• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.291-301
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• 2017

This study was carried out to investigate distribution on the alien plants in the Gyeong-in Ara Waterway. The alien plants were a total of 82 taxa: 17 families, 63 genera, 80 species, and 2 varieties. This number corresponds to 25.5% of alien plants identified in Korea. The proportion of alien plants in every year was increased from upstream to downstream. As the result of the analysis on vegetation stratification, bank of waterside was covered with artificial materials preventing existence of vegetation, and had step-type cross section. Floodplain was composed of waterfront area. An array of vegetation was not typical dispersion, and terrestrial and alien plants were dominated the Gyeong-in Ara Waterway. Evaluation of naturalness based on the vegetation stratification showed grade 3 or 4. In order to solve a problem, method and level of restoration should be decided based on the result of diagnostic assessment. Therefore, we need to restore the step-type cross section as pool type one. From waterside to bank in this waterway, we recommend to introduce natural plants by imitating reference species composition. Since, an invasion of alien plants is expected to be accelerated due to the continuous artificial disturbance, we recommend to quantitative investigation on the invasion of alien plants and monitoring on the change of distribution.

• The Korean Journal of Food & Health Convergence
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.23-31
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• 2018

The main issue of CT is radiation dose reduction to patient. The purpose of this study was to estimate the image quality and dose by iterative reconstruction (IR) for adults and pediatrics. Adult and pediatric images of phantom were obtained with 120 and 140 kV, respectively, in accordance with radiation dose in terms of volume CT dose index ($CTDI_{vol}$): 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 mGy. Then, the adult and the pediatric images are reconstructed by filtered-backprojection (FBP) and iterative reconstruction (IR). The images were analyzed by signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). SNR is improved when IR and 140 kV are applied to acquire adult and pediatric images. In the adult abdomen, according to diagnostic reference level, the SNR values of bone were increased about 27.84 % and 27.77 % at 120 kV and 140 kV, and the tissue's SNR values of the IR were increased about 29.84 % and 33.46 % 120 and 140 kV, respectively. Dose is reduced to 40% in adults abdomen images when using IR reconstruction. In pediatric images, the bone's SNR were also increased about 17.70% and 18.17 % at 120 kV and 140 kV. The tissue's SNR were increased about 26.73 % and 26.15 % at 120 kV and 140 kV. Radiation dose is reduced from 30% to 50% for bone and tissue images. In the case of examinations for adult and pediatric CT, IR technique reduces radiation dose to patient, and it could be applied to adult and pediatric imaging.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.168-175
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• 2021

To investigate the perceptions and attitudes of dental hygienists toward radiation safety management in Korea. A total of 800 dental hygienists were randomly selected for an anonymous survey, and 203 of them participated. The questionnaire items included the following: sex, career period, type of installed radiographic equipment, recognition of the diagnostic reference level (DRL), participation in radiation safety education, and attitudes toward radiation protection for both patients and dental hygienists. The participants were divided into two groups according to their years of experience (< 10 years versus ≥ 10 years). The difference between the groups was investigated according to frequency distribution. Fisher's exact test or Pearson's chi-square (𝛘²) test was used as appropriate. A regression analysis was performed to investigate the impact of wearing a thyroid collar for personnel protection during patient radiation exposure. The types of installed radiographic equipment included panoramic radiography (96.1%), cephalometric radiography (76.9%), intraoral radiography (72.9%), and cone-beam computed tomography (69.5%). Significant differences were observed in the learning pathway for the DRL (Fisher's exact test, p < 0.05), satisfaction with radiation safety education (Pearson's 𝛘² test = 5.3975, Pr = 0.02), and use of personnel radiation monitoring systems (Pearson's 𝛘² test = 18.1233, Pr = 0.000) between the groups. Significant differences were also observed in personnel protection using a thyroid collar and patient protection during panoramic radiography (odds ratio = 14.2). Dental hygienists with more than 10 years of experience were more satisfied with radiation safety education and more interested in radiation monitoring. Considering career experience, customized, continuous, and effective radiation safety management education should be provided.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.509-517
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• 2023

