• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3459-3469
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• 2022

Matrix composites of n-WO₃/n-Bi₂O₃/PVA with different loadings of n-WO₃/n-Bi₂O₃ mixtures (0-15 wt%) and starch (0 and 3 wt%) were fabricated by using melt-mixing method. The X-ray attenuation capability were evaluated based on mass attenuation coefficient (μ/⍴) using a general diagnostic X-ray machine at 40-100 kVp. The effect of starch addition on the dispersion of the fillers in the PVA matrix were observed by using FESEM through morphological analysis. The fabricated samples have shrunken and caused their thickness to be decreased (0.35 mm-0.55 mm) after the drying process even though fixed thickness (2.0 mm) was set initially. The density and HVL values of the samples with 3 wt% starch was seen lower than samples without starch (0 wt%), however the former have provided improvement in filler dispersion and better X-ray attenuation capability compared to the latter. As conclusion, the matrix composite of n-WO₃/n-Bi₂O₃/PVA with 15 wt% of n-Bi₂O₃, 8 wt% of n-WO₃ and 3 wt% starch can be selected as the best promising candidate for X-ray shielding materials.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.9
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• pp.3758-3763
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• 2024

The current study aimed to evaluate the suitability of polyester resin as an alternative material to polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) for computed tomography (CT) dosimetry phantoms using the GEANT4/GATE Monte Carlo simulation platform. Cylindrical phantoms (32 cm diameter) constructed of polyester resin and PMMA were simulated and compared in terms of atomic composition, effective atomic number, electron density, mass density, and photon interaction mechanisms. Weighted CT dose index (CTDIw) values were calculated for each phantom at 80, 110, and 130 kVp tube voltages based on measurements of CTDI_100,c and CTDI_100,p. Results demonstrated that the physical properties of polyester closely matched those of PMMA, and the polyester phantom displayed equivalent dosimetric behavior to the PMMA phantom at all tube voltages tested. CTDIw values from the polyester phantom were within 1.4 % of the PMMA phantom across all tube voltages. Conversion coefficients were derived to equate polyester CTDIw values to PMMA dose equivalents. This study found that a polyester resin phantom exhibited radiation dosimetry commensurate with the standard PMMA phantom for CT dose assessment. Consequently, polyester resin represents a viable substitute material when PMMA is unavailable for construction of CT dosimetry phantoms.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2000

Purpose: It is important to have the epidemiologic data of rotavirus serotypes for the application of polyvalent rotavirus vaccines. Epidemiological studies of rotavirus serotypes in Korea have been reported only in limited areas with small number of cases. Authors tried to investigate the distribution of rotavirus G serotypes in ChungJu area with RT-PCR. Method: Stool specimens were collected from 202 children with acute diarrheal symptoms, who admitted to or visited Kon-Kuk University Hospital in ChungJu from June 1998 to May 1999. Samples were screened for rotavirus with EIA method (TestPack Rotavirus, Abbott Laboratories) and rotavirus G Serotypes were determined by RT-PCR. Results: Rotavirus was positive in 46.6%. The incidence of G serotypes was as follows; G1 10%, G2 10%, G3 28%, G4 26%, and G9 20%. There were three cases of multiple serotypes; G1 with G9, G2 with G9, and G4 with G9. Serotype of G8 was not found. Conclusion: The proportion of G serotypes in ChungJu is much different from previous reports. Serotype of G9 was found which had not been reported in Korean children till now. Long term plans for the investigation of rotavirus serotypes must be needed in wide area.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.731-736
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• 2016

No freshness indicator for fish has yet been established. Thus, we investigated changes over time in mackerel quality in an effort to development useful indicators. Fresh whole mackerel Scomber japonicus were stored at $4^{\circ}C$ immediately after capture and quality changes were evaluated every 3 days for a total of 15 days. Whole fish were divided into ventral parts (VPs) and dorsal parts (DPs); we measured the trimethylamine (TMA) and volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) levels, pH values, and color values in/of these parts. The TMA and VBN levels tended to increase during storage and the TMA changes in VPs were higher than those in DPs. In particular, the VP TMA content attained a maximum of 3.68 mg/100 g at 6 days, and the VBN content attained a maximum of 20.88 mg/100 g at 9 days, suggestive of initial fish spoilage. The pH ranged from 5.99-6.17 over the first 3 days and from 6.17-6.38 from days 6-15. Surface color changes on VPs and DPs were explored. Significant decreases in both VP lightness and yellowness were evident after 3 days. The data suggest that both TMA level and lightness of the color are valuable indicators of freshness in the initial stage of mackerel retail.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 2013

Currently, there are many studies being conducted around the world to reduce exposure dose to radiation for patients to receive medical treatments in a safe environment. We developed and fabricated of this shield that the patients are protected from the radiation and are need of safety control during breast imaging. In this study, for breast imaging, GE Senography 2000D were used and set at SID 65cm, 28kVp, and 63mAs. The measuring instrument was Fluke's Victoreen 6000-529. And we performed Face Block on with 30 patients. The chamber on the actual thyroid glands to take CC and MLO and measure the dosage before and after wearing the Face Block. For the results, after wearing the Face Block, exposure was decreased by 53.8%-100% and 65.8% in average in CC View and by 50%-100% and 60.7% in average in MLO View. The development of the Face Block that practically decreased the exposure dose of thyroid glands, crystalline eyes during breast imaging and reduced the patients' anxiety during breast imaging. The Face Block is expected to improve patients' satisfaction and contribute to reducing patients' exposure dose, but more efforts should be made to reduce exposure dose to medical radiation.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.149-159
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• 2021

