• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.117-121
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• 2010

Purpose: In nuclear medicine study, there are two methods, preset count method and preset time method, to acquire static images. We usually use preset count method for static image in $^{99m}Tc$-DMSA renal scan, but occasionally use preset time method. In case of using preset count method, we always acquire same counts but it causes a difference of scan time. In case of using preset time method, it takes same scan time to acquire images but it causes different counts. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate any differences of function and formal information in both kidney by acquisition counts Materials and Methods: From January 11, 2010 to March 31, 2010, we analyzed the 30 patients (M: 11, W: 19). who were examined by $^{99m}Tc$-DMSA scan and have one side of functioning kidney relatively between 40~60%. And the patients who have cold and hot region in image were analyzed but we did not accept images of patients when it was hard to divide kidney into cortex. There was no division between subjects and age of subjects is $14.83{\pm}22.07$ old. We used the BrightView gamma camera from PHILIPS. To analyze function and formal of kidney, we used JET stream release 3.0 version from PHILIPS. Using SPSS 12.0 program, we compared descriptive statistics and paired T-test. Images were acquired sequentially in the same parameters, but there are three methods which different from acquisition time and scan time, 100 kcounts, 300 kcounts and 7 minutes method (exceed 300 kcounts). To assess function and formal information of kidney, we measured renal relative function, geometric mean and size of kidney and analyzed each difference. Results: In case of renal relative function in both kidney, 100 kcounts method was $50.52{\pm}3.64%$. 300 kcounts method was $50.38{\pm}3.66%$ and 7 minutes method was $49.91{\pm}3.40%$ and there were no statistical significant differences between each method. In case of geometric mean, 100 kcounts method was $50.08{\pm}3.25%$. 300 kcounts method was $49.89{\pm}3.40%$ and 7 minutes method was $49.91{\pm}3.24%$. And also, there were no statistical significant differences. When comparing size of kidney, 100 kcounts method was $8.23{\pm}1.96$ cm. 300 kcounts method was $8.12{\pm}1.90$ cm and 7 minutes method was $8.35{\pm}1.97$ cm. In case of right kidney, 100 kcounts method was $7.91{\pm}1.88$ cm. 300 kcounts method was $8.12{\pm}1.90$ cm and 7 minutes method was $8.25{\pm}1.96$ cm. From those values, we recognized that there were significant differences each method (p<0.05). Conclusion: From results of this study, there were no statistical differences in renal relative function and geometric mean by acquisition counts. However, in shape of kidney, the more acquisition counts are increasing, the more size of kidney is getting big. And there were statistical significant differences. Therefore, to perform reliable quantitative result, preset count method is more desirable than preset time method. Especially, in case of a follow-up test, if we use preset time method, it will cause differences of formal results in kidney due to acquisition counts each time we examine patients.

• Journal of the Korea Computer Graphics Society
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.21-30
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• 2023

Accurate segmentation of the kidney tumor is necessary to identify shape, location and safety margin of tumor in abdominal CT images for surgical planning before renal partial nephrectomy. However, kidney tumor segmentation is challenging task due to the various sizes and locations of the tumor for each patient and signal intensity similarity to surrounding organs such as intestine and spleen. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised learning-based mean teacher network that utilizes both labeled and unlabeled data using a kidney local guided map including kidney local information to segment small-sized kidney tumors occurring at various locations in the kidney, and analyze the performance according to the kidney tumor size. As a result of the study, the proposed method showed an F1-score of 75.24% by considering local information of the kidney using a kidney local guide map to locate the tumor existing around the kidney. In particular, under-segmentation of small-sized tumors which are difficult to segment was improved, and showed a 13.9%p higher F1-score even though it used a smaller amount of labeled data than nnU-Net.

• Investigative and Clinical Urology
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• v.59 no.6
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• pp.392-398
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• 2018

