• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2005

Ultrasonic inspection methods are widely used for detecting flaws in materials. The signal analysis step plays a crucial part in the data interpretation process. A number of signal processing methods have been proposed to classify ultrasonic flaw signals. One of the more popular methods involves the extraction of an appropriate set of features followed by the use of a neural network for the classification of the signals in the feature spare. This paper describes an alternative approach which uses the least mean square (LMS) method and exportation maximization (EM) algorithm with the model based deconvolution which is employed for classifying nondestructive evaluation (NDE) signals from steam generator tubes in a nuclear power plant. The signals due to cracks and deposits are not significantly different. These signals must be discriminated to prevent from happening a huge disaster such as contamination of water or explosion. A model based deconvolution has been described to facilitate comparison of classification results. The method uses the space alternating generalized expectation maximiBation (SAGE) algorithm ill conjunction with the Newton-Raphson method which uses the Hessian parameter resulting in fast convergence to estimate the time of flight and the distance between the tube wall and the ultrasonic sensor. Results using these schemes for the classification of ultrasonic signals from cracks and deposits within steam generator tubes are presented and showed a reasonable performances.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.161-166
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• 2014

Currently oxidation-reduction titration method for the assay method using the hazardous reagent, carbon tetrachloride, for cefroxadine capsules has been used in Korean Pharmaceutical Codex. We developed and validated an alternative HPLC assay method by substituting the use of the hazardous reagent, carbon tetrachloride, to the use of less toxic ones like acetonitrile. The linearity of the calibration curves in the desired concentration range was good ($r^2$ > 0.999). Relative standard deviations of intra-day precision were ranged between 0.30% and 0.69% and inter-day precision were ranged between 0.47% and 0.82%. Accuracy was obtained with recoveries in range of 100.20% and 100.56%. Developed method was applied to the determination of cefroxadine in commercial cefroxadine capsule and could be expected to become valuable tools for revising the Korean Pharmaceutical Codex.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.189-195
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• 2016

Objectives: To ensure the microbiological safety of groundwater, it was confirmed whether waterborne pathogenic bacteria in groundwater samples tested positive for total coliforms in the Chungcheongnam-do Province region. Methods: Total colony counts, total coliforms and fecal coliforms were tested according to the process mandated by the drinking water quality testing standards of Korea. DNA was extracted from the samples, tested positive for total coliforms, and then subjected to real-time PCR to detect waterborne pathogenic bacteria. Results: A total of 115 samples were inadequate for drinking water. Thirty-one cases (27%) showed positive for fecal coliforms and nine cases (7.8%) showed total colony counts exceeding drinking water standards. Twenty-seven cases (23.5%) showed three items (total colony counts, total coliforms and fecal coliforms). Using the real-time PCR method, waterborne pathogens were detected in 57 cases (49.6%) in 115 samples. Seventy-eight cases of waterborne pathogenic bacteria were detected (including duplications): 27 cases of pathogenic E. coli (EPEC (19), ETEC (5), EHEC (1), EAEC (1) and EIEC (1)); 45 of Bacillus cereus; two of Yersinia spp.; two of Salmonella spp.; one of Staphylococcus aureus; one of Clostridium perfringens. Conclusion: The real-time PCR method can offer rapid and accurate detection of waterborne pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, this assay could be an alternative to conventional culture methods and can further ensure the microbiological safety of groundwater.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.397-408
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• 2009

The development of microarray technology makes possible to analyse many thousands of genes simultaneously. While it is important to test each gene whether it shows changes in expression associated with a phenotype, human diseases are thought to occur through the interactions of multiple genes within a same functional cafe-gory. Recent research interests aims to directly test the behavior of sets of functionally related genes, instead of focusing on single genes. Gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA), significance analysis of microarray to gene-set analysis(SAM-GS) and parametric analysis of gene set enrichment(PAGE) have been applied widely as a tool for gene-set analyses. We describe their problems and propose an alternative method using a parametric analysis by adopting normal score transformation of gene expression values. Performance of the newly derived method is compared with previous methods on three real microarray datasets.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.100-108
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• 2015

