• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.467-476
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• 2015

Finger vein recognition, which is a promising biometric method for identity authentication, has attracted significant attention. Considerable research focuses on transmission-type finger vein recognition, but this type of authentication is difficult to implement in mobile consumer devices. Therefore, reflection-type finger vein recognition should be developed. In the reflection-type vein recognition field, the majority of researchers concentrate on palm and palm dorsa patterns, and only a few pay attention to reflection-type finger vein recognition. Thus, this paper presents reflection-type finger vein recognition for biometric application that can be integrated into mobile consumer devices. A database is built to test the proposed algorithm. A novel method of region-of-interest localization for a finger vein image is introduced, and a scheme for effectively extracting finger vein features is proposed. Experiments demonstrate the feasibility of reflection-type finger vein recognition.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.315-323
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• 2011

To elucidate the taxonomic status of the genus Megaleranthis Ohwi, a monotype in Korea, its distribution and morphological characteristics were studied and a cluster analysis was performed. The cluster analysis showed that Megaleranthis was separately clustered from Trollius and Calathodes. Megaleranthis is morphologically different from Calathodes Hook.f. et Thomson in having petals, and from Trollius L. in having an involucre instead of a caulescent leaf under the flower and follicles with simple veins. The three genera above are distributed independently within Asia, although they can be found together at the boundaries where their distributions overlap: Trollius and Calathodes occur together between the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China, and Megaleranthis and Trollius can both be found on the northern edge of the Korean Peninsula. From both a morphological and a distributional viewpoint, Megaleranthis should be recognized as an independent genus different from both Trollius and Calathodes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.6
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• pp.675-684
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• 2020

An innovative retrofit method using pre-stressed steel strips and externally-bonded steel plates was presented in this paper. With the aim of exploring the seismic performance of the retrofitted RC interior joints, four 1/2-scale retrofitted joint specimens together with one control specimen were designed and subjected to constant axial compression and cyclic loading, with the main test parameters being the volume of steel strips and the existence of externally-bonded steel plates. The damage mechanism, force-displacement hysteretic response, force-displacement envelop curve, energy dissipation and displacement ductility ratio were analyzed to investigate the cyclic behavior of the retrofitted joints. The test results indicated that all the test specimens suffered a typical shear failure at the joint core, and the application of externally-bonded steel plates and that of pre-stressed steel strips could effectively increase the lateral capacity and deformability of the deficient RC interior joints, respectively. The best cyclic behavior could be found in the deficient RC interior joint retrofitted using both externally-bonded steel plates and pre-stressed steel strips due to the increased lateral capacity, displacement ductility and energy dissipation. Finally, based on the test results and the softened strut and tie model, a theoretical model for determining the shear capacity of the retrofitted specimens was proposed and validated.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.73-92
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• 2019

Disasters and crises are spreading across the globe, and there has been an increase in the number disasters in northeast Asia, such as earthquakes in Sichuan, China, and East Japan. This study aims to propose a plan to attract facilities from the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD). Although there are no prior domestic studies, the study focuses on the role of intangible benefits, values, and economic outcomes in attracting facilities. Based on an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of Korea's host environment, using the UN's annual report and Korea's overseas emergency relief data, the study will analyze the status of relevant UN organizations and derive detailed strategies. In order to attract facilities from the UNHRD, it will be necessary to build and promote a cooperative system with domestic and foreign NGO experts in humanitarian assistance and joint proposals from government departments and local governments. In the long-run, it will be necessary to work closely with the relevant UN agencies to achieve strategic progress.

