• Title/Summary/Keyword: Z-parameter

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Therapeutic Efficacy of Alendronate for Glucocorticoid Induced Metabolic Bone Disease in Children with Nephrotic Syndrome (신증후군 환아에서 스테로이드 유발 대사성 골질환에 대한 Alendronate의 치료 효과)

  • Lee Ji-Eun;Lee Hyun-Ok;Paik Kyung-Hoon;Lee Suk-Hyang;Jin Dong-Kyu
    • Childhood Kidney Diseases
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    • v.8 no.1
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    • pp.33-42
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    • 2004
  • Purpose : Children with nephrotic syndrome(NS) are under high risk for metabolic bone disease(MBD) as a complication of long-term glucocorticoid therapy. We prospectively evaluated the effect of oral bisphosphonate(alendronate) therapy in children with NS, which has proven efficacy in adult patients with glucocorticoid induced MBD. Methods : Among 58 children with NS, aged 5 to 8 years and haying a disease duration of more than 2 years, 30(51.7%) were enrolled to meet the selection criteria, less than -1.0 Z-scores of lumbar spine bone mineral density(BMD) by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). These 30 children were divided into three groups and each were assigned to receive alendronate, calcitriol, and no-medication, respectively for one year. Lumbar spine BMD was followed up every 6 months and the biochemical indexes were measured before and 1 year after the treatment. There were no significant difference among groups with respect to the average age, the initial BMD, and the cumulative steroid doses. Analysis of the treatment efficacy was done by the % change of BMD and by the changes in Z-scores of lumbar spine BMD. Results : Mean age and disease duration of patients at the initial lumbar spine BMD evaluation was $7.4{\pm}1.7$ years and $2.2{\pm}1.2$ years, respectively. Twenty-three of 30 children(76%) had osteopenia, and seven(23%) had osteoporosis. There was no difference in the biochemical values among the groups, before and 1 year after the treatment(P<0.05). Twenty two children(73.3%) with frequent relapsing or steroid dependant NS had more frequent MBD, compared to the 8 children(26.6%) with infrequent relapsing NS. The one year % changes of BMD were 8.56 in alendronate group, 5.79 in calcitriol group, and 1.9 in no-medication group. The changes in Z-score of lumbar spine BMD increased in the alendronate group and the calcitriol group, but not in the no-medication group. One year % changes of BMD were different among groups(P=0.0002). Significant differences were found between the alendronate and the no-medication group, and between the calcitriol and the no-medication group(P<0.05). There was no difference between the alendronate and the calcitriol group. No serious adverse effect was observed in the alendronate group. Conclusion : Children with NS receiving high dose steroids are under the high risk of BMD and should undergo regular BMD evaluation. Z-score of lumbar spine BMD was a useful parameter in diagnosing low bone mass in children. Alendronate weekly oral therapy was effective and relatively safe in increasing the lumbar spine BMD in children with NS having steroid induced MBD.

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Thickness and translucency of opaque shade composite resin for masking effect (배경 색조 차단 목적의 불투명 복합 레진의 두께와 반투명도)

  • Baek, Kyung-Won;Kim, Sung-Joon
    • The Journal of the Korean dental association
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    • v.49 no.4
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    • pp.203-210
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    • 2011
  • The aims of this study were to evaluate the adequate thickness of opaque resins for situations such as an oral black cavity and discolored tooth structure, as well as the translucency of each opaque material at various thicknesses. Six opaque-shade composite resins (Z-350 OA3, Amelogen Universal A2O, Esthet-X A2O, Esthet-X A4O, Charmfil UO and Aelite Universal OA3) were prepared in metal molds with a hole of 8 mm in diameter and various thicknesses (0.5mm, 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm, 2.5mm, 3.0 mm and 4.0mm). Four backgrounds (white tile, black tile, C4 shade porcelain and opaque resin itself) were used to determine the translucency parameter (between black and white backgrounds). and to mimic a black oral cavity (between black and opaque resin backgrounds) and a discolored tooth structure (between C4 and opaque resin backgrounds). Color measurements were made by a colorimeter to determine the CIELAB values of each specimen with each background and to calculate the translucency parameter and ${\Delta}E^*$ value difference among the specimens on the backgrounds. The translucency parameter and ${\Delta}E^*$ obtained between black and opaque resin backgrounds decreased in similar pattern as thickness increased. A C4 background was masked by resin thicknesses of 0.5-1.0mm, while a black background required thicknesses of 1.0-2.0mm. Adequate knowledge about differences in the optical character like translucency of the materials used is essential, together with the accumulated experience of the individual clinician.