Purpose: Conventional methods for the prenatal detection of fetal RhD status involve invasive procedures such as fetal blood sampling and amniocentesis. The identification of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma creates the possibility of determining fetal RhD status by analyzing maternal plasma DNA. However, some technical problems still exist, especially the lack of a positive control marker for the presence of fetal DNA. Therefore, we assessed the feasibility and accuracy of fetal RHD genotyping incorporating the RASSF1A epigenetic fetal DNA marker from cffDNA in the maternal plasma of RhD-negative pregnant women in Korea. Materials and Methods: We analyzed maternal plasma from 41 pregnant women identified as RhD-negative by serological testing. Multiplex real-time PCR was performed by amplifying RHD exons 5 and 7 and the SRY gene, with RASSF1A being used as a gender-independent fetal epigenetic marker. The results were compared with those obtained by postnatal serological analysis of cord blood and gender identification. Results: Among the 41 fetuses, 37 were RhD-positive and 4 were RhD-negative according to the serological analysis of cord blood. There was 100% concordance between fetal RHD genotyping and serological cord blood results. Detection of the RASSF1A gene verified the presence of cffDNA, and the fetal SRY status was correctly detected in all 41 cases. Conclusion: Noninvasive fetal RHD genotyping with cffDNA incorporating RASSF1A is a feasible, reliable, and accurate method of determining fetal RhD status. It is an alternative to amniocentesis for the management of RhD-negative women and reduces the need for unnecessary RhIG prophylaxis.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 2017

PURPOSES : The main purpose of this study is to develop a high elastic modulus and low-shrinkage roller-compacted concrete base (RCCB) in order to prevent fatigue cracking and reflective cracking in the asphalt surface layer of composite pavement. Using a rigid base material with low shrinkage can be a solution to this problem. Moreover, a strong rigid base with high elastic modulus is able to shift the location of critical tensile strain from the bottom of the asphalt layer to the bottom of the rigid base layer, which can prevent fatigue cracking in the asphalt layer. METHODS : Sensitivity analysis of composite pavement via numerical methods is implemented to determine an appropriate range of elastic modulus of the rigid base that would eliminate fatigue cracking. Various asphalt thicknesses and elastic moduli of the rigid base are used in the analysis to study their respective influences on fatigue cracking. Low-shrinkage RCC mixture, as determined via laboratory testing with various amounts of a CSA expansion agent (0%, 7%, and 10%), is found to achieve an appropriate low-shrinkage level. Shrinkage of RCC is measured according to KS F 2424. RESULTS : This study shows that composite pavements comprising asphalt thicknesses of (h1) 2 in. with E2 > 19 GPa, 4 in. with E2 > 15 GPa, and 6 in. with E2 > 11 GPa are able to eliminate tensile strain in the asphalt layer, which is the cause of fatigue cracking in this layer. Shrinkage test results demonstrate that a 10% CSA RCC mixture can reduce shrinkage by 84% and 93% as compared to conventional RCC and PCC, respectively. CONCLUSIONS : According to the results of numerical analyses using various design inputs, composite pavements are shown to be able to eliminate fatigue cracking in composite pavement. Additionally, an RCC mixture with 10% CSA admixture is able to reduce or eliminate reflective cracking in asphalt surfaces as a result of the significant shrinkage reduction in the RCC base. Thus, this low-shrinkage base material can be used as an alternative solution to distresses in composite pavement.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.805-814
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• 2007

Statement of problem. Composite resin-veneered metal restorations can be used as an alternative to porcelain-fused-metal restorations. But, because of the relatively low bond strength of veneering composite to metal framework, various surface treatment methods have been introduced to improve the bond strength. Purpose. The object of this study was to compare the shear bond strength of different combinations of each of the two bonding systems and each of the two composite veneering resins to cp-Ti/Co-Cr alloy. Material and methods. Two resin bonding systems (metal conditioner containing MEPS monomer, tribochemical silicoating system) and two composite resins (Gradia, Sinfony) were tested on cp-Ti and Co-Cr alloy. Then, according to manufacturers' instructions, resin bonding systems and composite resins were applied. All test specimens were divided into four groups for each alloy; I) sandblast + Metal Primer II + Gradia (MG), II) sandblast + Metal Primer II + Sinfony (MS), III) Rocatec + Gradia (RG), IV) Rocatec + Sinfony (RS). The shear bond strength was determined using a universal testing machine and all data were statistically analyzed with Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis test at the significance level of 0.05. Results. The mean (standard deviations) of shear bond strength according to the combinations of two bonding systems and two composite resins to cp-Ti arranged from 16.44 MPa to 17.07 MPa and the shear bond strength to Co-Cr alloy ranged from 16.26 MPa to 17.70 MPa. The result shows that the difference were not statistically significant. Conclusion. The shear bond strengths of composite resins to both cast cp-Ti and Co-Cr alloy were not significantly different between the metal conditioner and the tribochemical silicoating system. And no differences in bond strength were found between cp-Ti and Co-Cr alloy.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.59-70
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• 2024

