• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.284-292
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• 2019

To evaluate the usefulness of pediatric chest CT scans by comparing the dose, examination time, and image quality by applying Helical mode, High-pitch mode, and Volume Axial mode to minimize the radiation exposure and obtain high diagnostic value. Revolution (GE Healthcare, Wisconsin USA) was used to divide PBU-70 phantom into Helical mode, High-pitch mode, and Volume Axial mode. After acquiring images, ROI is set for each image, heart, bone, lung, and back-ground air, and the average value is obtained by measuring CT number (HU) and noise (SD). SNR and CNR were measured and compared with DLP values provided directly by the equipment. Determining statistical significance Statistical analysis was performed using ONE-WAY-ANAOVA using SPSS 21.0. In this experiment, it was possible to inspect at a short time without deterioration of image quality with the lowest dose when using volume axial mode. Although the detector coverage of 16 cm is limited to all pediatric chest CT scans, it is recommended to be actively used in pediatric patients, and further study is needed to apply other test sites in volume axial mode.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.107-115
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• 2019

The many countries are facing the shortage of natural resources, and the supply of aggregates are being exhausted. To consider this situation a variety of studies were performed for the development of alternative resources. In particular, high density filler material was used for shielding radioactive waste, large amount of natural aggregates are required in order to produce filler material. Also, in order to improve the shielding performance of filler material, it is required to increase the density of the filler material. Therefore, in this study was carried out to provide basic data for expanding the feasibility of high density industrial waste resource as aggregate in heavyweight concrete. From the test results, OPC case, concrete strength decreased by using heavyweight waste glass as fine aggregate, however, it is improved by using mineral admixture as binder. Therefore, when the heavyweight waste glass and steel slag are applied to heavyweight concrete, it is desirable to use mineral admixture, especially to use BFS than FA. Meanwhile, when the steel slag was replaced as coarse aggregate of heavyweight concrete, elasticity of modulus and radiation shielding performance can be improved owing to high density of steel slag.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.333-340
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• 2019

This paper was described about the preparation of the multi-functional mask pack and its evaluation. Here, the multi-functional effects means the far-infrared emissivity effect due to polyphosphoric acid, the freckles treatment effect and peeling effects due to inclusion complexes, and the skin temperature decreasing effect due to Lavender-extraction compounds. The the hazardous chemicals, viscosity, and pH were determined blow 0.01%, 280 cP, and pH=6.92 in the prepared multi-functional mask pack solution, respectively. The multi-functional mask pack prepared with dipping method in the solution were showed the value of $0.882{\mu}m$ (Far-infrared emissivity) and $3.40{\times}10^2W/m$ at $37^{\circ}C$ (Far-infrared radiation energy), respectively. After taking multi-functional mask pack, the skin moisturizing rate was indicated 35.5%, and the skin temperature was showed in the range of $24{\sim}26^{\circ}C$. The skin stimulation test for the 30 volunteer was showed very strong stability.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.442-449
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• 2019

Objective : Bone mineral density (BMD) is an important consideration during fusion surgery. Although dual X-ray absorptiometry is considered as the gold standard for assessing BMD, quantitative computed tomography (QCT) provides more accurate data in spine osteoporosis. However, QCT has the disadvantage of additional radiation hazard and cost. The present study was to demonstrate the utility of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithm for assessing osteoporosis using Hounsfield units (HU) of preoperative lumbar CT coupling with data of QCT. Methods : We reviewed 70 patients undergoing both QCT and conventional lumbar CT for spine surgery. The T-scores of 198 lumbar vertebra was assessed in QCT and the HU of vertebral body at the same level were measured in conventional CT by the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) system. A multiple regression algorithm was applied to predict the T-score using three independent variables (age, sex, and HU of vertebral body on conventional CT) coupling with T-score of QCT. Next, a logistic regression algorithm was applied to predict osteoporotic or non-osteoporotic vertebra. The Tensor flow and Python were used as the machine learning tools. The Tensor flow user interface developed in our institute was used for easy code generation. Results : The predictive model with multiple regression algorithm estimated similar T-scores with data of QCT. HU demonstrates the similar results as QCT without the discordance in only one non-osteoporotic vertebra that indicated osteoporosis. From the training set, the predictive model classified the lumbar vertebra into two groups (osteoporotic vs. non-osteoporotic spine) with 88.0% accuracy. In a test set of 40 vertebrae, classification accuracy was 92.5% when the learning rate was 0.0001 (precision, 0.939; recall, 0.969; F1 score, 0.954; area under the curve, 0.900). Conclusion : This study is a simple machine learning model applicable in the spine research field. The machine learning model can predict the T-score and osteoporotic vertebrae solely by measuring the HU of conventional CT, and this would help spine surgeons not to under-estimate the osteoporotic spine preoperatively. If applied to a bigger data set, we believe the predictive accuracy of our model will further increase. We propose that machine learning is an important modality of the medical research field.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.435-442
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• 2022

