• Journal of Minimally Invasive Surgery
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.168-176
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• 2018

Purpose: Robotic-associated minimally invasive surgery is a novel method for overcoming some limitations of laparoscopic surgery. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes (postoperative pain, cosmesis, surgeon's workload) of single-incision robotic cholecystectomy (SIRC) vs. single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) vs. conventional three-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy (3PLC). Methods: 134 patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic cholecystectomy at a single center during 2016~2017 were enrolled. Prospectively collected data included demographics, operative outcomes, questionnaire regarding pain and cosmesis, and NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) scores for surgeon's workload. Results: 55 patients underwent SIRC, 29 SILC, and 50 3PLC during the same period. 3PLC patient group was older than the others (SIRC vs. SILC vs. 3PLC: 48.1 vs. 42.2 vs. 54.1 years, p<0.001). Operative time was shortest with 3PLC (44.1 vs. 38.8 vs. 25.4 min, p<0.001). Estimated blood loss, postoperative complications, and postoperative stay were similar among the groups. Pain control was lowest in the 3PLC group (98.2% vs. 100% vs. 84.0%, p=0.004), however, at 2 weeks postoperatively there were no differences among the groups (p=0.374). Cosmesis scores were also worst after 3PLC (17.5 vs. 18.4 vs. 13.3, p<0.001). NASA-TLX score was highest in the SILC group (21.9 vs. 44.3 vs. 25.2, p<0.001). Conclusion: Although SIRC and SILC take longer than 3PLC, they produce superior cosmetic outcomes. Compared with SILC, SIRC is more ergonomic, lowering the surgeon's workload. Despite of higher cost, SIRC could be an alternative for treating gallbladder disease in selected patients.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.219-230
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: Biochar is a solid material converted from agricultural biomass such as crop residues and pruning branch through pyrolysis under limited oxygen supply. Biochar consists of non-degradable carbon (C) double bonds and aromatic ring that are not readily broken down by microbial degradation in the soils. Due to the recalcitrancy of C in biochar, biochar application to the soils is of help in enhancing soil carbon sequestration in arable lands that might be a strategy of agricultural sector to mitigate climate change. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were collected from studies on the effect of biochar application on soil C content conducted in East Asian countries including China, Japan and Korea under different experimental conditions (incubation, column, pot, and field). The magnitude of soil C storage was positively correlated (p < 0.001) with biochar application rate under field conditions, reflecting accumulation of recalcitrant black C in the biochar. However, The changes in soil C contents per C input from biochar (% per t/ha) were 6.80 in field condition, and 12.58 in laboratory condition. The magnitude of increment of soil C was lower in field than in laboratory conditions due to potential loss of C through weathering of biochar under field conditions. Biochar production condition also affected soil C increment; more C increment was found with biochar produced at a high temperature (over 450℃). CONCLUSION: This review suggests that biochar application is a potential measures of C sequestration in agricultural soils. However, as the increment of soil C biochar was affected by biochar types, further studies are necessary to find better biochar types for enhanced soil C storage.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.366-374
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• 2021

Objective: This study investigated the impact of a single piezocision in the maxillary alveolar process on the speed of tooth movement. The null hypothesis was that the speed of tooth movement will be equal with and without piezocision. Methods: All maxillary molars on one side were moved against the combined incisors in 10 ten-week-old male Wistar rats. Under general anesthesia, a force of 25 cN was applied on either side using a Sentalloy closed coil spring. After placing the orthodontic appliance, vertical corticision was performed using a piezotome under local anesthesia, 2 mm mesial from the mesial root of the first molar on a randomly selected side; the other side served as the control. At the beginning of the treatment, and 2 and 4 weeks later, skull micro-computed tomography was performed. After image reconstruction, the distance between the mesial root of the first molar and the incisive canal, and the length of the mesial root of the first maxillary molar were measured. Moreover, the root resorption score was determined as described by Lu et al. Results: Significantly higher speed of tooth movement was observed on the corticision side; thus, the null hypothesis was rejected. The loss of root length and root resorption score were significantly more pronounced after piezocision than before. A strong correlation was observed between the speed of tooth movement and root resorption on the surgical side, but the control side only showed a weak correlation. Conclusions: Piezocision accelerates orthodontic tooth movement and causes increased root resorption.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.181-190
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• 2021