This study analyzed imaging conditions and exposure index through clinical information collection and dose calculation programs in coronary angiography examinations. Through this, we aim to analyze the effective dose according to examination conditions and provide basic data for dose optimization. In this study, ALARA(As Low As Reasonably Achievable)-F(Fluoroscopy), a program for evaluating the radiation dose of patients and the collected clinical data, was used. First, analysis of imaging conditions and exposure index was performed based on the data of the dose report generated after coronary angiography. Second, after evaluating organ dose according to 9 imaging directions during coronary angiography, with the LAO fixed at 30°, dose evaluation was performed according to tube voltage, tube current, number of frames, focus-skin distance, and field size. Third, the effective dose for each organ was calculated according to the tissue weighting factors presented in ICRP(International Commission on Radiological Protection) recommendations. As a result, the average sum of air kerma during coronary angiography was evaluated as 234.0±112.1 mGy, the dose-area product was 25.9±13.0 Gy·cm², and the total fluoroscopy time was 2.5±2.0 min. Also, the organ dose tended to increase as the tube voltage, milliampere-second, number of frames, and irradiation range increased, whereas the organ dose decreased as the FSD increased. Therefore, medical radiation exposure to patients can be reduced by selecting the optimal tube voltage and field size during coronary angiography, maximizing the focal-skin distance, using the lowest tube current possible, and reducing the number of frames.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.101-114
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• 2010

Background: Currently, evidence-based medicine is widely propagated as a reference for proper clinical practice. As a result, there is an increasing need for more clinical trials based on Oriental diagnostic methods to evaluate the efficacy of Oriental medicine, including acupuncture and herbal medicine. The purpose of this study was to confirm which symptoms are adequate indicators of effects of Ojeock-san for lower back pain and develop a questionnaire to evaluate its effects. Methods: We interviewed 102 Oriental medical doctors working in Seoul with a preformed questionnaire which included questions about symptoms of lower back pain and indicators for Ojeock-san. We sampled respondents who answered that they trust the effectiveness of Ojeock-san in telephone survey carried out using multistage stratified random sampling technique from March to April, 2009. We categorized the respondents into two groups, differentiating them by gender, career, workplace, and trust level of Ojeock-san effect. Results: About half of the respondents selected 13 questions as the adequate indicators of Ojeock-san for low back pain. There were no differences in the top 11 selected indicators in total selection and top 3 ranking selection. The comparison of frequency of top 13 questions in total selections between the two groups showed no difference. Conclusions: There were 13 symptoms which were considered adequate indicators of effects of Ojeock-san for lower back pain found by many Oriental medical doctors. This questionnaire can be utilized as a diagnostic adjunctive tool, tested for validity and reliability of questionnaires through further studies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.351-357
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• 2018

During radiation therapy, the patient is exposed to secondary radiation by scattered and leakage radiation. For the diagnostic radiation, guidelines for reducing the patient's exposure as the diagnostic reference level are provided. However, in the case of therapeutic radiation, even though the radiation dose by the secondary radiation is considerable, the prescription dose is not limited because of the reason of the therapeutic efficiency. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the secondary radiation that the patient could be received at the peripheral tissue during the radiotherapy using the linear accelerator with the radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter. In addition, we measured the degree of saturation of the luminescent amount according to the build-up characteristic of the radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter. As a result of carrying out this study, the exposure dose decreased drastically farther away from the treatment field. When the head was irradiated with 1 Gy, the neck could be exposed to 18.45 mGy. When the same dose was irradiated at the neck, 15.55 mGy of the head and irradiated at the chest, 14.26 mGy of the neck and irradiated at the pelvis, 1.14 mGy of the chest were exposed separately. The degree of saturation of the luminescent intensity could be overestimated by 1.8 ~ 4.8% depending on time interval for 3 days.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.516-526
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• 2017

