• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.399-414
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• 2024

This study discusses the long-term deformation monitoring and shape sensing of bridge girder surfaces with an automated extraction scheme for point clouds in the Region Of Interest (ROI), invariant to the position of a Light Detection And Ranging system (LiDAR). Advanced smart construction necessitates continuous monitoring of the deformation and shape of bridge girders during the construction phase. An automated scheme is proposed for reconstructing geometric model of ROI in the presence of noisy non-stationary background. The proposed scheme involves (i) denoising irrelevant background point clouds using dimensions from the design model, (ii) extracting the outer boundaries of the bridge girder by transforming and processing the point cloud data in a two-dimensional image space, (iii) extracting topology of pre-defined targets using the modified Otsu method, (iv) registering the point clouds to a common reference frame or design coordinate using extracted predefined targets placed outside ROI, and (v) defining the bounding box in the point clouds using corresponding dimensional information of the bridge girder and abutments from the design model. The surface-fitted reconstructed geometric model in the ROI is superposed consistently over a long period to monitor bridge shape and derive deflection during the construction phase, which is highly correlated. The proposed scheme of combining 2D-3D with the design model overcomes the sensitivity of 3D point cloud registration to initial match, which often leads to a local extremum.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.51
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• pp.6.1-6.9
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• 2021

Histopathology is a well-established standard diagnosis employed for the majority of malignancies, including breast cancer. Nevertheless, despite training and standardization, it is considered operator-dependent and errors are still a concern. Fractal dimension analysis is a computational image processing technique that allows assessing the degree of complexity in patterns. We aimed here at providing a robust and easily attainable method for introducing computer-assisted techniques to histopathology laboratories. Slides from two databases were used: A) Breast Cancer Histopathological; and B) Grand Challenge on Breast Cancer Histology. Set A contained 2480 images from 24 patients with benign alterations, and 5429 images from 58 patients with breast cancer. Set B comprised 100 images of each type: normal tissue, benign alterations, in situ carcinoma, and invasive carcinoma. All images were analyzed with the FracLac algorithm in the ImageJ computational environment to yield the box count fractal dimension (Db) results. Images on set A on 40x magnification were statistically different (p = 0.0003), whereas images on 400x did not present differences in their means. On set B, the mean Db values presented promising statistical differences when comparing. Normal and/or benign images to in situ and/or invasive carcinoma (all p < 0.0001). Interestingly, there was no difference when comparing normal tissue to benign alterations. These data corroborate with previous work in which fractal analysis allowed differentiating malignancies. Computer-aided diagnosis algorithms may beneficiate from using Db data; specific Db cut-off values may yield ~ 99% specificity in diagnosing breast cancer. Furthermore, the fact that it allows assessing tissue complexity, this tool may be used to understand the progression of the histological alterations in cancer.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.1025-1033
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• 2022

'Shine Muscat' (Vitis labruscana Bailey x Vitis vinifera L.) grapes recently have been greatly favored in Korea, and as of 2022, account for 38.6% of the total grape market in Korea. However, there is a lack of research on post-harvest quality control appropriate to the unique characteristics of 'Shine Muscat'. In order to continuously increase domestic demand and exports in the future, it is essential to establish proper postharvest techniques. Essential oils have remarkable potential as biologically active and environmentally friendly antiseptics for the fruit industry. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of essential oils and aroma constituent treatment on fruit quality attributes of 'Shine Muscat' grapes in order to extend fruit quality during a simulated export period. A cluster of 'Shine Muscat' grapes was placed in a newly developed paper box container, and treated with rosemary essential oil, thyme essential oil, and linalool, along with an untreated control. The results showed no significant effect on fruit quality indices, such as cluster weight loss, berry firmness, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, sugar acid ratio, and color change, but showed a positive effect on the alleviation of berry shatter compared to the untreated control. In addition, rosemary oil treatment reduced the proportion of unhealthy berries. Therefore, the results indicated that the newly developed packaging container along with certain essential oil treatment could be applied as a promising packaging material for table grape export.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.3286-3297
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• 2024

