• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2002

The Fourier transform arteriography (FTA) exploits the periodic variation of arterial flow velociety of arterial flow velocity in stnchronized with cardiac cycles. This technique is intrinsically unique compared to other modern techniques. This technique separates the arteries from the veins using the pulsatile arterial flow without using the presaturation RF pulses. Therefore, it has less RF deposition and is free from the dark band artifacts that can arise from retrograde flow and curved arteries. Furthermore, it is free from the artifacts induced by eddy currents. However, there are some drawbacks such as a single projection view and the saturation of arteries at the end of an imaging slab. These drawbacks are circumvented by applying recently developed techniques. The fast gradient switching capability of modern MRI systems enabled us to incorporate dual projection views into the conventional FTA sequence without increasing the repetition time. In addition, signals from the distal arteries were enhanced by use of a ramped RF pulse and therefore the distal arteries were less saturated. By use of the FTA sequence with dual projection views and the ramped RF pulse, we acquired the sagittal and coronal projection views of femoral arteriograms simultaneously with more enhanced signals of distal arteries than the conventional FTA.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.232-239
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Increased consumption of instant noodles has recently been reported to be positively associated with obesity and cardiometabolic syndrome in South Korea, which has the highest per capita instant noodle consumption worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the association between instant noodle consumption and cardiometabolic risk factors among college students in Seoul. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study subjects consisted of 3,397 college students (1,782 male; 1,615 female) aged 18-29 years who participated in a health checkup. Information on instant noodle consumption was obtained from the participants' answers to a question about their average frequency of instant noodle intake over the 1 year period prior to the survey. RESULTS: Statistical analysis using a general linear model that adjusted for age, body mass index, gender, family income, health-related behaviors, and other dietary factors important for cardiometabolic risk, showed a positive association between the frequency of instant noodle consumption and plasma triglyceride levels, diastolic blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose levels in all subjects. Compared to the group with the lowest frequency of instant noodle intake (${\leq}1/month$), the odds ratio for hypertriglyceridemia in the group with an intake of ${\geq}3/week$ was 2.639 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.393-5.000] for all subjects, while it was 2.149 (95% CI, 1.045-4.419) and 5.992 (95% CI, 1.859-21.824) for male and female students, respectively. In female students, diastolic blood pressure was also higher among more frequent consumers of instant noodles. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that frequent consumption of instant noodles may be associated with increased cardiometabolic risk factors among apparently healthy college students aged 18-29 years.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartB
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• v.15B no.5
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• pp.397-406
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• 2008

Despite the effectiveness of oriental medical practice in the diagnosis of symptoms and providing cure to it, the preferences in western medicinal values is socially prevalent. The diagnosis of a disease using western medicinal practices provides us with an objective diagnostic result, however, decisions by oriental doctors are based on their heuristic intuitions developed by practice and experience. Objective solutions for the cure of symptoms using oriental medical therapy can have a high impact on the world market. Therefore, development of diagnostic machines based on oriental therapy can enhance the Ocular Inspection which is evaluated as one of the best diagnostic treatment among Oriental Medical Science, is not researched much compared to other diagnoses. Because there is no color diagnosis rules for digital machines to analyze the actual color, looking at the person's face color is one of the most important components to diagnose the disease or illness. The thesis proposes the implementation of absolute observing a person's face color standards of the color settings for objective diagnosis. As a results, comparative digital color analysis for observing a person's face color can be the most effective rule based Color scheme system to diagnose disease. A standard solution for the researching conditions is suggested to reduce the variable which may occur depending on the differences between the researching conditions.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.167-174
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• 2017

China still has more than 30,000 patients of advanced schistosomiasis while new cases being reported consistently. D-dimer is a fibrin degradation product. As ascites being the dominating symptom in advanced schistosomiasis, the present study aimed to explore a prediction model of ascites with D-dimer and other clinical easy-achievable indicators. A case-control study nested in a prospective cohort was conducted in schistosomiasis-endemic area of southern China. A total of 291 patients of advanced schistosomiasis were first investigated in 2013 and further followed in 2014. Information on clinical history, physical examination, and abdominal ultrasonography, including the symptom of ascites was repeatedly collected. Result showed 44 patients having ascites. Most of the patients' ascites were confined in the kidney area with median area of $20mm^2$. The level of plasma D-dimer and pertinent liver function indicators were measured at the initial investigation in 2013. Compared with those without ascites, cases with ascites had significantly higher levels of D-dimer ($0.71{\pm}2.44{\mu}g/L$ vs $0.48{\pm}2.12{\mu}g/L$, P=0.005), as well ALB (44.5 vs 46.2, g/L) and Type IV collagen (50.04 vs $44.50{\mu}g/L$). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated a moderate predictive value of D-dimer by its own area under curve (AUC) of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.54-0.73) and the cutoff value as $0.81{\mu}g/L$. Dichotomized by the cutoff level, D-dimer along with other categorical variables generated a prediction model with AUC of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.68-0.89). Risks of patients with specific characteristics in the prediction model were summarized. Our study suggests that the plasma D-dimer level is a reliable predictor for incident ascites in advanced schistosomiasis japonica patients.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2006