Purpose: To evaluate the initial experience and outcome of photo-selective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Pakistan with the use of a 980 nm diode laser. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was performed from November 2016 to December 2017. A total of 100 patients diagnosed with bladder outlet obstruction secondary to BPH who planned for PVP were enrolled in the study. PVP was carried out with a diode laser at 980 nm (Biolitec Diode 180W laser) in a continuous wave with a 600 nm (twister) fiber. Baseline characteristics and perioperative data were compared. Postoperative outcomes were evaluated by International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), post void residual (PVR) and maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) at 3 and 6 months after surgery. Results: The mean age was $65.82{\pm}10.42$, mean prostate size was $67.35{\pm}16.42$, operative time was $55.85{\pm}18.01$ and total energy was $198.68{\pm}49.12kJ$. At 3 months and 6 months, significant improvements were noted (p<0.001) in IPSS $7.04{\pm}1.69$ (-18.92), Qmax $19.22{\pm}4.75mL/s$ (+13.09) and and PVR $18.89{\pm}5.39mL$ (-112.80). Most frequent problems were burning micturition (35%) and terminal dysuria (29%). No significant difference in postoperative hemoglobin was seen in patients who were on anti-platelet drugs. Conclusions: PVP with a diode laser is a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of BPH and is also safe in patients who are on anti-platelet agents.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.54-57
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• 2012

Purpose: Somatic growth is an important indicator of health in children. Adequate organ growth is essential in growth and directly related to body growth. We consider renal length as a surrogate of organ growth in growing children. Measurement of weight, height, and many anthropometric indices, such as body surface area (BSA), body mass index (BMI), and Rohrer and Kaup indices, are used to evaluate growth status. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between renal length and somatic parameters and analyze the affecting factors for renal size during growth. Methods: The data for renal length in 66 children (age, $12.9{\pm}15.6$ months; male/female, 34/32) were obtained. Each kidney was measured with ultrasonography and dimercaptosuccinic acid scan. The data on age, sex, height, and weight were obtained from the medical records. BSA, BMI, and Rohrer and Kaup indices were calculated from measured height and weight. BSA was calculated by 2 methods, and is expressed as BSA I and BSA II. Results: There were significant correlations between renal size and age, weight, height, BSA I, BSA II, and Rohrer index. In the regression analysis, the most significant contributing factor to renal growth was height ($R^2$=0.636, $P$ <0.001). Conclusion: Height seems to be the most important factor associated with organ growth in growing children. Further studies to evaluate adequate organ growth should be carried out.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.384-392
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• 2023

Stomatal pore is an important physiological trait that is closely linked to photosynthesis and transpiration as carbon dioxide and water vapor move through it between the atmosphere and plants. The present study investigated stomatal traits, such as stomatal density, index and size, of herbaceous native and alien plant species living in a riparian park on the Nakdong River to understand how those traits vary and to know if successful settlement of alien plants is attributed to those traits. There was no difference in stomatal density, index and size between native and alien plants with kidney-shaped stomata, suggesting that an empty ecological niche is not an essential prerequisite for the successful settlement of alien plants. Stomatal density showed a negative correlation with leaf thickness and leaf dry weight content (LMDC), but there was no correlation with Specific leaf area (SLA). All plants with kidney-shaped stomata had amphistomatous leaves, and the density and size of dumbell-shaped stomata were lower than those of kidney-shaped stomata.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.127-134
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• 2015

The influence of triploidization on cell and nucleus size characteristics of the same tissues of erythrocyte, retina, kidney, hepatocyte and midgut epithelium in marine medaka, Oryzias dancena has been determined histologically. Induced triploid fish are produced by cold shock treatments. Likewise, the size of horizontal cell nucleus in inner nuclear layer of retina, ganglion cell nucleus in ganglion cell layer of retina, proximal tubule cell of kidney, hepatocytes and nuclear height of midgut epithelium all appear to be significantly larger than diploid (P<0.05). On the other hand, retina thickness is larger in diploid than induced triploid (P<0.05). Induced triploid shows low density of cell number. Results of this study suggest that same characteristics in the induced triploid exhibiting larger cells and nucleus sizes with fewer number of cells than the diploid can be useful criteria for the distinction between diploid and induced triploid, and also the ploidy level in marine medaka.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.119-126
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• 2020

Purpose:Weight gain after kidney transplantation is a critical factor that can lead to poor outcomes with cardiovascular complications. Many studies have been conducted to identify predictive markers of future weight changes at the time of transplant. Recently, circulating exosomes and its contents including miRNAs and proteins have attracted attention as potential biomarkers. In this pilot study, we investigated exosomal proteins and weight change after kidney transplant. Methods: Recipients (n = 10) were classified into two groups; weight gainers (n = 5, 9.7 ± 4.4kg) and weight losers (n = 5, -6.4 ± 1.8kg) based on their weight changes at 12-months posttransplant. Based on the exosomal protein profiles obtained by the LC-MS/MS, differentially expressed proteins were identified between the groups. Results: Concentration and the mean size of exosomes significantly increased at 12-months compared to the baseline (p= .009) in the total group. Eleven exosomal proteins were found at the baseline as differentially expressed between the two groups. In the weight gain group, complement proteins including HV169, C3, C4B, and C4A, were significantly upregulated. Conclusion: Our pilot study suggests that exosomal complementary proteins are associated with weight gain after kidney transplantation. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of these exosomal proteins in the underlying mechanisms of weight changes in kidney transplant recipients.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.97-105
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• 2017