The heel effect creates a density difference in the X-ray images because the intensity of the anode and cathode side of the X-ray tube is not equal. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the density difference due to the heel effect by rotating the step wedge by 180 degrees and then changing the distance. After fixing the tube voltage and tube current to 72 kVp and 10 mAs, the forward and reverse directions were taken using a step wedge. At this time, the distance (80 cm ~ 130 cm) was taken at 10 cm intervals, and the density value was measured by setting the region of interest for each step of the step wedge through the M6 program. First, the difference in intensity between the anode and the cathode was confirmed through the radiation exposure test. In addition, when the distance (from 80 cm to 130 cm) was changed, the difference in density between the cathode and the anode decreased as the projection distance increased. As a result, images of uniform density can be obtained as the projection distance increases.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2020.12a
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• pp.62-62
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• 2020

Ginseng is a shade-plant cultivated using shading facilities. However, at too low light levels, root growth is poor, and at high light levels, the destruction of chlorophyll reduces the photosynthesis efficiency due to leaf burn and early fall leaves. The ginseng has a lightsaturation point of 12,000~15,000 lux when grown at 15 to 20℃ and 9,500 lux at 25℃. This study was conducted to select the optimal light intensity of 3-year-old ginseng grown in blue-white film plastic house. The seeds were planted in the blue-white film plastic house with different light receiving rate (March 17, 2020). Between April and September, the average air temperature in the house was 20.4-20.7℃. Average soil temperature was 18.3℃-18.5℃. The chemical properties of the test soil was as follows. The pH level was 7.0-7.4, EC was 0.5-0.6 dS/m, OM was at the levels of 33.6-37.7 g/kg, P₂O₅ was 513.0-590.8 mg/kg, slightly higher than the allowable 400 mg/kg. The amount of light intensity, illuminance, and solar radiation in the blue-white film house was increased as the light-receiving rate increased and the amount of light intensity was found to be 9-14% compared to the open field, 8-13% illuminance and 9-14% solar irradiation respectively. The photosynthesis rate was the lowest at 3.1 µmolCO²/m²/s in the 9% light blue-white plastic house and 4.2 and 4.0 µmolCO²/m²/s in the 12% and 14% light blue-white plastic house, respectively. These results generally indicate that the photosynthesis of plants increases with the amount of light, but the ginseng has a lower light saturation point at high temperatures, and the higher the amount of light, the lower the photosynthetic efficiency. The SPAD (chlorophyll content) value decreased as the increase of light-receiving rate, and was the highest at 32.7 in 9% light blue-white plastic house. Ginseng germination started on April 11 and took 13-15 days to germinate. The overall germination rate was 82.9-85.8%. The plant height and length of stem were long in the 9% light-receiving plastic house. The diameter of stem was thick in the 12-14% light-receiving plastic house. In the 12% and 14% light-receiving plastic house, the length and diameter of taproot was long and thick, so the fresh weight of root per plant was 20 g or more, which was heavier than 16.9 g of the 9% light-receiving plastic house. The disease incidence (Alternaria blight, Gray mold and Damping-off etc.) rate were 0.9-2.7%. The incidence of Sclerotinia rot disease was 7.5-8.4%, and root rot was 0-20.0%. The incidence ratio of rusty root ginseng was 34.4-38.7% level, which was an increase from the previous year's 15% level.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.213-224
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• 2023

Type II solar radio bursts show frequency drifts from high to low over time. They have been known as a signature of coronal shock associated with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and/or flares, which cause an abrupt change in the space environment near the Earth (space weather). Therefore, early detection of type II bursts is important for forecasting of space weather. In this study, we develop a deep-learning (DL) model for the automatic detection of type II bursts. For this purpose, we adopted a 1-D Convolution Neutral Network (CNN) as it is well-suited for processing spatiotemporal information within the applied data set. We utilized a total of 286 radio burst spectrum images obtained by Hiraiso Radio Spectrograph (HiRAS) from 1991 and 2012, along with 231 spectrum images without the bursts from 2009 to 2015, to recognizes type II bursts. The burst types were labeled manually according to their spectra features in an answer table. Subsequently, we applied the 1-D CNN technique to the spectrum images using two filter windows with different size along time axis. To develop the DL model, we randomly selected 412 spectrum images (80%) for training and validation. The train history shows that both train and validation losses drop rapidly, while train and validation accuracies increased within approximately 100 epoches. For evaluation of the model's performance, we used 105 test images (20%) and employed a contingence table. It is found that false alarm ratio (FAR) and critical success index (CSI) were 0.14 and 0.83, respectively. Furthermore, we confirmed above result by adopting five-fold cross-validation method, in which we re-sampled five groups randomly. The estimated mean FAR and CSI of the five groups were 0.05 and 0.87, respectively. For experimental purposes, we applied our proposed model to 85 HiRAS type II radio bursts listed in the NGDC catalogue from 2009 to 2016 and 184 quiet (no bursts) spectrum images before and after the type II bursts. As a result, our model successfully detected 79 events (93%) of type II events. This results demonstrates, for the first time, that the 1-D CNN algorithm is useful for detecting type II bursts.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.911-920
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• 2022

Objective: ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL is a novel prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeting tracer based on Glu-Urea-Lys derivatives conjugated to a 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-N,N',N''-triacetic acid (NOTA) chelator via a thiourea-type short linker. This phase I clinical trial of ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL was conducted to evaluate the safety and radiation dosimetry of ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL in healthy volunteers and the lesion detection rate of ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL in patients with prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: We designed a prospective, open-label, single-arm clinical trial with two cohorts comprising six healthy adult men and six patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Safety and blood test-based toxicities were monitored throughout the study. PET/CT scans were acquired at multiple time points after administering ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL (2 MBq/kg; 96-165 MBq). In healthy adults, absorbed organ doses and effective doses were calculated using the OLINDA/EXM software. In patients with prostate cancer, the rates of detecting suspicious lesions by ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL PET/CT and conventional imaging (CT and bone scintigraphy) during the screening period, within one month after recruitment, were compared. Results: All 12 participants (six healthy adults aged 31-32 years and six prostate cancer patients aged 57-81 years) completed the clinical trial. No drug-related adverse events were observed. In the healthy adult group, ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL was rapidly distributed, with the highest uptake in the kidneys. The median effective dose coefficient was calculated as 0.025 mSv/MBq, and cumulative activity in the bladder had the highest contribution. In patients with metastatic prostate cancer, 229 suspicious lesions were detected using either ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL PET/CT or conventional imaging. Among them, ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL PET/CT detected 199 (86.9%) lesions and CT or bone scintigraphy detected 114 (49.8%) lesions. Conclusion: ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL can be safely applied clinically and has shown a higher detection rate for the localization of metastatic lesions in prostate cancer than conventional imaging. Therefore, ⁶⁸Ga-NGUL is a valuable option for prostate cancer imaging.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1514-1524
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• 2021

Objective: To develop a radiomics risk score based on dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI for prognosis prediction in patients with glioblastoma. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty patients (92 male [61.3%]; mean age ± standard deviation, 60.5 ± 13.5 years) with glioblastoma who underwent preoperative MRI were enrolled in the study. Six hundred and forty-two radiomic features were extracted from volume transfer constant (K^trans), fractional volume of vascular plasma space (V_p), and fractional volume of extravascular extracellular space (V_e) maps of DCE MRI, wherein the regions of interest were based on both T1-weighted contrast-enhancing areas and non-enhancing T2 hyperintense areas. Using feature selection algorithms, salient radiomic features were selected from the 642 features. Next, a radiomics risk score was developed using a weighted combination of the selected features in the discovery set (n = 105); the risk score was validated in the validation set (n = 45) by investigating the difference in prognosis between the "radiomics risk score" groups. Finally, multivariable Cox regression analysis for progression-free survival was performed using the radiomics risk score and clinical variables as covariates. Results: 16 radiomic features obtained from non-enhancing T2 hyperintense areas were selected among the 642 features identified. The radiomics risk score was used to stratify high- and low-risk groups in both the discovery and validation sets (both p < 0.001 by the log-rank test). The radiomics risk score and presence of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation showed independent associations with progression-free survival in opposite directions (hazard ratio, 3.56; p = 0.004 and hazard ratio, 0.34; p = 0.022, respectively). Conclusion: We developed and validated the "radiomics risk score" from the features of DCE MRI based on non-enhancing T2 hyperintense areas for risk stratification of patients with glioblastoma. It was associated with progression-free survival independently of IDH mutation status.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.159-167
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• 2021

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the survival rates of Korean females aged 40 to 49 years with breast cancer detected by supplemental screening ultrasound (US) or screening mammography alone. Materials and Methods: This single-institution retrospective study included 240 patients with breast cancer (mean age, 45.1 ± 2.8 years) detected by US or mammography who had undergone breast surgery between 2003 and 2008. Medical records were reviewed for clinicopathologic characteristics and detection methods. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between patients with breast cancer in the US and mammography groups using the log-rank test. Multivariable cox regression analysis was used to identify independent variables associated with DFS and OS. Results: Among the 240 cases of breast cancer, 43 were detected by supplemental screening US and 197 by screening mammography (mean follow-up: 7.4 years, 93.3% with dense breasts). There were 19 recurrences and 16 deaths, all occurring in the mammography group. While the US group did not differ from the mammography group in tumor stage, the patients in this group were more likely to undergo breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy than the mammography group. The US group also showed better DFS (p = 0.016); however, OS did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.058). In the multivariable analysis, the US group showed a lower risk of recurrence (hazard ratio, 0.097; 95% confidence interval, 0.001-0.705) compared to the mammography group. Conclusion: Our study found that Korean females aged 40-49 years with US-detected breast cancer showed better DFS than those with mammography-detected breast cancer. However, there were no statistically significant differences in OS.