• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.259-264
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• 2016

Purpose: To establish the cause of decrease in body stability and to analyze the effects on sensory organs maintaining static balance according to the induced astigmatic blur. Methods: Twenty subjects (10 males, 10 females; mean age, $23.40{\pm}2.70years$) were participated in this study. To induce myopic simple astigmatism, the axis directions of cylindrical lenses were placed $180^{\circ}$ on both eyes (with-the-rule), $90^{\circ}$ on both eyes (against-the-rule), and $45^{\circ}$ on both eyes (oblique). Cylindrical lenses of +0.50, +1.00, +1.50, +2.00, +3.00, +4.00, and +5.00 D were used to increase astigmatic blur in each astigmatism types. General stability (ST) and sway power (SP) in frequencies by each sensory organs were analyzed using the TETRAX biofeedback system. Results: ST in the all astigmatism types were raised with increase of astigmatic blur compared to full corrected condition, but a significant difference only showed in the induced oblique astigmatism. According to the results of correlation analysis between ST and SP in the each frequencies with increase of astigmatic blur, the causes of increased ST in the induced oblique astigmatism showed to have a high correlation in order of somatosensory system (high-medium frequency), central nervous system (high frequency), peripheral vestibular system (low-medium frequency), and visual system (low frequency). Conclusions: The visual information by uncorrected oblique astigmatism may disturb the normal functions of all sensory organs maintaining body balance, consequently, the body stability can be reduced. Therefore, optimal correction of astigmatism can play an important role for reducing the instability of body balance.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2014

This study examined the uplift bearing capacity of spiral steel pegs according to the degree of soil compaction and embedded depth in a small-scaled lab test. As a result, their uplift bearing capacity increased according to the degree of soil compaction and embedded depth. The uplift bearing capacity under the ground condition of 85% compaction rate especially recorded 48.9 kgf, 57.9 kgf, 86.2 kgf and 116.6 kgf at embedded depth of 25 cm, 30 cm, 35 cm and 40 cm, respectively, being considerably higher than under other ground conditions. There were huge differences in the uplift bearing capacity of spiral steel pegs according to the compaction conditions of ground. Their maximum uplift bearing capacity was 116.6 kgf under the ground condition of 85% compaction rate and at embedded depth of 40 cm, and it is very high considering the data of spiral steel pegs. It is thus estimated that wind damage can be effectively reduced by careful maintenance of ground condition surrounding spiral steel pegs. In addition, spiral steel pegs will be able to make a contribution to greenhouse structural stability if proper installation methods are provided including the number and interval according to the types of greenhouse as well as fixation of plastic film. The findings of the study indicate that the optimal effects of spiral steel pegs for greenhouse can be achieved at embedded depth of more than 35cm and compaction degree of more than 85%. The relative density of the model ground in the test was 67% at compaction rate of 85%.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.232-239
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of photoperiod and light intensity of RBW LED (red:blue:white = 2:1:1) on the growth of Taraxacum coreanum Nakai in a fully artificial light type plant factory. 3 photoperiods and 4 light intensity were used respectively in a fully artificial light type plant production system. Plants were cultured with three photoperiods and four light intensity regimes (conditions) for 270 and 120 days, respectively, using nutrient film technique (NFT) or aeroponics culture methods. For each photoperiod, the total leaves per plant harvested 8 times in all cultivation period was 224 in the 16/8(day/light) photoperiod that had no significant difference from 220 in the 12/12 photoperiod and the lowest number of leaves was 151 occurred in the 8/16 photoperiod, which means that the longer photoperiod, the more leaves harvest. Total fresh weight of above ground was the high in order of in 16/8 photoperiod as 125g, 12/12 photoperiod as 91g, 8/16 photoperiod as 56g. For each light intensity, the total leaves per plant harvested 4 times in all cultivation period was the great in order of $150{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ as 123, $200{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ as 107, $100{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ as 95, $50{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ as 56 which was the smallest number of total leaves harvest. Total fresh weight of above ground per plant was the high in order of $150{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ as 43.6g, $100{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ as 34.6g, $200{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ as 32.2g, $50{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ as 18.2g. From these results, it was concluded that photoperiod of 16/8 and light intensity at $150{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ can be used as the light condition of RBW LED (red:blue:white = 2:1:1) for optimal growth of Taraxacum coreanum Nakai in a fully artificial light type plant factory.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2006

Purpose : Recent development of diffusion tensor imaging enables the evaluation of the microstructural characteristics of the brain white matter. However, optimal imaging parameters for diffusion tensor imaging, particularly concerning the number of diffusion gradient direction, have not been studied thoroughly yet. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of the number of diffusion gradient direction on the fiber tracking of the white matter. Materials and methods : 13 healthy volunteers (ten men and three women, mean age 30 years, age range 23-37 years) were included in this study. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed with different numbers of diffusion gradient direction as 6, 15, and 32, keeping the other imaging parameters constant. The imaging field ranged from 1 cm below the pons to 2-3 cm above the lateral ventricle, parallel to the anterior commissure-posterior commissure line. FA (fractional anisotropy) maps were created via image postprocessing, and then FA and its standard deviation were calculated in the genu and the splenium of the corpus callosum on each of FA maps. Fiber tracking of the corticospinal tract in the brain was performed and the number of the reconstructed fibers of the tract was measured. FA, standard deviation of FA and the number of the reconstructed fibers were compared statistically between the different diffusion gradient directions. Results : FA is not statistically significantly different between the different diffusion gradient directions. By increasing the number of diffusion gradient direction, standard deviation of FA decreased significantly, and the number of the reconstructed fibers increased significantly. Conclusion : The higher number of diffusion gradient direction provided better quality of fiber tracking.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.224-231
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• 2010

Purpose: Hospital readmissions have recently increased due to early hospital discharge and increased trends in breast-feeding. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia can lead to fatal permanent neurological sequelae without appropriate management. Early detection and intervention are critical. We evaluated the clinical features, risk factors, and brain MRI findings of Korean newborns with idiopathic nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia to determine the optimal management policy. Methods: A retrospective review of the medical records of 79 newborns with idiopathic nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia was performed at the NICU of the Kyungpook National University Hospital from January 2006 to September 2009. All patients were 35 or more weeks of gestation, and their peak level of serum total bilirubin was more than 20 mg/dL. Results: The mean gestational age was $38^{+3}{\pm}1^{+4}$ weeks, and the mean age on admission was 8.8$\pm$4.0 days. The mean body weight (3,105$\pm$479 g) was decreased by 2.8$\pm$6.4 percent compared to the mean birth weight (3,174$\pm$406 g). There were no statistically significant differences for the peak serum bilirubin level or the duration and effects of phototherapy between the patients with and without risk factors, which included: breastfeeding, cephalohematoma, subdural hemorrhage, and/or ABO incompatibility. Patients were grouped according to change of body weight. Group I consisted of patients that gained weight compared to birth weight, and group II of patients that lost weight compared to birth weight. There were significant differences in the peak serum total bilirubin level between the two groups. Thirty nine patients had brain MRI evaluation; 21 patients had bilateral symmetric signal intensity increases in the globus pallidus compared to adjacent corticospinal tract and putamen on T1-weighted images. Conclusion: Bilirubin encephalopathy is preventable with early screening and proper management. Parents require instruction on feeding practices and follow-up to prevent complications from idiopathic nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.338-343
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a small animal PET using dual layer phoswich detector to minimize parallax error that degrades spatial resolution at the outer part of field-of-view (FOV). Materials and Methods: A simulation tool GATE (Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission) was used to derive optimal parameters of small PET, and PET was developed employing the parameters. Lutetium Oxyorthosilicate (LSO) and Lutetium-Yttrium Aluminate-Perovskite(LuYAP) was used to construct dual layer phoswitch crystal. $8{\times}8$ arrays of LSO and LuYAP pixels, $2mm{\times}2mm{\times}8mm$ in size, were coupled to a 64-channel position sensitive photomultiplier tube. The system consisted of 16 detector modules arranged to one ring configuration (ring inner diameter 10 cm, FOV of 8 cm). The data from phoswich detector modules were fed into an ADC board in the data acquisition and preprocessing PC via sockets, decoder block, FPGA board, and bus board. These were linked to the master PC that stored the events data on hard disk. Results: In a preliminary test of the system, reconstructed images were obtained by using a pair of detectors and sensitivity and spatial resolution were measured. Spatial resolution was 2.3 mm FWHM and sensitivity was 10.9 $cps/{\mu}Ci$ at the center of FOV. Conclusion: The radioactivity distribution patterns were accurately represented in sinograms and images obtained by PET with a pair of detectors. These preliminary results indicate that it is promising to develop a high performance small animal PET.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.159-166
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• 2007

Objective: To investigate whether semen parameters in infertile couples who undergone intrauterine insemination (IUI) change in the subsequent IUI cycle and the subsequent in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle. Methods: Fifty-three infertile couples who had failed to become pregnant after the first IUI cycle with computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) were included. After the first IUI, thirty-eight couples underwent the second IUI (Group 1), and fifteen underwent IVF-ET procedure (Group 2). All semen parameters including semen volume, concentration, motility and total motile sperm count were analyzed in the second IUI or IVF-ET procedure for comparison with the result of first IUI. Results: There were no significant differences in husband age, interval between the first and second procedure and cause of infertility. In Group 1, only sperm motility at the time of the latter IUI was significantly decreased when compared to the former IUI irrespective of the first semen parameters. In Group 2, sperm concentration, motility and total motile sperm count at the time of subsequent IVF were lower than the former IUI. By sub-analyses of Group 2, in the group of optimal semen parameter at IUI cycle, sperm concentration and total motile sperm count at the time of subsequent IVF were lower than the former IUI, while in the group of suboptimal semen parameter at IUI cycle, only sperm motility at the time of subsequent IVF were lower than the former IUI. Conclusion: The semen parameters in couples converted to IVF cycle were more adversely affected than those remained in IUI cycle. Further study on psychological stress should be necessary to explain the reason.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.17 no.sup
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• pp.61-68
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• 2011

To assess the total cost with all stages of facilities, the feasibility of Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis was examined in this study to estimate the livestock manure treatment system and optimal decision making process. For the economic evaluation, the plant/equipment investment and annual operation cost of four Public Livestock Recycling Facilities, whose treatment capacity is 100 ton piggery manure per day, was compared. The initial cost was in the range of 2,699 million won to 3,202 million won, where T and E methods were highest and lowest, respectively. The annual operation cost was in the level of 378 million to 498 million won, which decreased in the following order : T method > J method > E method > B method. For the LCC analysis, 4.7% of interest rate, 3.13% of inflation rate, and 1.52% of net discount rate was considered by the data received from Bank of Korea and Statics Korea in the period of 2000 to 2009. Also, for the calculation of present value factor, the durable years of civil engineering & construction, machinery and electric instrument was 30 years, 10 years and 15 years, respectively. Based on these consideration, operation cost was in the range of 17,570 won/ton to 20,661 won/ton, and E method (17,570 won/ton) was economical and B method (20,661 won/ton) was non-economical. Though initial cost of T method was higher than that of B method, LCC analysis of T method was lower than that of T method due to the lower operation cost. Therefore, LCC analysis, which considers both initial cost and operation cost, is more reasonable evaluation method than either initial cost or annual operation cost. For the change of LCC analysis according to the uncertainty, the sensitivity analysis was carried out using fluctuation magnitude of discount rate in the period of 2000 to 2009. As a result, LCC analysis evaluated by discount rate was stable for the uncertain factors since the cost leadership did not change even though the sensitivity analysis varied. In summary, the economic evaluation using LCC analysis could be an efficient reference to choose the suitable livestock manure treatment plants. Furthermore, standardization of statement calculation for the actual cost analysis should be conducted and more detailed study is necessary to validate this summary. Therefore, the application of comprehensive technology evaluation, which considers LCC analysis, should contribute in obtaining objectivity and enhancing reliability for the 'Evaluation of Livestock Manure Treatment System and its Technology'.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.74-79
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• 2017

Purpose Proton therapy can deliver an optimal dose to tumor while reducing unnecessary dose to normal tissue as compared the conventional photon therapy. As proton beams are irradiated into tissue, various positron emitters are produced via nuclear fragmentation reactions. These positron emitters could be used for the dose verification by using PET. However, the short half-life of the radioisotopes makes it hard to obtain the enough amounts of events. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of off-line PET imaging scan time on the PET image quality. Materials and Methods The various diameters of spheres (D=37, 28, 22 mm) filled with distilled water were inserted in a 2001 IEC body phantom. Then proton beams (100 MU) were irradiated into the center of the each sphere using the wobbling technique with the gantry angle of $0^{\circ}$. The modulation widths of the spread out bragg peak were 16.4, 14.7 and 9.3 cm for the spheres of 37, 28 and 22 mm in diameters respectively. After 5 min of the proton irradiation, the PET images of the IEC body phantom were obtained for 50 min. The PET images with different time courses (0-10 min, 11-20 min, 21-30 min, 31-40 min and 41-50 min) were obtained by dividing the frame with a duration of 10 min. In order to evaluate the off-line PET image quality with the different time courses, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the PET image calculated for each sphere. Results The CNRs of the sphere (D=37 mm) were 0.43, 0.42, 0.40, 0.31 and 0.21 for the time courses of 0-10 min, 11-20 min, 21-30 min, 31-40 min and 41-50 min respectively. The CNRs of the sphere (D=28 mm) were 0.36, 0.32, 0.27, 0.19 and 0.09 for the time courses of 0-10 min, 11-20 min, 21-30 min, 31-40 min and 41-50 min respectively. The CNR of 37 mm sphere was decreased rapidly after 30 min of the proton irradiation. In case of the spheres of 28 mm and 22 mm, the CNR was decreased drastically after 20 min of the irradiation. Conclusion The off-line PET imaging time is an important factor for the monitoring of the proton therapy. In case of the lesion diameter of 22 mm, the off-line PET image should be obtained within 25 min after the proton irradiation. When it comes to small size of tumor, the long PET imaging time will be beneficial for the proton therapy treatment monitoring.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.36-48
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• 2010

Purpose : In children on anticancer chemotherapy, bloodstream infections (BSIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We investigated febrile episodes and bloodstream infections in pediatric cancer patients to guide proper selection of empiric antibiotics for febrile pediatric hemato-oncologic patients. Methods : All febrile episodes treated in the division of hematology-oncology, the department of pediatrics, Hanyang University Hospital, between July 2005 and June 2008 were reviewed. Episodes with and without bloodstream infections were compared. Results : Forty cases (18.9%, 25 patients) of BSI occurred in 212 febrile episodes (63 patients). Thirty-seven cases (23.6%, 22 patients) of BSI occurred in 157 febrile episodes with neutropenia (54 patients). Microorganisms identified in BSI corresponded to 23 gram-positive bacteria (51.2%), 20 gram-negative bacteria (44.5%), and 2 fungi (4.4%). Rates of BSI between those who had received umbilical cord blood transplantation and those who had received transplantation from other source were significantly different (55.0% vs. 7.7%, P =0.001). No differences in mortality rate were observed among organisms in BSI patients. For febrile episodes the rate of BSI was higher among those with Chemoport than those with Hickman catheter (P =0.029) and gram-positive pathogens were more likely to be associated with Chemoport (P =0.001). Conclusion : The study showed the rate of BSI, distribution of pathogens with regard to neutropenia, transplantation, central venous catheters, and antimicrobial susceptibility of pathogens in order to help guide in the choice of optimal empiric antibiotics in pediatric febrile neutropenic hemato-oncologic patients.