Objective: To suggest diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for dental panoramic radiography in adults and children through the nationwide survey in Korea. Materials and Methods: Two hundred twelve dental institutions on a national basis were visited. The radiographic examination protocols were surveyed and their patient doses at the clinical exposure setting for adult and children (5- and 10-year old) were measured at 244 panoramic radiographic equipment. The measured DAP were analyzed and compared according to age group, the size of hospital, the type of radiographic system, the installation duration of equipment. Results: The mean exposure parameters were 70.1 kV, 9.2 mA, 14.4 second for adult and 66.6 kV, 7.9 mA, 13.8 second for 10-year old child and 65.5 kV, 7.3 mA, 13.7 second for 5-year old child. The mean and third quartile patient DAPs were $138.3mGy\;cm^2$ and $151.0mGy\;cm^2$ for adult, $99.5mGy\;cm^2$ and $104.8mGy\;cm^2$ for 10-year old child and $89.5mGy\;cm^2$ and $95.5mGy\;cm^2$ for 5-year old child. The mean patient dose at the university dental hospital was lower than that at the dental clinic (p<0.05). The mean patient dose of direct digital radiography type was higher than that of film-based type. However, the difference did not show statistically significance. Conclusion: DRLs for dental panoramic radiography in adult, 10- and 5-year old child were suggested to be $151mGy\;cm^2$, $105mGy\;cm^2$, and $96mGy\;cm^2$ in Korea based on this nationwide survey.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.169-178
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• 2020

The number of CT scans is increasing every year due to the improvement of the medical standards of the public, and thus the annual dose of medical radiation is also increasing. In this study, we evaluated the effective dose of the human body exposed to CT scans and estimated LAR. First, five region were selected from the CT diagnostic reference level guideline, and the effective dose of human body exposed to each examination was evaluated by clinical CT device. Second, the human organs and effective dose were calculated using the ALARA-CT program under the same conditions. Third, lifetime attributable risk (LAR) estimated by the effective dose exposed through the previous CT scan was estimated. As a result, the most effective dose was 21.18 mSv during the abdomen 4 phase scan, and the dose level was below DRL for all other tests except for the abdominal examination. As a result of evaluating effective dose using a dose calculation program under the same conditions, the results showed about 1.1 to 1.9 times higher results for each examination. In the case of organ dose, the closer the organ to the scan site, the higher the scattering ray. The lifetime attributable risk to CT radiation dose in adults was gradually decreased with age, and the results were somewhat different according to gender.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.38-41
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• 2019

Procalcitonin (PCT) is commonly employed in medical practice as a diagnostic biomarker of bacterial infection and also as a monitoring biomarker for antimicrobial therapy. There have been a few published reports concerning elevated PCT levels in people with acute liver injury caused by an overdose of acetaminophen. We report here on a case of PCT elevation in an adolescent with acute acetaminophen poisoning without any bacterial infection or liver injury. A 15-year-old girl had deliberately ingested 20 tablets of 650 mg acetaminophen (13 g) and she presented to our emergency department. The PCT level on admission was elevated to 65.64 ng/mL (reference range: 0-0.5 ng/mL). Her PCT level on the second day peaked up to 100 ng/mL and then it gradually decreased. There was no evidence of liver injury or infection on the computed tomography examination and other lab tests. The patient regained her good health and was discharged on the sixth day of hospitalization.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.33 no.3 s.98
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• pp.211-222
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is an association between disk displacement of the Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) and dentofacial asymmetry In orthodontic patients. The subjects consisted of 60 female orthodontic patients between the ages of 18 and 38 years (mean age 23.3 years) who had visited the Department of Orthodontics at Seoul National University Dental Hospital from January 2000 to April 2002. On the basis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their bilateral TMJs, the subjects were divided Into four groups'. bilateral normal group (twenty-one persons); disk displacement of right TMJ group (six persons); disk displacement of left TMJ group (nine persons); and disk displacement of both TMJs group (twenty-four persons) Postero-anterior (PA) cephalograms and diagnostic models which had been taken before orthodontic treatment were measured. In the linear measurements, a line connecting the right and left Latero-Orbitale (Lo) represented the horizontal reference line (H). The vertical reference line (V) was constructed as a line bisecting and running perpendicular to H. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test whether the mean values of measurements between groups were significantly different. In addition, Bonferronil's multiple comparison test was performed at a level of 0.05. The results were as follows; 1 In the diagnostic model analysis, the overjet, nght molar relationship, and left molar relationship were significantly different among the four groups. 2. In the PA cephalometric analysis, differences in the right and left vertical position of the lower first molar and Ag were significantly dissimilar among the four groups. 3. If the disk displacement of TMJ was present on one side, the ipsilateral ramus was shorter, resulting in asymmetry in the vertical position of Ag. This study indicated that dentofacial asymmetry might be related to the disk displacement of TMJ.