• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.519-526
• /
• 2021

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effect of cold plasma treatment on the improvement of seed germination and surface sterilization of ginseng seeds. Methods: Dehisced ginseng (Panax ginseng) seeds were exposed to dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma operated in argon (Ar) or an argon/oxygen mixture (Ar/O₂), and the resulting germination and surface sterilization were compared with those of an untreated control group. Bacterial and fungal detection assays were performed for plasma-treated ginseng seeds after serial dilution of surface-washed suspensions. The microbial colonies (fungi and bacteria) were classified according to their phenotypical morphologies and identified by molecular analysis. Furthermore, the effect of cold plasma treatment on the in vitro antifungal activity and suppression of Cylindrocarpon destructans in 4-year-old ginseng root discs was investigated. Results: Seeds treated with plasma in Ar or Ar/O₂ exhibited a higher germination rate (%) compared with the untreated controls. Furthermore, the plasma treatment exhibited bactericidal and fungicidal effects on the seed surface, and the latter effect was stronger than the former. In addition, plasma treatment exhibited in vitro antifungal activity against C. destructans and reduced the disease severity (%) of root rot in 4-year-old ginseng root discs. The results demonstrate the stimulatory effect of plasma treatment on seed germination, surface sterilization, and root rot disease suppression in ginseng. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the cold plasma treatment can suppress the microbial community on the seed surface root rot in ginseng.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.537-540
• /
• 2001

Fractures of C1 are not uncommon, constituting only 10% of all cervical spine injuries. There is a high prevalence of concomitant fractures of the second and first cervical vertebral complex. Surgical treatment is controversal. Mainstay of treatment is various combination of traction and cervical orthosis according to degree of displacement and location of fracture. We experienced unusual type of fracture, anterior arch fracture of C1 who had a history of total laminectomy of C1,2 due to cervical cord tumor(neurilemmoma arising from C2 root). We performed C1,2 lateral mass screw fixation with posterior fusion with good postoperative outcome.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.57 no.6
• /
• pp.478-483
• /
• 2015

We report two rare cases of spinal intraosseous schwannoma (SIS) with sustained myelopathy symptoms and provide an updated review regarding SIS in the literature. A 71-year-old man experienced right lumbocrural pain and gait disturbance accompanied with paresthesia and right leg weakness. Imaging examinations revealed a mass with lesions in L4 vertebral body causing bone destruction and spinal cord compression. Complete resection of the well-demarcated tumor and posterior fusion were performed. A 54-year-old female reported bilateral gait disturbance, paresthesia, and numbness without weakness, and imaging revealed a posterior mass from T9 causing spinal cord compression and bone erosion. The tumor was completely separated from the spinal nerve root. The tumors from both patients were confirmed as schwannomas. Tumor recurrence was not observed at the 2-4 year follow-up. Although rare, SIS should be considered during differential diagnosis and can affect treatment planning. SIS symptoms vary depending on tumor location, and fusion is frequently necessary for spinal reconstruction after complete tumor resection.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.173-181
• /
• 2016

Gene disruption by homologous recombination is widely used to investigate and analyze the function of genes in Fusarium fujikuroi, a fungus that causes bakanae disease and root rot symptoms in rice. To generate gene deletion constructs, the use of conventional cloning methods, which rely on restriction enzymes and ligases, has had limited success due to a lack of unique restriction enzyme sites. Although strategies that avoid the use of restriction enzymes have been employed to overcome this issue, these methods require complicated PCR steps or are frequently inefficient. Here, we introduce a cloning system that utilizes multi-fragment assembly by In-Fusion to generate a gene disruption construct. This method utilizes DNA fragment fusion and requires only one PCR step and one reaction for construction. Using this strategy, a gene disruption construct for Fusarium cyclin C1 (FCC1), which is associated with fumonisin B1 bio-synthesis, was successfully created and used for fungal transformation. In vivo and in vitro experiments using confirmed fcc1 mutants suggest that fumonisin production is closely related to disease symptoms exhibited by F. fujikuroi strain B14. Taken together, this multi-fragment assembly method represents a simpler and a more convenient process for targeted gene disruption in fungi.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.44 no.5
• /
• pp.491-500
• /
• 2012

