• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.109-111
• /
• 2023

• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.185-196
• /
• 2022

BACKGROUND: Two-dimensional (2D) strain provides more predictive power than ejection fraction (EF) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). 3D strain and EF are also expected to have better clinical usefulness and overcome several inherent limitations of 2D strain. We aimed to clarify the prognostic significance of 3D strain analysis in patients with STEMI. METHODS: Patients who underwent successful revascularization for STEMI were retrospectively recruited. In addition to conventional parameters, 3D EF, global longitudinal strain (GLS), global area strain (GAS), as well as 2D GLS were obtained. We constructed a composite outcome consisting of all-cause death or re-hospitalization for acute heart failure or ventricular arrhythmia. RESULTS: Of 632 STEMI patients, 545 patients (86.2%) had a reliable 3D strain analysis. During median follow-up of 49.5 months, 55 (10.1%) patients experienced the adverse outcome. Left ventricle EF, 2D GLS, 3D EF, 3D GLS, and 3D GAS were significantly associated with poor outcomes. (all, p < 0.001) The maximum likelihood-ratio test was performed to evaluate the additional prognostic value of 2D GLS or 3D GLS over the prognostic model consisting of clinical characteristics and EF, and the likelihood ratio was 15.9 for 2D GLS (p < 0.001) and 1.49 for 3D GLS (p = 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: The predictive power of 3D strain was slightly lower than the 2D strain. Although we can obtain 3D strains, volume, and EF simultaneously in same cycle, the clinical implications of 3D strains in STEMI need to be investigated further.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.4 no.5
• /
• pp.516-523
• /
• 1994

The interfacial coherency of metal organic chemical vapor deposition grown InGaAsP/InP heterostructure wafers was examined and their influences on the optoelectronic properties were investigated in this study. (400) symmetric and (511) asymmetric reflections were employed to measure the lattice coherency. Existence of misfit dislocations was examined by x-ray topography and reverified by photoluminescence (PL) imaging. PI, measurements were performed, and higher PL intensity was obtained for elastically strained samples and lower intensity for plastically deformed samples. The highest PL intensity was obtained for the sample lattice matched at the growth temperature. PL full-width at half maximum (FWHM) was found to depend on the degree of lattice mismatch. A correlatior between x-ray FWHM and PL intensity was empirically established. The results presented demonstrate that the interfacial coherency is of primary significance in affecting the optoelectronic properties through elastic strain and plastic deformation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.617-624
• /
• 2019

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) which is generally synthesized by several species of bacteria has a wide variety of industrial uses, particularly in the food and material industries. However, the low levels of BNC production during the fermentation process should be overcome to reduce its production cost. Therefore, in this study, we screened and identified a new cellulose-producing bacterium, optimized production of the cellulose, and investigated the morphological properties of the cellulosic materials. Out of 147 bacterial isolates from ripened fruits and traditional vinegars, strain SFCB22-18 showed the highest capacity for BNC production and was identified as Komagataeibacter sp. based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis. During 6-week fermentation of the strain using an optimized medium containing 3.0% glucose, 2.5% yeast extract, 0.24% acetic acid, 0.27% $Na_2HPO_4$, and 0.5% ethanol at $30^{\circ}C$, about 5 g/l of cellulosic material was produced. Both imaging and IR analysis proved that the produced cellulose would be nanoscale bacterial cellulose.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.389-401
• /
• 2022

This study investigated the flowability and mechanical properties of cost-effective steel fiber reinforced ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) by using locally available materials for field-cast application. To examine the effect of mixture constituents, five mixtures with different fractions of silica fume, silica powder, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), silica sand, and crushed natural sand were proportionally prepared. Comprehensive experiments for different mixture designs were conducted to evaluate the fresh- and hardened-state properties of self-consolidating UHPC. The results showed that the proposed UHPC had similar mechanical properties compared with conventional UHPC while the flow retention over time was enhanced so that the field-cast application seemed appropriately cost-effective. The self-consolidating UHPC with high flowability and low viscosity takes less total mixing time than conventional UHPC up to 6.7 times. The X-ray computed tomographic imaging was performed to investigate the steel fiber distribution inside the UHPC by visualizing the spatial distribution of steel fibers well. Finally, the tensile stress-strain curve for the proposed UHPC was proposed for the implementation to the structural analysis and design.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
• /
• 2002.10a
• /
• pp.250-254
• /
• 2002

