• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권6호
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• pp.1942-1946
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• 2021

Gadolinium oxysulfide (GOS) is regarded as a novel scintillator for the realization of ultra-high spatial resolution in neutron imaging. Monte Carlo simulations of GOS scintillator show that the capability of its spatial resolution is towards the micron level. Through the time-of-flight method, the light output of a GOS scintillator was measured to be 217 photons per captured neutron, ~100 times lower than that of a ZnS/LiF:Ag scintillator. A detector prototype has been developed to evaluate the imaging solution with the GOS scintillator by neutron beam tests. The measured spatial resolution is ~36 ㎛ (28 line pairs/mm) at the modulation transfer function (MTF) of 10%, mainly limited by the low experimental collimation ratio of the beamline. The weak light output of the GOS scintillator requires an enormous increase in the neutron flux to reduce the exposure time for practical applications.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제32권7호
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• pp.996-1006
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• 2019

Objective: This study aimed to gain deeper insights into the dynamic changes in spoilage fungi populations during fermentation and the influence of traditional additives on silage quality. Methods: Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) was prepared without any additive (control), and with the addition of 0.5% salt, and 0.5% salt-0.2% sugar mixture. The fungal community was then determined using a classic culturing method and high-throughput sequencing at 0, 5, 15, and 60 days after ensiling. Results: The results showed that the fungal community of elephant grass silage varied significantly between the natural fermentation without any additive and the two additive groups. The diversity and relative abundance of spoilage molds in the control group were much higher than those in the two treatment groups (p<0.05). Three species of yeasts (Candida sp., Pichia sp., Trichosporon sp.) and four spoilage molds (Fusarium sp., Aspergillus sp., Muco sp. and Penicillin sp.) were the predominant fungi in elephant grass during natural fermentation from 0 to 60 days, which were found to be significantly decreased in salt and sugar additive groups (p<0.05). Meanwhile, the diversity and relative abundance of undesirable molds in the 0.5%-salt additive group were the lowest among all groups. Conclusion: Adding salt and sugar, particularly 0.5% salt, is a promising effective approach to reduce the amount of undesirable fungi thus, improving the silage quality of elephant grass in northern Vietnam.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제64권2호
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• pp.297-308
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• 2021

Objective : Shunt infection is a common complication while treating hydrocephalus. The antibiotic-impregnated shunt catheter (AISC) was designed to reduce shunt infection rate. A meta-analysis was conducted to study the effectiveness of AISCs in reduction of shunt infection in terms of age, follow-up time and high-risk patient population. Methods : This study reviewed literature from three databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (from 2000 to March 2019). Clinical studies from controlled trials for shunt operation were included in this analysis. A subgroup analysis was performed based on the patient's age, follow-up time and high-risk population. The fixed effect in RevMan 5.3 software (Cochrane Collaboration) was used for this meta-analysis. Results : This study included 19 controlled clinical trials including 10105 operations. The analysis demonstrated that AISC could reduce the infection rate in shunt surgery compared to standard shunt catheter (non-AISC) from 8.13% to 4.09% (odds ratio [OR], 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40-0.58; p=0.01; I2=46%). Subgroup analysis of different age groups showed that AISC had significant antimicrobial effects in all three groups (adult, infant, and adolescent). Follow-up time analysis showed that AISC was effective in preventing early shunt infections (within 6 months after implant). AISC is more effective in high-risk population (OR, 0.24;95% CI, 0.14-0.40; p=0.60; I2=0%) than in general patient population. Conclusion : The results of meta-analysis indicated that AISC is an effective method for reducing shunt infection. We recommend that AISC should be considered for use in infants and high-risk groups. For adult patients, the choice for AISC could be determined based on the treatment cost.

