• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.874-885
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• 2012

In the present study, the possibility of whether the pharmacological effects of Scutellariae Radix Aqueous Extracts(SR) were favorably changed by report that lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced rat acute lung injury was treated with Red-Koji(Monascus purpureus 12002) fermentation. Three different dosages of Red-Koji fermented SR extract(fSR), 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg were orally administered once a day for 28 days before LPS(Escherichia coli 0111:B4) treatments, and then 5 hours after LPS treatment(500 ${\mu}g$/head, intra trachea instillation), all rats were sacrificed. Changes in the body weights, lung weights, pulmonary transcapillary albumin transit, arterial gas parameters(pH, $PaO_2$ and $PaCO_2$) bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) protein, lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) and proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$(TNF-${\alpha}$), interleukin-$1{\beta}$(IL-$1{\beta}$) contents, total cell numbers, neutrophil and alveolar macrophage ratios, lung malondialdehyde(MDA), myeloperoxidase(MPO), proinflammatory cytokine TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ contents were observed with histopathology of the lung, changes on luminal surface of alveolus(LSA), thickness of alveolar septum, number of polymorphonuclear neutrophils(PMNs). As results of LPS-injection, dramatical increases in lung weights, pulmonary transcapillary albumin transit increases in $PaCO_2$, decreases in pH of arterial blood and $PaO_2$, increases of BALF protein, LDH, TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ contents, total cells, neutrophil and alveolar macrophage ratios, lung MDA, MPO, TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ contents increases were detected with decreases in LSA and increases of alveolar septum and PMNs numbers, respectively as compared with intact control. Especially fSR 125 mg/kg showed quite similar favorable effects on the LPS-induced acute lung injuries as compared with 60 mg/kg of ${\alpha}$-lipoic acid and 250 mg/kg of SR. The results suggest that over 125 mg/kg of fSR extracts showed favorable effects on the LPS-induced acute lung injury mediated by their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Moreover, increases of the pharmacological effects of SR on LPS-induced acute lung injury were observed by Red-Koji fermentation in this study, at least 2-fold higher.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.89-99
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• 2016

Objectives : This study was performed to develop objective methods for evaluating facial palsy sequelae using a 3D Facial Scanning System. Methods : Fifty-eight patients with facial palsy sequelae were selected. Their medical records were reviewed to collect demographic data, facial palsy sequelae evaluation, Facial Disability Index questionnaire, and test results (3D Facial Scanning System). Five different facial expressions (at rest, eye closure, eyebrow elevation, smiling, and whistling) were photographed. Sunnybrook Scale was associated with distances between predetermined facial points. Results : The average Sunnybrook composite score was $58.88{\pm}17.31$. Secondary movements (mouth to eye synkinesis, contracture of eye, and contracture of mouth) showed significant difference according to the Sunnybrook Scale. In voluntary movements, eyebrow height at eyebrow elevation, length between mouth angle and central line while whistling, and eyelid width at maximum eye opening showed significant difference. Facial palsy Sequelae Index (FSI) was correlated with Sunnybrook sub-scales (resting symmetry, voluntary movement, and synkinesis). Conclusion : These results demonstrate that a 3D Facial Scanning System is useful for evaluating facial palsy sequelae. This method may facilitate objective evaluation for facial palsy sequelae and it could be applied in clinical trials.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.197-205
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• 2016

Objectives : To report the clinical application and safety of Traditional Korean Medical treatment for patients with low back pain during pregnancy. Methods : Three patients who suffered from low back pain during pregnancy were treated with acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, and herbal medicine for 12 to 21 days. Numeric rating scale (NRS) of low back pain and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were checked to measure the outcome. A liver function and renal function test was carried out to identify any drug-induced liver or renal injury, and any adverse events were monitored thoroughly until delivery. Results : Low back pain reduced on NRS in all cases, and no serious adverse effects were found in the patients or infants. Conclusion : This study suggests that Traditional Korean Medical treatment is a candidate therapy for relieving low back pain during pregnancy, and also is safe for both patients and infants.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.452-462
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• 2008

In this paper, we address issues associated with the real-time implementation of the MPEG-1/2 Layer-II (or MUSICAM) and MPEG-4 ER-BSAC decoders for Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) on TMS320C64x+ that is a fixed-point DSP processor with a clock speed of 330 MHz. To achieve the real-time requirement, they should be optimized in different steps as follows. First of all, a C-code level optimization is performed by sharing the memory, adjusting data types, and unrolling loops. Next, an algorithm level optimization is carried out such as the reconfiguration of bitstream reading, the modification of synthesis filtering, and the rearrangement of the window coefficients for synthesis filtering. In addition, the C-code of a synthesis filtering module of the MPEG-1/2 Layer-II decoder is rewritten by using the linear assembly programming technique. This is because the synthesis filtering module requires the most processing time among all processing modules of the decoder. In order to show how the real-time implementation works, we obtain the percentage of the processing time for decoding and calculate a RMS value between the decoded audio signals by the reference MPEG decoder and its DSP version implemented in this paper. As a result, it is shown that the percentages of the processing time for the MPEG-1/2 Layer-II and MPEG-4 ER-BSAC decoders occupy less than 3% and 11% of the DSP clock cycles, respectively, and the RMS values of the MPEG-1/2 Layer-II and MPEG-4 ER-BSAC decoders implemented in this paper all satisfy the criterion of -77.01 dB which is defined by the MPEG standards.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.108-108
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• 2000

