• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.516-531
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• 2015

In this study, a software module to predict the effectiveness of vegetation buffer strip (VBS) has been developed for using with Chemicals, Agricultural Management and Erosion Losses (CAMEL), a distributed watershed model. Most basic functions for the VBS module are same as CAMEL except functions newly developed to implement sedimentation enhancement by vegetation and level spreaders. For verification of the VBS module, sensitivity analyses for length, roughness, soil and vegetation type of VBS were carried out using a test grid cell. The surface discharge of sediment are highly sensitive to the roughness coefficient of VBS. The removal efficiencies of VBS for the surface discharges of sediment and TP are generally high regardless of environment changes. The surface discharges of TOC and TN are highly sensitive to the length and soil of VBS. The removal efficiencies of VBS for the surface discharges of TOC and TN are generally lower than those of sediment and TP. The newly developed VBS module reasonably simulates the removal efficiencies of surface discharges that vary according to the environment changes. It is expected that this VBS module can be used for evaluating the effectiveness of VBS-based best management practices to be applied to reduce pollution discharges from various non-point sources.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.639-646
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to present the algorithm to minimize the image noise caused by deterioration of high X-ray container inspection equipment and the faulty detection sensors, and to improvement quality of the container inspection images using MATLAB Toolbox. The daily checking images for the container inspection were used with the subject images and the noise caused by the horizontal and vertical images was evaluated with Root Mean Square (RMS) method, which is the most basic evaluation method of digital radiation image. Also, quality of the improved images was evaluated compared to quality of the orignal images. As a result, all RMS value of the improved images was lower then the original images by a mean of 13.5% in the horizontal images and 18.2% in the vertical images respectively. Also so did RMS value of the improved container images, by a mean of 13.4% in the horizontal images and 19.1% in the vertical images respectively. These findings can be verified objectively and visually and they would help the reading process of the container images be effective in Korea Customs Service.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.221-229
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• 2023

This research aimed to conduct an empirical assessment of the penetration of chloride and sulfate ions into mortar sections using an anion exchange membrane(AEM) and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS). The study involved a simultaneous ion chromatography(IC) analysis and LIBS analysis performed on mortars immersed in varying concentrations of chloride and sulfate. The findings revealed that at the wavelengths specific to Chloride(837.59nm) and Sulfur(921.30nm), the LIBS intensity achieved using AEM surpassed that obtained with a paper substrate at equivalent penetration concentrations. A robust correlation was confirmed between LIBS intensity and chloride ion concentration. Furthermore, when juxtaposed with IC analysis concentration outcomes at identical depths, the AEM displayed a higher intensity. The research noted an enhancement in LIBS intensity and a diminution in errors within the low-concentration section when deploying AEM. However, for the Sulfur wavelength of 921.3nm, there remains a need to augment the sensitivity of the LIBS signal within the low-concentration section in future studies. The findings underscore the potential of employing AEM and LIBS for precise analysis of chloride and sulfate ion penetration into mortar sections. This strategy can aid in bolstering assessment precision and mitigating errors, particularly in regions with low concentrations. It is recommended to further research and develop methods to amplify the sensitivity of the LIBS signal for sulfur detection in low-concentration sections. In sum, the study accentuates the significance of employing advanced techniques like AEM and LIBS for efficacious and precise analysis in the domain of mortar section assessment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.5
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• pp.1218-1230
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• 2021

Purpose To compare the per-patient diagnostic performance of simulated abbreviated MRI (AMRI) to that of conventional MRI (CMRI) with full-sequence dynamic gadoxetic acid (GA) enhancement for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening in high-risk patients. Materials and Methods A total of 201 consecutive patients at high-risk for HCC, who underwent 3T liver MRI, were included in this retrospective study. The AMRI protocol comprised T2-weighted imaging, hepatobiliary phase imaging after GA injection, and diffusion-weighted imaging. For each patient, two AMRI and CMRI image sets were independently reviewed by two radiologists. Inter-reader agreement was assessed using Cohen's kappa value. A composite reference standard was used to determine the diagnostic performance of each image set for each reader. Results A total of 93 HCCs were detected in 79 patients. The inter-reader agreement was almost perfect for both image sets (κ = 0.839, 0.948). In AMRI, the per-patient sensitivity and negative predictive values (NPV) were 94.9% and 96.4%, respectively. In CMRI, the per-patient sensitivity and NPV were 96.2% and 97.5%, respectively. Conclusion AMRI, using only three sequences, had a comparable diagnostic performance to CMRI in screening early-stage HCC. AMRI could be an alternative HCC screening tool for high-risk HCC patients.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.389-401
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• 2022

Objective: This study aimed to determine a factor for predicting suboptimal image quality of the hepatobiliary phase (HBP) of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI in patients with extrahepatic bile duct (EHD) cancer before MRI examination. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 259 patients (mean age ± standard deviation: 68.0 ± 8.3 years; 162 male and 97 female) with EHD cancer who underwent gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI between 2011 and 2017. Patients were divided into a primary analysis set (n = 184) and a validation set (n = 75) based on the diagnosis date of January 2014. Two reviewers assigned the functional liver imaging score (FLIS) to reflect the HBP image quality. The FLIS consists of the sum of three HBP features, each scored on a 0-2 scale: liver parenchymal enhancement, biliary excretion, and signal intensity of the portal vein. Patients were classified into low-FLIS (0-3) or high-FLIS (4-6) groups. Multivariable analysis was performed to determine a predictor of low FLIS using serum biochemical and imaging parameters of cholestasis severity. The optimal cutoff value for predicting low FLIS was obtained using receiver operating characteristic analysis, and validation was performed. Results: Of the 259 patients, 140 (54.0%) and 119 (46.0%) were classified into the low-FLIS and high-FLIS groups, respectively. In the primary analysis set, total bilirubin was an independent factor associated with low FLIS (adjusted odds ratio per 1-mg/dL increase, 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32-1.98). The optimal cutoff value of total bilirubin for predicting low FLIS was 2.1 mg/dL with a sensitivity of 95.1% (95% CI: 88.9-98.4) and a specificity of 89.0% (95% CI: 80.2-94.9). In the validation set, the total bilirubin cutoff showed a sensitivity of 92.1% (95% CI: 78.6-98.3) and a specificity of 83.8% (95% CI: 68.0-93.8). Conclusion: Serum total bilirubin before acquisition of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI may help predict suboptimal HBP image quality in patients with EHD cancer.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.655-659
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• 2008

The NO gas sensing properties of ZnO-carbon nanotube (ZnO-CNT) composites fabricated by the coaxial coating of single-walled CNTs with ZnO were investigated using pulsed laser deposition. Upon examination, the morphology and crystallinity of the ZnO-CNT composites showed that CNTs were uniformly coated with polycrystalline ZnO with a grain size as small as 5-10 nm. Gas sensing measurements clearly indicated a remarkable enhancement of the sensitivity of ZnO-CNT composites for NO gas compared to that of ZnO films while maintaining the strong sensing stability of the composites, properties that CNT-based sensing materials do not have. The enhanced gas sensing properties of the ZnO-CNT composites are attributed to an increase in the surface adsorption area of the ZnO layer via the coating by CNTs of a high surface-to-volume ratio structure. These results suggest that the ZnO-CNT composite is a promising template for novel solid-state semiconducting gas sensors.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.934-942
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• 2013

Image scaling is used for a variety of real-life applications. In order to evaluate the performance of transform functions, the image quality are compared together before and after processing. For the objective evaluation of the transform functions, the exact criterion of image quality is required, and various aspects approaches are practically performed. However, few researches have been conducted on image quality measurement considering the position of pixels that are skipped or newly generated in the process of the image scaling. Therefore this paper focuses on the objective image quality measurement for positions of skipped or estimated pixels in the image scaling. The proposed method generated new image quality measure considering the positional changes using a conventional measure and evaluated sensitivity about positional changes. Through this experiments, it is observed that conventional image quality measurement is definitely affected by positional changes of a skipped and estimated pixels. It is also confirmed that the proposed method is an objective criterion to represent image quality for positional changes of skipped or estimated pixels. The proposed method can be used as a criterion to evaluate the performance of image restoration or enhancement functions.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2005

We fabricate and analyze fully depleted optical thyristors (DOTs) using quarter wavelength reflector stacks (QWRS). QWRS are employed as bottom mirrors to enhance the emission efficiency as well as the optical sensitivity. In order to analyze their switching characteristics, S-shape nonlinear current-voltage curves are simulated and the reverse full-depletion voltages (Vneg's) of DOTs are obtained as function of semiconductor parameters by using a finite difference method (FDM). The fabricated DOTs show sufficient nonlinear s-shape I-V characteristics and switching voltage changes of these devices with and without bottom mirrors show 1.82 V and 1.52 V, respectively. Compared to a conventional DOT, this device with the bottom mirrors shows about 20％ and 46% enhancement in switching voltage change and spontaneous emission efficiency, respectively.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4705-4709
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• 2014

Objective: To determine the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detection of metastasis in pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes from different gynecological malignancies. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross sectional analytic study was conducted at the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi Pakistan from January 2011 to December 2012. A sample of 48 women, age range between 20-79 years, fulfilling inclusion criteria were included. All patients had histopathologically proven gynecological malignancies in the cervix, endometrium or ovary and presented for a pretreatment MRI to our radiology department. Results: MRI was 100% sensitive and had a 100% positive predictive value to detect lymph node metastasis in lymph nodes with spiculated margins and 100% sensitive with a 75% positive predictive value to detect lymph node metastasis in a lymph node with lobulated margins. The sensitivity and positive predictive value of MRI to detect heterogeneous nodal enhancement were 100% and 75% respectively. Conclusions: Our study results reinforce that MRI should be used as a modality of choice in the pretreatment assessment of lymph nodes in proven gynaecological malignancies in order to determine the line of patientmanagement, distinguishing surgical from non-surgical cases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1715-1718
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• 2015

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging of breast, reported to be a high sensitivity of 94% to 100%, is the most sensitive method for detection of breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate our clinical experience in MRI-guided breast lesion wire localization in Chinese women. Materials and Methods: A total of 44 patients with 46 lesions undergoing MRI-guided breast lesion localization were prospectively entered into this study between November 2013 and September 2014. Samples were collected using a 1.5-T magnet with a special MR biopsy positioning frame device. We evaluated clinical lesion characteristics on pre-biopsy MRI, pathologic results, and dynamic curve type baseline analysis. Results: Of the total of 46 wire localization excision biopsied lesions carried out in 44 female patients, pathology revealed fourteen malignancies (14/46, 30.4%) and thirty-two benign lesions (32/46, 69.6%). All lesions were successfully localized followed by excision biopsy and assessed for morphologic features highly suggestive of malignancy according to the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category of MRI (C4a=18, C4b=17, C4c=8,C5=3). Of 46 lesions, 37 were masses and 9 were non-mass enhancement lesions. Thirty-two lesions showed a continuous kinetics curve, 11 were plateau and 3 were washout. Conclusions: Our study showed success in MRI-guided breast lesion wire localization with a satisfactory cancer diagnosis rate of 30.4%. MRI-guided wire localization breast lesion open biopsy is a safe and effective tool for the workup of suspicious lesions seen on breast MRI alone without major complications. This may contribute to increasing the diagnosis rate of early breast cancer and improve the prognosis in Chinese women.