• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.452-460
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• 2019

Background: Monitoring and control of PM_2.5 are being recognized as key to address health issues attributed to PM_2.5. Availability of low-cost PM_2.5 sensors made it possible to introduce a number of portable PM_2.5 monitors based on light scattering to the consumer market at an affordable price. Accuracy of light scatteringe-based PM_2.5 monitors significantly depends on the method of calibration. Static calibration curve is used as the most popular calibration method for low-cost PM_2.5 sensors particularly because of ease of application. Drawback in this approach is, however, the lack of accuracy. Methods: This study discussed the calibration of a low-cost PM_2.5-monitoring device (PMD) to improve the accuracy and reliability for practical use. The proposed method is based on construction of the PM_2.5 sensor network using Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol and web query of reference measurement data available at government-authorized PM monitoring station (GAMS) in the republic of Korea. Four machine learning (ML) algorithms such as support vector machine, k-nearest neighbors, random forest, and extreme gradient boosting were used as regression models to calibrate the PMD measurements of PM_2.5. Performance of each ML algorithm was evaluated using stratified K-fold cross-validation, and a linear regression model was used as a reference. Results: Based on the performance of ML algorithms used, regression of the output of the PMD to PM_2.5 concentrations data available from the GAMS through web query was effective. The extreme gradient boosting algorithm showed the best performance with a mean coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.78 and standard error of 5.0 ㎍/㎥, corresponding to 8% increase in R² and 12% decrease in root mean square error in comparison with the linear regression model. Minimum 100 hours of calibration period was found required to calibrate the PMD to its full capacity. Calibration method proposed poses a limitation on the location of the PMD being in the vicinity of the GAMS. As the number of the PMD participating in the sensor network increases, however, calibrated PMDs can be used as reference devices to nearby PMDs that require calibration, forming a calibration chain through MQTT protocol. Conclusions: Calibration of a low-cost PMD, which is based on construction of PM_2.5 sensor network using MQTT protocol and web query of reference measurement data available at a GAMS, significantly improves the accuracy and reliability of a PMD, thereby making practical use of the low-cost PMD possible.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.139-149
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• 2019

Purpose: With neurodegeneration, the signal intensity of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain increases. The objective of this study was to evaluate chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) signals with and without the contribution of CSF signals in elderly human brains using two different 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences Methods: Full CEST signals were acquired in ten subjects (Group I) with a three-dimensional (3D)-segmented gradient-echo echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence and in ten other subjects (Group II) with a 3D gradient and spin-echo (GRASE) sequence using two different 3T MRI systems. The segmented tissue compartments of gray and white matter were used to mask the CSF signals in the full CEST images. Two sets of magnetization transfer ratio asymmetry (MTR_asym) maps were obtained for each offset frequency in each subject with and without masking the CSF signals (masked and unmasked conditions, respectively) and later compared using paired t-tests. Results: The region-of-interest (ROI)-based analyses showed that the MTR_asym values for both the 3D-segmented gradient-echo EPI and 3D GRASE sequences were altered under the masked condition compared with the unmasked condition at several ROIs and offset frequencies. Conclusions: Depending on the imaging sequence, the MTR_asym values can be overestimated for some areas of the elderly human brain when CSF signals are unmasked. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a method to minimize this overestimation in the case of elderly patients.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.164-172
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• 2023

The grain size distribution of sand provides crucial information for understanding coastal erosion and sediment deposition. The commonly used sieve analysis for grain size distribution analysis has limitations such as time-consuming processes and the inability to obtain information about individual particle shapes and colors. In this study, we propose a grain size distribution analysis method using smartphone digital images, which is simpler and more efficient than the sieve analysis method. During the image analysis process, we effectively detect particles from relatively low-resolution smartphone digital images by extracting particle boundaries through image gradient calculation. Using samples collected from four beaches in Gyeongsangbuk-do, we compare and validate the proposed boundary extraction image analysis method with the analysis method that does not extract boundaries, against sieve analysis results. The proposed method shows an average error rate of 8.21% at D₅₀, exhibiting a 65% lower error compared to the method without boundary extraction. Therefore, grain size distribution analysis using smartphone digital images is convenient, efficient, and demonstrated accuracy comparable to sieve analysis.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.583-600
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• 2023

The resilient modulus (M_R) of various pavement materials plays a significant role in the pavement design by a mechanistic-empirical method. The M_R determination is done by experimental tests that need time and money, along with special experimental tools. The present paper suggested a novel hybridized extreme gradient boosting (XGB) structure for forecasting the M_R of modified base materials subject to wet-dry cycles. The models were created by various combinations of input variables called deep learning. Input variables consist of the number of W-D cycles (WDC), the ratio of free lime to SAF (CSAFR), the ratio of maximum dry density to the optimum moisture content (DMR), confining pressure (σ₃), and deviatoric stress (σ_d). Two XGB structures were produced for the estimation aims, where determinative variables were optimized by particle swarm optimization (PSO) and black widow optimization algorithm (BWOA). According to the results' description and outputs of Taylor diagram, M1 model with the combination of WDC, CSAFR, DMR, σ₃, and σ_d is recognized as the most suitable model, with R² and RMSE values of BWOA-XGB for model M1 equal to 0.9991 and 55.19 MPa, respectively. Interestingly, the lowest value of RMSE for literature was at 116.94 MPa, while this study could gain the extremely lower RMSE owned by BWOA-XGB model at 55.198 MPa. At last, the explanations indicate the BWO algorithm's capability in determining the optimal value of XGB determinative parameters in M_R prediction procedure.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.141-155
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• 2021

Purpose: To develop a 3D magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) method for application in high resolution knee cartilage PD, T₁, T₂ mapping. Materials and Methods: A novel 3D acquisition trajectory with golden-angle rotating radial in k_xy direction and interleaved echo planar imaging (EPI) acquisition in the k_z direction was implemented in the MRF framework. A centric order was applied to the interleaved EPI acquisition to reduce Nyquist ghosting artifact due to field inhomogeneity. For the reconstruction, singular value decomposition (SVD) compression method was used to accelerate reconstruction time and conjugate gradient sensitivity-encoding (CG-SENSE) was performed to overcome low SNR of the high resolution data. Phantom experiments were performed to verify the proposed method. In vivo experiments were performed on 6 healthy volunteers and 2 early osteoarthritis (OA) patients. Results: In the phantom experiments, the T₁ and T₂ values of the proposed method were in good agreement with the spin-echo references. The results from the in vivo scans showed high quality proton density (PD), T₁, T₂ map with EPI echo train length (N_ETL = 4), acceleration factor in through plane (R_z = 5), and number of radial spokes (N_spk = 4). In patients, high T₂ values (50-60 ms) were seen in all transverse, sagittal, and coronal views and the damaged cartilage regions were in agreement with the hyper-intensity regions shown on conventional turbo spin-echo (TSE) images. Conclusion: The proposed 3D MRF method can acquire high resolution (0.5 mm³) quantitative maps in practical scan time (~ 7 min and 10 sec) with full coverage of the knee (FOV: 160 × 160 × 120 mm³).

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.328-340
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• 2019

Purpose: To generate phase images with free of motion-induced artifact and susceptibility-induced distortion using 3D radial ultrashort TE (UTE) MRI. Materials and Methods: The field map was theoretically derived by solving Laplace's equation with appropriate boundary conditions, and used to simulate the image distortion in conventional spin-warp MRI. Manufacturer's 3D radial imaging sequence was modified to acquire maximum number of radial spokes in a given time, by removing the spoiler gradient and sampling during both rampup and rampdown gradient. Spoke direction randomly jumps so that a readout gradient acts as a spoiling gradient for the previous spoke. The custom raw data was reconstructed using a homemade image reconstruction software, which is programmed using Python language. The method was applied to a phantom and in-vivo human brain and abdomen. The performance of UTE was compared with 3D GRE for phase mapping. Local phase mapping was compared with T₂* mapping using UTE. Results: The phase map using UTE mimics true field-map, which was theoretically calculated, while that using 3D GRE revealed both motion-induced artifact and geometric distortion. Motion-free imaging is particularly crucial for application of phase mapping for abdomen MRI, which typically requires multiple breathold acquisitions. The air pockets, which are caught within the digestive pathway, induce spatially varying and large background field. T₂* map, that was calculated using UTE data, suffers from non-uniform T₂* value due to this background field, while does not appear in the local phase map of UTE data. Conclusion: Phase map generated using UTE mimicked the true field map even when non-zero susceptibility objects were present. Phase map generated by 3D GRE did not accurately mimic the true field map when non-zero susceptibility objects were present due to the significant field distortion as theoretically calculated. Nonetheless, UTE allows for phase maps to be free of susceptibility-induced distortion without the use of any post-processing protocols.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.130-135
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• 2022

