• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 2004

Purpose : The quantization noise in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems is analyzed. The signal-to-quantization noise ratio (SQNR) in the reconstructed image is derived from the level of quantization in the signal in spatial frequency domain. Based on the derived formula, the SQNRs in various main magnetic fields with different receiver systems are evaluated. From the evaluation, the quantization noise could be a major noise source determining overall system signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in high field MRI system. A few methods to reduce the quantization noise are suggested. Materials and methods : In Fourier imaging methods, spin density distribution is encoded by phase and frequency encoding gradients in such a way that it becomes a distribution in the spatial frequency domain. Thus the quantization noise in the spatial frequency domain is expressed in terms of the SQNR in the reconstructed image. The validity of the derived formula is confirmed by experiments and computer simulation. Results : Using the derived formula, the SQNRs in various main magnetic fields with various receiver systems are evaluated. Since the quantization noise is proportional to the signal amplitude, yet it cannot be reduced by simple signal averaging, it could be a serious problem in high field imaging. In many receiver systems employing analog-to-digital converters (ADC) of 16 bits/sample, the quantization noise could be a major noise source limiting overall system SNR, especially in a high field imaging. Conclusion : The field strength of MRI system keeps going higher for functional imaging and spectroscopy. In high field MRI system, signal amplitude becomes larger with more susceptibility effect and wider spectral separation. Since the quantization noise is proportional to the signal amplitude, if the conversion bits of the ADCs in the receiver system are not large enough, the increase of signal amplitude may not be fully utilized for the SNR enhancement due to the increase of the quantization noise. Evaluation of the SQNR for various systems using the formula shows that the quantization noise could be a major noise source limiting overall system SNR, especially in three dimensional imaging in a high field imaging. Oversampling and off-center sampling would be an alternative solution to reduce the quantization noise without replacement of the receiver system.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.108-116
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• 2006

Purpose : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging is performed at 3 Tesla MRI system. Since the gradient waveforms for the spiral-scan imaging have lower slopes than those for the Echo Planar Imaging (EPI), they can be implemented with the gradient systems having lower slew rates. The spiral-scan imaging also involves less eddy currents due to the smooth gradient waveforms. The spiral-scan imaging method does not suffer from high specific absorption rate (SAR), which is one of the main obstacles in high field imaging for rf echo-based fast imaging methods such as fast spin echo techniques. Thus, the spiral-scan imaging has a great potential for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields. In this paper, we presented various high-resolution images obtained by the spiral-scan methods at 3T MRI system for various applications. Materials and Methods : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging technique is implemented at 3T whole body MRI system. An efficient and fast higher-order shimming technique is developed to reduce the inhomogeneity, and the single-shot and interleaved spiral-scan imaging methods are developed. Spin-echo and gradient-echo based spiral-scan imaging methods are implemented, and image contrast and signal-tonoise ratio are controlled by the echo time, repetition time, and the rf flip angles. Results : Spiral-scan images having various resolutions are obtained at 3T MRI system. Since the absolute magnitude of the inhomogeneity is increasing in higher magnetic fields, higher order shimming to reduce the inhomogeneity becomes more important. A fast shimming technique in which axial, sagittal, and coronal sectional inhomogeneity maps are obtained in one scan is developed, and the shimming method based on the analysis of spherical harmonics of the inhomogeneity map is applied. For phantom and invivo head imaging, image matrix size of about $100{\times}100$ is obtained by a single-shot spiral-scan imaging, and a matrix size of $256{\times}256$ is obtained by the interleaved spiral-scan imaging with the number of interleaves of from 6 to 12. Conclusion : High field imaging becomes increasingly important due to the improved signal-to-noise ratio, larger spectral separation, and the higher BOLD-based contrast. The increasing SAR is, however, a limiting factor in high field imaging. Since the spiral-scan imaging has a very low SAR, and lower hardware requirements for the implementation of the technique compared to EPI, it is suitable for a rapid imaging in high fields. In this paper, the spiral-scan imaging with various resolutions from $100{\times}100$ to $256{\times}256$ by controlling the number of interleaves are developed for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.401-407
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to know the differences of MR spectra, obtained from normal volunteers by variable TE value, through the quantitative analysis of brain metabolites by peak integral and SNR between 1.5T and 3.0T, together with PRESS and STEAM pulse sequence. Single-voxel MR proton spectra of the human brain obtained from normal volunteers at both 3.0T MR system (Magnetom Trio, SIEMENS, Germany) and 1.5T MR system (Signa Twinspeed, GE, USA) using the STEAM and PRESS pulse sequence. 10 healthy volunteers (3.0T:3 males, 2 females; 1.5T : 3 males, 2 females) with the range from 22 to 30 years old (mean 26 years) participated in our study. They had no personal or familial history of neurological diseases and had a normal neurological examination. Data acquisition parameters were closely matched between the two field strengths. Spectra were recorded in the white matter of the occipital lobe. Spectra were compared in terms of resolution and signal-to-noise ratio(SNR), and echo time(TE) were estimated at both field strengths. Imaging parameters was used for acquisition of the proton spectrum were as follow : TR 2000msec, TE 30ms, 40ms, 50ms, 60ms, 90ms, 144ms, 288ms, NA=96, VOI=$20{\times}20{\times}20mm3$. As the echo times were increased, the spectra obtained from 3.0T and 1.5T show decreased peak integral and SNR at both pulse sequence. PRESS pulse sequence shows higher SNR and signal intensity than those of STEAM. Especially, Spectra in normal volunteers at 3.0T demonstrated significantly improved overall SNR and spectral resolution compared to 1.5T(Fig1). The spectra acquired at short echo time, 3T MR system shows a twice improvement in SNR compared to 1.5T MR system(Table. 1). But, there was no significant difference between 3.0Tand 1.5T at long TE It is concluded that PRESS and short TE is useful for quantification of the brain metabolites at 3.0T MRS, our standardized protocol for quantification of the brain metabolites at 3.0T MRS is useful to evaluate the brain diseases by monitoring the systematic changes of biochemical metabolites concentration in vivo.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.443-454
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• 2008

Statement of problem: A clinically successful color match is one of the important factor to get an esthetic dental restoration. Dental shade guides are commonly used to evaluate tooth color in restorative procedure. But numerous reports have indicated that common shade guides do not provide sufficient spectral coverage of the natural tooth colors. To address issues associated with the shade guide, distinct avenues have been pursued objective spectrophotometric / colorimetric assessment. Purpose: This study compared the accuracy of tooth color selection of spectrophotometer with that of human visual determination. Three main factors were investigated, namely, the effect of light, the individual variation and the experience of the observer. Material and methods: At the first experiment, on ten patients, one operator independently selected the best matching shade to the unrestored maxillary central incisor, using a Vita Classical Shade Guide in the morning, at noon and in the afternoon. The same teeth were measured by means of a reflectance spectrophotometer. At the second experiment, on ten patients, ten operators (5 experts, 5 novices) selected and measured by the same method above at noon. At the third experiment, the results of the second experiment were divided into two groups, expert and novice, and analyzed. Results: 1. There was significant difference between visual and spectrophotometric assessment (mean ${\Delta}E$ values) in experiment 1, 2, 3 (P < .05). 2. There was no significant difference between experts and novices group, when comparing with each visual and spectrophotometric assessment (mean ${\Delta}E$ values). Conclusion: Spectrophotometer could be used to analyze the shade of natural tooth objectively. Thereby, this method offers the potential tominimize considerably the need for corrections or even remakesafter intraoral try-in of restoration. Furthermore, to achieve its advantage, both the shade-matching environment and communication between dentist and technician should be optimized with use of visual and instrumental shade-matching systems.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.1323-1329
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• 2020