• 한국전통조경학회지
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.33-39
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• 2011

본 연구의 목적은 월성에 분포하는 산책로를 체계적으로 조사 및 분석함으로써 산책로에 대한 보전과 복원방안 수립을 위한 기초 자료제공에 있다. 월성을 중심으로 내부 동선 5개, 외부동선 6개 총 2,415m, 97개 측점에서 산책로 상태를 조사한 결과, 평균 산책로 내부폭 2.2m, 나지 발생폭 2.56m, 최대 침식깊이 9cm로 나타났고, 외부 산책로폭 0.68m, 나지발생폭 0.85m, 최대 침식깊이 34cm로 나타났다. 훼손유형 발생빈도는 뿌리 노출 현상(48%)이 가장 많은 발생빈도를 보였고, 다음으로 암석 노출(40%), 노면 세굴현상(9%) 등의 순이었다. 산책로 주변으로 확산되는 훼손의 진행단계와 범위를 파악하기 위한 환경 피해도 조사 결과, 내부동선 환경피해도는 좌측 2.3, 중앙 4.1, 우측 2.5로 나타났으며, 외부동선 환경피해도는 좌측 3.1, 중앙 4.3, 우측 3.5로 분석되었다. 종합적으로 볼 때 월성 산책로의 훼손상태는 우려할만한 수준은 아니었으나, 입지조건이나 이용압력의 증가 추세를 감안할 때 현 상태를 유지할 수 있는 관리방안이 조속히 마련되어야 할 것이다.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.680-691
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• 2021

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of fermented cottonseed meal (FCSM) on growth performance, carcass traits, and fat deposition in white-feather broiler chickens. Methods: A total of 480 male one-day-old white-feather broiler chickens were selected randomly and divided into four groups with six replicates of 20 chickens in each. The experimental chickens were fed diets including 3%, 6%, or 9% FCSM fermented by Candida tropicalis until 42 days old. In the experiment, the chickens of the control group were fed soybean meal. Results: FCSM supplementation linearly decreased the feed conversion ratio from d 15 to 21 and d 36 to 42, respectively (p<0.05). The percentage of carcass and semi-eviscerate increased in response to dietary FCSM supplementation at d 21 (p<0.05). The percentage of eviscerated and semi-eviscerate of 3FCSM was higher than that in other groups at d 35 (p<0.05). At the age of 42 d, the percentage of carcass increased in a quadratic way among increasing FCSM in diets (p<0.05). The subcutaneous fat thickness linearly decreased with the increasing levels of FCSM at d 21 (p<0.05). Gompertz and Logistic functions provided a better fit on abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat, respectively. The best fitted equation predicted that the maximum growth rate of abdominal fat weight and subcutaneous fat thickness occurred at d 28. FCSM had no significant effects on the shape of growth curve of abdominal fat weight and subcutaneous fat thickness, but reduced the height of the curve. Birds receiving the 6FCSM diet for 21 d had smaller adipocyte surface and lower serum glucose as well as triglyceride concentration. Conclusion: FCSM is beneficial for broiler chickens as it positively affects their growth and carcass in addition to altering their fat deposition.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제32권1호
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• pp.111-123
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• 2023

The slope of an open cut tunnel is located above the exit of the Leijia tunnel on the Changgan high-speed railway. During the excavation of the open cut tunnel foundation pit, the slope slipped twice, a large landslide of 92500 m³ formed. The landslide body and unstable slope body not only caused the foundation pit of the open cut tunnel to be buried and the anchor piles to be damaged but also directly threatened the operational safety of the later high-speed railway. Therefore, to study the stability change in the slope of the open cut tunnel under heavy rain and excavation conditions, a 3D numerical calculation model of the slope is carried out by Midas GTS software, the deformation mechanism is analyzed, anti-sliding measures are proposed, and the effectiveness of the anti-sliding measures is analyzed according to the field monitoring results. The results show that when rainfall occurs, rainwater collects in the open cut tunnel area, resulting in a transient saturation zone on the slope on the right side of the open cut tunnel, which reduces the shear strength of the slope soil; the excavation at the slope toe reduces the anti-sliding capacity of the slope toe. Under the combined action of excavation and rainfall, when the soil above the top of the anchor pile is excavated, two potential sliding surfaces are bounded by the top of the excavation area, and the shear outlet is located at the top of the anchor pile. After the excavation of the open cut tunnel, the potential sliding surface is mainly concentrated at the lower part of the downhill area, and the shear outlet moves down to the bottom of the open cut tunnel. Based on the deformation characteristics and the failure mechanism of the landslides, comprehensive control measures, including interim emergency mitigation measures and long-term mitigation measures, are proposed. The field monitoring results further verify the accuracy of the anti-sliding mechanism analysis and the effectiveness of anti-sliding measures.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제47권6호
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• pp.755-765
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• 2023