급증하는 무선통신 정보수요는 특히, 고주파대역 (300NHz-300GHz)에서 사용되는 공진기, 필터, 발진기 등과 같은 소자의 품질향상을 요구하고 있다. 고주파용 유전체 중 ZrTiO4 는 $\alpha$-PbO2 계열의 사방정구조를 갖고 있는 유전체로서 높은 유전율 ($\varepsilon$=40)과 높은 품질계수 (Q=1/tan$\delta$=4700 at 7GHz)를 갖고 있고, Sn 첨가시 0ppm/$^{\circ}C$의 공진주파수 온도계수를 얻을 수 있다고 보고되어 있다. 본 연구에서는 약 110$0^{\circ}C$ 이상에서 안정한 상으로 존재하는 ZrTiO4를 저온에서 증착하여 준안정한 상태로 결정화되게 한후, 유전손실 (tan$\delta$)과 유전율($\varepsilon$)을 측정하였다. 또한 증착온도와 열처리과정에 따른 박막의 us형 (Strain) 정도의 변화를 X-선 회절결과로부터 분석하였으며 이를 측정된 유전특성 값과 비교하였다. ZrTiO4 박막은 DC magnetron reactive sputter로 Zr과 Ti 타겟으로부터 high phosphorous doped Si (100) 기판위에 증착하였다. 압력은 4mTorr로 유지하고 박막의 화학양론적 조성비를 맞추기 위해 각 타겟에 가해지는 power는 Zr/Ti=500W/650W로 고정하고, 반응가스의 비율을 Ar/O2=17sccm/3.5sccm으로 유지하여 박막내에 인입되는 산소량을 제어하였다. 증착 직후와 열처리 후의 박막특성을 비교하기 위해 증착온도를 상온에서부터 $600^{\circ}C$까지 변호시키고 증착후 각각의 시편을 80$0^{\circ}C$ 산소분위기에서 2시간동안 열처리하여 시편을 준비하였다. 박막의 상형성 여부와 결정성변화는 $ heta$-2$\theta$X-선 회절법을 사용하여 조사하였고, EPMA를 이용하여 박막의 조성을 확인하였다. 유전특성의 측정을 위해 백금 상부전극을 증착한 후, impedance analyzer를 이용하여 100kHz 영역에서의 유전손실을 측정하고, 측정된 정전용량과 박막의 두께로부터 유전율을 계산하였다. ZrTiO4 박막은 증착온도 20$0^{\circ}C$ 이상에서 결정성을 보이기 시작했으며, 열처리 이후에는 상온에서 비정질이었던 시편이 $650^{\circ}C$ 이상의 온도에서 결정화되기 시작하였다. 증착온도에 따라 유전손실은 0.038에서 0.017 정도로 감소하는 경향을 나타냈으며, 각각 열처리에 의해서 0.034, 0.005 정도로 다시 감소하였다. 박막의 유전율은 약 35 정도의 값을 나타내었으며 X-선 회절 data로부터 분석한 박막의 변형은 증온도에 따라 7.2%에서 0.04%로 감소하였고 이 이경향은 유전손실은 감소경향과 일치하였다.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.169-179
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• 2016

Recently, MPEG-H has been standardizing for a multimedia coder in UHDTV (Ultra-High-Definition TV). Thus, the demand for not only channel-based audio contents but also object-based audio contents is more increasing, which results in developing a new technique of converting channel-based audio contents to object-based ones. In this paper, a non-uniform linear microphone array based source separation method is proposed for realizing such conversion. The proposed method first analyzes the arrival time differences of input audio sources to each of the microphones, and the spectral magnitudes of each sound source are estimated at the horizontal directions based on the analyzed time differences. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, objective performance measures of the proposed method are compared with those of conventional methods such as an MVDR (Minimum Variance Distortionless Response) beamformer and an ICA (Independent Component Analysis) method. As a result, it is shown that the proposed separation method has better separation performance than the conventional separation methods.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.524-530
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• 2005

