• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.50
• /
• pp.26.1-26.3
• /
• 2020

The biocompatible polyurethane acrylate (PUA) nanopillars were fabricated by soft lithography using three different sizes of nanobeads (350, 500, and 1000 nm), and the human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) were cultured on the nanopillars. The hASCs and their various behaviors, such as cytoplasmic projections, migration, and morphology, were observed by high resolution images using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). With the accurate analysis by SEM for the controlled sizes of nanopillars, the deflections are observed at pillars fabricated with 350- and 500- nm nanobeads. These high-resolution images could offer crucial information to elucidate the complicated correlations between nanopillars and the cells, such as morphology and cytoplasmic projections.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.23 no.11 s.188
• /
• pp.126-134
• /
• 2006

In this study, the effect of stem-end design on contact pressure and stress distribution in revision TKR was investigated using finite element method. The finite element model of tibia, including the cortical bone, the cancellous bone and canal, was developed based on CT images. The implant models with various stem lengths, diameters, friction coefficients, and press-fit effects were considered. The results showed that the longer stem length, the stronger press-fit, the bigger stem diameter, and the higher friction coefficient increased both peak contact pressure and Von-Mises stress distributions. The results supported the clinical hypothesis that peak contact pressure and stress are related to the stem end pain. The results of this study will be useful to design the stem and reduce the end-of-stem pain in revision TKR.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.132-133
• /
• 2018

One of the most important factors determining the properties of a material is its grain size. However, unclear grain boundaries in the image hinder an accurate measurement of grain size. We demonstrate that grain boundaries existing in the images obtained by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) can be clearly distinguished by applying a Sobel filter to a tilting series of STEM images of a hydrogenation-disproportionation-desorption-recombination processed Nd2Fe14B magnet sample.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
• /
• 2006.05a
• /
• pp.179-180
• /
• 2006

In this study, the effect of stem-end design on contact pressure and stress distribution in revision TKR was investigated using finite element method. The finite element model of tibia, including the cortical bone, the cancellous bone and canal, was developed based on CT images. The stem models with various stem lengths, diameters and frictional coefficients, and press-fit effects were considered. The results showed that the longer stem length, the stronger press-fit, the bigger stem diameter, and the higher frictional coefficient increased both peak contact pressure and the highest Von-Mises stress values. We hypothesized that peak contact pressure and Von-Mises stress distribution around the stem, may be related to the stem end pain. The results of this study will be useful to design the stem endand reduce the end-of-stem pain in revision TKR.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.212-221
• /
• 2008

The total hip replacement (THR) has been used as the most effective way to restore the function of damaged hip joint. However, various factors have caused some side effects after the THR. Unfortunately, the success of the THR have been decided only by the proficiency of surgeons so far. Hence, It is necessary to find the way to minimize the side effect caused by those factors. The purpose of this study was to suggest the definite data, which can be used to design and choose the optimal hip implant. Using finite element analysis (FEA), the biomechanical condition of bone cement was evaluated. Stress patterns were analyzed in three conditions: cement mantle, procimal femur and stem-cement contact surface. Additionally, micro-motion was analyzed in the stem-cement contact surface. The 3-D femur model was reconstructed from 2-D computerized tomography (CT) images. Raw CT images were preprocessed by image processing technique (i.e. edge detection). In this study, automated edge detection system was created by MATLAB coding for effective and rapid image processing. The 3-D femur model was reconstructed based on anatomical parameters. The stem shape was designed using that parameters. The analysis of the finite element models was performed with the variation of parameters. The biomechanical influence of each parameter was analyzed and derived optimal parameters. Moreover, the results of FE A using commercial stem model (Zimmer's V erSys) were similar to the results of stem model that was used in this study. Through the study, the improved designs and optimal factors for clinical application were suggested. We expect that the results can suggest solutions to minimize various side effects.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.375-384
• /
• 2014

The number of students choosing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related careers are declining. Thus it became a worldwide challenge in the $21^{st}$ century. As public images of the engineers are unfavorable and inaccurate, misconceptions and stereotypes about engineers are prevailing. The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary school students' perceived mental and pictorial images of engineers and the nature of engineering work. This study involved 512 fifth and sixth grade students (Boys: 287 and Girls: 225) from four elementary schools at one of metropolitans in South Korea. The Draw An Engineer-Korean version (DAE-K) was developed based on Draw an Engineer (DAE) and Draw a Scientist (DAS), and Song and Kim (1999)'s instruments. A pilot-tested was conducted with 33 elementary students prior to the main study. The students were asked to answer how they think the engineers would be, to draw an engineer at work, and to write the engineer's personal information and the job description. Engineers were perceived as a person fixing, building, manufacturing, working outdoors in labors' clothes such as a robe. Engineers were shown with building tools, robots, airplanes, machines, conveyor belt, etc. Moreover, compared to the scientists, engineers were perceived as less intelligent, less imaginative, and less accurate. The results of this study revealed that elementary school students had a lack of accurate images of engineers. Students' current perceived images of engineers could help educators find the baselines for the future engineering education in elementary schools. In addition, the findings of this study could also contribute to the development of engineering education in terms of gender issues, STEM career choice, and even cultural diversity.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.50
• /
• pp.23.1-23.9
• /
• 2020