To characterize the molecular structure of PhE-gal synthesized using Escherichia coli 𝛽-gal, NMR (¹H- and ¹³C-) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry of PhE-gal were conducted. ¹H NMR spectrum of PhE-gal showed multiple peaks corresponding to the galactosyl group, which is an evidence of galactosylation on 2-phenylethanol (PhE). Downfield proton peaks at 𝛿_H 7.30~7.21 ppm showed the presence of aromatic protons of PhE as well as benzyl CH₂ protons at 𝛿_H 2.88 ppm. Up field proton peaks at 𝛿_H 4.31 ppm, 4.07 ppm and multiple peaks from 𝛿_H 3.86~3.38 ppm are indicative of galactocylation on PhE. ¹³C NMR spectrum revealed the presence of 12 carbons suggestive of PhE-gal. Among 12 carbon peaks from PhE-gal, the four peaks at 138.7, 129.0, 128.6 and 126.5 were assigned aromatic carbons in the phenyl ring. Three peaks at 129.0, 128.6 and 126.5 showed high intensities, indicating CH aromatic carbons. ¹³C NMR data of PhE-gal showed 6 monosaccharide peaks from galactose and 2 peaks from aliphatic chain of PhE, indicating that PhE-gal was galactosyl PhE. The mass value (sodium adduct ion of PhE-gal, m/z = 307.1181) from mass spectrometry analysis of PhE-gal, and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectral data were in good agreement with the expecting structure of PhE-gal. We are expecting that through future study it will eventually be able to develop a new additive with low cytotoxicity.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.897-905
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• 2013

In this study, sorption coefficients (${\log}K_{OC}$, n) for the binding of phenanthrene (PHE) to soil humins, insoluble fraction of soil humc substances (HS), were determined and relationship between the sorption coefficients and structural characteristics of the soil humins were investigated. The soil humins used in the present study were isolated from 7 different soils including 5 domestic soils, an IHSS standard and a peat soil, and characterized by elemental analysis and CPMAS $^{13}C$ NMR method. $^{13}C$ NMR spectral features indicate that the soil humins are mainly made up of aliphatic carbons (57.1~72.3% in total carbon) with high alkyl-C moiety, and the alkyl-C contents ($C_{Al-H,C}$, %) was in order of granite soil Hu (26~42%) > volcanic ash soil, HL Hu (23.9%) > Peat Hu (14.0%). The results of correlation study show that a positive relationship ($r^2$ = 0.77, p < 0.05) between organic carbon normalized-sorption coefficients ($K_{OC}$, mL/g) and alkyl-C contents($C_{Al-H,C}$, %), while negative relationship ($r^2$ = (-)0.74, p < 0.05) between Freundlich sorption parameter (n) and H,C-substituted aromatic carbon contents ($C_{Ar-H,C}$, %). The magnitude of $K_{OC}$ values are also negatively well correlated with polarity index (e.g., PI, N + O)/C) ($r^2$ = (-)0.74, p < 0.1). These results suggest that the binding capacity (e.g., $K_{OC}$) for PHE is increased in soil humin molecules having high contents of alkyl-C or lower polarity, and nonlinear sorption for PHE increased as the H,C-substituted aromatic carbon contents ($C_{Ar-H,C}$, %) in the soil humins increased. The PHE sorption characteristics on soil humins are discussed based on the dual reactive mode of sorption model.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.31-39
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• 2002

Pollutants from industry, mining, agriculture, and other sources have contaminated sediments in many surface water bodies. Sediment contamination poses a severe threat to human health and environment because many toxic contaminants that are barely detectable in the water column can accumulate in sediments at much higher levels. The purpose of this study was to make optimal treatment and disposal plan o( sediment for water quality improvement in small-scale resevoir based on an evaluation of degree of contamination. The degree of contamination were investigated for 23 samples of 9 site at different depth of sediment in small-scale J river. Results for analysis of contaminated sediments were observed that copper concentration of 4 samples were higher than the regulation of hazardous waste (3 mg/L) and that of all samples were exceeded soil pollution warning levels for agricultural areas. Lead and mercury concentration of all samples were detected below both regulations. Necessary of sediment dredge was evaluated for organic matter and nutrient through standard levels of Paldang lake and the lower Han river in Korea and Tokyo bay and Yokohama bay in Japan. The degree of contamination for organic matter and nutrient was not serious. Compared standard levels of Japan, America, and Canada for heavy metal, contaminated sediment was concluded as lowest effect level or limit of tolerance level because standard levels of America and Canada was established worst effect of benthic organisms. The optimal treatment method of sediment contained heavy metal was cement-based solidification/stabilization to prevent heavy metal leaching.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.183-192
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• 1998