Traditional text-based system engineering, which has been used in the design and application of passive residual heat removal system (PRHRS) for lead-cooled fast reactors, is prone to several problems such as low development efficiency, long iteration cycles, and model ambiguity. This study aims to effectively address the abovementioned problems by adopting a model-based system engineering (MBSE) method, which has been preliminarily applied to meet the design requirements of a PRHRS. The design process has been implemented based on the preliminary design of the system architecture and consists of three stages: top-level requirement analysis, functional requirements analysis, and design requirements synthesis. The results of the top-level requirements analysis and the corresponding use case diagram can determine the requirements, top-level use cases, and scenario flow of the system. During the functional requirements analysis, the sequence, activity, and state machine diagrams are used to develop the system function model and provide early confirmation. By comparing these sequence diagrams, the requirements for omissions and inconsistencies can be effectively checked. In the design requirements synthesis stage, the Analytic Hierarchy Process is used to conduct preliminary trade-off calculations on the system architecture, after which a white box model is established during the system architecture design. Through these two steps, the analysis and design of the system architecture are ultimately achieved. The resulting system architecture ensures the consistency of the design requirements. Ultimately, a functional hazard analysis was conducted for a specific incident to validate case requirements and further refine the system architecture. Future research can further reduce the design risk, improve the design efficiency, and provide a practical reference for the design and optimization of PRHRS in digital lead-cooled fast reactors.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.646-662
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• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) with transcranial direct current electrical stimulation (tDCS) on motor function improvement in stroke patients. Methods: This study was conducted on patients diagnosed with stroke more than 2 weeks but within 12 months of onset. A total of 22 patients were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received EA and tDCS treatment, while the control group received sham EA and sham tDCS treatment. Assessments were conducted using the Korean version of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (K-FMA) scores, grip and pinch strength tests, Box and Block test (BBT), Nine-hole peg test (9HPT), Berg balance scale (BBS), and the Korean version the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) scores. Adverse events were recorded at each intervention. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed in general characteristics between the two groups. The K-FMA, BBS, and K-MBI scores of both groups increased significantly after the intervention, but there was no significant difference between the two groups. Although hand strength and dexterity improved after intervention in both groups, the changes were not statistically significant. In the experimental group, the lateral pinch score increased significantly after the intervention, but this increase was not significant compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups. All nine reported adverse reactions were minor, with no moderate or severe adverse reactions reported. Conclusion: This study confirmed the potential effectiveness and safety of EA with tDCS in improving motor function in stroke patients.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.100-108
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• 2022

Endometriosis is a common, benign gynecological disease which is determined as an overspreading of endometrial tissue in exterior region of the uterine cavity. Evidence suggests that retrograde menstrual blood which contains mesenchymal stem cells with differential gene expression compared to healthy women may play a role in endometriosis creation. We aimed to identify whether the conditioned medium (CM) from menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MenSCs) of healthy women can affect the expression level of inflammatory and stemness genes of MenSCs from endometriosis women. Endometriosis-derived MenSCs (E-MenSCs) were treated with CM derived from healthy women's MenSCs (non-endometriosis derived MenSCs [NE-MenSCs]). Some CD markers were analyzed by flow cytometer before and after treatment compared with NE-MenSCs, and the expression level of inflammatory and stemness genes was evaluated by real-time PCR. E-MenSCs show different morphology in vitro culture in comparison with NE-MenSCs, which were changed in the presence of CM, into a morphology more similar to normal cells and showed significant decrease expression of CD10 after CM treatment. In our results, the interleukin-1, cyclooxygenase-2, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α as inflamaturay genes and octamer-binding transcription factor 4, NANOG, and sex determining region Y-box 2 as stemness genes showed significantly different expression level in E-MenSCs after treating with CM. Our study indicates that the expression level of some inflammatory- and stemness-related genes which have differential expression in E-MenSCs compared with NE-MenSCs, could be changed to normal status by using CM derived from NE-MenSCs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.861-869
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• 2015

One of the domesticated species; the dog has been selectively bred for various aims by human. The dog has many breeds, which are artificially selected for specific behaviors and morphologies. Dogs contribute their life to human as working dogs for guide, rescue, detection or etc. Working dogs requires good personality, such as gentleness, robustness and patience for performing their special duty. Many studies have concentrated on finding genetic marker for selecting the high-quality working dog. In this study, we confirmed quantitative expression patterns of eight genes (ABAT; 4-Aminobutyrate Aminotransferase, PLCB1; Phospholipase C, Beta 1, SLC10A4; Solute Carrier Family 10, Member 4, WNT1; Wingless-Type MMTV Integration Site Family, Member 1, BARX2; BarH-Like Homeobox 2, NEUROD6; Neuronal Differentiation 6, SEPT9; Septin 9 and TBR1; T-Box, Brain, 1) among brains tissues from four dog breeds (Beagle, Sapsaree, Shepherd and Jindo), because these genes were expressed and have functions in brain mostly. Specially, BARX2, SEPT9, SLC10A4, TBR1 and WNT1 genes were highly expressed in Beagle and Jindo, and Sapsaree and German Shepherd were vice versa. The biological significance of total genes was estimated by database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) to determine a different gene ontology (GO) class. In these analyses, we suppose to these eight genes could provide influential information for brain development, and intelligence of organisms. Taken together, these results could provide clues to discover biomarker related to functional traits in brain, and beneficial for selecting superior working dogs.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.487-502
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• 2012