The aim of this study is to analyse a survey data on the number of charitable donations using a mixture of two Poisson regression models. The survey was conducted in 2002 by Volunteer 21, an nonprofit organization, based on Koreans, who were older than 20. The mixture of two Poisson distributions is used to model the number of donations based on the empirical distribution of the data. The mixture of two Poisson distributions implies the whole population is subdivided into two groups, one with lesser number of donations and the other with larger number of donations. We fit the mixture of Poisson regression models on the number of donations to identify significant covariates. The expectation-maximization algorithm is employed to estimate the parameters. We computed 95% bootstrap confidence interval based on bias-corrected and accelerated method and used then for selecting significant explanatory variables. As a result, the income variable with four categories and the volunteering variable (1: experience of volunteering, 0: otherwise) turned out to be significant with the positive regression coefficients both in the lesser and the larger donation groups. However, the regression coefficients in the lesser donation group were larger than those in larger donation group.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.43 no.5 s.311
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• pp.79-87
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• 2006

In this study, we evaluated the performance of a companding strategy as a preprocessing for speech enhancement and noise reduction. The proposed algorithm is based on two tone suppression that is human's hearing characteristics. This algorithm enhances spectral peak of speech signal and reduces background noise, however it has tradeoff characteristics between speech distortion and noise reduction due to limited channel number and nonlinear block. Therefore, we designed two different companding structures that have relative characteristics of noise reduction and speech distortion and found suitable companding structures by difference of individual speech perception ability in noise environment. Thus we proposed speech perception enhancement of cochlear implant user in noise environment with low SNR. The performance of the proposed algorithm was evaluated through 5 normal hearing listeners using noise band simulation. Improvement of speech perception was observed for all subjects and each subject preferred the different type of companding structure.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.34-39
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• 2010

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes in tooth mobility following orthodontic treatment and to obtain information regarding the guideline of retainer wear duration during the post-treatment period. Methods: The sample consisted of twenty patients who had been treated with edgewise appliances. The mobility of the maxillary teeth from the central incisor to the first molar was measured bilaterally by way of the $Periotest^{(R)}$, a non-invasive, electronic device that provides an objective measurement of the reaction of the periodontium to a defined impact load. Tooth mobility was monitored at the time of the removal of the orthodontic appliances and subsequently at three-month intervals during the two years following appliance removal. Results: Tooth mobility decreased rapidly for the first six months and then decreased at a slower rate during the next six months; no statistically significant decrease in mobility was observed during the second year following appliance removal. Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that adequate tooth stabilization is critical during the first six months following appliance removal and that continued wearing of retainers is recommended at least until twelve months after the completion of orthodontic treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.257-274
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to examine job satisfaction status and its related factors among dietitians working in hospitals. A survey questionnaire was sent to dietitians working in tertiary, general, and convalescent hospitals in Korea. The study sample hospitals included all tertiary hospitals (n=43), and the sample of general hospitals (n=114) and convalescent hospitals (n=240) was randomly selected using a stratified sampling method. A total of 665 dietitians completed the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire included 27 job satisfaction questions on task, stability vision, working conditions, and relationship areas, and the questions on task improvement need. The job satisfaction scores in all four areas ranged from 2.53/5.00 to 3.89/5.00, implying generally low job satisfaction level in hospital dietitians. The job satisfaction levels in the convalescent hospital group were significantly lower compared to those in the tertiary and general hospital groups. Whereas job satisfaction levels of tertiary and convalescent hospital groups did not differ by number of beds, those of the general hospital group increased significantly with the number of beds for all four areas. Multivariate regression analysis results showed that hospital type was a significant predictor of job satisfaction level for all four areas. Job satisfaction of relationship area was also significantly affected by the number of beds, whereas that of working conditions was influenced by annual income and working experience. The study findings provide useful information in planning clinical dietitians' optimal supply outlook for the improvement of clinical nutrition services.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.291-297
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• 2019

Since Metcalfa pruinosa was first reported in Koera, it has continually caused damage to sweet persimmon orchard in southern part of Korea. Metcafa pruinosa exist not only in farmland but also in forest areas, and are difficult to control due to the influx of individuals from near forest. M. pruinosa has been occurred in orchard and its surroundings because of various host range. Thus, it has been difficult to decide spatial range and control time for efficient management. In this study, occurrence and dispersal pattern of M. pruinosa in persimmon orchard were surveyed using clear sticky traps, and spatial patterns were analyzed with SADIE(Spatial Analysis by Distance IndicEs), based on location information at sticky traps. Spatial association between survey time was also analyzed to identify when the spatial pattern changed. In sweet persimmon orchard, M. pruinosa mainly dispersed in mid to late May, when the first instar hatches, and in August, emerging season of adult. The first instar nymphs hatched in mid-May were randomly distributed in orchard, but distribution was changed to aggregative pattern after dispersed surroundings of orchard. Adults showed random distribution pattern after immigration to orchard again. These tendency was also observed in density change at orchard and its surroundings, and matched to actual density of M. pruinosa in sweet persimmon trees.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.321-328
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• 2012

Light and transmission electron microscopy of Batillus cornutus hemocytes revealed differences that the morphological distinctions between blast-like cell, granulocytes and hyalinocytes. Base on the morphological characteristics of the cells, we identified the eight types of hemocytes and present a categorization of the hyalinocytes into six sub-categories. The hemocytes of B. cornutus were observed basophilic cell under the light microscopy. Blast-like cells had a spherical profile with a central nucleus filling almost the whole cell. Granulocytes were characterized by presenting variable numbers of granules. This cell had spherical shape with diameter 7 ${\mu}m$ and smooth endoplasmic reticula, granules, mitochondria, glycogen granules in the cytoplasm. Hyalinocytes were the most abundant cell type. Especially, hyalinocyte VI had iirregular an amoebal shape and observed autophagosome and heterophagosome in the cytoplasm. From these results, it is concluded that there are eight types of cells in the hemolymph of B. cornutus. Further studies are now needed to identify the role of these hemocytes in the enzymological and immunological response.