The dissimilar metal joints welded between Ni-based alloy, Alloy 690 and low alloy steel, A533 Gr. B with Alloy 152 filler metal were characterized by using optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, secondary ion mass spectrometry and 3-dimensional atom probe tomography. It was found that in the weld root region, the weld was divided into several regions including unmixed zone in Ni-base alloy, fusion boundary, and heat-affected zone in the low alloy steel. The result of nanostructural and nanochemical analyses in this study showed the non-homogeneous distribution of elements with higher Fe but lower Mn, Ni and Cr in A533 Gr. B compared with Alloy 152, and the precipitation of carbides near the fusion boundary.

• International Journal of Fuzzy Logic and Intelligent Systems
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.102-110
• /
• 2015

The main source of noise in computed tomography (CT) images is a quantum noise, which results from statistical fluctuations of X-ray quanta reaching the detector. This paper proposes a neural network (NN) based hybrid filter for removing quantum noise. The proposed filter consists of bilateral filters (BFs), a single or multiple neural edge enhancer(s) (NEE), and a neural filter (NF) to combine them. The BFs take into account the difference in value from the neighbors, to preserve edges while smoothing. The NEE is used to clearly enhance the desired edges from noisy images. The NF acts like a fusion operator, and attempts to construct an enhanced output image. Several measurements are used to evaluate the image quality, like the root mean square error (RMSE), the improvement in signal to noise ratio (ISNR), the standard deviation ratio (MSR), and the contrast to noise ratio (CNR). Also, the modulation transfer function (MTF) is used as a means of determining how well the edge structure is preserved. In terms of all those measurements and means, the proposed filter shows better performance than the guided filter, and the nonlocal means (NLM) filter. In addition, there is no severe restriction to select the number of inputs for the fusion operator differently from the neuro-fuzzy system. Therefore, without concerning too much about the filter selection for fusion, one could apply the proposed hybrid filter to various images with different modalities, once the corresponding noise characteristics are explored.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.34 no.5
• /
• pp.555-561
• /
• 2008

Purpose: The goal of this study was to develop a technique for creating a computerized composite maxillofacial-dental model, based on point-based surface best fit algorithm and to test its accuracy. The computerized composite maxillofacial-dental model was made by the three dimensional combination of a 3-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) bone model with digital dental model. Materials and Methods: This integration procedure mainly consists of following steps : 1) a reconstruction of a virtual skull and digital dental model from CT and laser scanned dental model ; 2) an incorporation of dental model into virtual maxillofacial-dental model by point-based surface best fit algorithm; 3) an assessment of the accuracy of incorporation. To test this system, CTs and dental models from 3 volunteers with cranio-maxillofacial deformities were obtained. And the registration accuracy was determined by the root mean squared distance between the corresponding reference points in a set of 2 images. Results and Conclusions: Fusion error for the maxillofacial 3D CT model with the digital dental model ranged between 0.1 and 0.3 mm with mean of 0.2 mm. The range of errors were similar to those reported elsewhere with the fiducial markers. So this study confirmed the feasibility and accuracy of combining digital dental model and 3D CT maxillofacial model. And this technique seemed to be easier for us that its clinical applicability can good in the field of digital cranio-maxillofacial surgery.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.157-160
• /
• 2007