We propose an effective deep learning model to denoise scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) image series, named Noise2Atom, to map images from a source domain 𝓢 to a target domain 𝓒, where 𝓢 is for our noisy experimental dataset, and 𝓒 is for the desired clear atomic images. Noise2Atom uses two external networks to apply additional constraints from the domain knowledge. This model requires no signal prior, no noise model estimation, and no paired training images. The only assumption is that the inputs are acquired with identical experimental configurations. To evaluate the restoration performance of our model, as it is impossible to obtain ground truth for our experimental dataset, we propose consecutive structural similarity (CSS) for image quality assessment, based on the fact that the structures remain much the same as the previous frame(s) within small scan intervals. We demonstrate the superiority of our model by providing evaluation in terms of CSS and visual quality on different experimental datasets.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.475-480
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study was to reconstruct diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) using stem of garlic and asparagus for in vitro phantom of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and to compare and evaluate the fractional anisotropy (FA) value and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value to determine whether it can be used as materials for in vitro phantoms. Among various plant fibers such as stem of garlic, palmae, cotton, asparagus, etc., stem of garlic and asparagus, which are considered to be the most suitable for making phantoms, and whose shape is considered to be the most suitable for making phantoms, were selected and tests were conducted. Holes were made in a plastic bucket at an angle of 0°, 30°, 60°, 90°, and 120°, then tubes were inserted. In the tube, asparagus and stem of garlic were inserted as far in as possible, and the inserted tube was inserted into the center of the heat bathed gelatin to harden. We were able to reproduce DTT images in asparagus and stem of garlic. Fiber tissues of asparagus and stem of garlic did not show complete connectivity, but the reconstructed images of DTT showed good connectivity. The FA values of asparagus in the tubes were 0.198 at 0° (straight), 0.207 at 30°, 0.187 at 60°, 0.231 at 90°, and 0.204 at 120°. In addition, the FA values of stem of garlic in the tubes were 0.235 at 0°, 0.236 at 30°, 0.216 at 60°, 0.218 at 90°, and 0.257 at 120°. The ADC values of asparagus in the tubes were 1.545 at 0°, 1.677 at 30°, 1.629 at 60°, 1.535 at 90°, and 1.725 at 120°. In addition, the ADC values of stem of garlic in the tubes were 1.252 at 0°, 1.396 at 30°, 1.698 at 60°, 1.756 at 90°, and 1.466 at 120°. For the best expressed DTT reconstruction image, it showed the longest connectivity in the straight line as we hypothesized. In addition, when comparing the FA values and ADC values of fiber tissues of stem of garlic and asparagus, FA value was generally higher in stem of garlic and ADC value was slightly higher in asparagus.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
• /
• v.56 no.4
• /
• pp.508-517
• /
• 2023

In cancer patients, chemo/radio therapy may cause infertility by damaging the spermatogenesis affecting the self-renewal and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). In vitro differentiation of stem cells especially mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into germ cells has recently been proposed as a new strategy for infertility treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proliferation and differentiation of SSCs using their co-culture with Sertoli cells and conditioned medium (CM) from adipose tissue-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs). Testicular tissues were separated from 2-7 days old neonate Wistar Rats and after mechanical and enzymatic digestion, the SSCs and Sertoli cells were isolated and cultured in Dulbecco's modified eagle medium with 10% fetal bovine serum, 1X antibiotic, basic fibroblast growth factor, and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. The cells were treated with the CM from AD-MSCs for 12 days and then the expression level of differentiation-related genes were measured. Also, the expression level of two major spermatogenic markers of DAZL and DDX4 was calculated. Scp3, Dazl, and Prm1 were significantly increased after treatment compared to the control group, whereas no significant difference was observed in Stra8 expression. The immunocytochemistry images showed that DAZL and DDX4 were positive in experimental group comparing with control. Also, western blotting revealed that both DAZL and DDX4 had higher expression in the treated group than the control group, however, no significant difference was observed. In this study, we concluded that the CM obtained from AD-MSCs can be considered as a suitable biological material to induce the differentiation in SSCs.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.180-186
• /
• 2011

The objective of this research was to establish the estimation method of growth information on potato using Multi-Spectral Image Sensor (MSIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS). And growth estimation map for determining a prescription map over the entire field was generated. To determine the growth model, 10 ground-truth points of areas of $4m^2$ each were selected and investigated. The growth information included stem number, crop height and SPAD value. In addition, images information involving the ground-truth points were also taken by an unmanned helicopter, and reflectance value of Green, Red, and NIR bands were calculated with image processing. Then, growth status of potato was modeled by multi-regression analysis using these reflectance value of Green, Red, and NIR. As a result, potato growth information could be detected by analyzing Green, Red, and NIR images. Stem number, crop height and SPAD value could be estimated with $R^2$ values of 0.600, 0.657 and 0.747 respectively. The generated GIS map would describe variability of the potato growth in a whole field.