Universality of the Quasi-linear Relation Between the Order Parameter and the Normalized Birefringence of Aligned Uniaxially Anisotropic Molecules (정렬된 단축이방성 분자들의 질서변수와 상대 복굴절간 준선형 관계식의 보편성)

  • Kim, Sang Youl
    • Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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    • v.28 no.1
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    • pp.33-38
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    • 2017
  • The universality of the quasi-linear relation between the order parameter S and the normalized birefringence ${\Delta}n_{rel}$, $S=(1+a){\Delta}n_{rel}-a{\Delta}n^2_{rel}$ is confirmed. It is verified that the refractive index of liquid crystals distributed with regular polyhedral symmetry is isotropic and it is given as $\frac{1}{n^2_{av}}=\frac{1}{3}\(\frac{1}{n^2_e}+\frac{2}{n^2_o}\){\cdot}S$ and ${\Delta}n_{rel}$ of angular weighted liquid crystals that are initially distributed with regular polyhedral symmetry, are numerically calculated. Also ${\Delta}n_{rel}$ and S of liquid crystals that are conically distributed, keeping the rotational symmetry about z-axis are calculated as the apex angle of the cone is varied. Based on these calculated results, it is confirmed that the quasi-linear relation between S and ${\Delta}n_{rel}$ is universal, independent of the details of the distribution function.

Particle loading as a design parameter for composite radiation shielding

  • Baumann, N.;Diaz, K. Marquez;Simmons-Potter, K.;Potter, B.G. Jr.;Bucay, J.
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.54 no.10
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    • pp.3855-3863
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    • 2022
  • An evaluation of the radiation shielding performance of high-Z-particle-loaded polylactic acid (PLA) composite materials was pursued. Specimens were produced via fused deposition modeling (FDM) using copper-PLA, steel-PLA, and BaSO4-PLA composite filaments containing 82.7, 75.2, and 44.6 wt% particulate phase contents, respectively, and were tested under broad-band flash x-ray conditions at the Sandia National Laboratories HERMES III facility. The experimental results for the mass attenuation coefficients of the composites were found to be in good agreement with GEANT4 simulations carried out using the same exposure conditions and an atomistic mixture as a model for the composite materials. Further simulation studies, focusing on the Cu-PLA composite system, were used to explore a shield design parameter space (in this case, defined by Cu-particle loading and shield areal density) to assess performance under both high-energy photon and electron fluxes over an incident energy range of 0.5-15 MeV. Based on these results, a method is proposed that can assist in the visualization and isolation of shield parameter coordinate sets that optimize performance under targeted radiation characteristics (type, energy). For electron flux shielding, an empirical relationship was found between areal density (AD), electron energy (E), composition and performance. In cases where ${\frac{E}{AD}}{\geq}2MeV{\bullet}cm{\bullet}g^{-1}$, a shield composed of >85 wt% Cu results in optimal performance. In contrast, a shield composed of <10 wt% Cu is anticipated to perform best against electron irradiation when ${\frac{E}{AD}}<2MeV{\bullet}cm{\bullet}g^{-1}$.