Dietary effect of soyfiber beni-koji (SBK) with chitosan-ascorbate (CA) on the level of serum lipids in rats fed a high fat diet was investigated The experimental groups which were divided into high fat diet control group(HC-group), $2\%\;SBK+0.1\%$ CA mixture diet group(CA1-group), $2\%\;SBK+0.15\%$ CA mixture diet group(CA2-group), and $2\%\;SBK+0.2\%$ CA mixture diet group (CA2-group) were fed for 4 weeks. Weight gains in CA2- and CA3-group were $5.3\%\;and\;9.5\%$ lower than that of HC-group, respectively, while there was no significant difference in feed intakes, feed efficiency ratio and organs weight Level of serum triglyceride in $C_3-group\;was\;21\%$ lower than that of HC-group. Level of serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol in CA2- and CA3-group were $22.1\~22.7\%\;and\;58.6\~64.3\%$ lower than those of HC-group, respectively. Atherogenic index decreased with the higher level of CA. Level of lipid peroxide in CA3-group was $24\%$ lower than that of HC-group, while there was no significant difference in GSH(Glutathione-S-transferase) content O type activities of XOD(xanthine oxidase) in the treated groups were lower, especially the activity in CA3-group was $51.6\%$ lower than that of HC-group. Also, O/T ratio of XOD was lower, showing $21.7\~23.5\%$ in treated groups and $34.0\%$ in HC-group(p<0.05). GST activities were 332.52 units in HC-group and $350.28\~355.63$ units in the treated groups, but there were no significant differences among them.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.485-493
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• 2007

Introduction: Although several types of calcium-phosphate coumpound have been frequently applied to osseous defects at maxillofacial area for many years, there is a controversy about its efficiency on bone conductivity comprared to xenograft bone substitute. Alloplastic carbonapatite has been introduced to improve disadvantages of hydroxyapatite and to mimic natural bone containing carbon elements. However, a preclinical study about its efficiency of osteoconductivity has not been reported. This study was performed to evaluate the early osteoconductive potential of synthetic carbonapatite with multiple pores relative to anorganic bovine xenograft. Materials and methods: Total 5 beagle dogs were used for maxillary augmentation model. The control (anorganic bovine xenograft) and experimental groups (synthetic carbonapatite) were randomly distributed in the mouth split design. After bone graft, all animals were sacrificed 4 weeks after surgery. Histological specimens with Masson Trichrome staining were made and histomorphometrically analysed with image analyser. The statistical analysis was performed using paired t-test. Results: In both groups, all animals had no complications. The experimental group showed relatively much new bone formation around and along the bone substitutes, whereas it was clearly reduced in the control group. The ratios of new bone area to total area, to material area and to the residual area excluding materials were higher in the experimental group ($0.13{\pm}0.03,\;0.40{\pm}0.13,\;0.20{\pm}0.06$ respectively) than in the control group ($0.01{\pm}0.01,\;0.03{\pm}0.02,\;0.03{\pm}0.03$, respectively). And the differences between both groups were statistically significant (p<0.001, <0.01, <0.01, respectively), while the ratio of material area to total area in two groups was not significant. Conclusion: Carbonapatite showed a high osteoconductivity in the early stage of bone healing compared to bovine derived anorganic bone substitute. This study suggests that this bone materials can be applied as a reliable bone substitute in the clinical treatment.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2017

In this paper, we propose an underwater acoustic sensor fault detection method for passive sonar systems. In general, a passive sonar system displays processed results of array signals obtained from tens of the acoustic sensors as a two-dimensional image such as displays for broadband or narrowband analysis. Since detection result display in the operation software is to display the accumulated result through the array signal processing, it is difficult to determine the possibility where signal may be contaminated by the fault or failure of a single channel sensor. In this paper, accordingly, we propose a detection method based on the analysis of RMSCR (Root Mean Square Crossing-Rate), and the processing techniques for the faulty sensors are analyzed. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed method, the precision of detecting fault sensors is measured by using signals acquired from real array being operated in several coastal areas. Besides, we compare performance of fault processing techniques. From the experiments, it is shown that the proposed method works well in underwater environments with high average RMS, and mute (set to zero) shows the best performance with regard to fault processing techniques.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.123-129
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• 2017

This paper proposes a new nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) based direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation method for multiple sound sources using a dual microphone array. First of all, sound signals coming from the dual microphone array are segmented into consecutive analysis frames, and a steered-response power phase transform (SRP-PHAT) beamformer is applied to each frame so that stereo signals of each frame are represented in a time-direction domain. The time-direction outputs of SRP-PHAT are stored for a pre-defined number of frames, which is referred to as a time-direction block. Next, In order to estimate DOAs robust to noise, each time-direction block is normalized along the time by using a block subtraction technique. After that, an unsupervised NMF method is applied to the normalized time-direction block in order to cluster the directions of each sound source in a multiple sound source environments. In particular, the activation and basis matrices are used to estimate the number of sound sources and their DOAs, respectively. The DOA estimation performance of the proposed method is evaluated by measuring a mean absolute error (MAE) and the standard deviation of errors between the oracle and estimated DOAs under a three source condition, where the sources are located in [$-35{\circ}$, 5m], [$12{\circ}$, 4m], and [$38{\circ}$, 4.m] from the dual microphone array. It is shown from the experiment that the proposed method could relatively reduce MAE by 56.83%, compared to a conventional SRP-PHAT based DOA estimation method.