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic (the form of coronaviruses) developed at the end of 2019 and spread rapidly to almost every corner of the world. It has infected around 25,334,339 of the world population by the end of September 1, 2020 [1] . It has been spreading ever since, and the peak specific to every country has been rising and falling and does not seem to be over yet. Currently, the conventional RT-PCR testing is required to detect COVID-19, but the alternative method for data archiving purposes is certainly another choice for public departments to make. Researchers are trying to use medical images such as X-ray and Computed Tomography (CT) to easily diagnose the virus with the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based software. Method: This review paper provides an investigation of a newly emerging machine-learning method used to detect COVID-19 from X-ray images instead of using other methods of tests performed by medical experts. The facilities of computer vision enable us to develop an automated model that has clinical abilities of early detection of the disease. We have explored the researchers' focus on the modalities, images of datasets for use by the machine learning methods, and output metrics used to test the research in this field. Finally, the paper concludes by referring to the key problems posed by identifying COVID-19 using machine learning and future work studies. Result: This review's findings can be useful for public and private sectors to utilize the X-ray images and deployment of resources before the pandemic can reach its peaks, enabling the healthcare system with cushion time to bear the impact of the unfavorable circumstances of the pandemic is sure to cause

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.261-268
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• 2004

Background : The resurgence of tuberculosis and outbreaks of multidrug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis have increased the emphasis for the development of new susceptibility testing of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis for the effective treatment and control of the disease. Conventional drug susceptibility testings, such as those using egg-based or agar-based media have some limits, such as the time required and difficulties in determining critical inhibitory concentrations, but these are still being used in many diagnostic laboratories because of no better lternatives, considering cost and accuracy. To overcome these limits, a rapid and simple method for new susceptibility testing, using live and dead assays, was applied for a bacterial cell viability assay to distinguish dead from live bacterial cells based on two-color fluorescence. Materials and Methods Strains : Forty strains were used in this study, 20 susceptible to all antituberculosis drugs and the other 20 resistant to the four first line antituberculosis drugs isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin and ethambutol. Antibiotics : The four antibiotics were dissolved in 7H9 broth to make the following solutions: $0.1{\mu}g\;isoniazid(INH)/m{\ell}$, $0.4{\mu}g\;rifampicin(RMP)/m{\ell}$, $4.0{\mu}g\;streptomycin(SM)/m{\ell}$ and $4.0{\mu}g\;ethambutol(EMB)/m{\ell}$. Results : Live and dead Mycobacterium tuberculosis cells fluoresced green and red with the acridin (Syto 9) and propidium treatments, respectively. These results are very well accorded with conventional drug susceptibility testing by proportional method on Lowensen-Jensen media (L-J) containing 4 drugs (INH, RMP, EMB and SM), showing a 93.7 % accordance rate in susceptible strains and 95% in resistant strains. Conclusion : The results of the drug susceptibility testing using the live and dead bacterial cell assay showed high accordance rates compared with the conventional proportion method on L-J. This finding suggests that the live and dead bacterial cell assay can be used as an alternative to conventional drug susceptibility testing for M. tuberculosis strains.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.1C
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• pp.11-20
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• 2009

A new alternative method based on HWAW method to detect underground anomaly was introduced. The location of underground anomaly can be estimated by using 2-dimensional image of phase velocity image with position and wavelength based on distortion phenomena of surface wave due to underground anomaly. Overall procedure of proposed method such as field testing, signal processing and interpretation of the result was introduced. Numerical verification study was performed by using various ground models containing underground anomaly. According to the condition of anomaly, the propagation and reflection characteristics of surface wave were different and this could be more easily shown in the image of phase velocity. Some rules of distortion phenomena were found and these become clues for estimating underground anomaly in interpreting real field data. Field verification tests were performed with conventional geophysical methods such as DC resistivity method and GPR. Though field condition is not homogeneous like numerical models, similar distortion phenomena were found in the testing results and estimated location of underground anomaly was agreed well with the results of another geophysical methods.