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.157-162
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• 2019

Our previous study found that two novel cancer-related genes, PRR11 and SKA2, constituted a classic gene pair that was regulated by p53 and NF-Y in lung cancer. However, their role and regulatory mechanism in breast cancer remain elusive. In this study, we found that the expression levels of PRR11 and SKA2 were upregulated and have a negative prognotic value in breast cancer. Loss-of-function experiments showed that RNAi-mediated knockdown of PRR11 and/or SKA2 inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells. Mechanistic experiments revealed that knockdown of PRR11 and/or SKA2 caused dysregulation of several downstream genes, including CDK6, TPM3, and USP12, etc. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that wild type p53 significantly repressed the PRR11-SKA2 bidirectional promoter activity, but not NF-Y. Interestingly, NF-Y was only essential for and correlated with the expression of PRR11, but not SKA2. Consistently, adriamycin-induced (ADR) activation of endogenous p53 also caused significant repression of the PRR11 and SKA2 gene pair expression. Notably, breast cancer patients with lower expression levels of either PRR11 or SKA2, along with wild type p53, exhibited better disease-free survival compared to others with p53 mutations and/or higher expression levels of either PRR11 or SKA2. Collectively, our study indicates that the PRR11 and SKA2 transcription unit might be an oncogenic contributor and might serve as a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target in breast cancer.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.349-358
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• 2021

The Brazilian test has been widely used to determine the indirect tensile strength of rock, concrete and other brittle materials. The basic assumption for the calculation formula of Brazilian tensile strength is that the elastic moduli of rock are the same both in tension and compression. However, the fact is that the elastic moduli in tension and compression of most rocks are different. Thus, the formula of Brazilian tensile strength under the assumption of isotropy is unreasonable. In the present study, we conducted Brazilian tests on flat disk-shaped rock specimens and attached strain gauges at the center of the disc to measure the strains of rock. A tension-compression bi-modular model is proposed to interpret the data of the Brazilian test. The relations between the principal strains, principal stresses and the ratio of the compressive modulus to tensile modulus at the disc center are established. Thus, the tensile and compressive moduli as well as the correct tensile strength can be estimated simultaneously by the new formulas. It is found that the tensile and compressive moduli obtained using these formulas were in well agreement with the values obtained from the direct tension and compression tests. The formulas deduced from the Brazilian test based on the assumption of isotropy overestimated the tensile strength and tensile modulus and underestimated the compressive modulus. This work provides a new methodology to estimate tensile strength and moduli of rock simultaneously considering tension-compression bi-modularity.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.139-151
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• 2022

The mechanical properties of expansive soil are very unstable, highly sensitive to water, and thus easy to cause major engineering accidents. In this paper, the expansive soil foundation pit project of the East Huada Square in the eastern suburb of Chengdu was studied, the moisture content of the expansive soil was considered as an important factor that affecting the mechanics properties of expansive soil and the stability of the non-equal-length double-row piles in the foundation pit support. Three groups of direct shear tests were carried out and the quantitative relationships between the moisture content and shear strength τ, cohesion c, internal friction angle φ were obtained. The effect of cohesion and internal friction angle on the maximum displacement and the maximum bending moment of piles were analyzed by the finite element software MIDAS/GTS (Geotechnical and Tunnel Analysis System). Results show that the higher the moisture content, the smaller the matrix suction, and the smaller the shear strength; the cohesion and the internal friction angle are exponentially related to the moisture content, and both are negatively correlated. The maximum displacement and the maximum bending moment of the non-equal length double-row piles decrease with the increase of the cohesion and the internal friction angle. When the cohesion is greater than 33 kPa or the internal friction angle is greater than 25.5°, the maximum displacement and maximum bending moment of the piles are relatively small, however, once crossing the points (the corresponding moisture content value is 24.4%), the maximum displacement and the maximum bending moment will increase significantly. Therefore, in order to ensure the stability and safety of the foundation pit support structure of the East Huada Square, the moisture content of the expansive soil should not exceed 24.4%.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.426-437
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• 2024