In this study, a large-scale levee breach experiment from lateral overflow was conducted to verify the effect of the new reinforcement method applied to the levee's surface. The new method could prevent levee failure and minimize damage caused by overflow in rivers. The levee was designed at the height of 2.5 m, a length of 12 m, and a slope of 1:2. A new material mixed with biopolymer powder, water, weathered granite, and loess in an appropriate ratio was sprayed on the levee body's surface at a thickness of about 5 cm, and vegetation recruitment was also monitored. At the Andong River Experiment Center, a flow (4 ㎥/s) was introduced from the upstream of the A3 channel to induce the lateral overflow. The change of lateral overflow was measured using an acoustic doppler current profiler in the upstream and downstream. Additionally, cameras and drones were used to analyze the process of the levee breach. Also, a new method using 3D point cloud for calculating the surface loss rate of the levee over time was suggested to evaluate the performance of the levee reinforcement method. It was compared to existing method based on image analysis and the result was reasonable. The proposed 3D point cloud methodology could be a solution for evaluating the performance of levee reinforcement methods.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.317-326
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• 2020

Deep blocking of consciousness alone does not prevent a reaction to severe stimuli, and copious amounts of pain medication do not guarantee unconsciousness. Therefore, anesthesia must satisfy both: the loss of consciousness as well as muscle relaxation. Muscle relaxants improve the intra-bronchial intubation, surgical field of vision, and operating conditions, while simultaneously reducing the dose of inhalation or intravenous anesthesia. Muscle relaxants are also very important for breathing management during controlled mechanical ventilation during surgery. Excessive dosage of such muscle relaxants may therefore affect neurological examinations during surgery, but an insufficient dosage will result in movement of the patient during the procedure. Hence, muscle relaxation anesthesia depth and neurophysiological monitoring during surgery are closely related. Using excessive muscle relaxants is disadvantageous, since neurophysiological examinations during surgery could be hindered, and eliminating the effects of complete muscle relaxation after surgery is challenging. In the operation of neurophysiological monitoring during the operation, the anesthesiologist administers muscle relaxant based on what standard, it is hoped that the examination will be performed more smoothly by examining the trends in the world as well as domestic and global trends in maintaining muscle relaxant.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.390-400
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• 2021

Background: We recently showed that gintonin, an active ginseng ingredient, exhibits antibrain neurodegenerative disease effects including multiple target mechanisms such as antioxidative stress and antiinflammation via the lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptors. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a spinal disease characterized by neurodegenerative changes in motor neurons with subsequent skeletal muscle paralysis and death. However, pathophysiological mechanisms of ALS are still elusive, and therapeutic drugs have not yet been developed. We investigate the putative alleviating effects of gintonin in ALS. Methods: The G93A-SOD1 transgenic mouse ALS model was used. Gintonin (50 or 100 mg/kg/day, p.o.) administration started from week seven. We performed histological analyses, immunoblot assays, and behavioral tests. Results: Gintonin extended mouse survival and relieved motor dysfunctions. Histological analyses of spinal cords revealed that gintonin increased the survival of motor neurons, expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factors, choline acetyltransferase, NeuN, and Nissl bodies compared with the vehicle control. Gintonin attenuated elevated spinal NAD(P) quinone oxidoreductase 1 expression and decreased oxidative stress-related ferritin, ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1-immunoreactive microglia, S100β-immunoreactive astrocyte, and Olig2-immunoreactive oligodendrocytes compared with the control vehicle. Interestingly, we found that the spinal LPA1 receptor level was decreased, whereas gintonin treatment restored decreased LPA1 receptor expression levels in the G93A-SOD1 transgenic mouse, thereby attenuating neurological symptoms and histological deficits. Conclusion: Gintonin-mediated symptomatic improvements of ALS might be associated with the attenuations of neuronal loss and oxidative stress via the spinal LPA1 receptor regulations. The present results suggest that the spinal LPA1 receptor is engaged in ALS, and gintonin may be useful for relieving ALS symptoms.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.561-568
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• 2020

Wave measurements using X-band radar have many advantages compared to other wave gauges including wave-rider buoy, P-u-v gauge and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), etc.. For example, radar system has no risk of loss/damage in bad weather conditions, low maintenance cost, and provides spatial distribution of waves from deep to shallow water. This paper presents new methods for estimating significant wave heights of X-band marine radar images using Artificial Neural Network (ANN). We compared the time series of estimated significant wave heights (Hs) using various estimation methods, such as signal-to-noise ratio (${\sqrt{SNR}}$), both and ${\sqrt{SNR}}$ the peak period (TP), and ANN with 3 parameters (${\sqrt{SNR}}$, TP, and Rval > k). The estimated significant wave heights of the X-band images were compared with wave measurement using ADCP(AWC: Acoustic Wave and Current Profiler) at Hujeong Beach, Uljin, Korea. Estimation of Hs using ANN with 3 parameters (${\sqrt{SNR}}$, TP, and Rval > k) yields best result.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.455-461
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• 2021

Cardiomegaly is one of the most common diseases seen on chest X-rays, but if it is not detected early, it can cause serious complications. In view of this, in recent years, many researches on image analysis in which deep learning algorithms using artificial intelligence are applied to medical care have been conducted with the development of various science and technology fields. In this paper, we would like to evaluate whether the Inception V3 deep learning model is a useful model for the classification of Cardiomegaly using chest X-ray images. For the images used, a total of 1026 chest X-ray images of patients diagnosed with normal heart and those diagnosed with Cardiomegaly in Kyungpook National University Hospital were used. As a result of the experiment, the classification accuracy and loss of the Inception V3 deep learning model according to the presence or absence of Cardiomegaly were 96.0% and 0.22%, respectively. From the research results, it was found that the Inception V3 deep learning model is an excellent deep learning model for feature extraction and classification of chest image data. The Inception V3 deep learning model is considered to be a useful deep learning model for classification of chest diseases, and if such excellent research results are obtained by conducting research using a little more variety of medical image data, I think it will be great help for doctor's diagnosis in future.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.94-106
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• 2022

Purpose: Laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction (LPG-DTR) is a function-preserving procedure performed for treating upper early gastric cancer (EGC). However, few studies have compared the outcomes of LPG-DTR with those of laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG). This study aimed at comparing the short-term outcomes of LPG-DTR between LTG and upper EGC. Materials and Methods: For upper-third EGC, a multicenter, prospective, randomized trial was performed to compare those who underwent LPG-DTR with those who underwent LTG. Short-term outcomes, including clinicopathologic results, morbidity, mortality, and postoperative courses, were evaluated using a full analysis set based on the intention-to-treat principle and the per-protocol set. Results: Of the patients, 138 who fulfilled the criteria were randomized to each group. One patient in the LPG-DTR group withdrew consent. Sixty-eight patients underwent LPG-DTR and 69 underwent LTG. The operative time (LPG-DTR=219.4 minutes; LTG=201.8 minutes; P=0.085), estimated blood loss (LPG-DTR=76.0 mL; LTG=66.1 mL; P=0.413), and the morbidity rate (LPG-DTR=23.5%; LTG=17.4%; P=0.373) between the groups were not significantly different. No mortality occurred in either of the study groups. Two weeks post operation, the Visick scores for postprandial symptoms, including reflux symptoms, were not significantly different between the groups (P=0.749). Laboratory findings on postoperative day 5 were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusions: The short-term outcomes of LPG-DTR for upper EGC were comparable to those of LTG.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1517-1524
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• 2022

In this paper, we consider a heterogeneous network (HetNet) consisting of one macro base station and multiple small base stations, and assume the coordinated multi-point transmission between the base stations. In addition, we assume that the channel between the base station and the user consists of path loss and Rayleigh fading. Under these assumptions, we present the energy efficiency (EE) achievable by the user for a given base station and we formulate an optimization problem of dynamic cell selection and transmit power allocation to maximize the total EE of the HetNet. In this paper, we propose an unsupervised deep learning method to solve the optimization problem. The proposed deep learning-based scheme can provide high EE while having low complexity compared to the conventional iterative convergence methods. Through the simulation, we show that the proposed dynamic cell selection scheme provides higher EE performance than the maximum signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio scheme and the Lagrangian dual decomposition scheme, and the proposed transmit power allocation scheme provides the similar performance to the trust region interior point method which can achieve the maximum EE.