Epididymal sperm cryopreservation provides a potential method for preserving genetic material from males of endangered species. This pilot study was conducted to develop a freezing method for tiger epididymal sperm. We evaluated post-thaw sperm condition using testes with intact epididymides obtained from a Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) after castration. The epididymis was chopped in Tyrode's albumin-lactate-pyruvate 1x and incubated at 5% CO₂, 95% air for 10 min. The Percoll separation density gradient method was used for selective recovery of motile spermatozoa after sperm collection using a cell strainer. The spermatozoa were diluted with modified Norwegian extender supplemented with 20 mM trehalose (extender 1) and subsequent extender 2 (extender 1 with 10% glycerol) and frozen using LN₂ vapor. After thawing at 37℃ for 25 s, Isolate^® solution was used for more effective recovery of live sperm. Sperm motility (computerized assisted sperm analysis, CASA), viability (SYBR-14 and Propidium Iodide) and acrosome integrity (Pisum sativum agglutinin with FITC) were evaluated. The motility of tiger epididymal spermatozoa was 40.1 ± 2.0%, and progressively motile sperm comprised 32.7 ± 2.3%. Viability was 56.3 ± 1.6% and acrosome integrity was 62.3 ± 4.4%. Cryopreservation of tiger epididymal sperm using a modified Norwegian extender and density gradient method could be effective to obtain functional spermatozoa for future assisted reproductive practices in endangered species.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.9 no.11
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• pp.4604-4622
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• 2015

It is not easy to reconstruct the geometrical characteristics of the distorted images captured by the devices. One of the most popular optimization methods is fast iterative shrinkage/ thresholding algorithm. In this paper, to deal with its approximation error and the turbulence of the decrease process, an adaptive proximal conjugate gradient (APCG) framework is proposed. It contains three stages. At first stage, a series of adaptive penalty matrices are generated iterate-to-iterate. Second, to trade off the reconstruction accuracy and the computational complexity of the resulting sub-problem, a practical solution is presented, which is characterized by solving the variable ellipsoidal-norm based sub-problem through exploiting the structure of the problem. Third, a correction step is introduced to improve the estimated accuracy. The numerical experiments of the proposed algorithm, in comparison to the favorable state-of-the-art methods, demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method and its potential.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.485-498
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• 2020

A diffusion synthetic acceleration (DSA) technique for the S_N transport equation discretized with the linear discontinuous expansion method with subcell balance (LDEM-SCB) on unstructured tetrahedral meshes is presented. The LDEM-SCB scheme solves the transport equation with the discrete ordinates method by using the subcell balances and linear discontinuous expansion of the flux. Discretized DSA equations are derived by consistently discretizing the continuous diffusion equation with the LDEM-SCB method, however, the discretized diffusion equations are not fully consistent with the discretized transport equations. In addition, a fine mesh rebalance (FMR) method is devised to accelerate the discretized diffusion equation coupled with the preconditioned conjugate gradient (CG) method. The DSA method is applied to various test problems to show its effectiveness in speeding up the iterative convergence of the transport equation. The results show that the DSA method gives small spectral radii for the tetrahedral meshes having various minimum aspect ratios even in highly scattering dominant mediums for the homogeneous test problems. The numerical tests for the homogeneous and heterogeneous problems show that DSA with FMR (with preconditioned CG) gives significantly higher speedups and robustness than the one with the Gauss-Seidel-like iteration.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.592-602
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• 2021

Thorium compounds have attracted immense scientific and technological attention with regard to both fundamental and practical implications, owing to unique chemical and physical properties like high melting point, high density and thermal conductivity. Hereby, we investigate the mechanical and thermodynamic stability and report on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of new silicon-doped cubic ternary thorium phosphides ThSi_xP_1-x (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1). The first-principles density functional theory procedure was adopted within full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. The exchange and correlation potential terms were treated within Generalized-Gradient-Approximation functional modified by Perdew-Burke-Ernzerrhof parameterizations. The proposed compounds showed mechanical and thermodynamic stable structure and hence can be synthesized experimentally. The calculated lattice parameters, bulk modulus, total energy, density of states, electronic band structure and spin magnetic moments of the compounds revealed considerable correlation to the Si substitution for P and the relative Si/P doping concentration. The electronic and magnetic properties of the doped compounds rendered them non-magnetic but metallic in nature. The main orbital contribution to the Fermi level arises from the hybridization of Th(6d+5f) and (Si+P)3p states. Reported results may have potential implications with regard to both fundamental point of view and technological prospects such as fuel materials for clean nuclear energy.