This paper is focused on mineral compositions, microstructures and distributional characters of remained grains in the fault rocks collected from a fault developed in Yongdang-ri, Yangbuk-myeon, Gyeongju City, Korea, using X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscope, laser grain size analysis and fractal dimension analysis methods. The exposed fault core zone is about 1.5 meter thick. On the average, the breccia zone is 1.2 meter and the gouge zone is 20cm thick, respectively. XRD results show that the breccia zone consists predominantly of rock-forming minerals including quartz and feldspar, but the gouge zone consists of abundant clay minerals such as chlorite, illite and kaolinite. Mineral vein, pyrite and altered minerals commonly observed in the fault rock support evidence of fault activity associated with hydrothermal alteration. Fractal dimensions based on box counting, image analysis and laser particle analysis suggest that mineral grains in the fault rock underwent fracturing process as well as abrasion that gave rise to diminution of grains during the fault activity. Fractal dimensions(D-values) calculated by three methods gradually increase from the breccia zone to the gouge zone which has commonly high D-values. There are no noticeable changes in D-values in the gouge zone with trend being constant. It means that the bulk-crushing process of mineral grains in the breccia zone was predominant, whereas abrasion of mineral grains in the gouge zone took place by continuous fault activity. It means that the bulk-crushing process of mineral grains in the breccia zone was predominant, whereas abrasion of mineral grains in the gouge zone took place by continuous fault activity. Mineral compositions in the fault zone and peculiar trends in grain distribution indicate that multiple fault activity had a considerable influence on the evolution of fault zones, together with hydrothermal alteration. Meanwhile, fractal dimension values(D) in the fault rock should be used with caution because there is possibility that different values are unexpectedly obtained depending on the measurement methods available even in the same sample.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.194-200
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• 1984

Effects of seed coating on establishment, early growth and herbage production were investigated in Pot, Soil box and Field experiments. Seed was coated with 60% Lime, 20% Phosphate and 20% Peatmoss(W/W), also finely sprayed 13% Arabic gum and 2% Methyl cellulose(W/V). Coating were generally 1:20, seed: coat(W/W). 1. In the general growth of the growing stages and different oversown species at 80 days, seed coated was promoted than none in early growth. (Table 2 and 3) 2. Stand counts at 60 days after oversown, seed coated was higher 15% than none, especially, there was advantage due to coating on the medium and large size seeds such as Orchardgrass, Perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass, but did not assist establishment of the large (Tall fescue) and small (Ladino clover) size seed. 3. Variation of sward composition was not quite different between two treatments, but seed coated was slightly increased the Percentage of sown grasses with advance of cutting time. 4. Total dry metter yield per unit area with seed coated was higher 17% than none in establishment year. 5. Variations in the chemical composition of the herbage and soil were influenced by coating materials in the coating regime (Table 8). 6. From these facts, seed coated also appeared that adequate seedling stands, early growth and herbage production could be obtained with higher than conventional overseeding method under a poor conditions.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 1993

The RNAI mutation of Saccharomyces cerevisia is a recessive and temperature sensitive lethal mutation which interferes with the production of mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA. However, the precise role of RNAI gene have not been revealed until yet. We have cloned rna1-1 mutant gene from rna1-1 mutant yeast strain(R49 ; trpl, ura3-52, rna1-1). The 3.4kb BglII fragment of wild type RNAI clone(81-2-6) contains whole RNAI gene. The genomic southern blotting with BglII digested R49 genomic DNA as a probe shows the unique and identical band with wild type 3.4kb BglII fragment. Therefore, We prepared partial BglII genomic library(3~4kb BglII fragments) into BamH I site of pUC19. The rna 1-1 mutant clone was screened with Digoxigenin(DIG)-lableled probe by high density colony hybridization. The 5'-flanking region of rna1-1 gene was sequenced by dideoxy chain termination method. The 5'-flanking sequence of RNAI gene contains three TATA-like sequence ; TAATA, TATA and TTTTAA at position of -67, -45, and -36 from first ATG codon respectively. The 5'-flanking region of wild type RNA I gene from ATG codon to -103nt was deleted with Bal31 exonuclease digestion, generating $pUC{\Delta}$/RNA I. After constructing $pYEP{\Delta}RNA$ I (consists of -103nt deleting RNA I gene, URA3 gene, $2{\mu}m$ rep. origin), pYEPrna1-1(consists of Xba I fragment of pUCrna1-1. URA3 gene, $2{\mu}m$ rep. origin), and pYEPRNAI. each plasmid was transformed into host strain(trpl, ura3-52, rna1-1) by electroporation, respectively. Yeast transformant carrying $pYEP{\Delta}RNA$ I did not complement the thermal sensitivity of rna1-1 gene. It means that TATA-like sequences in 5'-flanking region is not TATA sequence for transcribing RNAI gene and there may be other essential sequence in upstream region for the transcription of RNAI gene.