Background: Caveolin-1, the scaffolding protein of cholesterol-rich invaginations, plays an important role in store-operated Ca²⁺ influx and its phosphorylation at Tyr14 (p-caveolin-1) is vital to mobilize protection against myocardial ischemia (MI) injury. SOCE, comprising STIM1, ORAI1 and TRPC1, contributes to intracellular Ca²⁺ ([Ca²⁺]_i) accumulation in cardiomyocytes. The purified extract of steamed Panax ginseng (EPG) attenuated [Ca²⁺]_i overload against MI injury. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of EPG affecting p-caveolin-1 to further mediate SOCE/[Ca²⁺]_i against MI injury in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and a rat model. Methods: PP2, an inhibitor of p-caveolin-1, was used. Cell viability, [Ca²⁺]_i concentration were analyzed in cardiomyocytes. In rats, myocardial infarct size, pathological damages, apoptosis and cardiac fibrosis were evaluated, p-caveolin-1 and STIM1 were detected by immunofluorescence, and the levels of caveolin-1, STIM1, ORAI1 and TRPC1 were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot. And, release of LDH, cTnI and BNP was measured. Results: EPG, ginsenosides accounting for 57.96%, suppressed release of LDH, cTnI and BNP, and protected cardiomyocytes by inhibiting Ca²⁺ influx. And, EPG significantly relieved myocardial infarct size, cardiac apoptosis, fibrosis, and ultrastructure abnormality. Moreover, EPG negatively regulated SOCE via increasing p-caveolin-1 protein, decreasing ORAI1 mRNA and protein levels of ORAI1, TRPC1 and STIM1. More importantly, inhibition of the p-caveolin-1 significantly suppressed all of the above cardioprotection of EPG. Conclusions: Caveolin-1 phosphorylation is involved in the protective effects of EPG against MI injury via increasing p-caveolin-1 to negatively regulate SOCE/[Ca²⁺]_i.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제21권7호
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• pp.869-879
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• 2020

Objective: To evaluate the performance of a convolutional neural network (CNN) model that can automatically detect and classify rib fractures, and output structured reports from computed tomography (CT) images. Materials and Methods: This study included 1079 patients (median age, 55 years; men, 718) from three hospitals, between January 2011 and January 2019, who were divided into a monocentric training set (n = 876; median age, 55 years; men, 582), five multicenter/multiparameter validation sets (n = 173; median age, 59 years; men, 118) with different slice thicknesses and image pixels, and a normal control set (n = 30; median age, 53 years; men, 18). Three classifications (fresh, healing, and old fracture) combined with fracture location (corresponding CT layers) were detected automatically and delivered in a structured report. Precision, recall, and F1-score were selected as metrics to measure the optimum CNN model. Detection/diagnosis time, precision, and sensitivity were employed to compare the diagnostic efficiency of the structured report and that of experienced radiologists. Results: A total of 25054 annotations (fresh fracture, 10089; healing fracture, 10922; old fracture, 4043) were labelled for training (18584) and validation (6470). The detection efficiency was higher for fresh fractures and healing fractures than for old fractures (F1-scores, 0.849, 0.856, 0.770, respectively, p = 0.023 for each), and the robustness of the model was good in the five multicenter/multiparameter validation sets (all mean F1-scores > 0.8 except validation set 5 [512 x 512 pixels; F1-score = 0.757]). The precision of the five radiologists improved from 80.3% to 91.1%, and the sensitivity increased from 62.4% to 86.3% with artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis. On average, the diagnosis time of the radiologists was reduced by 73.9 seconds. Conclusion: Our CNN model for automatic rib fracture detection could assist radiologists in improving diagnostic efficiency, reducing diagnosis time and radiologists' workload.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.466-478
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• 2022

