• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.338-348
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• 2023

Objective: Patients with a history of ischemic stroke are at risk for a second ischemic stroke. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between carotid plaque enhancement on perfluorobutane microbubble contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and future recurrent stroke, and to determine whether plaque enhancement can contribute to risk assessment for recurrent stroke compared with the Essen Stroke Risk Score (ESRS). Materials and Methods: This prospective study screened 151 patients with recent ischemic stroke and carotid atherosclerotic plaques at our hospital between August 2020 and December 2020. A total of 149 eligible patients underwent carotid CEUS, and 130 patients who were followed up for 15-27 months or until stroke recurrence were analyzed. Plaque enhancement on CEUS was investigated as a possible risk factor for stroke recurrence and as a possible adjunct to ESRS. Results: During follow-up, 25 patients (19.2%) experienced recurrent stroke. Patients with plaque enhancement on CEUS had an increased risk of stroke recurrence events (22/73, 30.1%) compared to those without plaque enhancement (3/57, 5.3%), with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 38.264 (95% confidence interval [CI]:14.975-97.767; P < 0.001) according to a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model analysis, indicating that the presence of carotid plaque enhancement was a significant independent predictor of recurrent stroke. When plaque enhancement was added to the ESRS, the HR for stroke recurrence in the high-risk group compared to that in the low-risk group (2.188; 95% CI, 0.025-3.388) was greater than that of the ESRS alone (1.706; 95% CI, 0.810-9.014). A net of 32.0% of the recurrence group was reclassified upward appropriately by the addition of plaque enhancement to the ESRS. Conclusion: Carotid plaque enhancement was a significant and independent predictor of stroke recurrence in patients with ischemic stroke. Furthermore, the addition of plaque enhancement improved the risk stratification capability of the ESRS.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.395-405
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• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate models using radiomics features on a native T1 map from cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to predict left ventricular reverse remodeling (LVRR) in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM). Materials and Methods: Data from 274 patients with NIDCM who underwent CMR imaging with T1 mapping at Severance Hospital between April 2012 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Radiomic features were extracted from the native T1 maps. LVRR was determined using echocardiography performed ≥ 180 days after the CMR. The radiomics score was generated using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression models. Clinical, clinical + late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), clinical + radiomics, and clinical + LGE + radiomics models were built using a logistic regression method to predict LVRR. For internal validation of the result, bootstrap validation with 1000 resampling iterations was performed, and the optimism-corrected area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was computed. Model performance was compared using AUC with the DeLong test and bootstrap. Results: Among 274 patients, 123 (44.9%) were classified as LVRR-positive and 151 (55.1%) as LVRR-negative. The optimism-corrected AUC of the radiomics model in internal validation with bootstrapping was 0.753 (95% CI, 0.698-0.813). The clinical + radiomics model revealed a higher optimism-corrected AUC than that of the clinical + LGE model (0.794 vs. 0.716; difference, 0.078 [99% CI, 0.003-0.151]). The clinical + LGE + radiomics model significantly improved the prediction of LVRR compared with the clinical + LGE model (optimism-corrected AUC of 0.811 vs. 0.716; difference, 0.095 [99% CI, 0.022-0.139]). Conclusion: The radiomic characteristics extracted from a non-enhanced T1 map may improve the prediction of LVRR and offer added value over traditional LGE in patients with NIDCM. Additional external validation research is required.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2024

This paper investigated the impact of economic cycles in the shipbuilding industry on managerial performance of marine paint and coatings firms. As part of the upstream to ship construction, the marine equipment industry plays a critical role in determining the competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry. Despite a close interaction between the two sectors, the majority of research on the marine equipment industry has highlighted securing competitiveness edge and developing advanced technologies, paying little academic attention to the relationship between shipbuilding and managerial performance. In this regard, this paper examined how economic cycles in shipbuilding affected growth and profitability of marine paint and coatings firms. To this end, managerial performances of six marine paint and coatings firms for the period of 2003-2022 were analyzed in panel regressions. Results indicated that the shipbuilding economic cycle proxied by delivery amounts of Korean shipyards was positively associated with growth and profitability of marine paint and coatings firms. However, there was divergence in statistical significance by shipbuilding indicators. While coefficients of compensated gross tonnage, gross tonnage, and monetary amount were statistically significant, that of deadweight tonnage was not. Findings of this study imply that managerial performances of marine paint and coatings firms are affected by the amount of value added from the shipbuilding industry rather than its absolute size.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.62-72
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• 2024

