• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.2650-2658
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• 2024

In this paper, we use a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation based on Geant4 to investigate the influence of four parameters on the spatial resolution of the lens-coupled lutetium yttrium orthosilicate (LYSO) scintillator, including the thickness of the LYSO scintillator, the F-number and minification factor of the lens, and the incident position of the gamma-rays. Simulation results show that when the gamma-rays are incident along the lens axis, the smaller the thickness, the larger the F-number, the larger the minification factor, the higher the spatial resolution, with an isotropic point spread function (PSF). As the incident position of the gamma-rays deviates from the lens axis, the spatial resolution decreases, and the PSF becomes anisotropic. In addition, by analyzing the whole physical process of the lens-coupled LYSO scintillator from gamma-rays to secondary electrons to fluorescence photons, we aim to provide a detailed analysis of the influence of each parameter on the spatial resolution. The results show that the PSF of the secondary electrons energy deposition is almost constant in the simulation, which determines the upper limit of the spatial resolution. Meanwhile, the dispersion process of the fluorescence photons can explain the reason why each parameter affects the spatial resolution.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.3595-3604
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• 2015

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been one of the most fatal malignant tumors worldwide and its associated morbidity and mortality remain of significant concern. Based on in-depth reviews of serological diagnosis of HCC, in addition to AFP, there are other biomarkers: Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive AFP (AFP-L3), descarboxyprothrombin (DCP), tyrosine kinase with Ig and eprdermal growth factor (EGF) homology domains 2 (TIE2)-espressing monocytes (TEMs), glypican-3 (GPC3), Golgi protein 73 (GP73), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) have been proposed as biomarkers for the early detection of HCC. The diagnosis of HCC is primarily based on noninvasive standard imaging methods, such as ultrasound (US), dynamic multiphasic multidetector-row CT (MDCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Some experts advocate gadolinium diethyl-enetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) MRI and contrast-enhanced US as the promising imaging madalities of choice. With regard to recent advancements in tissue markers, many cuting-edge technologies using genome-wide DNA microarrays, qRT-PCR, and proteomic and inmunostaining studies have been implemented in an attempt to identify markers for early diagnosis of HCC. Only less than half of HCC patients at initial diagnosis are at an early stage treatable with curative options: local ablation, surgical resection, or liver transplant. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is considered the standard of care with palliation for intermediate stage HCC. Recent innovative procedures using drug-eluting-beads and radioembolization using Yttrium-90 may exhibit beneficial effects in HCC treatment. During the past few years, several molecular targeted agents have been evaluated in clinical trials in advanced HCC. Sorafenib is currently the only approved systemic treatment for HCC. It has been approved for the therapy of asymptomatic HCC patients with well-preserved liver function who are not candidates for potentially curative treatments, such as surgical resection or liver transplantation. In the USA, Europe and particularly Japan, hepatitis C virus (HCV) related HCC accounts for most liver cancer, as compared with Asia-Pacific regions, where hepatitis B virus (HBV) may play a more important role in HCC development. HBV vaccination, while a vaccine is not yet available against HCV, has been recognized as a best primary prevention method for HBV-related HCC, although in patients already infected with HBV or HCV, secondary prevention with antiviral therapy is still a reasonable strategy. In addition to HBV and HCV, attention should be paid to other relevant HCC risk factors, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease due to obesity and diabetes, heavy alcohol consumption, and prolonged aflatoxin exposure. Interestingly, coffee and vitamin K2 have been proven to provide protective effects against HCC. Regarding tertiary prevention of HCC recurrence after surgical resection, addition of antiviral treatment has proven to be a rational strategy.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2009

The effect of ${Y_2}{O_3}$ as a sintering additive on thermal conductivity and microstructure of pressureless sintered AIN ceramics was investigated at sintering temperature range from 1,700 to $1,900^{\circ}C$. ${Y_2}{O_3}$ added AIN specimens showed higher densification rate than pure AIN because of the formation of the yttrium aluminates secondary phase by reaction of ${Y_2}{O_3}$ and ${Al_2}{O_3}$ of AIN surface. The thermal conductivity of AIN specimens was promoted by the addition of ${Y_2}{O_3}$ in spite of the formation of secondary phase in AIN gram boundaries and grain boundary triple junction, because ${Y_2}{O_3}$ addition could reduced the oxygen contents in AIN lattice which is primary factor of thermal conductivity. The them1al conductivity of AIN specimens was promoted by increasing sintering time because the increases of average grain size and the elimination of secondary phases from the grain boundary due to the evaporation. Particularly. the thermal conductivity of AIN specimen sintered at $1,900^{\circ}C$ for 5 hours improved over 20 %. $141\;Wm^{-1}K^{-1}$, compared with the specimen sintered at $1,900^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2000

The $Pb_{0.94}Y_{0.04}[(Zr_{0.6}Sn_{0.4})_{0.915}Ti_{0.085}]O_3$ ceramics which corresponded to the antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase boundary composition were prepared for digital-type-piezoelectric/electrostrictive device application. Their dielectric, field-induced polarization (P) and strain (X) behaviors were studied with variations in sintering condition and excess PbO content. The orthorhombic structure of specimens was hardly affected either by excess PbO addition or sintering temperature. With increasing excess PbO content, grains tended to be smaller and rounded ones, and the optimum sintering temperature was lowered. Excess PbO addition stabilized the antiferroelectric phase of the specimen effectively, which was confirmed by P-E and X-E analyses. Also the digital-type-strain character was found to be enhanced despite of slight increase in phase transition (AFE-FE) field and electrical resistivity, and decrease in maximum strain. These results were explained in terms of possible lattice defects and domain wall motion.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2007

Rare earth(RE) is a common name indicating 17 of specific elements including 15 of lanthanides, scandium (Sc), and yttrium(Y). This study was conducted to compare the effect of RE to growth stimulating antibiotic products in broiler diet. One of the products commonly used in broiler feeding, Chlorotetracycline(CTC) was used at a level of 200ppm for the antibiotic treatment and replaced by 100ppm RE for the RE treatment. Dietary addition of RE and CTC showed similar effects in improving broiler growth and feed conversion each other, and those were significantly better when compared to those of the control group(P<0.05). Abdominal fats of chicks fed RE were significantly lower than others(P<0.05). Intestinal E. coli and total microbial numbers were reduced by RE addition(P<0.05), but the number of Lactobacillus was not affected. The number of Salmonella was also decreased but it was not significant.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to confirm the feasibility of imaging of therapy region from the boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) using the measurement of the prompt gamma ray depending on the neutron flux. Through the Monte Carlo simulation, we performed the verification of physical phenomena from the BNCT; (1) the effects of neutron according to the existence of boron uptake region (BUR), (2) the internal and external measurement of prompt gamma ray dose, (3) the energy spectrum by the prompt gamma ray. All simulation results were deducted using the Monte Carlo n-particle extended (MCNPX, Ver.2.6.0, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA) simulation tool. The virtual water phantom, thermal neutron source, and BURs were simulated using the MCNPX. The energy of the thermal neutron source was defined as below 1 eV with 2,000,000 n/sec flux. The prompt gamma ray was measured with the direction of beam path in the water phantom. The detector material was defined as the lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (Lu0,6Y1,4Si0,5:Ce; LYSO) scintillator with lead shielding for the collimation. The BUR's height was 5 cm with the 28 frames (bin: 0.18 cm) for the dose calculation. The neutron flux was decreased dramatically at the shallow region of BUR. In addition, the dose of prompt gamma ray was confirmed at the 9 cm depth from water surface, which is the start point of the BUR. In the energy spectrum, the prompt gamma ray peak of the 478 keV was appeared clearly with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the 41 keV (energy resolution: 8.5%). In conclusion, the therapy region can be monitored by the gamma camera and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using the measurement of the prompt gamma ray during the BNCT.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.570-576
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• 2001

The europium doped yttrium oxybromide phosphors were synthesized by solid-state reaction method. The YOBr: $Eu^{3+}$ phosphor showed a strong and narrow red emission band at 621 nm and maximum emission intensity obtained when 0.05 mol Eu ions were doped. The red emission of $Eu^{3+}$ originated from $^5D_0$ ${\rightarrow}$ $^7F_2$electric dipole transition. In order to investigate on photoluminescence behavior, several experimental skills and numerical fittings are conducted to the YOBr: $Eu^{3+}$ phosphor. The emission spectrum was measured in the UV range and then decay curve of $^5D_0$ ${\rightarrow}$ $^7F_j$transitions was examined. The energy interaction type of YOBr: $Eu^{3+}$ phosphor was dipole-dipole interaction. In addition to the calculating by critical concentration, the critical distance ($R_0$) was calculated by decay curve fitting parameter from Inokuti-Hirayamas equation, and spectral overlap method. The critical distance was 17.03, 10.51 and 7.18$\AA$ for those methods, respectively. As considering systematic error of measurements, these values are within the same order, so that the above fitting methods are plausible and recommendable.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.410-416
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• 2015

Recently, a new $Y_2O_3$ coating deposited using the EB-PVD method has been developed for erosion resistant applications in fluorocarbon plasma environments. In this study, surface crack formation in the $Y_2O_3$ coating has been analyzed in terms of residual stress and elastic modulus. The coating, deposited on silicon substrate at temperatures higher than $600^{\circ}C$, showed itself to be sound, without surface cracks. When the residual stress of the coating was measured using the Stoney formula, it was found to be considerably lower than the value calculated using the elastic modulus and thermal expansion coefficient of bulk $Y_2O_3$. In addition, amorphous $SiO_2$ and crystalline $Al_2O_3$ coatings were similarly prepared and their residual stresses were compared to the calculated values. From nano-indentation measurement, the elastic modulus of the $Y_2O_3$ coating in the direction parallel to the coating surface was found to be lower than that in the normal direction. The lower modulus in the parallel direction was confirmed independently using the load-deflection curves of a micro-cantilever made of $Y_2O_3$ coating and from the average residual stress-temperature curve of the coated sample. The elastic modulus in these experiments was around 33 ~ 35 GPa, which is much lower than that of a sintered bulk sample. Thus, this low elastic modulus, which may come from the columnar feather-like structure of the coating, contributed to decreasing the average residual tensile stress. Finally, in terms of toughness and thermal cycling stability, the implications of the lowered elastic modulus are discussed.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.113-117
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• 2009

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM. Recently Yttrium-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) has been introduced due to superior flexural strength and fracture toughness compared to other dental ceramic systems. Although zirconia has outstanding mechanical properties, the phenomenon of decrease in the life-time of zirconia resulted from degradation in flexural strength after low temperature aging has been reported. PURPOSE. The objective of this study was to investigate degradation of flexural strength of Y-TZP ceramics after various low temperature aging treatments and to evaluate the phase stability and micro-structural change after aging by using X-ray diffraction analysis and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). MATERIAL AND METHODS. Y-TZP blocks of Vita In-Ceram YZ (Vita Zahnfabrik, Bad $S\ddot{a}ckingen$, Germany) were prepared in 40 mm (length) $\times$ 4 mm (width) $\times$ 3 mm (height) samples. Specimens were artificially aged in distilled water by heat-treatment at a temperature of 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, and $225^{\circ}C$ for 10 hours, in order to induce the phase transformation at the surface. To measure the mechanical property, the specimens were subjected to a four-point bending test using a universal testing machine (Instron model 3365; Instron, Canton, Mass, USA). In addition, X-ray diffraction analysis (DMAX 2500; Rigaku, Tokyo, Japan) and SEM (Hitachi s4700; Jeol Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) were performed to estimate the phase transformation. The statistical analysis was done using SAS 9.1.3 (SAS institute, USA). The flexural strength data of the experimental groups were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and to detect statistically significant differences ($\alpha$= .05). RESULTS. The mean flexural strength of sintered Vita In-Ceram YZ without autoclaving was 798 MPa. When applied aging temperature at below $125^{\circ}C$ for 10 hours, the flexural strength of Vita In-Ceram YZ increased up to 1,161 MPa. However, at above $150^{\circ}C$, the flexural strength started to decrease. Although low temperature aging caused the tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation related to temperature, the minimum flexural strength was above 700 MPa. CONCLUSION. The monoclinic phase started to appear after aging treatment above $100^{\circ}C$. With the higher aging temperature, the fraction of monoclinic phase increased. The ratio of monoclinic/tetragonal + monoclinic phase reached a plateau value, circa 75% above $175^{\circ}C$. The point of monoclinic concentration at which the flexural strength begins to decrease was between 12% and 54%.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.153-157
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• 2023

In order to manufacture a semiconductor circuit, etching, cleaning, and deposition processes are repeated. During these processes, the inside of the processing chamber is exposed to corrosive plasma. Therefore, the coating of the inner wall of the semiconductor equipment with a plasma-resistant material has been attempted to minimize the etching of the coating and particle contaminant generation. In this study, we mixed AlF₃ powder with the solid-state reacted yttrium oxyfluoride (YOF) in order to increase plasma-etching resistance of the plasma spray coated YOF layer. Effects of the mixing ratio of AlF₃ with YOF powder on crystal structure, microstructure and chemical composition were investigated using XRD and FE-SEM. The plasma-etching ratios of the plasma-spray coated layers were calculated and correlation with AlF₃ mixing ratio was analyzed.