Intergranular corrosion of austenitic stainless steels is a conventional and momentous problem during welding and high temperature use. One of the major reasons for such intergranular corrosion is so-called sensitization, i.e., chromium depletion due to chromium carbide precipitation at grain boundaries. Conventional methods for preventing sensitization of austenitic stainless steels include reduction of carbon content in the material, stabilization of carbon atoms as non-chromium carbides by the addition of titanium, niobium or zirconium, local solution-heat-treatment by laser beam, etc. These methods, however, are not without drawbacks. Recent grain boundary structure studies have demonstrated that grain boundary phenomena strongly depend on the crystallographic nature and atomic structure of the grain boundary, and that grain boundaries with coincidence site lattices are immune to intergranular corrosion. The concept of "grain boundary design and control", which involves a desirable grain boundary character distribution, has been developed as grain boundary engineering. The feasibility of grain boundary engineering has been demonstrated mainly by thermomechanical treatments. In the present study, a thermomechanical treatment was tried to improve the resistance to the sensitization by grain boundary engineering. A type 304 austenitic stainless steel was pre-strained and heat-treated, and then sensitized, varying the parameters (pre-strain, temperature, time, etc.) during the thermomechanical treatment. The grain boundary character distribution was examined by orientation imaging microscopy. The intergranular corrosion resistance was evaluated by electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation and ferric sulfate-sulfuric acid tests. The sensitivity to intergranular corrosion was reduced by the thermomechanical treatment and indicated a minimum at a small roll-reduction. The frequency of coincidence-site-lattice boundaries indicated a maximum at a small strain. The ferric sulfate-sulfuric acid test showed much smaller corrosion rate in the thermomechanically-treated specimen than in the base material. An excellent intergranular corrosion resistance was obtained by a small strain annealing at a relatively low temperature for long time. The optimum parameters created a uniform distribution of a high frequency of coincidence site lattice boundaries in the specimen where corrosive random boundaries were isolated. The results suggest that the thermomechanical treatment can introduce low energy segments in the grain boundary network by annealing twins and can arrest the percolation of intergranular corrosion from the surface.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.82 no.6
• /
• pp.1388-1401
• /
• 2021

Postoperative imaging of the rotator cuff may be performed routinely, even if pain or disability develops after surgery or if there are no symptoms. Postoperative images are obtained through MRI or US, and the purpose is to confirm the integrity of the restored tendon in general. Postoperative MRI has a relatively poor diagnostic accuracy compared to that of preoperative images because various materials used in surgeries deteriorate the image quality. US can dynamically check the condition of the restored tendon and avoid artifacts from the surgical instruments used for recovery. Although imaging findings are not always consistent with the clinical symptoms or prognosis, sub-deltoid fluid retention is more important for pain and functional recovery than the thickness of the reconstructed tendon. Strain elastography can also be a useful method for predicting the prognosis.

• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.41-48
• /
• 2023

BACKGROUND: The function of left atrium (LA) is difficult to assess because of its ventricle-dependent, dynamic movement. The aim of this study was to assess LA function using velocity vector imaging (VVI) and compare LA function in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMP) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) with normal controls. METHODS: Fourteen patients with HCMP (72% male, mean age of 52.6 ± 9.8), 15 hypertensive patients with LVH (88% male, mean age of 54.0 ± 15.3), and 10 age-matched controls (83% male, mean age of 50.0 ± 4.6) were prospectively studied. Echocardiographic images of the LA were analyzed with VVI, and strain rate (SR) was compared among the 3 groups. RESULTS: The e' velocity (7.7 ± 1.1; 5.1 ± 0.8; 4.5 ± 1.3 cm/sec, p = 0.013), E/e' (6.8 ± 1.6; 12.4 ± 3.3; 14.7 ± 4.2, p = 0.035), and late diastolic SR at mid LA (-1.65 ± 0.51; -0.97 ± 0.55; -0.82 ± 0.32, p = 0.002) were significantly different among the groups (normal; LVH; HCMP, respectively). The e' velocity, E/e', and late diastolic SR at mid LA were significantly different between normal and LVH (p = 0.001; 0.022; 0.018), whereas LA size was similar between normal and LVH (p = 0.592). The mean late diastolic peak SR of mid LA was significantly correlated with indices of diastolic function (E/e', e', and LA size). CONCLUSIONS: The SR is a useful tool for detailed evaluation of LA function, especially early dysfunction of LA in groups with normal LA size.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.08a
• /
• pp.99-99
• /
• 2013

In this talk, I will present two research works in progress, which are: i) mapping of piezoelectric polarization and associated charge density distribution in the heteroepitaxial InGaN/GaN multi-quantum well (MQW) structure of a light emitting diode (LED) by using inline electron holography and ii) in-situ observation of the polarization switching process of an ferroelectric Pb(Zr1-x,Tix)O3 (PZT) thin film capacitor under an applied electric field in transmission electron microscope (TEM). In the first part, I will show that strain as well as total charge density distributions can be mapped quantitatively across all the functional layers constituting a LED, including n-type GaN, InGaN/GaN MQWs, and p-type GaN with sub-nm spatial resolution (~0.8 nm) by using inline electron holography. The experimentally obtained strain maps were verified by comparison with finite element method simulations and confirmed that not only InGaN QWs (2.5 nm in thickness) but also GaN QBs (10 nm in thickness) in the MQW structure are strained complementary to accommodate the lattice misfit strain. Because of this complementary strain of GaN QBs, the strain gradient and also (piezoelectric) polarization gradient across the MQW changes more steeply than expected, resulting in more polarization charge density at the MQW interfaces than the typically expected value from the spontaneous polarization mismatch alone. By quantitative and comparative analysis of the total charge density map with the polarization charge map, we can clarify what extent of the polarization charges are compensated by the electrons supplied from the n-doped GaN QBs. Comparison with the simulated energy band diagrams with various screening parameters show that only 60% of the net polarization charges are compensated by the electrons from the GaN QBs, which results in the internal field of ~2.0 MV cm-1 across each pair of GaN/InGaN of the MQW structure. In the second part of my talk, I will present in-situ observations of the polarization switching process of a planar Ni/PZT/SrRuO3 capacitor using TEM. We observed the preferential, but asymmetric, nucleation and forward growth of switched c-domains at the PZT/electrode interfaces arising from the built-in electric field beneath each interface. The subsequent sideways growth was inhibited by the depolarization field due to the imperfect charge compensation at the counter electrode and preexisting a-domain walls, leading to asymmetric switching. It was found that the preexisting a-domains split into fine a- and c-domains constituting a $90^{\circ}$ stripe domain pattern during the $180^{\circ}$ polarization switching process, revealing that these domains also actively participated in the out-of-plane polarization switching. The real-time observations uncovered the origin of the switching asymmetry and further clarified the importance of charged domain walls and the interfaces with electrodes in the ferroelectric switching processes.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.650-654
• /
• 2009

A 1-week-old, male Korean native calf with acute clinical signs of depression, mild diarrhea, ataxia, recumbency and tremor was referred to Chonbuk Veterinary Medical Center of Chonbuk National University. Vision loss and cornea edema were also observed on physical examination. The patient had been deteriorated with nystagumus, strabisumus and opisthtonus. Blood cell count test and blood biochemistry test revealed remarkable leukocytosis, and hypoalbuminemia and increased blood urea nitrogen. No remarkable findings were observed on radiography. On magnetic resonance imaging study, there were enlarge lateral, third, and forth ventricles. The cortical grey and subcortical white matter of left temporal lobe showed hypointense on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images, and slightly enhanced on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images. Escherichia coli strain was identified from cerebrospinal fluid sample. Palliative treatment was attempted but the neonatal calve was expired three days after admission. Severe multifocal fibrino-suppurative meningitis with Escherichia coli infection was confirmed histopathologically.