Impedance Parameters of Electrical Double Layer I. A Determination Method of Electrolytic Cell Impedance Parameter on the Platinum Electrode (전기이중층의 임피던스 파라미터 I. 백금전극을 사용한 전해쎌 임피던스 파라미터의 결정방법)

  • Kum-Sho Hwang;Un-Sik Kim
    • Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.273-281
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    • 1986
  • This study is focused on the correct measurement of the equations for the determination of the impedance parameters-the differential capacity of the double layer $C_d$, solution resistance $R_Q$, transfer resitance $R_i$, and adsorption pseudcapacity $C_{\phi}$/ The application of only an imaginary part of complex function of ${\omega}$ at the sinusoidal steady state indicates the following equations of total impedance: at low frequency $|Z_{LF}|=1/{\omega}_1\;C_{\phi}\;{\sqrt{1+{{\omega}_1}^2/{\omega}^2}$, at high frequency $|Z_{HF}|={\omega}_2/({\omega}_1{\omega}_3C{\phi})({\omega}^2+{{\omega}_2}^2)\;{\sqrt{{({\omega}^2+{\omega}_2{\omega}_3)}^2+{({\omega}_2{\omega}-{\omega_3{\omega})^2}}$. The values of the total impedance of cell, phase angle, and cell current that are necessary for the calculations of impedance parameters were experimentally measured from 200 to 6000Hz for the following supporting electrolytes, 0.5M $Na_2SO_4$, 1M NaCl, 19.373% sea water, 1M HCl, 1M $KNO_3$ and for $10^{-2}M$ KI and 60mM DBNA (Di-iso-Butylnitrosoamine) in these supporting electrolytes. The derived equations in this study shows that the values of impedance parameters of $C_d,\;C_{\phi},\;R_i\;and\;R_Q\;are\;15{\sim}40\;{\mu}F/cm^2,\;162{\sim}758\;{\mu}F/cm^2\;11.5{\sim}57.6\;ohm{\cdot}cm^2\;and\;0.5{\times}10^{-2}{\sim}4.1{\times}10^{-2}\;ohm{\cdot}cm^2$ respectively.

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Spatial Variability of Hydraulic Properties in a Multi-Layered Soils of Japanese Larch (Larix leptolepis) Stand (낙엽송림분의 다층구조 토광에 있어서 수리특성의 공간 변리)

  • Chung Doug Young;Jin Hyun O
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.29-35
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    • 1999
  • Soil structure and organic matter have been known to strongly affect water flow and solute transport, yet little information is available concerning soil hydraulic properties related to soil physical and chemical properties in the forest site. The purpose of this study was to quantify the spatial variability and spatial correlation of the measured parameter values from the plots established with the rainfall simulator on Japanese larch(Larix leptolepis) dominated site in Kwangju. Kyunggi-Do. Measurement of soil water flux and retention were made with the inherent soil texture, soil structure, and organic matter. The method was based on the observation that when water was applied at a constant rate to the soil surface on each plot. The method was simple to apply and consists of following steps: (i) Wet the soil from a rainfall simulator with several known discharge rates on a relatively leveled soil surface with and without organic matter. (ii) Once the borders of the ponded zone were steady, saturated hydraulic conductivity( $K_{s}$) and the matric flux function(F) was evaluated from a regression of flux vs. the reciprocal of the ponded area. A conductivity of the form $K_{i+}$$_1$ $_{c}$= $K_{i}$( $_{c}$) [1-d /dz] where flux continuity implies. For this, continuity of matric potential at the interface at all times are as follows: $_1$( $Z_{c}$) = $_2$( $Z_{c}$) = $_{c}$ for steady state intake from water ponded on the soil surface. Results of this investigation showed the importance of understanding spatial variability in wide differences of water retention and saturated hydraulic conductivity with respect to pore geometry and organic matter contents which influenced the water flux throughout the soil profile.l profile.ile.

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THEORETICAL STUDY ON OBSERVED COLOR-MAGNITUDE DIAGRAMS

  • Lee, See-Woo
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.41-70
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    • 1979
  • From $B\ddot{o}hm$-Vitense's atmospheric model calculations, the relations, [$T_e$, (B-V)] and [B.C, (B-V)] with respect to heavy element abundance were obtained. Using these relations and evolutionary model calculations of Rood, and Sweigart and Gross, analytic expressions for some physical parameters relating to the C-M diagrams of globular clusters were derived, and they were applied to 21 globular clusters with observed transition periods of RR Lyrae variables. More than 20 different parameters were examined for each globular cluster. The derived ranges of some basic parameters are as follows; $Y=0.21{\sim}0.33,\;Z=1.5{\times}10^{-4}{\sim}4.5{\times}10^{-3},\;age,\;t=9.5{\sim}19{\times}10^9$ years, mass for red giants, $m_{RG}=0.74m_{\odot}{\sim}0.91m_{\odot}$, mass for RR Lyrae stars, $m_{RR}=0.59m_{\odot}{\sim}0.75m_{\odot}$, the visual magnitude difference between the turnoff point and the horizontal branch (HB), ${\Delta}V_{to}=3.1{\sim}3.4(<{\Delta}V_{to}>=3.32)$, the color of the blue edge of RR Lyrae gap, $(B-V)_{BE}=0.17{\sim}0.21=(<(B-V)_{BE}>=0.18),\;[\frac{m}{L}]_{RR}=-1.7{\sim}-1.9$, mass difference of $m_{RR}$ relative to $m_{RG},(m_{RG}-m_{RR})/m_{RG}=0.0{\sim}0.39$. It was found that the ranges of derived parameters agree reasonably well with the observed ones and those estimated by others. Some important results obtained herein can be summarized as follows; (i) There are considerable variations in the initial helium abundance and in age of globular clusters. (ii) The radial gradient of heavy element abundance does exist for globular clusters as shown by Janes for field stars and open clusters. (iii) The helium abundance seems to have been increased with age by massive star evolution after a considerable amount (Y>0.2) of helium had been attained by the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis, but there is not seen a radial gradient of helium abundance. (iv) A considerable amount of heavy elements ($Z{\sim}10{-3}$) might have been formed in the inner halo ($r_{GC}$<10 kpc) from the earliest galactic co1lapse, and then the heavy element abundance has been slowly enriched towards the galactic center and disk, establishing the radial gradient of heavy element abundance. (v) The final galactic disk formation might have taken much longer by about a half of the galactic age than the halo formation, supporting a slow, inhomogeneous co1lapse model of Larson. (vi) Of the three principal parameters controlling the morphology of C-M diagrams, it was found that the first parameter is heavy clement abundance, the second age and the third helium abundance. (vii) The globular clusters can be divided into three different groups, AI, BI and CII according to Z, Y an d age as well as Dickens' HB types. BI group clusters of HB types 4 and 5 like M 3 and NGC 7006 are the oldest and have the lowest helium abundance of the three groups. And also they appear in the inner halo. On the other hand, the youngest AI clusters have the highest Z and Y, and appear in the innermost halo region and in the disk. (viii) From the result of the clean separations of the clusters into three groups, a three dimensional classification with three parameters, Z, Y and age is prsented. (ix) The anomalous C-M diagrams can be expalined in terms of the three principal parameters. That is, the anomaly of NGC 362 and NGC 7006 is accounted for by the smaller age of the order of $1{\sim}2{\times}10^9$ years rather than by the helium abundance difference, compared with M 3. (x) The difference in two Oosterhoff types I and II can be explained in terms of the mean mass difference of RR Lyrae variables rather than in terms of the helium abundance difference as suggested by Stobie. The mean mass of the variables in Oosterhoff type I clusters is smaller by $0.074m_{\odot}$ which is exactly consistent with Rood's estimate. Since it was found that the mean mass of RR Lyrae stars increases with decreasing Z, the two Oosterhoff types can be explained substantially by the metal abundance difference; the type II has Z<$3.4{\times}10^{-4}$, and the type I has higher Z than the type II.

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A Study on the Development and usefulness of the x/y Plane and z Axis Resolution Phantom for MDCT Detector (MDCT 검출기의 x/y plane과 z축 분해능 팬텀 개발 및 유용성에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Yung-Kyoon;Han, Dong-Kyoon
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.67-75
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    • 2022
  • The aim of this study is to establish a new QC method that can simultaneously evaluate the resolution of the x/y plane and the z-axis by producing a phantom that can reflect exposure and reconstruction parameter of MDCT system. It was used with Aquilion ONE(Cannon Medical System, Otawara, Japan), and the examination was scanned using of 120 kV, 260 mA, and the D-FOV of 300 mm2. It produced new SSP phantom modules in which two aluminum plates inclined at 45° to a vertical axis and a transverse axis to evaluate high contrast resolution of x/y plane and z axis. And it changed factors such as the algorithm, distance from gantry iso-center. All images were reconstructed in five steps from 0.6 mm to 10.0 mm slice thickness to measure resolution of x/y plane and z-axis. The image data measured FWHM and FWTM using Profile tool of Aquarius iNtusion Edition ver. 4.4.13 P6 software(Terarecon, California, USA), and analysed SPQI and signal intensity by ImageJ program(v1.53n, National Institutes of Health, USA). It decreased by 4.09~11.99%, 4.12~35.52%, and 4.70~37.64% in slice thickness of 2.5 mm, 5.0 mm, and 10.0 mm for evaluating the high contrast resolution of x/y plane according to distance from gantry iso-center. Therefore, the high contrast resolution of the x/y plane decreased when the distance from the iso-center increased or the slice thickness increased. Additionally, the slice thicknesses of 2.5 mm, 5.0 mm, and 10.0 mm with a high algorithm increased 74.83, 15.18 and 81.25%. The FWHM was almost constant on the measured SSP graph for evaluating the accuracy of slice thickness which represents the resolution of x/y plane and z-axis, but it was measured to be higher than the nominal slice thickness set by user. The FWHM and FWTM of z-axis with axial scan mode tended to increase significantly as the distance increased from gantry iso-center than the helical mode. Particularly, the thinner slice thickness that increased error range compare with the nominal slice thickness. The SPQI increased with thick slice thickness, and that was closer to 90% in the helical scan than the axial scan. In conclusion, by producing a phantom suitable for MDCT detectors and capable of quantitative resolution evaluation, it can be used as a specific method in the management of research quality and management of outdated equipment. Thus, it is expected to contribute greatly to the discrimination of lesions in the field of CT imaging.

Development of Composite Load Models of Power Systems using On-line Measurement Data

  • Choi Byoung-Kon;Chiang Hsiao Dong;Li Yinhong;Chen Yung Tien;Huang Der Hua;Lauby Mark G.
    • Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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    • v.1 no.2
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    • pp.161-169
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    • 2006
  • Load representation has a significant impact on power system analysis and control results. In this paper, composite load models are developed based on on-line measurement data from a practical power system. Three types of static-dynamic load models are derived: general ZIP-induction motor model, Exponential-induction motor model and Z-induction motor model. For the dynamic induction motor model, two different third-order induction motor models are studied. The performances in modeling real and reactive power behaviors by composite load models are compared with other dynamic load models in terms of relative mismatch error. In addition, numerical consideration of ill-conditioned parameters is addressed based on trajectory sensitivity. Numerical studies indicate that the developed composite load models can accurately capture the dynamic behaviors of loads during disturbance.

Radiation mechanism of gamma-ray burst prompt emission

  • Uhm, Z. Lucas;Zhang, Bing
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.40 no.1
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    • pp.49.3-50
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    • 2015
  • Synchrotron radiation of relativistic electrons is an important radiation mechanism in many astrophysical sources. In the sources where the synchrotron cooling timescale is shorter than the dynamical timescale, electrons are cooled down below the minimum injection energy. It has been believed that such fast-cooling electrons have a power-law distribution in energy with an index -2, and their synchrotron radiation has a photon spectral index -1.5. On the other hand, in a transient expanding astrophysical source, such as a gamma-ray burst (GRB), the magnetic field strength in the emission region continuously decreases with radius. Here we study such a system, and find that in a certain parameter regime, the fast-cooling electrons can have a harder energy spectrum. We apply this new physical regime to GRBs, and suggest that the GRB prompt emission spectra whose low-energy photon spectral index has a typical value -1 could be due to synchrotron radiation in this moderately fast-cooling regime.

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