Purpose: Antibiotic exposure during pregnancy may affect the fetus and newborn in many ways. This study investigated the impact of prenatal antibiotic exposure duration on neonatal outcomes in very preterm (VP) or very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Methods: From September 2015 to December 2020, preterm infants with gestational age less than 32 weeks or with a BW less than 1,500 g who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, and their mothers were enrolled. Prenatal antibiotic exposure was defined as antibiotics received by mothers before delivery, and the patients were categorized into the non-antibiotic group, short-duration (SD; ≤7 days) group, or long-duration (LD; >7 days) groups. Results: A total of 93 of 145 infants were exposed to prenatal antibiotics, among which 35 (37.6%) were in the SD group and 58 (62.4%) were in the LD group. Infants in the LD group had a significantly higher birth weight-for-gestational-age (BW/GA) Z-score than those in the non-antibiotic group, even after the adjustment for confounding factors (beta, 0.258; standard error, 0.149; P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that prolonged prenatal antibiotic exposure was independently associated with death (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 8.926; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.482-53.775) and composite outcomes of death, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and late-onset sepsis (LOS) (aOR, 2.375; 95% CI, 1.027-5.492). Conclusions: Prolonged prenatal antibiotic exposure could increase the BW/GA Z-score and the risk of death and composite outcomes of death, NEC, and LOS in VP or VLBW infants.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.983-993
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the image quality of ultralow-dose CT (ULDCT) of the chest reconstructed using a cycle-consistent generative adversarial network (CycleGAN)-based deep learning method in the evaluation of pulmonary tuberculosis. Materials and Methods: Between June 2019 and November 2019, 103 patients (mean age, 40.8 ± 13.6 years; 61 men and 42 women) with pulmonary tuberculosis were prospectively enrolled to undergo standard-dose CT (120 kVp with automated exposure control), followed immediately by ULDCT (80 kVp and 10 mAs). The images of the two successive scans were used to train the CycleGAN framework for image-to-image translation. The denoising efficacy of the CycleGAN algorithm was compared with that of hybrid and model-based iterative reconstruction. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were performed to compare the objective measurements and the subjective image quality scores, respectively. Results: With the optimized CycleGAN denoising model, using the ULDCT images as input, the peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity index improved by 2.0 dB and 0.21, respectively. The CycleGAN-generated denoised ULDCT images typically provided satisfactory image quality for optimal visibility of anatomic structures and pathological findings, with a lower level of image noise (mean ± standard deviation [SD], 19.5 ± 3.0 Hounsfield unit [HU]) than that of the hybrid (66.3 ± 10.5 HU, p < 0.001) and a similar noise level to model-based iterative reconstruction (19.6 ± 2.6 HU, p > 0.908). The CycleGAN-generated images showed the highest contrast-to-noise ratios for the pulmonary lesions, followed by the model-based and hybrid iterative reconstruction. The mean effective radiation dose of ULDCT was 0.12 mSv with a mean 93.9% reduction compared to standard-dose CT. Conclusion: The optimized CycleGAN technique may allow the synthesis of diagnostically acceptable images from ULDCT of the chest for the evaluation of pulmonary tuberculosis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.11 no.9
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• pp.3517-3523
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• 2010

Single exposure dual X-ray imaging can be used to separate soft and dense-material images for medical and industrial applications. This study keep focusing baggage inspection system(BIS) specifically. New detector modules for single exposure dual X-ray imaging are consisted of low energy detector (LED) and high energy detector (HED). First, the optimized thickness of copper filter coupled HED to separate low energy and high energy was simulated by the given X-ray energy (140 kVp, 1 mA) using Monte Carlo simulation codes, MCNPX. So as a result of simulation, the copper filter thickness is 0.7 mm. For the design of PIN photodiode, ATLAS device simulation tool was used. 16 channels PIN photodiode of 1.5 mm ${\times}$ 3.2 mm for Dual X-ray imaging detector was fabricated in the process of ETRI. And its dark current and quantum efficiency, terminal capacitance were measured. It was proven that the Lanex Fast B coupled HED were a sufficient candidate to replace the CsI(Tl) commerced in dual X-ray system, since these give a strong signal, overcoming system noise. Finally dual X-ray image was acquired through correction of the LED X-ray Image and the HED X-ray Image.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.1007-1013
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• 2011

Because of their high flexibility and durability, multilayer bellows are manufactured for use in commercial vehicles, while single-layer bellows are manufactured for use in passenger vehicles. A study based on the finite element method (FEM) and shape optimization for the single-layer bellows has been actively performed; however, until now, a study based on the FEM has rarely been performed for the multilayer bellows with gaps between the layers. This paper presents a finite-element modeling scheme for the multilayer bellows to improve simulation reliability during the evaluation of stress and flexibility. For performing shape optimization for the multilayer bellows, DOE (design of experiment) and the Kriging metamodel followed by the D-optimal method are used.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.182-189
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• 2021

VPS(Void Plywood Slab System, VPS) has optimized the shape of the hollow material. In addition, it has a function to prevent the floating of the hollow material and the separation due to the working load. In this study, the punching shear capacity of flat plate was performed using Void Plywood Slab System with form work panel proposed in the previous study. As a result of the test, the strength of the VSPS specimen in which the hollow material was placed beyond 2.0 times the column width from the loading point was reduced by 9.4% compared to the reference specimen. However, the strength value was about 1.57 times higher than the design value suggested by KBC 2016. It was found that there was no change in stiffness compared to the reference specimen until shear failure occurred in the VSPS specimen in which the hollow material was placed. It can be seen that this experiment is being destroyed by shear as the flexural reinforcing bars are sufficiently reinforced.