Objective: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a diagnostic tool that provides precise and reproducible information about cardiac structure, function, and tissue characterization, aiding in the monitoring of chemotherapy response in patients with light-chain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA). This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of CMR in monitoring responses to chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, we enrolled 111 patients with AL-CA (50.5% male; median age, 54 [interquartile range, 49-63] years). Patients underwent longitudinal monitoring using biomarkers and CMR imaging. At follow-up after chemotherapy, patients were categorized into superior and inferior response groups based on their hematological and cardiac laboratory responses to chemotherapy. Changes in CMR findings across therapies and differences between response groups were analyzed. Results: Following chemotherapy (before vs. after), there were significant increases in myocardial T2 (43.6 ± 3.5 ms vs. 44.6 ± 4.1 ms; P = 0.008), recovery in right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain (median of -9.6% vs. -11.7%; P = 0.031), and decrease in RV extracellular volume fraction (ECV) (median of 53.9% vs. 51.6%; P = 0.048). These changes were more pronounced in the superior-response group. Patients with superior cardiac laboratory response showed significantly greater reductions in RV ECV (-2.9% [interquartile range, -8.7%-1.1%] vs. 1.7% [-5.5%-7.1%]; P = 0.017) and left ventricular ECV (-2.0% [-6.0%-1.3%] vs. 2.0% [-3.0%-5.0%]; P = 0.01) compared with those with inferior response. Conclusion: Cardiac amyloid deposition can regress following chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA, particularly showing more prominent regression, possibly earlier, in the RV. CMR emerges as an effective tool for monitoring associated tissue characteristics and ventricular functional recovery in patients with AL-CA undergoing chemotherapy, thereby supporting its utility in treatment response assessment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1092-1099
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• 2007

Two experiments were conducted to determine the additivity of apparent or true digestibility of phosphorus (P) in soybean meal (SBM), peas, faba beans, corn, oats, broken rice meal, rough rice meal, buckwheat, and sorghum for growing pigs. Chromic oxide (0.3%) was used as a digestion marker in both experiments. Each experiment lasted for 12 d, which consisted of a 7-d dietary adaptation period followed by a 5-d fecal collection period. Experiment 1 involved 6 diets: the SBM-based control diet; 4 diets with corn, oats, rough rice meal and broken rice meal substituted for SBM; and an additional diet with a representative mixture of the 5 ingredients. In Experiment 2, 6 diets were prepared similarly, except that the tested ingredients besides SBM were faba beans, peas, buckwheat, and sorghum. In each experiment, six barrows with an initial average individual BW of 20.5 kg were fed one of the six diets according to a $6{\times}6$ Latin square design. The apparent and true P digestibility values for the nine tested ingredients were determined by the substitution method. There were no differences (p>0.05) between the determined and the predicted true P digestibility values for the mixture of ingredients in Experiments 1 and 2. However, the determined and the predicted apparent P digestibility values for the mixture of ingredients differed (p = 0.059) in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. These results indicate that true P digestibility values are additive in ingredients containing low levels of phytate phosphorus and anti-nutritional factors, whereas the apparent P digestibility values are not always additive in single feed ingredients for growing pigs.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.163-176
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• 2009

Investigating endophyte distribution, naturally occurring in native grasses, is important for understanding endophyte-grass associations and using the beneficial effects of endophytes in cultivated plants. The goal of this study was to investigate endophytes from natural Festuca spp. in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan Provinces of China, and to study the compatibility between the endophytes and turf type tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) which is widely used for lawn and athletic fields in that region. Of 628 accessions in F. ovina, 421 had endophytes identified in leaf sheath from on-site microscopic examination. From Festuca spp, three isolates were obtained from the seeds and ninety isolates were obtained from seedlings established from the collected seeds. The isolates from F. ovina and F. stapfii were tentatively identified as Neotyphodium typhinum and Neotyphodiumstarii, respectively. We tested compatibility of the two fungal species with seven tall fescue cultivars, Little Hero, Sub Boy, Eldorado, Arid III, Millennium, Crossfire, and Fawn. N. typhinum or N. starii did not infect 'Fawn' with either seed injection or seed soaking method. The highest infection rate byboth N. typhinum and N. starii was in 'Sun Boy' and 'Eldorado'. There were significant interaction effects between tall fescue cultivar and type of endophyte on infection.