The long-term observation of temperature in the coastal waters adjacent to the Wolsung Nuclear Power Plant has been carried out from November 10, 1996 to August 22, 1997, for approximately 280 days using a real-time temperature measurement buoy system. The sea-surface temperature was measured at every 10 minute using 10 buoys. The vertical structure of temperature was investigated near the outlet of the plant with two thermistor chains equipped with 10 sensors at 1 m interval The monthly averaged temperature was the lowest with spatial average of $12.8^{\circ}C$ in February and was the highest in August with spatial average of $19.6^{\circ}C$. The extremely low temperature was frequently observed between June and August, which seems to be the consequence of the intrusion of cold water near the southeastern coast of Korea. Distributions of the daily and hourly averaged temperature show that the highest temperature always occurred near the outlet of the plant and the warm-water patch moved along the north-south direction with the semidiurnal period. The semidiurnal fluctuation of temperature was also observed near the surface of the vertical profiles. The spectral analysis of temperature between February and April 1997 shows that the semidiurnal components prevailed near the outlet. It is likely that the semidiurnal components were due to the prevailing semidiurnal tide in this region. In August 1997, the diurnal components were dominant at the surface water of all stations except Station 12, which suggests that the warm water from the outlet of the plant has less effects in summer on the surrounding waters than the strong solar radiation.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 1993

The monthly mean sea levels at 48 stations located at the East and Yellow Seas coasts of Korea, Russia and Japan are processed to investigate seasonal sea level variations. The strong seasonal variations are found to be at the west coast of Korea (42.1 cm in Kunsan), in the region of the Korea strait and near the southern part of Primorye (30-33 cm); the weak ones near the southwestern coast of the Sakhalin Island (10-12 cm). Practically for the whole study area except the southwest Sakhalin, the general picture of the seasonal sea level changes is alike: the mean sea level rises in summer-autumn and falls in winter-spring. The spectral analysis of the records also shows that the seasonal oscillations strongly dominate in the sea level variations, more than 80% or total energy in the southern part of the investigated region and 50-70% in the northern part relate to these oscillations. The annal peak significantly prevails in spectra of the monthly sea levels for the majority of stations, the semiannual peak is also well manifested, but the seasonal peaks of higher order (corresponding to the periods of four and three months) reveal only at some records. The maximal amplitudes of annual component by a least square method are found at the Yellow Sea coast of Korea (20-21 cm) and also near the Japanese coast of the korea Strait (19-19 cm). The semiannual component has the maximal amplitudes (3-4 cm) near the south and southwestern coasts of the Sakhalin Island. The annual range of the sea levels is much weaker here than in the other regions, the relative investment of the seasonal oscillations in total energetic budget is only 35-40%, annual ($A_1$) and semiannual ($A_2$) components have nearly the same amplitude (seasonal factor $F=A_1/A_2=0.9-1.2$). On the basis of the present examination on sea level changes together with the results of Tomizawa et. al.(1984) the whole investigated area may be divided into 10 subregions, 2 of them are related to the Yellow Sea and Western part of the Korea Strait (Y1, Y2), the other ones (E1-E8) to the East Sea.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.342-347
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• 2004

A bacterial strain YC4963 with antifungal activity against Colletotrichum orbiculare, a causal organism of cucumber anthracnose was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Siegesbeckia pubescens Makino in Korea. Based on physiological and biochemical characteristics and 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis, the bac­terial strain was identified as Pseudomonas aurantiaca. The bacteria also inhibited mycelial growth of several plant fungal pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani on PDA and 0.1 TSA media. The antifungal activity was found from the culture filtrate of this isolate and the active compound was quantitatively bound to XAD adsorption resin. The antibiotic compound was purified and identified as phenazine-l-carboxylic acid on the basis of combined spectral and chemical analyses data. This is the first report on the production of phenazine-l-carboxylic acid by Pseudomonas aurantiaca.