Although the Paris Agreement in 2015 aimed to limit global temperature increases to below 2℃ and eventually to 1.5℃ to address the climate crisis, global temperature continues to rise. Developed countries have proposed a circular economy as a major strategy to tackle this issue. Detailed implementation methods include reusing, remanufacturing, recycling, and energy recovery. Remanufacturing has a greater potential to achieve high added value and carbon neutrality than other resource circulation methods. However, currently, no standardized method for quantitatively evaluating the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction effects of remanufacturing exists. This study compares and analyzes recent research trends since 2020 on the calculation of GHG emission reduction effects from remanufacturing. It also examines international standards for environmental impact assessment, including GHGs and environmental performance labeling systems. This study derives the key factors for standardizing the calculation of the GHG emission reduction effects of remanufactured products.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.633-644
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• 2024

This study investigated the fermentation characteristics and quality attributes of ale beer brewed with MBA grapes to enhance the diversity of Korean domestic ale beers. The grapes were added to the wort in two forms: must and juice, at ratios of 10% and 20%. The results showed that while ale beer with 20% grape addition began fermentation a day later, all samples completed fermentation well on the sixth day. Increasing MBA grape content lowered the pH and increased total acidity and malic acid content without significantly affecting the sour taste. Higher grape addition also decreased the beer's IBU and bitterness scores in sensory evaluation. The addition of must addition enhanced redness due to anthocyanins, significantly increasing color intensity and EBC value of ale beer. Ale beer with the addition of must exhibited higher antioxidant capacities in total phenolic compound content, DPPH radical scavenging, and FRAP activities compared to that with the addition of juice. Sensory evaluation indicated that ale beer with 20% juice addition was preferred for its color, aroma, sweetness, body, and overall preference. The addition of MBA must improved antioxidant capacity, but ale beer with 20% juice had superior sensory qualities.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.601-611
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• 2024

The objective of this study was to integrate onion juice into traditional Korean soy sauce and to evaluate the sterilization conditions necessary for commercialization. As the sterilization temperature increased, pH decreased and titratable acidity increased. A reduction in °Brix was observed post-sterilization, from 37.37 °Brix in untreated soy sauce to 36.67-36.77 °Brix. In terms of chromaticity, the L value declined over the storage period while the a and b values increased. The quercetin component exhibited light sensitivity, with no significant difference observed in the sample on the 60th day. Neither Bacillus cereus nor Clostridium perfringens were detected, and the total bacterial count was comparable to that of commercially available soy sauce. This indicates that samples sterilized at 85℃ for 30 minutes fall within a safe quality range. Sensory evaluation revealed that samples sterilized at 85℃ for 30 minutes exhibited consistently high ratings.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.169-190
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• 2023

Uzbekistan, one of the top five cotton-producing countries in the world, primarily focuses its textile and fashion industry on raw cotton exports and the sewing industry. For Uzbekistan to achieve high added value, it is essential for the textile and fashion industry, which is currently at the CMT(cut, make, and trim) stage, to upgrade to OEM (original equipment manufacturing), ODM (original design manufacturing), and OBM (original brand manufacturing). South Korea recognizes Uzbekistan as a potential manufacturing base and trading partner and has invested Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds for the development of Uzbekistan's textiles and apparel sector. This study aims to evaluate Uzbekistan's fashion higher education in the context of global competitiveness and measure the need and prospects for education ODA from the Korean government in this field. Comprehensive investigations, including surveys of academics, industry experts, and government officials, in-depth interviews, and focus group interviews, were conducted to understand Uzbekistan's current fashion education environment. According to the research results, despite the textile and fashion sectors playing a pivotal role in the Uzbek economy, there is room for improvement in the curricula and teaching and learning methods of the fashion higher education programs. This study holds significance as foundational data for establishing education ODA strategies.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.64-76
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• 2024

This study analyzed the physicochemical properties and rheology of frozen condensed skim milk during thawing at 5 room temperature (20℃). The viscosity of the condensed milk was 80 cps (21.5℃) immediately after manufacture, and this value was decreased to 0 cps (21. 5℃) during storage at day 7. The particle sizes of the condensed skim milk were 0.128 mm just after manufacture, and 0.522 and 0.818 mm at days 3 and 5 of thawing at 20℃, respectively. Condensed skim milk with no temperature abuse had lower acidity than those stored at room temperature on the 3rd and 7th days. Additionally, a sandy texture was observed as the thawing period increased. Based on the comprehensive results of this study, when frozen condensed skim milk is added to a product as a raw material, the longer the thawing period at room temperature, the longer the ice crystals inside melt and become water drips. Quality defects, such as weight loss, decreased pH, protein denaturation, and texture deterioration, are expected to occur.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.3307-3314
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• 2024

For traditional spent fuel shielding materials, due to physical and chemical defects and cost constraints, they have been unable to meet the needs. Therefore, this paper carries out the first discussion on the application and performance of bismuth in neutron shielding by establishing Monte Carlo simulation on the neutron flux model of shielded spent fuel. Firstly, functional fillers such as bismuth oxide, lead oxide, boron oxide, gadolinium oxide and tungsten oxide are added to the matrices to compare the shielding rates of aluminum alloy matrix and silicone rubber matrix. The shielding rate of silicone rubber mixture is higher than aluminum alloy mixture, reaching more than 56%. The optimal addition proportion of bismuth oxide and lead oxide is 30%, and the neutron radiation protection efficiency reaches 60%. Then, the mass attenuation coefficients of bismuth oxide, lead oxide, boron oxide, gadolinium oxide and tungsten oxide in silicone rubber matrix are simulated with the change of functional fillers proportion and neutron energy. This simulation result shows that the mixture with functional fillers has good shielding performance for low energy neutrons, but poor shielding effect for high energy neutrons. Finally, in order to further evaluate the possibility of replacing lead oxide with bismuth oxide as shielding material, the half-value layers and various properties of bismuth oxide and lead oxide are compared. The results show that the shielding properties of bismuth oxide and lead oxide are basically the same, and the mechanical properties, heat resistance, radiation resistance and environmental protection of bismuth oxide are better than that of lead oxide. Therefore, in the case of neutron source strengths in the range of 0.01-6 MeV and secondary gamma rays produced below 2.5 MeV, bismuth can replace lead in neutron shielding applications.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.63-74
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• 2024

Ths study aims to analyze the economic impact of smart city construction project and operation project on the regions. The study used case studies to analyze the economic impact of smart city construction projects such as Busan EDC and Sejong 5-1, and operation projects such as Jeonju and Daejeon smart city plans. The study used a regional input-output model as its analysis model. The data used for the analysis was the 2015 regional input-output table published by the Bank of Korea. The industry was reclassified from 83 mid-category industries into 8 industries. The analysis results are summarized as follows. First, the construction project of smart cities was found to have a spillover effect (production inducement effect) not only in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, but also in the surrounding areas of the target regions such as Gyeongnam (Busan EDC) and Chungnam (Sejong 5-1). Second, smart city operation projects had the greatest impact (production, value-added and employment) on the target areas (Daejeon and Jeonju), but the proportion of economic impact in regions other than Seoul and Gyeonggi was low. Third, the ripple effect was more concentrated in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions when the smart city operation project was promoted rather than the smart city construction project. This is due to the concentration of major smart city-related companies, industrial clusters, and research and development infrastructure in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions.