• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2024

Purpose: ¹⁸F-FET, a radiopharmaceutical based on a Tyrosine amino acid derivative using the Sodium-Potassium Pump-independent Transporter (System L) for non-invasive evaluation of primary, recurrent, and metastatic brain tumors, exhibits distinct characteristics. Unlike the widely absorbed ¹⁸F-FDG in both tumor and normal brain tissues, ¹⁸F-FET demonstrates specific uptake only in tumor tissue while almost negligible uptake in normal brain tissue. This study aims to compare and evaluate the usefulness of ¹⁸F-FDG and ¹⁸F-FET Brain PET/CT quantitative analysis in brain tumor diagnosis. Materials and Methods: In 46 patients diagnosed with brain gliomas (High Grade: 34, Low Grade: 12), Brain PET/CT scans were performed at 40 minutes after ¹⁸F-FDG injection and at 20 minutes (early) and 80 minutes (delay) after ¹⁸F-FET injection. SUV_max and SUV_peak of tumor areas corresponding to MRI images were measured in each scan, and the SUV_max-to-SUV_peak ratio, an indicator of tumor prognosis, was calculated. Differences in SUV_max, SUV_peak, and SUV_max-to-SUV_peak ratio between ¹⁸F-FDG and ¹⁸F-FET early/delay scans were statistically verified using SPSS (ver.28) package program. Results: SUV_max values were 3.72±1.36 for ¹⁸F-FDG, 4.59±1.55 for ¹⁸F-FET early, and 4.12±1.36 for ¹⁸F-FET delay scans. The highest SUV_max was observed in ¹⁸F-FET early scans, particularly in HG tumors (4.85±1.44), showing a slightly more significant difference (P<0.0001). SUV_peak values were 3.33±1.13 for ¹⁸F-FDG, 3.04±1.11 for ¹⁸F-FET early, and 2.80±0.96 for ¹⁸F-FET delay scans. The highest SUV_peak was in ¹⁸F-FDG scans, while the lowest was in ¹⁸F-FET delay scans, with a more significant difference in HG tumors (P<0.001). SUV_max-to-SUV_peak ratio values were 1.11±0.09 for ¹⁸F-FDG, 1.54±0.22 for ¹⁸F-FET early, and 1.48±0.17 for ¹⁸F-FET delay scans. This ratio was higher in ¹⁸F-FET scans for both HG and LG tumors (P<0.0001), but there was no statistically significant difference between ¹⁸F-FET early and delay scans. Conclusion: This study confirms the usefulness of early and delay scans in ¹⁸F-FET Brain PET/CT examinations, particularly demonstrating the changes in objective quantitative metrics such as SUV_max, SUV_peak, and introducing the SUV_max-to-SUV_peak ratio as a new evaluation metric based on the degree of tumor malignancy. This is expected to further contributions to the quantitative analysis of Brain PET/CT images.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.78-95
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• 2024

For the establishment and comparison of environmental plans across various domains, considering climate change and urban issues, it is crucial to build spatial data at the regional scale classified with consistent criteria. This study mapping the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) of Changwon City, where active climate and environmental research is being conducted, using the protocol suggested by the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools (WUDAPT). Additionally, to address the fragmentation issue where some grids are classified with different climate characteristics despite being in regions with homogeneous climate traits, a filtering technique was applied, and the LCZ classification characteristics were compared according to the filtering radius. Using satellite images, ground reference data, and the supervised classification machine learning technique Random Forest, classification maps without filtering and with filtering radii of 1, 2, and 3 were produced, and their accuracies were compared. Furthermore, to compare the LCZ classification characteristics according to building types in urban areas, an urban form index used in GIS-based classification methodology was created and compared with the ranges suggested in previous studies. As a result, the overall accuracy was highest when the filtering radius was 1. When comparing the urban form index, the differences between LCZ types were minimal, and most satisfied the ranges of previous studies. However, the study identified a limitation in reflecting the height information of buildings, and it is believed that adding data to complement this would yield results with higher accuracy. The findings of this study can be used as reference material for creating fundamental spatial data for environmental research related to urban climates in South Korea.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.137-155
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• 2009

The purpose of the present study was to analyse the effectiveness of a gifted education program. To analyse the effectiveness of an education program for the gifted affiliated with a university, the study carried out a quasi-experimental design to compare the 153 gifted students who enrolled in an education center for the gifted and the 131 potentially gifted students who were nominated by teachers for their high achievements and interests in science but without any education services for the gifted. These two groups of students were compared in the aspects of problem finding ability in science, motivation, self regulation, science-related attitudes, and science anxiety through the pre- and post-treatment settings. The results indicated that the gifted group showed a significant improvement in originality and elaboration of problem-finding ability, but the potentially gifted group showed significant decrease in most variables of problem finding. Related to motivation and self-regulated learning, gifted students showed an increase in cognitive strategy use and decrease in intrinsic value, but the potentially gifted students showed significant decreases in most variables related to motivation and self-regulation, except intrinsic value. Related to the scientific attitudes and science anxiety, there were no significant changes between pre- and post-tests in the gifted group, but significant decreases in most variables were found in the potentially gifted group. The results of paired t-test and Ancova indicate that significant differences between the gifted and the potentially gifted groups are mainly due to the significantly lowered performance in post tests in the potentially gifted group, rather than a significant increase in gifted group.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.254-263
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• 2024

Korean jang is a food made using fermented soybeans, and the typical products include gochujang (GO), doenjang (DO), cheonggukjang (CH), and ganjang (GA). In this study, 16S rRNA metagenome analysis was performed on a total of 200 types of GO, DO, CH, and GA using next-generation sequencing to analyze the microbial community of fermented soybean foods and compare taxonomic (biomarker) differences. Alpha diversity analysis showed that in the CHAO index, the species richness index tended to be significantly higher compared to the DO and GA groups (p<0.001). The results of the microbial distribution analysis of the GO, DO, CH, and GA products showed that at the order level, Bacillales was the most abundant in the GO, DO, and CH groups, but Lactobacillales was most abundant in the GA group. Linear discriminant analysis effect (LEfSe) analysis was used to identify biomarkers at the family and species levels. Leuconostocaceae, Thermoactinomycetaceae, Bacillaceae, and Enterococcaceae appeared as biomarkers at the family level, and Bacillus subtilis, Kroppenstedtia sanguinis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Tetragenococcus halophilus appeared at the species level. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the microbial community structure of the GO, DO, CH, and GA groups (p=0.001), and the microbial community structure of the GA group showed the greatest difference. This study clarified the correlation between the characteristics of Korean fermented foods and microbial community distribution, enhancing knowledge of microorganisms participating in the fermentation process. These results could be leveraged to improve the quality of fermented soybean foods.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.48
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• pp.269-303
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• 2024

Donghak's teaching, In-nae-cheon, means "humans are divine." It is said, "When humans were formed, God's blessing was required for their formation." Donghak's Sincerity, Respectfulness, and Faithfulness is based on believing in God, respecting God, and practicing His teachings with utmost sincerity. These are key to implementing In-nae-cheon. On the other hand, the Three Essential Attitudes in Daesoon Thought, also Sincerity, Respectfulness, and Faithfulness, appear in a religious sense. These can be distinguished from Sincerity, Respectfulness, and Faithfulness in the Donghak moral sense. Sincerity, Respectfulness, and Faithfulness in the context of the Three Essential Attitudes in Daesoon Thought goes beyond moral awareness, and calls for belief in God as the Absolute. Accordingly, Sincerity, Respectfulness, and Faithfulness in this context, that of Daesoon Thought, aims at the realization of an Earthly Paradise wherein God's will can be achieved. Humans participating in the construction of Earthly Paradise value the practice of Sincerity, Respectfulness, and Faithfulness. In Daesoon Thought, it is said that when one exerts sincerity, respect, and faith in God (Sangje), all the blessings and fortune of the Later World, even those of longevity, will be endowed through transformation via effortless action (無爲而化). Accordingly, Sincerity, Respectfulness, and Faithfulness in the context of the Three Essential Attitudes in Daesoon Thought is based on God's descent into the world and His Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth (天地公事). This is a religious faith that worships Sangje and is based on the doctrinal dimension of 'guarding against self-deception (毋自欺)' and the philosophical dimension of Sincerity, Respectfulness, and Faithfulness in the context of the Three Essential Attitudes in Daesoon Thought. Donghak's In-nae-cheon and the Three Essential Attitudes in Daesoon Thought can be compared and analyzed. Therefore, in order to clearly compare and analyze the moral significance of Donghak history and the religious meaning of Daesoon Thought, Roderick Ninian Smart's method of religious phenomenology can be actively used. In this way, the ethical and legal dimensions of Donghak's In-nae-cheon and the doctrinal and philosophical dimensions of the Three Essential Attitudes in Daesoon Thought can be compared and analyzed. From this style of research, it can be concluded that the realization of commonly shared spirituality can be an opportunity for greater human dignity.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.161-170
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• 2024

This study was conducted to estimate the days to flowering based on the effective accumulated temperature at various altitudes in the Jiri mountain region and to compare growth and yield characteristics according to the sowing date of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) four genetic resources (local variety, IT323225, IT333473, and IT333482). The safflower four resources were sown on March 29, May 3, May 13, May 24, and June 2. The days from sowing to flowering of the safflower four resources by sowing dates were in the order of the local variety (61.0 days), IT333482 (73.2 days), IT323225 (74.0 days), and IT333473 (74.2 days). The base temperature and effective accumulated temperature for the days to flowering of the safflower four resources calculated based on the daily mean temperature were local variety 6℃, 579℃, IT323225 11℃, 766℃, IT333473 11℃, 768℃, IT333482 10℃, 750℃, respectively. As a result of applying the calculated effective accumulated temperature and daily mean temperature of the past five years (2019 to 2023) by various altitudes and the different sowing dates (every 15 days from April 1 to August 15), the days to flowering of the safflower four resources decreased from April 1 to July 15 during the sowing date and then tended to increase from August 1. In addition, the days to flowering at various altitudes were investigated in the order of plains, mid-mountain, and mountain regions. Among the yield characteristics, plant height, number of branches, number of capitula, number of seeds, and seed weight decreased as the sowing dates were delayed for the safflower four resources.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.5-30
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to extract topics from experimental data using the topic modeling methods(LDA, Top2Vec, and BERTopic) and compare the characteristics and differences between these models. The experimental data consist of 55,442 papers published in 85 academic journals in the field of library and information science, which are indexed in the Web of Science(WoS). The experimental process was as follows: The first topic modeling results were obtained using the default parameters for each model, and the second topic modeling results were obtained by setting the same optimal number of topics for each model. In the first stage of topic modeling, LDA, Top2Vec, and BERTopic models generated significantly different numbers of topics(100, 350, and 550, respectively). Top2Vec and BERTopic models seemed to divide the topics approximately three to five times more finely than the LDA model. There were substantial differences among the models in terms of the average and standard deviation of documents per topic. The LDA model assigned many documents to a relatively small number of topics, while the BERTopic model showed the opposite trend. In the second stage of topic modeling, generating the same 25 topics for all models, the Top2Vec model tended to assign more documents on average per topic and showed small deviations between topics, resulting in even distribution of the 25 topics. When comparing the creation of similar topics between models, LDA and Top2Vec models generated 18 similar topics(72%) out of 25. This high percentage suggests that the Top2Vec model is more similar to the LDA model. For a more comprehensive comparison analysis, expert evaluation is necessary to determine whether the documents assigned to each topic in the topic modeling results are thematically accurate.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.46-54
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• 2024

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the periodontal status of end-stage renal disease patients undergoing dialysis and referred for intraoral evaluation prior to renal transplantation surgery with those having normal kidney function. Materials and Methods: Patients who had been undergoing dialysis for end-stage renal disease and been referred to the Dental Clinic Center by the Department of Nephrology at University Hospital for intraoral evaluation prior to kidney transplantation surgery. For comparison of periodontal status, subjects without abnormalities in kidney function were matched with the patients by age and gender and selected as healthy controls. The patients' age, gender, comorbidities, type of dialysis received, and duration of dialysis were investigated by reference to their medical records, and data on their periodontal status were analyzed via the relevant periodontal records. Results: A total of 102 patients, including 51 dialyzed patients and 51 healthy control group subjects, participated in this study. In the patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing dialysis with periodontal probing depth of 5 mm or more, percentage of sites with clinical attachment level of 4 mm or more, percentage of teeth with bleeding on probing, number of missing teeth, and ratio of moderate to severe periodontitis were all significantly greater than in the healthy controls. Conclusion: The periodontal status of end-stage renal disease patients undergoing dialysis and referred for intraoral evaluation prior to kidney transplantation was worse than that of healthy controls.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.73-81
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• 2024

This study compared the cortical thickness of patients with mood disorders and a control group to assess structural abnormalities. A retrospective study was conducted from September 2020 to August 2022 at the Department of Psychiatry, P Hospital in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do. The study included 44 individuals diagnosed with mood disorders and 59 healthy individuals without any pathological lesions. The 3D-T1 MPRAGE images obtained from magnetic resonance imaging examinations were utilized, and FreeSurfer software was employed to measure cortical thickness. Statistical analysis involved independent samples t-tests to measure the differences in means between the two groups, and Cohen's d test was used to compare the effect sizes of the differences. Furthermore, the correlation between the measured average cortical thickness and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores was analyzed. The research results revealed that patients with mood disorders exhibited decreased cortical thickness compared to the normal control group in both superior frontal regions, both rostral middle frontal regions, both caudal middle frontal regions, both pars opercularis, pars orbitals, pars triangularis regions, both superior temporal regions, both inferior temporal regions, both lateral orbitofrontal regions, both medial orbitofrontal regions, both fusiform regions, both posterior cingulate regions, both isthmus cingulate regions, both superior parietal regions, both inferior parietal regions, both supramarginal regions, left postcentral region, right bank of the superior temporal sulcus region, right middle temporal region, right rostral anterior cingulate region, and right insula region. Among them, regions that showed differences with effect sizes of 0.8 or higher were left fusiform (d=0.82), pars opercularis (d=0.94), superior frontal (d=0.88), right lateral orbitofrontal (d=0.85), and pars orbitalis (d=0.89). Additionally, there was a weak negative correlation between PANSS scores and average cortical thickness in both the left hemisphere (r=-0.234) and right hemisphere (r=-0.230). These findings are expected to be helpful in identifying areas of cortical thickness reduction in patients with mood disorders compared to healthy individuals and understanding the relationship between symptom severity and cortical thickness changes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.1
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• pp.166-175
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• 2020

Purpose This study aimed to compare the image quality and adverse events between Iopamidol 250 and Ioversol 320 usage during transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods Medical records and hepatic angiography from 113 patients who underwent TACE with Iopamidol 250 (44 patients) and Ioversol 320 (69 patients) were retrospectively reviewed. Vessel perception on hepatic angiography was graded into three categories by two radiologists for hepatic subsegmental arteries, the right gastroepiploic artery, right gastric artery, and pancreaticoduodenal artery. Imaging concordance was assessed by comparing the number of detected HCCs on hepatic angiography and CT. The adverse events before and after hepatic angiography were evaluated. Results The mean vessel perception scores were 2.92 and 2.94 for Iopamidol 250 and Ioversol 320, respectively. The imaging concordance was 31 (70.5%) and 46 (66.7%) patients for Iopamidol 250 and Ioversol 320, respectively. There were no statistical differences in vessel perception or imaging concordance (p > 0.05). One and six patients experienced nausea for Iopamidol 250 and Ioversol 320, respectively. There was no statistical difference in adverse events (p = 0.24). Conclusion Iopamidol 250 can be used in hepatic angiography for TACE without significant difference in image quality or occurrence of adverse events from Ioversol 320.