• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.822-832
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• 2023

This study investigates the effectiveness of CA (controlled atmosphere) containers in maintaining the freshness of exported melons. The melons were harvested on June 5, 2023, in the Yeongam area of Jeollanam-do, Korea. The CA container was loaded with melon samples packed in an export box. The temperature inside the container was set at 4℃, while the gas composition was set at 5% oxygen, 12% carbon dioxide, and 83% nintrogen. Following two weeks of simulated transportation, quality analysis was conducted at 10℃. The melons were inoculated with spore suspensions, and the decay rate was determined to investigate the effect of the gas composition inside the CA container on suppressing the occurrence of Penicillium oxalicum in melons. The results were compared with a Reefer container set at the same temperature. The samples transported in the CA container exhibited lower weight loss. The melon pulp softening, respiration rate, and ethylene production were slower using the CA container. Moreover, the decay rate during the distribution period in the CA container was lower than in the Reefer container. In contrast, the firmness of melons transported in the Reefer container decreased significantly (from 9.03N to 5.18N) immediately after transportation. The soluble solid content (SSC) of melons transported in the Reefer container also decreased rapidly. The results suggested that the CA container is the optimal export container for maintaining the freshness of melons.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.238-250
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• 2023

This study aims to explore the effect of an appropriate technology program related to water acquisition and purification on scientific attitudes and creative problem-solving skills in elementary school students. Thus, this study developed a learning program related to the appropriate technology composed of 8 sessions, and some were for exploring water acquisition-related scientific principles and the appropriated technology of Warka Tower, and the others were for conducting water purification-related inquiry experiments, such as Life Straw and Drinkable Book, and the last two sessions were for presenting practical tasks through creative ideas and designs and carrying out the relevant campaign activities. For research subjects, this study selected 51 students from two sixth-grade classes, and after modifying the scientific attitude questionnaire and the creative problem-solving skill questionnaire fit for the environment and situation, this study conducted a paired-sample t-test by applying both the questionnaires before and after this program. In addition, while looking into the correlation between scientific attitudes and creative problem-solving skills, based on the post-test results, this study examined relationships between sub-domains perceived by the students after this program was applied. The results can be summarized as below. Out of all the scientific attitudes, curiosity, openness, cooperation, and creativity showed statistically significant results with an increase in the average value when their overall averages of the pre-test were compared with those of the post-test. With creative problem-solving skills, the domain of mastering a specific area and the domain of divergent thinking showed statistically significant results. The correlation analysis results showed that cooperation out of the scientific attitudes had a significant correlation with all the domains of creative problem-solving skills, especially showing the highest correlation coefficient with such sub-domains as critical and logical thinking. All the four domains of creative problem-solving skills showed a number of significant correlations with the sub-domains of scientific attitudes. Through the research results above, this study has several implications on how and where to apply such appropriate technology-related topics in the future and various responses from students.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.2
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• pp.359-370
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• 2021

Purpose To analyze the findings and serial changes in chest CT lesions in 123 symptomatic patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Materials and Methods From February 19 to April 7, 2020, a total of 123 confirmed COVID-19 patients (male, 44; female, 79; mean age, 59.2 ± 18.6) were enrolled in this retrospective study. A total of 234 CT scans were reviewed for the following patterns: acute alveolar insult (AAI) patterns: ground-glass opacity (GGO), crazy-paving appearance, mixed pattern, and consolidation; organizing pneumonia (OP) patterns: perilobular patterns, band opacity, curvilinear opacity, reversed halo opacity, and small nodular consolidation; resolving patterns: pure GGO, remnant curvilinear, small nodular consolidation, and serial changes of lung abnormalities. We compared the proportions of AAI pattern, OP pattern, or resolving pattern with time progression and analyzed the association between the patterns and disease severity using Pearson chi-square and Fisher's exact test. Results Predominant CT patterns were AAI pattern (87%) in the early hospital period group (0-10 days, after the onset of symptoms), OP pattern (45.7%) in the later hospital period group (after 10 days), and resolving pattern in discharge and follow-up group (47.2% and 84.8%, respectively). The difference in the proportions of predominant CT patterns with time progression was statistically significant (p < 0.001, Pearson's chi-square test). No statistically significant association was observed between the patterns and disease severity (p = 0.055, Fisher's exact test). No fibrous changes in the lesions were observed on follow-up CT scans. Conclusion The serial CT scans of COVID-19 patients showed the spectrum of COVID pneumonia CT manifestations as different phases of lung injury and repair.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.83 no.5
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• pp.1059-1070
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• 2022

Purpose To compare the sensitivity of tumor detection and inter-observer agreement between acquired diffusion-weighted imaging (aDWI) b2000 and computed DWI (cDWI) b2000 in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). Materials and Methods Eighty-eight patients diagnosed with PCa by radical prostatectomy and having undergone pre-operative 3 Tesla-MRI, including DWI (b, 0, 100, 1000, 2000 s/mm²), were included in the study. cDWI b2000 was obtained from aDWI b0, b100, and b1000. Two independent reviewers performed a review of the aDWI b2000 and cDWI b2000 images in random order at 4-week intervals. A region of interest was drawn for the largest tumor on each dataset, and a Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score based on PI-RADS v2.1 was recorded. Histologic topographic maps served as the reference standard. Results The study population's Gleason scores were 6 (n = 16), 7 (n = 53), 8 (n = 9), and 9 (n = 10). According to the reviewers, the sensitivities of cDWI b2000 and aDWI b2000 showed no significant differences (for reviewer 1, both 94% [83/88]; for reviewer 2, both 90% [79/88]; p = 1.000, respectively). The kappa values of cDWI b2000 and aDWI b2000 for the PI-RADS score were 0.422 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.240-0.603) and 0.495 (95% CI, 0.308-0.683), respectively. Conclusion cDWI b2000 showed comparable sensitivity with aDWI b2000, in addition to sustained moderate inter-observer agreement, in the detection of PCa.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.665-675
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• 2020

Purpose This study aimed to identify independent predictors of favorable outcomes associated with emergent carotid artery stenting (CAS) in patients with acute anterior circulation stroke. Materials and Methods This study included 93 patients with acute stroke who underwent emergent CAS to treat stenoocclusive lesions in the cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) within 6 hours of the onset of the associated symptoms. Data were compared between patients with and without favorable outcomes. The independent predictors of a favorable outcome were determined via logistic regression analysis (modified Rankin Scale 0-2 at 90 days). Results Intracranial tandem occlusion was noted in 81.7% of patients (76/93) among which (76/93), 55 of whom underwent intracranial recanalization therapy. Intracranial reperfusion was successful in 74.2% (69/93) and favorable outcomes were noted in 51.6% of patients (48/93). The mortality rate was 6.5% (6/93). In logistic regression analysis, diffusion-weighted imaging-Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score [odds ratio (OR), 1.487; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.018-2.173, p = 0.04], successful reperfusion (OR, 5.199; 95% CI, 1.566-17.265, p = 0.007), and parenchymal hemorrhage (OR, 0.042; 95% CI, 0.003-0.522, p = 0.014) were independently associated with a favorable outcome. Conclusion Baseline infarct size, reperfusion status, and parenchymal hemorrhage were independent predictors of favorable outcomes after emergent CAS to treat stenoocclusive lesions in the cervical ICA in patients with acute anterior circulation stroke.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.688-700
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• 2020

Purpose To compare the incidence, survival rate, and CT findings of acute exacerbation (AE) of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) between patients with and without lung cancer. Materials and Methods From June 2004 to July 2018, 89 consecutive patients diagnosed with IPF were included. Among them, 26 patients had IPF with lung cancer (IPF-LCA), and 63 patients had IPF alone. The clinical characteristics and CT findings associated with IPF, lung cancer, and AE were reviewed. Surgery and chemotherapy were performed for 6 and 23 cases of lung cancer, respectively, as the first- or second-line anticancer treatment. The overall survival, CT findings, disease-free period before AE, and duration from the onset of AE to death were compared. Results The incidence of AE was 61.5% in the IPF-LCA group and 58.7% in the IPF group (p = 0.806). The mean overall survival in the IPF-LCA and IPF groups were 16.8 and 83.0 months, respectively (p < 0.001). The mean durations from the start of the lung cancer treatment to the onset of AE were 16.0 and 4.6 months in cases of surgical treatment and chemotherapy, respectively. In comparison of death from AE, the survival rate was significantly lower in the IPF-LCA group than in the IPF group (p = 0.008). In the CT findings associated with AE, the IPF-LCA group tended to have a peribronchial (p < 0.001) or asymmetric distribution (p = 0.016). Conclusion In patients with IPF who develop lung cancer, the rate of death from AE is higher than that in patients with IPF alone. They tend to have unusual CT patterns associated with AE, such as a peribronchial or asymmetric distribution.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2024

Objective: To investigate whether reader training improves the performance and agreement of radiologists in interpreting unenhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Materials and Methods: A study of 96 breasts (35 cancers, 24 benign, and 37 negative) in 48 asymptomatic women was performed between June 2019 and October 2020. High-resolution DWI with b-values of 0, 800, and 1200 sec/mm² was performed using a 3.0-T system. Sixteen breast radiologists independently reviewed the DWI, apparent diffusion coefficient maps, and T1-weighted MRI scans and recorded the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category for each breast. After a 2-h training session and a 5-month washout period, they re-evaluated the BI-RADS categories. A BI-RADS category of 4 (lesions with at least two suspicious criteria) or 5 (more than two suspicious criteria) was considered positive. The per-breast diagnostic performance of each reader was compared between the first and second reviews. Inter-reader agreement was evaluated using a multi-rater κ analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Before training, the mean sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the 16 readers were 70.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 59.4-79.9), 90.8% (95% CI: 85.6-94.2), and 83.5% (95% CI: 78.6-87.4), respectively. After training, significant improvements in specificity (95.2%; 95% CI: 90.8-97.5; P = 0.001) and accuracy (85.9%; 95% CI: 80.9-89.8; P = 0.01) were observed, but no difference in sensitivity (69.8%; 95% CI: 58.1-79.4; P = 0.58) was observed. Regarding inter-reader agreement, the κ values were 0.57 (95% CI: 0.52-0.63) before training and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.62-0.74) after training, with a difference of 0.11 (95% CI: 0.02-0.18; P = 0.01). The ICC was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.69-0.74) before training and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.76-0.80) after training (P = 0.002). Conclusion: Brief reader training improved the performance and agreement of interpretations by breast radiologists using unenhanced MRI with DWI.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.2
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• pp.395-408
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• 2020

