• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.386-396
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• 2020

Objective : To generate synthetic spine magnetic resonance (MR) images from spine computed tomography (CT) using generative adversarial networks (GANs), as well as to determine the similarities between synthesized and real MR images. Methods : GANs were trained to transform spine CT image slices into spine magnetic resonance T2 weighted (MRT2) axial image slices by combining adversarial loss and voxel-wise loss. Experiments were performed using 280 pairs of lumbar spine CT scans and MRT2 images. The MRT2 images were then synthesized from 15 other spine CT scans. To evaluate whether the synthetic MR images were realistic, two radiologists, two spine surgeons, and two residents blindly classified the real and synthetic MRT2 images. Two experienced radiologists then evaluated the similarities between subdivisions of the real and synthetic MRT2 images. Quantitative analysis of the synthetic MRT2 images was performed using the mean absolute error (MAE) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR). Results : The mean overall similarity of the synthetic MRT2 images evaluated by radiologists was 80.2%. In the blind classification of the real MRT2 images, the failure rate ranged from 0% to 40%. The MAE value of each image ranged from 13.75 to 34.24 pixels (mean, 21.19 pixels), and the PSNR of each image ranged from 61.96 to 68.16 dB (mean, 64.92 dB). Conclusion : This was the first study to apply GANs to synthesize spine MR images from CT images. Despite the small dataset of 280 pairs, the synthetic MR images were relatively well implemented. Synthesis of medical images using GANs is a new paradigm of artificial intelligence application in medical imaging. We expect that synthesis of MR images from spine CT images using GANs will improve the diagnostic usefulness of CT. To better inform the clinical applications of this technique, further studies are needed involving a large dataset, a variety of pathologies, and other MR sequence of the lumbar spine.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.11 no.2 s.31
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• pp.207-221
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• 2006

A fully automatic and computationally efficient method is proposed for intelligent display of soccer video on small multimedia mobile devices. The rapid progress of the multimedia signal processing has contributed to the extensive use of multimedia devices with a small LCD panel. With these emerging small mobile devices, the video sequences captured for standard- or HDTV broadcasting may give the small-display-viewers uncomfortable experiences in understanding what is happening in a scene. For instance, in a soccer video sequence taken by a long-shot camera technique, the tiny objects (e.g., soccer ball and players) may not be clearly viewed on the small LCD panel. Thus, an intelligent display technique is needed for small-display-viewers. To this end, one of the key technologies is to determine region of interest (ROI), which is a part of the scene that viewers pay more attention to than other regions. In this paper, the focus is on soccer video display for mobile devices. Instead of taking visual saliency into account, we take domain-specific approach to exploit the characteristics of the soccer video. The proposed scheme includes three modules; ground color learning, shot classification, and ROI determination. The experimental results show the propose scheme is capable of intelligent video display on mobile devices.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1944-1953
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• 2015

A novel alkaline protease from Streptomyces sp. M30, SapHM, was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and DEAE-Sepharose chromatography, with a yield of 15.5% and a specific activity of 29,070 U/mg. Tryptic fragments of the purified SapHM were obtained by electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the gene sapHM contained 1,179 bp, corresponding to 392 amino acids with conserved Asp156, His187, and Ser339 residues of alkaline protease. The first 24 amino acid residues were predicted to be a signal peptide, and the molecular mass of the mature peptide was 37.1 kDa based on amino acid sequences and mass spectrometry. Pure SapHM was optimally active at 80℃ in 50 mM glycine-NaOH buffer (pH 9.0), and was broadly stable at 0-50℃ and pH 4.0-9.0. The protease relative activity was increased in the presence of Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Cu²⁺ to 112%, 113%, and 147% of control, respectively. Pure SapHM was also activated by dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, Tween 80, and urea. The activity of the purified enzyme was completely inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, indicating that it is a serine-type protease. The K_m and V_max values were estimated to be 35.7 mg/ml, and 5 × 10⁴ U/mg for casein. Substrate specificity analysis showed that SapH was active on casein, bovine serum albumin, and bovine serum fibrin.

• Journal of KIISE:Computing Practices and Letters
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.165-178
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• 2007

The recent progress in multimedia signal processing and transmission technologies has contributed to the extensive use of multimedia devices to watch sports games with small LCD panel. However, the most of video sequences are captured for normal viewing on standard TV or HDTV, for cost reasons, merely resized and delivered without additional editing. This may give the small-display-viewers uncomfortable experiences in understanding what is happening in a scene. For instance, in a soccer video sequence taken by a long-shot camera techniques, the tiny objects (e.g., soccer ball and players) may not be clearly viewed on the small LCD panel. Moreover, it is also difficult to recognize the contents of the scorebox which contains the elapsed time and scores. This renuires intelligent display technique to provide small-display-viewers with better experience. To this end, one of the key technologies is to determine region of interest (ROI) and display the magnified ROI on the screen, where ROI is a part of the scene that viewers pay more attention to than other regions. Examples include a region surrounding a ball in long-shot and a scorebox located in the comer of each frame. In this paper, we propose a scheme for raising viewing experiences of multimedia mobile device users. Instead of taking generic approaches utilizing visually salient features for extraction of ROI in a scene, we take domain-specific approach to exploit unique attributes of the soccer video. The proposed scheme consists of two modules: ROI determination and scorebox extraction. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme offers useful tools for intelligent video display on multimedia mobile devices.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.682-692
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• 2007

This study presents an automatic system to predict parturition time in the crated sows. The system relies on ultrasonic transducers mounted from above along the length of the crate. Using a 40 kHz time of flight (TOF) single envelope wave, the momentary distances between the sensors are measured. Therefore, the local momentary height of the sow and the momentary posture, i.e. standing posture (SDP), kneeling posture (KP), sitting posture (STP) and lateral lying posture (LLP) are determined. Crated sows change their postures from standing to lying and vice versa which follows a characteristic pattern. As parturition approaches, sows exhibit uneasiness, restlessness and the stand up sequence (SUS, the posture transition from LLP to SDP) rate increases because of labor pains. In time series, the SUS rate demonstrates a peak and it happens approximately 0-12 h before parturition. In this paper, the basic parturition threshold value method (BPTVM) and the same hour method (SHM) are proposed for predicting parturition, both of which are based on the SUS rate. The BPTVM mainly detects the peak of the SUS rate. As the SUS rate exceeds the threshold value, the parturition becomes predictable. Moreover, the SHM calculates the difference in the SUS rates between a particular time of day and the corresponding time of the preceding day. Compared to the BPTVM, the SHM can eliminate the circadian rhythm of the SUS rate influenced by feeding behavior. Using the SHM the parturition can be approximately predicted within hours. In an attempt to define the threshold parameters of predicting parturition, a data set with 32 sows of the SUS rate are used to estimate assumable predicting probability. The results show the assumable probability of the parturition prediction within 9 h is 96.9% for the SHM and 84.4% for the BPTVM. Moreover, the SHM can even reach a 75% probability of prediction within three hours of parturition. We conclude that the SHM is more accurate and is more useful for parturition time prediction. When parturition is detected, the proposed algorithm generates a warning signal which can inform human personnel to protect the mother and newborn piglets.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.588-596
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• 2018

An endo-${\beta}$-1,4-glucanase gene, cel9K, was cloned using the shot-gun method from Paenibacillus sp. X4, which was isolated from alpine soil. The gene was 2,994 bp in length, encoding a protein of 997 amino acid residues with a predicted signal peptide composed of 32 amino acid residues. Cel9K was a multimodular enzyme, and the molecular mass and theoretical pI of the mature Cel9K were 103.5 kDa and 4.81, respectively. Cel9K contains the GGxxDAGD, PHHR, GAxxGG, YxDDI, and EVxxDYN motifs found in most glycoside hydrolase family 9 (GH9) members. The protein sequence showed the highest similarity (88%) with the cellulase of Bacillus sp. BP23 in comparison with the enzymes with reported properties. The enzyme was purified by chromatography using HiTrap Q, CHT-II, and HiTrap Butyl HP. Using SDS-PAGE/activity staining, the molecular mass of Cel9K was estimated to be 93 kDa, which is a truncated form produced by the proteolytic cleavage of its C-terminus. Cel9K was optimally active at pH 5.5 and $50^{\circ}C$ and showed a half-life of 59.2 min at $50^{\circ}C$. The CMCase activity was increased to more than 150% in the presence of 2 mM $Na^+$, $K^+$, and $Ba^{2+}$, but decreased significantly to less than 50% by $Mn^{2+}$ and $Co^{2+}$. The addition of Cel9K to a commercial enzyme set (Celluclast 1.5L + Novozym 188) increased the saccharification of the pretreated reed and rice straw powders by 30.4% and 15.9%, respectively. The results suggest that Cel9K can be used to enhance the enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to reducing sugars as an additive.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.301-310
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• 2010

Bacillus subtilis strains produce a broad spectrum of bioactive peptides. The lipopeptide surfactin belongs to one well-known class, which includes amphiphilic membrane-active biosurfactants and peptide antibiotics. Both the srfA promoter and the ComP-ComA signal transduction system are an important part of the factor that results in the production of surfactin. Bs-M49, obtained by means of low-energy ion implantation in wild-type Bs-916, produced significantly lower levels of surfactin, and had no obvious effects against R. solani. Occasionally, we found strain Bs-M49 decreased spore formation and the development of competence. Blast comparison of the sequences from Bs-916 and M49 indicate that there is no difference in the srfA operon promoter PsrfA, but there are differences in the coding sequence of the comA gene. These differences result in three missense mutations within the M49 ComA protein. RT-PCR analyses results showed that the expression levels of selected genes involved in competence and sporulation in both the wild-type Bs-916 and mutant M49 strains were significantly different. When we integrated the comA ORF into the chromosome of M49 at the amyE locus, M49 restored hemolytic activity and antifungal activity. Then, HPLC analyses results also showed the comA-complemented strain had a similar ability to produce surf actin with wild-type strain Bs-916. These data suggested that the mutation of three key amino acids in ComA greatly affected the biological activity of Bacillus subtilis. ComA protein 3D structure prediction and motif search prediction indicated that ComA has two obvious motifs common to response regulator proteins, which are the N-terminal response regulator receiver motif and the C-terminal helix-turn-helix motif. The three residues in the ComA N-terminal portion may be involved in phosphorylation activation mechanism. These structural prediction results implicate that three mutated residues in the ComA protein may play an important role in the formation of a salt-bridge to the phosphoryl group keeping active conformation to subsequent regulation of the expression of downstream genes.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2007

In this work practical considerations of a pulsed arterial spin labeling MRI are presented to reliable multi-slice perfusion measurements In the human brain. Three parameters were considered in this study. First, In order to improve slice profile and Inversion efficiency of a labeling pulse a high power Inversion pulse of adiabatic hyperbolic secant was designed. A $900^{\circ}$ rotation of the flip angle was provided to make a good slice profile and excellent Inversion efficiency. Second, to minimize contributions of a residual magnetization be4ween Interleaved scans of control and labeling we tested three different conditions which were applied 1) only saturation pulses, 2) only spotter gradients, and 3) combinations of saturation pulses and spotter gradients Applications of bo4h saturation pulses and spoiler gradients minimized the residual magnetization. Finally, to find a minimum gap between a tagged plane and an imaging plane we tested signal changes of the subtracted image between control and labeled Images with varying the gap. The optimum gap was about 20mm. In conclusion, In order to obtain high quality of perfusion Images In human brain It Is Important to use optimum parameters. Before routinely using In clinical studios, we recommend to make optimizations of sequence parameters.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.539-549
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• 1999

In this paper, the bit error rare (BER) performance of DS/CDMA DQPSK communication system in the presence of multi access interference, impulsive noise and Nakagami fading is investigated. The DS/CDMA DQPSK communication system adopts Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) diversity reception and error correcting BCH code technique to enhance system performance. Using the derived error probability equation, the error rate performance of DS/CDMA DQPSK communication system has been evaluated and shown in figures to discuss as a function of impulsive index(A), Gaussian noise to impulsive noise power ratio($\Gamma$'), multi access interference(Κ), Nakagami fading parameter(m), the number of diversity branch (Ｌ), the number of error correction symbol (t), PN code sequence length(N) and $E_b/N_0$. The error performance of DS/CDMA-MDPSK signals improve by adopting MRC diversity and BCH(15,7) coding technique in the environment of impulsive noise plus Nagakami fading. From the results, we known that proposed system is affected by multi access interference, impulsive noise and Nakagami fading in radio communication system environment. Also, BER performance of DS/CDMA DQPSK communication system cam be improved increasing either the power of desired signal or the value of Gaussian noise to impulsive noise power ratio. And BCH(15,7) code technique is more effective to restrain the affection of multi access, interference, impulsive noise and Nakagami fading in DS/CDMA DQPSK communication system than MRC diversity reception technique.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.29 no.12A
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• pp.1319-1332
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• 2004

Multicarrier direct sequence code-division multiple access CDMA(MC DS-CDMA) is an attractive technique for achieving high data rate transmission even if the potentially large peak-to-average power ratio(PAPR) is an important factor for its application. On the other hand, code select CDMA(CS-CDMA) is an attractive technique with constant amplitude transmission of multicode signal irregardless of subchannels by introducing code selection method. In this paper we propose a new multiple access scheme based on the combination of MC DS-CDMA and CS-CDMA. Proposed scheme, which we called MC CS-CDMA, includes the sutclasses of MC DS-CDMA and CS-CDMA as special cases. The performance of this system is investigated for multipath Sequency selective fading channel and maximal ratio combining with rake receiver. In addition the PAPR of proposed system is compare with that of both MC BS-CDMA and CS-CDMA. Simulation results show that proposed system improves PAPR reduction than MC DS-CDMA at the expense of the complexity of receiver and the number of available non. Also, the numerical result shows that the proposed system is better performance than MC DS-CDMA due to the increasing processing gain and the number of time diversity gain.