Parasitic leeches could directly (through causing poor growth, anemia and wound in the fish) and indirectly (by predisposition of the fish to secondary bacterial and fungal infections) affects their hosts. In the present study, fishes that were attacked by leeches in natural and experimental environment were studied. Pathologic samples were obtained from damages at the site of leech bite, as well as kidney and liver of the fish. Histopathological examination revealed numerous lesions at the site of leech bite including tissue demolition, detachment at the site of leech bite in the epidermis of epithelial tissue in the skin, destructed nucleus in epithelial cells of the skin plus necrosis in the damaged skin and weak inflammatory penetration to acute necrotic damages along with piercing dermis layer. Pathologic lesions in the kidney included some changes such as proliferation by increasing glomerular cells and membrane cells in capillary vein of the kidney, blood cell necrosis in kidney with infiltration of white blood cells mainly mononuclear and less polymorphonuclear which are the symptoms of anemia due to blood feeding and sucking by leeches. There was also a chronic kidney infection probably originated from another part of body such as skin. Moreover, leeches caused hemorrhagic anemia due to blood consumption of the hosts, which led to observation of immature red blood cells. Also results showed that diseases induced by leeched in fish could be acute or chronic, which depends on size of fish, species of leech and severity of infection.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.315-325
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to predict abdominal obesity with 3-Dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) measurements of kidneys by analyzing the correlation between kidney sizes and abdominal obesity level. The subjects were 178 healthy adults without underlying diseases who had a comprehensive health examination at the Health Medical Center of Jesus Hospital in Jeonju. Abdominal obesity was measured by CT cross-sectional image at the level of the umbilicus and divided into visceral fat area, subcutaneous fat area, visceral fat/total fat ratio. The average comparison of kidney sizes classified according to abdominal obesity were performed through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe test. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to correlate all measurement values. The results of kidney size ANOVA analysis according to abdominal obesity were as follows. The means of kidney measurements according to visceral fat classification were significantly different in all kidney measurements (p<0.05). And in case of subcutaneous fat classification, the means of kidney measurements by 3D CT of the severe obesity group were significantly different in the right kidney width (p<0.05). In case of visceral fat area/total fat area ratio, the means of kidney measurements by 3D CT of the severe obesity group were significantly different in both kidneys width (p<0.05). Pearson correlation between kidneys measurements and CT abdominal obesity showed that visceral fat area had the highest correlation with the left kidney width measured by 3D CT (r=0.467) and subcutaneous fat area had correlation with the right kidney width measured by 3D CT (r=0.249). The visceral fat area/total fat area ratio had correlation with the left kidney width measured by 3D CT (r=0.291).

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2021

Purpose This article studies the relationship between the length of a kidney measured by two scanning methods: Kidney Computed Tomography (CT) and ^99mTc-Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scan. Kidney CT provides a better anatomic assessment, while ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan is superior in the kidney function test. Materials and Methods From January to December of 2019, two hundred patients who had Kidney CT and Tc^99m-DMSA renal scan were chosen for this study. SPSS17.0 was selected for statistical analysis. Results Due to the effect of the breathing and resolution of ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan, it showed the kidney's relatively longer length than the length of Kidney CT. For the same kidney, the length comparison among different brands' Gamma cameras was negligible. The length difference within the same age group did not show a noticeable discrepancy. However, there was a length difference between the radio technologists. Kidney CT and ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan indicated a strong positive correlation between the length of the left and right kidney. Conclusion It is necessary to establish a standardized measurement method for measuring kidney length using ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan. The kidney's functional changes and length changes are indications of Kidney diseases. Especially, pediatric patients tend to use ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan for assessing the kidney's shape and the function to avoid potential radiation exposure during the Kidney CT. Therefore, it is significant to provide not only the kidney's functional information but also an anatomic analysis, including the kidney's size, length, and location through the ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan.