• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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• v.43 no.5 s.311
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• pp.29-37
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• 2006

Thresholding is a fundamental approach to segmentation that utilizes a significant degree of pixel popularity or intensity. Otsu's thresholding employed the normalized histogram as a discrete probability density function. Also it utilized a criterion that minimizes the between-class variance of pixel intensity to choose a threshold value for segmentation. However, the Otsu's method has a disadvantage of repeatedly searching optimal thresholds for the entire range. In this paper, a simple but fast multi-level thresholding approach is proposed by means of extending the Otsu's method. Rather than invoke the Otsu's method for the entire gray range, we advocate that the gray-level range of an image be first divided into smaller sub-ranges, and that the multi-level thresholds be achieved by iteratively invoking this dividing process. Initially, in the proposed method, the gray range of the object image is divided into 2 classes with a threshold value. Here, the threshold value for segmentation is selected by invoking the Otsu's method for the entire range. Following this, the two classes are divided into 4 classes again by applying the Otsu's method to each of the divided sub-ranges. This process is repeatedly performed until the required number of thresholds is obtained. Our experimental results for three benchmark images and fifty faces show a possibility that the proposed method could be used efficiently for pattern matching and face recognition.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.433-450
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• 2020

The strong turbulence characteristic of typhoon not only will significantly change flow field characteristics surrounding the large-scale wind turbine and aerodynamic force distribution on surface, but also may cause morphological evolution of coast dune and thereby form sand storms. A 5MW horizontal-axis wind turbine in a wind power plant of southeastern coastal areas in China was chosen to investigate the distribution law of additional loads caused by wind-sand coupling movement of coast dune at landing of strong typhoons. Firstly, a mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mode was introduced in for high spatial resolution simulation of typhoon "Megi". Wind speed profile on the boundary layer of typhoon was gained through fitting based on nonlinear least squares and then it was integrated into the user-defined function (UDF) as an entry condition of small-scaled CFD numerical simulation. On this basis, a synchronous iterative modeling of wind field and sand particle combination was carried out by using a continuous phase and discrete phase. Influencing laws of typhoon and normal wind on moving characteristics of sand particles, equivalent pressure distribution mode of structural surface and characteristics of lift resistance coefficient were compared. Results demonstrated that: Compared with normal wind, mesoscale typhoon intensifies the 3D aerodynamic distribution mode on structural surface of wind turbine significantly. Different from wind loads, sand loads mainly impact on 30° ranges at two sides of the lower windward region on the tower. The ratio between sand loads and wind load reaches 3.937% and the maximum sand pressure coefficient is 0.09. The coupling impact effect of strong typhoon and large sand particles is more significant, in which the resistance coefficient of tower is increased by 9.80% to the maximum extent. The maximum resistance coefficient in typhoon field is 13.79% higher than that in the normal wind field.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1532-1540
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• 2013

T-box transcription factor 2 (Tbr2) is a member of the T-box family of transcription factors and it plays an important role in brain development, progenitor cell proliferation, and the modulation of differentiation and function in immune cells, such as CD8+ T cells and natural killer cells. This study aims to elucidate the involvement of Tbr2 in the pathophysiological events following pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in mice. Status epilepticus resulted in prominent neuronal cell death in discrete brain regions, such as CA3, the hilus, and the piriform cortex. Interestingly, when the immunoreactivity of Tbr2 was examined two days after status epilepticus, it was transiently increased in CA3 and in the piriform cortex. Tbr2-positive cells in CA3 and the piriform cortex were double-labeled with CD11b, a marker of microglia and a subset of white blood cells, such as monocytes, CD8+ T cells, and natural killer cells. Moreover, the double-labeled cells with Tbr2 and CD11b showed amoeboid morphology, and this data indicates that Tbr2-expressing cells may be reactive microglia or infiltrating white blood cells. Furthermore, clustered Tbr2-positive cells were observed in the platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1)-positive blood vessels near the CA3 area, which suggests that Tbr2-positive cells may be infiltrating the white blood cells. Based on this data, this study is the first to indicate the involvement of Tbr2 in neuropathophysiology in status epilepticus.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.25-36
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• 2020

An increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters have been observed due to climate change. To better prepare for these, the MOIS (ministry of the interior and safety) announced a comprehensive plan for minimizing damages associated with natural disasters, including drought and heavy snowfall. The spatial-temporal pattern of snowfall is greatly influenced by temperature and geographical features. Heavy snowfalls are often observed in Gangwon-do, surrounded by mountains, whereas less snowfall is dominant in the southern part of the country due to relatively high temperatures. Thus, snow depth data often contains zeros that can lead to difficulties in the selection of probability distribution and estimation of the parameters. A generalized mixture distribution approach to a maximum snow depth series over the southern part of Korea (i.e., Changwon, Tongyeoung, Jinju weather stations) are located is proposed to better estimate a threshold (𝛿) classifying discrete and continuous distribution parts. The model parameters, including the threshold in the mixture model, are effectively estimated within a Bayesian modeling framework, and the uncertainty associated with the parameters is also provided. Comparing to the Daegwallyeong weather station, It was found that the proposed model is more effective for the regions in which less snow depth is observed.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.117-148
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• 2022

The full impact of COVID-19 has yet to be felt: while it may not define the new decade, it is clear that its immediate significance was to test many of the basic operating assumptions and procedures of global civilization. Even as vaccines are developed and utilized and even as it is possible to see the beginning of the end of COVID-19 as a discrete historical event, it remains unclear as to its ultimate importance. That said, it is evident that the academic exploration of Southeast Asia will also be affected by both the global and regional experiences of the pandemic. "Breakthroughs of Area Studies and ASEAN in the Era of Homo Untact" promises to help reconceptualize the study of the region by highlighting the importance of redefined spatial relationships and new potentially depersonalized modes of communication. This paper acknowledges these issues by suggesting that the transformations caused by the pandemic should motivate scholars to raise new questions about how to understand humanity-particularly as it is defined by societies, nations and regions. Given that COVID-19 (and the response to it) has altered many of the fundamental rhythms of globalized regions, there is sufficient warrant for re-examining both the ways in which disease, health and their related spaces affect the perceptions of Southeast Asia. To achieve "breakthroughs" into the investigation of the region, it makes sense to have another glance at the ways in which the discourses about diseases and health may have helped to inscribe definitions of Southeast Asia-or, at the very least, the nations, societies and peoples who live within it. In order to at least consider these larger issues, the discussion will concentrate on a formative moment in the conceptualization of Southeast Asia-British engagement with the region in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries. To that end three themes will be highlighted: (1) the role that British diplomatic and military narratives played in establishing the information priorities required for the construction of colonial knowledge; (2) the importance not only of "colonial knowledge" but information making in its own right; (3) in anticipation of the use of big data, the manner in which manufactured information (related to space and disease) could function in shaping early British perceptions of Southeast Asia-particularly in Batavia and Java. This discussion will suggest that rather than see social distancing or increased communication as the greatest outcome of COVID-19, instead it will be the use of data-that is, big, aggregated biometric data which have not only shaped responses to the pandemic, but remain likely to produce the reconceptualization of both information and knowledge about the region in a way that will be at least as great as that which took place to meet the needs of the "New Imperialism." Furthermore, the definition and articulation of Southeast Asia has often reflected political and security considerations. Yet, the experience of COVID-19 could prove that data and security are now fused into a set of interests critical to policy-makers. Given that the pandemic should accelerate many existing trends, it might be foreseen these developments will herald the triumph of homo indicina: an epistemic condition whereby the human subject has become a kind of index for its harvestable data. If so, the "breakthroughs" for those who study Southeast Asia will follow in due course.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.529-538
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• 1993

A stochastic way using continuous time Markov process is presented to model the one-dimensional nuclide transport in fractured rock matrix as an extended study for previous work ［1］. A nuclide migration model by the continuous time Markov process for single planar fractured rock matrix, which is considered as a transient system where a process by which the nuclide is diffused into the rock matrix from the fracture may be no more time homogeneous, is compared with a conventional deterministic analytical solution. The primary desired quantities from a stochastic model are the expected values and variance of the state variables as a function of time. The time-dependent probability distributions of nuclides are presented for each discretized compartment of the medium given intensities of transition. Since this model is discrete in medium space, parameters which affect nuclide transport could be easily incorporated for such heterogeneous media as the fractured rock matrix and the layered porous media. Even though the model developed in this study was shown to be sensitive to the number of discretized compartment showing numerical dispersion as the number of compartments are decreased, with small compensating of dispersion coefficient, the model agrees well to analytical solution.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1992 no.05
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• pp.27-47
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• 1992

Engineers have developed new instruments that aid in diagnosis and therapy Ultrasonic imaging has provided a nondamaging method of imaging internal organs. A complex transducer emits ultrasonic waves at many angles and reconstructs a map of internal anatomy and also velocities of blood in vessels. Fast computed tomography permits reconstruction of the 3-dimensional anatomy and perfusion of the heart at 20-Hz rates. Positron emission tomography uses certain isotopes that produce positrons that react with electrons to simultaneously emit two gamma rays in opposite directions. It locates the region of origin by using a ring of discrete scintillation detectors, each in electronic coincidence with an opposing detector. In magnetic resonance imaging, the patient is placed in a very strong magnetic field. The precessing of the hydrogen atoms is perturbed by an interrogating field to yield two-dimensional images of soft tissue having exceptional clarity. As an alternative to radiology image processing, film archiving, and retrieval, picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) are being implemented. Images from computed radiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, and ultrasound are digitized, transmitted, and stored in computers for retrieval at distributed work stations. In electrical impedance tomography, electrodes are placed around the thorax. 50-kHz current is injected between two electrodes and voltages are measured on all other electrodes. A computer processes the data to yield an image of the resistivity of a 2-dimensional slice of the thorax. During fetal monitoring, a corkscrew electrode is screwed into the fetal scalp to measure the fetal electrocardiogram. Correlations with uterine contractions yield information on the status of the fetus during delivery To measure cardiac output by thermodilution, cold saline is injected into the right atrium. A thermistor in the right pulmonary artery yields temperature measurements, from which we can calculate cardiac output. In impedance cardiography, we measure the changes in electrical impedance as the heart ejects blood into the arteries. Motion artifacts are large, so signal averaging is useful during monitoring. An intraarterial blood gas monitoring system permits monitoring in real time. Light is sent down optical fibers inserted into the radial artery, where it is absorbed by dyes, which reemit the light at a different wavelength. The emitted light travels up optical fibers where an external instrument determines O2, CO2, and pH. Therapeutic devices include the electrosurgical unit. A high-frequency electric arc is drawn between the knife and the tissue. The arc cuts and the heat coagulates, thus preventing blood loss. Hyperthermia has demonstrated antitumor effects in patients in whom all conventional modes of therapy have failed. Methods of raising tumor temperature include focused ultrasound, radio-frequency power through needles, or microwaves. When the heart stops pumping, we use the defibrillator to restore normal pumping. A brief, high-current pulse through the heart synchronizes all cardiac fibers to restore normal rhythm. When the cardiac rhythm is too slow, we implant the cardiac pacemaker. An electrode within the heart stimulates the cardiac muscle to contract at the normal rate. When the cardiac valves are narrowed or leak, we implant an artificial valve. Silicone rubber and Teflon are used for biocompatibility. Artificial hearts powered by pneumatic hoses have been implanted in humans. However, the quality of life gradually degrades, and death ensues. When kidney stones develop, lithotripsy is used. A spark creates a pressure wave, which is focused on the stone and fragments it. The pieces pass out normally. When kidneys fail, the blood is cleansed during hemodialysis. Urea passes through a porous membrane to a dialysate bath to lower its concentration in the blood. The blind are able to read by scanning the Optacon with their fingertips. A camera scans letters and converts them to an array of vibrating pins. The deaf are able to hear using a cochlear implant. A microphone detects sound and divides it into frequency bands. 22 electrodes within the cochlea stimulate the acoustic the acoustic nerve to provide sound patterns. For those who have lost muscle function in the limbs, researchers are implanting electrodes to stimulate the muscle. Sensors in the legs and arms feed back signals to a computer that coordinates the stimulators to provide limb motion. For those with high spinal cord injury, a puff and sip switch can control a computer and permit the disabled person operate the computer and communicate with the outside world.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.172-180
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• 2007

Among the nuclear medicine imaging methods available today, $H_2^{15}O-PET$ is most widely used by cognitive neuroscientists to examine regional brain function via the measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). The short half-life of the radioactively labeled probe, $^{15}O$, often allows repeated measures from the same subjects in many different task conditions. $H_2^{15}O-$ PET, however, has technical limitations relative to other methods of functional neuroimaging, e.g., fMRI, including relatively poor time and spatial resolutions, and, frequently, insufficient statistical power for analysis of individual subjects. However, recent technical developments, such as the 3-D acquisition method provide relatively good image quality with a smaller radioactive dosage, which in turn results in more PET scans from each individual, thus providing sufficient statistical power for the analysis of individual subject's data. Furthermore, the noise free scanner environment $H_2^{15}O$ PET, along with discrete acquisition of data for each task condition, are important advantages of PET over other functional imaging methods regarding studying state-dependent changes in brain activity. This review presents both the limitations and advantages of $^{15}O-PET$, and outlines the design of efficient PET protocols, using examples of recent PET studies both in the normal healthy population, and in the clinical population.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.75 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 1986

This study was initiated to estimate productivity of Quercus variabilis stand. However the practical objective of this study was to provide some information to establish the basis of selecting the suitable site for Quercus variabilis. The productivity measured in terms of DBH, height, basal area and stem volume was hypothesized, respectively, to be a function of a group of factors. This study considered 32 factors, 20 of which were related to the forest environmental factors such as tree age, latitude, percent slope, etc. and the rest of which were related to soil factors such as soil moisture, total nitrogen, available $P_2O_5$, etc. The data on 4 productivity measurements of Quercus variabilis growth and related factors cited were collected from 99 sample plots in Kyeongbook and chungbook provinces. Some factors considered were, in nature, discrete variables and the others continuous variables. Each kind of factor was classified into 3 or 4 categories and total numbers of such categories were eventually amounted to 110. Then each category was treated as an independent variable. This is amounted to saying that individual variable was treated a dummy variable and assigned a value 1 or 0. However the first category of each factor was deleted from the normal equation for statistical consideration. First of all, each of 4 productivity measurements of Quercus variabilis growth was regressed and, at the same time, those 110 categories. Secondly, the partial correlation coefficients were measured between each pair of 4 productivity measurements and 32 individual foctors. Finally, the relative scores were estimated in order to derive the category ranges. The result of these statistical analyses could be summarized as follows: 1) Growth measurement in terms of height seems to be a more significant criterion for estimation of productivity of Quercus variabilis. 2) Productivity of forest on stocked land may better be estimated in terms of forest environmental factors, on the other hand, that of unstocked land may be estimated in terms of physio-chemical factors of soil. 3) The factors that a strongly positive relation to all growth factors of tree are age group, effective soil, soil moisture, etc. This implies that these factors might effectively be used for criteria for selecting the suitable site for Quercus variabilis. 4) Parent rock, latitude, total nitrogen, age group, effective soil depth, soil moisture, organic matter, etc., had more significant category range for tree growth. Therefore, the suitable site for Quercus variabilis may be selected, based on this information. In conclusion, the above results obtained by the multivariable analysis can be not only the important criteria for estimating the growth of Quercus variabilis but also the useful guidance for selecting the suitable sites and performing the rational of Quercus variabilis forest.