Objective: ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT is often used for detecting malignancy in patients with newly diagnosed hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), with acceptable sensitivity but relatively low specificity. The aim of this study was to improve the diagnostic ability of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in identifying malignancy in patients with HLH by combining ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and clinical parameters. Materials and Methods: Ninety-seven patients (age ≥ 14 years) with secondary HLH were retrospectively reviewed and divided into the derivation (n = 71) and validation (n = 26) cohorts according to admission time. In the derivation cohort, 22 patients had malignancy-associated HLH (M-HLH) and 49 patients had non-malignancy-associated HLH (NM-HLH). Data on pretreatment ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and laboratory results were collected. The variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test or Pearson's chi-square test, and a nomogram for predicting M-HLH was constructed using multivariable binary logistic regression. The predictors were also ranked using decision-tree analysis. The nomogram and decision tree were validated in the validation cohort (10 patients with M-HLH and 16 patients with NM-HLH). Results: The ratio of the maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the lymph nodes to that of the mediastinum, the ratio of the SUVmax of bone lesions or bone marrow to that of the mediastinum, and age were selected for constructing the model. The nomogram showed good performance in predicting M-HLH in the validation cohort, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.875 (95% confidence interval, 0.686-0.971). At an appropriate cutoff value, the sensitivity and specificity for identifying M-HLH were 90% (9/10) and 68.8% (11/16), respectively. The decision tree integrating the same variables showed 70% (7/10) sensitivity and 93.8% (15/16) specificity for identifying M-HLH. In comparison, visual analysis of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT images demonstrated 100% (10/10) sensitivity and 12.5% (2/16) specificity. Conclusion: ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT may be a practical technique for identifying M-HLH. The model constructed using ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT features and age was able to detect malignancy with better accuracy than visual analysis of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT images.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.52-65
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: Epithelial-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) is one of the origins of myofibroblasts in renal interstitial fibrosis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) alleviating EMT has been proved, but the concrete mechanism is unclear. To explore the mechanism, serum-free MSCs conditioned medium (SF-MSCs-CM) was used to treat rat renal tubular epithelial cells (NRK-52E) fibrosis induced by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) which ameliorated EMT. Methods and Results: Galectin-3 knockdown (Gal-3 KD) and overexpression (Gal-3 OE) lentiviral vectors were established and transfected into NRK-52E. NRK-52E fibrosis model was induced by TGF-β1 and treated with the SF-MSCs-CM for 24 h after modelling. Fibrosis and autophagy related indexes were detected by western blot and immunocytochemistry. In model group, the expressions of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), fibronectin (FN), Galectin-3, Snail, Kim-1, and the ratios of P-Akt/Akt, P-GSK3β/GSK3β, P-PI3K/PI3K, P-mTOR/mTOR, TIMP1/MMP9, and LC3B-II/I were obviously increased, and E-Cadherin (E-cad) and P62 decreased significantly compared with control group. SF-MSCs-CM showed an opposite trend after treatment compared with model group. Whether in Gal-3 KD or Gal-3 OE NRK-52E cells, SF-MSCs-CM also showed similar trends. However, the effects of anti-fibrosis and enhanced autophagy in Gal-3 KD cells were more obvious than those in Gal-3 OE cells. Conclusions: SF-MSCs-CM probably alleviated the EMT via inhibiting Galectin-3/Akt/GSK3β/Snail pathway. Meanwhile, Gal-3 KD possibly enhanced autophagy via inhibiting Galectin-3/Akt/mTOR pathway, which synergistically ameliorated renal fibrosis. Targeting galectin-3 may be a potential target for the treatment of renal fibrosis.