Purpose To evaluate the value of clinicopathologic factors and imaging features of primary breast cancer in predicting early recurrence after the primary treatment. Materials and Methods We enrolled 480 patients who had been followed-up after breast-conserving surgery and adjuvant therapy from January 2010 to December 2014 at our hospital. Early recurrence was defined as recurrence within 3 years after completion of primary treatment, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the clinicopathologic and imaging predictive factors of early recurrence. Results In the univariate analysis, among the clinicopathologic factors, advanced stage (p = 0.021), high histologic grade (p < 0.001), estrogen receptor negative (p = 0.002), high Ki-67 proliferation index (p = 0.017), and triple-negative breast cancer (p = 0.019), and among the imaging features, multifocality (p < 0.001), vessels in the rim on Doppler ultrasonography (US) (p = 0.012), and rim enhancement (p < 0.001) on magnetic resonance imaging of the breast were significantly associated with early recurrence. In the multivariate analysis, advanced stage [odds ratio (OR) = 3.47; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-10.73; p = 0.031] and vessels in the rim on Doppler US (OR = 3.32; 95% CI 1.38-8.02; p = 0.008) were the independent predictive factors of early recurrence. Conclusion Vascular findings in the rim of the primary breast cancer on Doppler US before treatment is a radiologic independent predictive factor of early recurrence after the primary treatment.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.226-236
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• 2022

Objective: This study aimed to explore the myelin volume change in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) with post-concussion syndrome (PCS) using a multidynamic multiecho (MDME) sequence and automatic whole-brain segmentation. Materials and Methods: Forty-one consecutive mTBI patients with PCS and 29 controls, who had undergone MRI including the MDME sequence between October 2016 and April 2018, were included. Myelin volume fraction (MVF) maps were derived from the MDME sequence. After three dimensional T1-based brain segmentation, the average MVF was analyzed at the bilateral cerebral white matter (WM), bilateral cerebral gray matter (GM), corpus callosum, and brainstem. The Mann-Whitney U-test was performed to compare MVF and myelin volume between patients with mTBI and controls. Myelin volume was correlated with neuropsychological test scores using the Spearman rank correlation test. Results: The average MVF at the bilateral cerebral WM was lower in mTBI patients with PCS (median [interquartile range], 25.2% [22.6%-26.4%]) than that in controls (26.8% [25.6%-27.8%]) (p = 0.004). The region-of-interest myelin volume was lower in mTBI patients with PCS than that in controls at the corpus callosum (1.87 cm³ [1.70-2.05 cm³] vs. 2.21 cm³ [1.86-3.46 cm³]; p = 0.003) and brainstem (9.98 cm³ [9.45-11.00 cm³] vs. 11.05 cm³ [10.10-11.53 cm³]; p = 0.015). The total myelin volume was lower in mTBI patients with PCS than that in controls at the corpus callosum (0.45 cm³ [0.39-0.48 cm³] vs. 0.48 cm³ [0.45-0.54 cm³]; p = 0.004) and brainstem (1.45 cm³ [1.28-1.59 cm³] vs. 1.54 cm³ [1.42-1.67 cm³]; p = 0.042). No significant correlation was observed between myelin volume parameters and neuropsychological test scores, except for the total myelin volume at the bilateral cerebral WM and verbal learning test (delayed recall) (r = 0.425; p = 0.048). Conclusion: MVF quantified from the MDME sequence was decreased at the bilateral cerebral WM in mTBI patients with PCS. The total myelin volumes at the corpus callosum and brainstem were decreased in mTBI patients with PCS due to atrophic changes.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.120-129
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• 2024

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a significant risk factor in the global disease burden. The stem bark of the Betulaceae plant Alnus japonica, which is indigenous to Korea, has been used as a popular folk medicine for hepatitis and cancer. However, the preventive effect of Alnus japonica leaf extracts on alcohol-related liver damage has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of the extracts of Alnus japonica leaf (AJL) against ethanol-induced liver damage in HepG2/2E1 cells. Treatment with AJL significantly prevented ethanol-induced cytotoxicity in HepG2/2E1 cells by reducing the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). This protective effect was likely associated with antioxidant potential of AJL, as evidenced by the attenuation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) production and restoration of the depleted glutathione (GSH) levels in ethanol-induced HepG2/2E1 cells. Our findings suggest that FCC might be considered as a useful agent in the prevention of liver damage induced by oxidative stress by increasing the antioxidant defense mechanism.