretion was assessed using the polyurethane foam absorption method, and the levels of biological markers were analyzed in both ENS group and control group using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The SVF extracted from abdominal fat was diluted and injected into both inferior turbinates. Results. Among the 10 initial patients, one was excluded from the study. Subjective satisfaction was rated as "much improved" in two and "no change" in seven. Among the improved patients, the mean preinjection SNOT-25 score was 55.0 and the score at 6 months after injection was 19.5. However, the average SNOT-25 score of nine participants at 6 months after injection (mean${\pm}$standard deviation, $62.4{\pm}35.8$) did not differ significantly from the baseline SNOT-25 score ($70.1{\pm}24.7$, P>0.05, respectively). Among the various inflammatory markers assessed, the levels of interleukin $(IL)-1{\beta}$, IL-8, and calcitonin gene-related peptide were significantly higher in ENS patients. Compared with preinjection secretion level, the nasal secretions from SVF-treated patients showed decreased expressions of $IL-1{\beta}$ and IL-8 after injection. Conclusion. Although SVF treatment appears to decrease the inflammatory cytokine levels in the nasal mucosa, a single SVF injection was not effective in terms of symptom improvement and patient satisfaction. Further trials are needed to identify a more practical and useful regenerative treatment modality for patients with ENS.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.366-377
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• 2021

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are generated in petrochemical complexes, can spread to residential areas and affect the health of residents. Although harmful PAHs are mainly present in particle phase, gas phase PAHs can generate stronger toxic substances through photochemical reaction. Therefore, the risk assessment for PAHs around the petrochemical complex should consider both particle and gas phase concentrations. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the concentration characteristics of particle and gas phase PAHs by season in residential areas around petrochemical complexes, and to assess the risk of PAHs. Methods: Samples were collected for 7 days by seasons in 2014~2015 using a high volume air sampler. Particle and gas phase PAHs were sampled using quartz filter and polyurethane foam, respectively, analyzed by GC-MS. Chronic toxicity and probabilistic risk assessment were performed on 14 PAHs. For chronic toxicity risk assessment, inhalation unit risk was used. Monte-Carlo simulation was performed for probabilistic risk assessment using the mean and standard deviation of measured PAHs. Results: The concentration of particle total PAHs was highest in autumn. The gas phase concentration was highest in autumn. The average gas phase distribution ratio of low molecular weight PAHs composed of 2~3 benzene rings was 85%. The average of the medium molecular weight composed of 4 benzene rings was 53%, and the average of the high molecular weight composed of 5 or more benzene rings was 9%. In the chronic toxicity risk assessment, 7 of the 14 PAHs exceeded the excess carcinogenic risk of 1.00×10^-6. In the Monte-Carlo simulation, Benzo[a]pyrene had the highest probability of exceeding 1.00×10^-6, which was 100%. Conclusions: The concentration of PAHs in the residential area around the petrochemical complex exceeded the standard, and the excess carcinogenic risk was evaluated to be high. Therefore, it is necessary to manage the air environment around the petrochemical complex.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.27-37
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• 2022

With the recent increase in the spread of ESS (Electric Storage System), the damage to human life and property is also rapidly increasing due to continuous fires caused by ESS. In the manufacture of urethane sandwich panels used in ESS, it is necessary to improve the flame retardant performance. In this study, in order to realize the flame retardant properties of flexible polyurethane foam, the effect of the tissue density of the product due to the change of the isocyanate functional group parameter that changes the physical properties of the product on the fire performance was studied. The product was manufactured by changing the density of the urethane structure, and combustion performance tests, gas toxicity tests, and smoke density tests were performed. As a result, it was confirmed that the total amount of heat released had excellent performance when the isocyanate functional group was high, and had no correlation with the maximum heat release rate. When the value of the isocyanate functional group was 2.7 or more, the collapse of the shape could be prevented. In the gas hazard test, the performance was increased when the isocyanate functional group was relatively high, so a flame retardant for the Char system, which had a dense structure and easy to form a carbonized film, was added. confirmed to be. Therefore, as a result of this study, it is thought that it will be possible to lay the foundation for the development of a flame retardant to replace the cheap urethane sandwich panel used in the past.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.779-789
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• 2022

Objective : To analyze the effects of the number and shape of fenestrations on the mechanical strength of pedicle screws and the effects of bone cement augmentation (BCA) on the pull-out strength (POS) of screws used in conventional BCA. Methods : For the control group, a conventional screw was defined as C1, a screw with cannulated end-holes was defined as C2, a C2 screw with six pinholes was defined as C3, and the control group type was set. Among the experimental screws, T1 was designed using symmetrically placed thru-hole type fenestrations with an elliptical shape, while T2 was designed with half-moon (HM)-shaped asymmetrical fenestrations. T3 and T4 were designed with single HM-shaped fenestrations covering three pitches and five pitches, respectively. T5 and T6 were designed with 0.6-mm and 1-mm wider fenestrations than T3. BCA was performed by injecting 3 mL of commercial bone cement in the screw, and mechanical strength and POS tests were performed according to ASTM F1717 and ASTM F543 standards. Synthetic bone (model #1522-505) made of polyurethane foam was used as a model of osteoporotic bone, and radiographic examinations were performed using computed tomography and fluoroscopy. Results : In the fatigue test, at 75% ultimate load, fractures occurred 7781 and 9189 times; at 50%, they occurred 36122 and 82067 times; and at 25%, no fractures occurred. The mean ultimate load for each screw type was 219.1±52.39 N for T1, 234.74±15.9 N for T2, 220.70±59.23 N for T3, 216.45±32.4 N for T4, 181.55±54.78 N for T5, and 216.47±29.25 N for T6. In comparison with C1, T1, T2, T3, T4, and T6 showed significantly different ultimate load values (p<0.05). However, when the values for C2 and the fenestrated screws were evaluated with an unpaired t test, the ultimate load value of C2 significantly differed only from that of T2 (p=0.025). The ultimate load value of C3 differed significantly from those of T1 and T2 (C3 vs. T1 : p=0.048; C3 vs. T2 : p<0.001). Linear correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between the fenestration area and the volume of bone cement (Pearson's correlation coefficient r=0.288, p=0.036). The bone cement volume and ultimate load significantly correlated with each other in linear correlation analysis (r=0.403, p=0.003). Conclusion : Fenestration yielded a superior ultimate load in comparison with standard BCA using a conventional screw. In T2 screws with asymmetrical two-way fenestrations showed the maximal increase in ultimate load. The fenestrated screws can be expected to show a stable position for the formation of the cement mass.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.154-160
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• 2021

Recently, there have been increasing construction works carried out in urban centers, which are inducing frequent artificial vibration in the vicinity of existing structures due to such construction works. moreover, in case of industrial estates, vibration is induced due to operation of machines in the surrounding areas, thereby causing problems. meanwhile, in case of ordinary concrete that compose structure has low level of damping capability for vibration. accordingly, there are difficulties in blocking a wide range of vibrations delivered to the structures from outside including not only vibrations generated in the structures themselves but also ground vibration. recently, numerous studies are being carried out actively on high-damping system that markedly enhanced the damping performances of structures by utilizing polymer concrete in order to block the vibrations delivered to the structures through ground. therefore, this study compared the performances of polymer concrete with those of ordinary concrete, polyurethane pad and foamed rubber pad in order to review its performances in reducing ground vibration. for this purpose, review of FRF and vibration acceleration as dynamic characteristics was made. after comparative verification on the dynamic characteristics is made when polymer concrete and other aforementioned materials are applied to underground structures, the possibility of application of polymer concrete to structures is reviewed.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.289-296
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• 2023

In this study, we investigated the electromagnetic properties and microwave absorption characteristics of M-type hexagonal ferrites, which are known as millimeter-wave absorbing materials, according to their calcination temperature. The M-type ferrites synthesized using a molten salt-based sol-gel method exhibited a single-phase M-type crystal structure at calcination temperatures above 850℃. The synthesized particle size increased as well with the calcination temperature. Saturation magnetization increased gradually with increasing calcination temperature, but coercivity reached a maximum at 1050℃ and then rapidly decreased. After preparing a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composite containing 70 wt% of M-type ferrites, we measured the complex permittivity and permeability in the Q-band (33-50 GHz) and V-band (50-75 GHz) frequency ranges, where ferromagnetic resonance occurred. Strong magnetic loss from ferromagnetic resonance occurred in the 50 GHz band for all composite samples. Based on the measured results, we calculated the reflection loss of the TPU/M-type ferrite composite. By calculating the reflection loss of the M-type ferrite composite, the M-type ferrite calcined at 1250℃ showed excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performance of more than -20 dB at 52 GHz with a thickness of about 0.5 mm.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2009

Biofilters use porous solid media to support microorganisms and allow access to the contaminants in the airflow. The characteristics of media used in biofilters vary greatly, and therefore it is important to select the appropriate media in order to obtain a large enough surface attachment area and uniform pore. This study was performed to compare hydrogen sulfide ($H_2S$) removal efficiencies of three biofilter media; coconut fiber, ceramic, and polyurethane. The biofilter packed with coconut fiber showed stable removal activity when inlet loading was changeable, and was restored rapidly when the moisture content decreased. However, the coconut fiber suffered from low durability. To cope with this problem a media of fibrinous polypropylene was developed to strengthen the durability of the coconut fiber. Biofilter column experiments using the fibrinous polypropylene media demonstrated over 99% of removal efficiencies at pH as low as 3 and 6 seconds of EBRT (empty bed gas residence time). Due to its superior physical characteristics, it is expected that the $H_2S$ treatment performance will increase when the new fibrinous polypropylne media is applied in commercial biofilter systems.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.389-399
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• 2008

