• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.34 no.8
• /
• pp.1283-1289
• /
• 2021

Objective: The progestogen-associated endometrial protein (PAEP) gene encodes the main whey protein in milk, β-lactoglobulin. The aim of the study was to investigate polymorphism in the PAEP gene and its association with milk yield, composition, and quality. Methods: Test-day records for 782 dairy cows were analysed. A total of 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) within the PAEP gene were investigated. The following parameters were recorded: milk yield (MY, kg/d), percent milk fat (%), protein (PP, %), dry matter (DMP, %) and lactose (LP, %), urea content (UC, mg/L) as well as natural logarithm for somatic cell count (LnSCC, ln). Effect on genomic estimated breeding values accuracy was evaluated with pedigree and single step model. Results: Results show that only three SNPs were polymorphic, creating 5 composite genotypes: P1 to P5. Differences in MY between composite genotypes were noted in the two tested herds. Cows with P5 composite genotypes were characterised by the highest PP and LnSCC and the lowest LP and UC (p<0.05). P4 was linked to an increased DMP and UC, while P3 to an increase in LP and decrease in PP and LnSCC. Both factors are important markers in herd management and have high influences on the herds economics. For 5 out of 7 traits the accuracy of prediction was improved by including the haplotype as a fixed effect. Conclusion: Presented results may suggest a new way to optimise breeding programmes and demonstrate the impact of using genomic data during that process.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.209-215
• /
• 2020

In this paper, we propose an algorithm for segmenting weld bead images using edge enhancement and active contours. In the proposed method, high-frequency filtering and contrast improvement are performed for edge enhancement, and then, by applying the active contour method, only the weld bead region can be obtained. The proposed algorithm detects an edge through high-frequency filtering and reinforces the detected edge by using contrast enhancement. After the edge information is improved in this way, the weld bead area can be extracted by applying the active contour method. The proposed algorithm shows better performance than the existing methods for segmenting the weld bead in the image. For the objective reliability of the proposed algorithm, it was compared with the existing high pass filtering methods, and it was confirmed that the welding bead segmentation of the proposed method is excellent. The proposed method can be usefully used in evaluating the quality of the weld bead through an additional procedure for the segmented weld bead.

• Journal of Drive and Control
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.125-132
• /
• 2020

The objective of this study was to analyze the axle load of a rice transplanter when planting rice seedlings at different working load conditions to select a suitable gear stage and a constant planting depth for rice seedlings. In this study, there are four levels of planting distances (26, 35, 43, and 80 cm) and three planting depths (low, medium, and high) with two gear stages (1.3 and 1.7 m/s). Axle loads and required planting pressures were analyzed statistically. It was observed that axle torques were increased with increasing planting depths for both gear stages, meaning that axle torques were directly proportional to planting depths for both gear stages. It was also observed that required planting pressures had a significant difference between planting distances. Planting pressures also showed significant difference according to gear stage and planting depth. These results indicate that planting pressures were directly proportional to both gear stage and planting depth. Results revealed that the automatic depth control system of a rice transplanter could not guarantee a constant planting depth as supplied pressures were variable. This indicates that a control algorithm is needed to ensure a constant planting depth. In the future, a control algorithm will be developed for an automatic depth control system of a rice transplanter to improve its comprehensive performance and efficiency.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.163-173
• /
• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to characterize a validated model for predicting oocyte retrieval in controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) and to construct model-based nomograms for assistance in clinical decision-making regarding the gonadotropin protocol and dose. Methods: This observational, retrospective, cohort study included 636 women with primary unexplained infertility and a normal menstrual cycle who were attempting assisted reproductive therapy for the first time. The enrolled women were split into an index group (n=497) for model building and a validation group (n=139). The primary outcome was absolute oocyte count. The dose-response relationship was tested using modified Poisson, negative binomial, hybrid Poisson-E_max, and linear models. The validation group was similarly analyzed, and its results were compared to that of the index group. Results: The Poisson model with the log-link function demonstrated superior predictive performance and precision (Akaike information criterion, 2,704; λ=8.27; relative standard error (λ)=2.02%). The covariate analysis included women's age (p<0.001), antral follicle count (p<0.001), basal follicle-stimulating hormone level (p<0.001), gonadotropin dose (p=0.042), and protocol type (p=0.002 and p<0.001 for short and antagonist protocols, respectively). The estimates from 500 bootstrap samples were close to those of the original model. The validation group showed model assessment metrics comparable to the index model. Based on the fitted model, a static nomogram was built to improve visualization. In addition, a dynamic electronic tool was created for convenience of use. Conclusion: Based on our validated model, nomograms were constructed to help clinicians individualize the stimulation protocol and gonadotropin doses in COS cycles.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.1761-1777
• /
• 2021

An image with infrared features and visible details is obtained by processing infrared and visible images. In this paper, a fusion method based on Laplacian pyramid and generative adversarial network is proposed to obtain high quality fusion images, termed as Laplacian-GAN. Firstly, the base and detail layers are obtained by decomposing the source images. Secondly, we utilize the Laplacian pyramid-based method to fuse these base layers to obtain more information of the base layer. Thirdly, the detail part is fused by a generative adversarial network. In addition, generative adversarial network avoids the manual design complicated fusion rules. Finally, the fused base layer and fused detail layer are reconstructed to obtain the fused image. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can obtain state-of-the-art fusion performance in both visual quality and objective assessment. In terms of visual observation, the fusion image obtained by Laplacian-GAN algorithm in this paper is clearer in detail. At the same time, in the six metrics of MI, AG, EI, MS_SSIM, Q_abf and SCD, the algorithm presented in this paper has improved by 0.62%, 7.10%, 14.53%, 12.18%, 34.33% and 12.23%, respectively, compared with the best of the other three algorithms.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.213-221
• /
• 2020

Purpose : This study aimed to evaluate the changes in visual perception and daily life activities after simultaneously applying the visual perception training program and transcranial DC stimulation. Particularly, this study tried to understand what changes in abilities among daily life activities influenced cognition. Methods : This study selected 50 dementia patients to achieve the objective. This study applied transcranial DC stimulation and a visual perception training program to a treatment group (n=25) and a visual perception training program to a control group (n=25). The intervention was applied five times per week and 30 minutes per session (total of 30 intervention sessions). This study measured visual perception functions and daily life activities using MVPT and FIM before and after applying the intervention. Results : The visual perception, mobility of daily life activities, cognition, and total score of the treatment group (n=25), which received the visual perception training program and transcranial DC at the same time, were significantly (p<.05) different between before and after the intervention. Moreover, when the visual perception and daily life activities of the treatment group and those of the control group after implementing the intervention were compared, they were significantly (p<.05) different between the two groups. Conclusion : The results of this study showed that the simultaneous application of the visual perception training program and transcranial DC stimulation was an effective means to enhance the visual perception and daily life activities of dementia patients. The results implied that transcranial DC stimulation, as well as the application of visual perception training program, as well as a visual perception training program, was effective for improving the visual perception functions and daily life activities dementia patients and simultaneous application of the two interventions would increase the effect even further.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.285-291
• /
• 2020

Objective: Shoes midsole are crucial for reducing impact forces on the lower extremity when someone is running. Previous studies report that the cushioning of running shoes make it possible to use less muscular energies. However, the well cushioned shoes result in energy loss as the shoe midsole is compressed. Cushioning reduces the load on the body, it also results in the use of more muscle energy to create propulsion force. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the difference of shoe hardness & resilience on the running. Method: Shoes midsole are crucial for reducing impact forces on the lower extremity when someone is running. Previous studies report that the cushioning of running shoes make it possible to use less muscular energies. However, the well cushioned shoes result in energy loss as the shoe midsole is compressed. Cushioning reduces the load on the body, it also results in the use of more muscle energy to create propulsion force. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the difference of shoe hardness & resilience on the running. Results: In vastus lateralis muscle Activation, Type 55 were significantly higher for Type 50 and X (p=0.019, p=0.045). In Gluteus Maximus muscle activation, Type 55 was significantly lower for type 50 (p=0.005). In loading late, Type 55 and X were significantly higher for type 45 (p=0.008, p=0.006). Conclusion: The components of a shoe are very complex, and there can be many differences in manufacturing as well. Although some differences can be found in the biomechanical variables of the high elastic midsole, it is difficult to interpret the performance enhancement and injury prevention.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.21-29
• /
• 2021

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of the application of double layered bubble sheet on the curing of slab and wall concrete placed at the job site in cold weather and to offer a feasibility of Concrete IoT Management System(CIMS), which is wireless sensor network developed by the authors, to manage early age quality of the concrete in terms of temperature, maturity and strength development. Test results indicated that the application of bubble sheet enhances the insulation performance, which results in an increase of the temperature by around 1~20. 6℃. It is found that CIMS can gather the temperature, maturity and strength development data from the sensors embedded from 30 m far from CIMS successfully. Predicted compressive strengths by CIMS had good agreement with measured ones within 2 MPa error level until 7 days. It is thought that the combination of the bubble sheet application for cold weather protection and CIMS for quality management tool in cold weather concreting contributes to shorten the time for the form removal by one day.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.774-784
• /
• 2021

The object detection and recognition process is a very important task in the field of computer vision, and related research is actively being conducted. However, in the actual object recognition process, the recognition accuracy is often degraded due to the resolution mismatch between the training image data and the test image data. To solve this problem, in this paper, we designed and developed an integrated object recognition and super-resolution framework by proposing an image super-resolution technique to improve object recognition accuracy. In detail, 11,231 license plate training images were built by ourselves through web-crawling and artificial-data-generation, and the image super-resolution artificial neural network was trained by defining an objective function to be robust to the image flip. To verify the performance of the proposed algorithm, we experimented with the trained image super-resolution and recognition on 1,999 test images, and it was confirmed that the proposed super-resolution technique has the effect of improving the accuracy of character recognition.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.64 no.5
• /
• pp.726-731
• /
• 2021

Objective : Distinguishing between an infundibulum and a true aneurysm is clinically important. This study aimed to evaluate whether using source image based new three-dimensional rotational angiography (S-n3DRA) can increase the rate of aneurysm detection and improve distinction between a true aneurysm and an infundibulum. Methods : Twenty-two consecutive patients with 23 lesions, were evaluated by time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), S-n3DRA, and digital subtraction angiography (DSA). The data were retrospectively and independently reviewed by two neurointerventionists, and the diagnoses based on TOF MRA, S-n3DRA, and DSA were compared. The diagnostic efficacy (interobserver agreement and diagnostic performance) of S-n3DRA was compared with that of TOF MRA. Results : S-n3DRA showed higher interobserver agreement (κ=0.923) than TOF MRA (κ=0.465) and significantly higher accuracy than MRA in distinguishing an aneurysm from an infundibulum (p=0.0039). Conclusion : Compared to MRA, S-n3DRA could provide better screening accuracy and information for distinguishing an aneurysm from an infundibulum. Therefore, S-n3DRA has the potential to reduce the need for DSA.