Objective : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the surgical treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis in elderly patients. Methods : The authors reviewed the medical records of 49 patients older than 65 years of age with lumbar spinal stenosis who underwent surgical treatment from January 2002 to December 2004 in our institute. Results : Average age of patients was 70 years old [32 women, 17 men]. Twenty-four patients had chronic medical disorders. All patients were operated under the general anesthesia of these, 29 patients underwent decompressive laminectomy and decompressive laminectomy with instrumentation and fusion in 20 patients. The mean operation time was 193.5 minutes, mean estimated blood loss was 378cc and mean postoperative hospital stay length was 15.3 days. The mean follow-up duration was 11.9 months. The evaluation of outcome was assessed by Macnab classification. At first month after operation, the outcome showed excellent in 7 [14.3%]. good in 35 [71.4%], fair in 5 [10.2%], and poor in 2 [4.1%]. And at 6 months after operation, 17 patients were lost in follow-up, the outcome showed excellent in 4 [12.5%], good in 25 [78.1%], fair in 3 [9.4%], and no poor cases. There was no significant difference between outcome of laminectomy alone and that of laminectomy with fusion. Six patients [12.2%] experienced postoperative complications which included wound infection [3], nerve root injury [1], disc herniation [1], and reoperation due to insufficient decompression [1]. There were no deaths related to operation. Conclusion : We conclude that the surgical treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis in elderly patients can provide good results with acceptable morbidity when carefully selected. In addition, decision on lumbar spinal fusion should not be against solely on advanced age.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.316-324
• /
• 2004

Sinorhizobium sp. strain MUS10 forms nitrogen-fixing stem nodules on Sesbania rostrata, a tropical green manure crop. In this study, the ultrastructural events associated with the formation of stem nodules were investigated. Sinorhizobium sp. strain MUS10 entered the host tissue through cracks created by the emerging adventitious root primordia and multiplied within the intercellular spaces. During early phases of infection, host cells adjacent to invading bacteria revealed cellular damage that is typical of hypersensitive reactions, while the cells at the inner cortex exhibited meristematic activity. Infection threads were numerous in S-day-old nodules and often were associated with the host cell wall. In several cases, more than one infection thread was found in individual cells. The junction at which the host cell walls converged was often enlarged due to fusion of intracellular branches of infection threads resulting in large infection pockets. The infection threads were made up of a homogeneous, amorphous matrix that enclosed the bacteria. Several finger-like projections were seen radiating from these enlarged infection threads and were delineated from the host cytoplasm by the plasma membrane. As in Azorhizobium caulinodans induced root nodules, the release of Sinorhizobia from the infection threads into the plant cells appears to be mediated by 'infection droplets'. A 15-day­old Sesbania stem nodule revealed typical ultrastructure features of a determinate nodule, containing several bacterioids within symbiosomes.

• Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.508-512
• /
• 2018

Foraminal decompression using a minimally invasive technique to preserve facet joint stability and function without fusion reportedly improves the radicular symptoms in approximately 80% of patients and is considered one of the good surgical treatment choices for lumbar foraminal or extraforaminal stenosis. However, proper decompression was not possible because of the inability to access the foramen at the L5-S1 level due to prominence of the iliac crest. To overcome this challenge, endoscopy-based minimally invasive spine surgery has recently gained attention. Here, we report the technical skills required in unilateral extraforaminal biportal endoscopic spinal surgery using a $30^{\circ}$ arthroscope to enable foraminal decompression at the L5-S1 level. Two 0.8-cm portals were created 2 cm lateral from the lateral border of the pedicles at the L5-S1 level. After sufficient working space was made, half of the superior articular process (SAP) in the hypertrophied facet joint was removed using a high-speed burr and a 5-mm wide osteotome, whereas the remaining inside part of the SAP was removed using a Kerrison punch and pituitary punch. The foraminal ligamentum flavum should be removed to inspect the conditions of the L5 exiting root and disc. Removing of the extruded disc could decompress the L5 root. The extraforaminal approach using a $30^{\circ}$ arthroscope is considered a minimally invasive alternative technique for decompressing foraminal stenosis at the L5-S1 level that preserves facet stability and provides symptomatic relief.