Corrections of attenuation, scatter and resolution are important in order to improve the accuracy of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) image reconstruction. Especially, the heart movement by respiration and beating cause the errors in the corrections. Myocardial phantom is used to verify the correction methods, but there are many different parts in the current phantoms in actual human body. Therefore the results using a phantom are often considered apart from the clinical data. We developed a new phantom that implements the human body structure around the thorax more faithfully. The new phantom has the small mediastinum which can simulate the structure in which the lung adjoins anterior, lateral and apex of myocardium. The container was made of acrylic and water-equivalent material was used for mediastinum. In addition, solidified polyurethane foam in epoxy resin was used for lung. Five different sizes of myocardium were developed for the quantitative gated SPECT (QGS). The septa of all different cardiac phantoms were designed so that they can be located at the same position. The proposed phantom was attached with liver and gallbladder, the adjustment was respectively possible for the height of them. The volumes of five cardiac ventricles were 150.0, 137.3, 83.1, 42.7 and 38.6ml respectively. The SPECT were performed for the new phantom, and the differences between the images were examined after the correction methods were applied. The three-dimensional tomography of myocardium was well reconstructed, and the subjective evaluations were done to show the difference among the various corrections. We developed the new cardiac and torso phantom, and the difference of various corrections was shown on SPECT images and QGS results.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.297-302
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• 2017

Recently, building materials and air purification filters with eco-friendly charcoal are actively studying to reduce the concentration of radon gas in indoor air. In this study, radon reduction performance was assessed by designing and producing new panel-type activated carbon filter that can be handled more efficiently than conventional charcoal filters, which can reduce radon gas. For the fabrication of our panel-type activated carbon filter, first the pressed molding product after mixing activated carbon powder and polyurethane. Then, through diamond cutting, the activated carbon filter of 2 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm thickness were fabricated. To investigate the physical characteristics of the fabricated activated carbon filter, a surface area and flexural strength measurement was performed. In addition, to evaluate the reduction performance of radon gas in indoor, the radon concentration of before and after the filter passes from a constant amount of air flow using three acrylic chambers was measured, respectively. As a result, the surface area of the fabricated activated carbon was approximately $1,008m^2/g$ showing similar value to conventional products. Also, the flexural load was found to have three times higher value than the gypsum board with 435 N. Finally, the radon reduction efficiency from indoor gas improved as the thickness of the activated carbon increases, resulting in an excellent radon removal rate of more than 90 % in the 6 mm thick filter. From the experimental results, the panel-type activated carbon is considered to be available as an eco-friendly building material to reduce radon gas in an enclosed indoor environment.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.62-73
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• 2000

Purpose: Esophageal cancer patients have a difficulty in the intake of meals through the blocked esophageal lumen, which is caused by an ingrowth of cancer cells and largely influences on the prognosis. It is reported that esophageal cancer has a very low survival rate due to the lack of nourishment and immunity as the result of this. In this study a new radioactive stent, which prevents tumor ingrowth and restenosis by additional radiation treatment, has been developed. Materials and Methods: Using ${\ulcorner}HANARO{\lrcorner}$ research reactor, the radioactive stent assembly ($^{166}Ho$-SA) was prepared by covering the metallic stent with a radioactive sleeve by means of a post-irradiation and pre-irradiation methods. Results: Scanning electron microscopy and autoradiography exhibited that the distribution of $^{165/166}Ho\;(NO_3)$ compounds in polyurethane matrix was homogeneous. A geometrical model of the esophagus considering its structural properties, was developed for the computer simulation of energy deposition to the esophageal wall. The dose distributions of $^{166}Ho$-stent were calculated by means of the EGS4 code system. The sources are considered to be distributed uniformly on the surface in the form of a cylinder with a diameter of 20 mm and length of 40 mm. As an animal experiment, when radioactive stent developed in this study was inserted into the esophagus of a Mongrel dog, tissue destruction and widening of the esophageal lumen were observed. Conclusion: We have developed a new radioactive stent comprising of a radioactive tubular sleeve covering the metallic stent, which emits homogeneous radiation. If it is inserted into the blocked or narrowed lumen, it can lead to local destruction of the tumor due to irradiation effect with dilatation resulting from self-expansion of the metallic property. Accordingly, it is expected that restenosis esophageal lumen by the continuous ingrowth and infiltration of cancer after insertion of our radioactive stent will be decreased remarkably.