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The vanishing point can be defined as a point generated by converged perspective lines, which are parallel in the real world. We propose a novel algorithm to detect the vanishing point in various images in real-time. The proposed algorithm unfolds into three steps. In the first step, we introduce the Local Dominant Orientation Signature (LDOS) descriptor to extract structural feature of an image. Then, we detect vanishing point candidates using dynamic programming. Finally, we estimate the location of the vanishing point from detected vanishing point candidates. Unlike the previous methods, the proposed method, which uses the dominant orientation of the local image structure, is fast and not limited to specific image contents. Experiments are performed on diverse images to confirm the efficiency of the proposed method and to show that it can be employed in various real-time applications.

This paper presents a method to estimate the number of people in crowded scenes without using explicit object segmentation or tracking. The proposed method consists of three steps as follows: (1) extracting space-time interest points using eigenvalues of the local spatio-temporal gradient matrix, (2) generating crowd regions based on space-time interest points, and (3) estimating the crowd density based on the multiple regression. In experimental results, the efficiency and robustness of our proposed method are demonstrated by using PETS 2009 dataset.

Intraoral radiographs are routinely used to assess a bone-implant interface after placement of a dental implant. Unlike marginal bone loss occurring in outer and denser crestal bones, bone resorption in inner and networked trabecular bones has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we hypothesize that peri-implant trabecular bones may undergo bone resorption and osseointegration after implant placement. Quantitative image analysis was performed on longitudinal radiographs of implants (n=24). Between 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the implant placement, trabecular bones showed increased intensity (Wilcoxon pairwise signed rank test, p

The user-friendliness and cost-effectiveness have contributed to the growing popularity of mobile phone cameras. However, images captured by such mobile phone cameras are easily distorted by a wide range of factors, such as backlight, over-saturation, and low contrast. Although several approaches have been proposed to solve the backlight problems, most of them still suffer from distorted background colors and high computational complexity. Thus, they are not deployable in mobile applications requiring real-time processing with very limited resources. In this paper, we present a novel framework to compensate image backlight for mobile phone applications based on an adaptive pixel-wise gamma correction which is computationally efficient. The proposed method is composed of two sequential stages: 1) illumination condition identification and 2) adaptive backlight compensation. Given images are classified into facial images and non-facial images to provide prior knowledge for identifying the illumination condition at first. Then we further categorize the facial images into backlight images and nonbacklight images based on local image statistics obtained from corresponding face regions. We finally compensate the image backlight using an adaptive pixel-wise gamma correction method while preserving global and local contrast effectively. To show the superiority of our algorithm, we compare our proposed method with other state-of-the-art methods in the literature.

In saliency detection, regions attracting visual attention need to be highlighted while effectively suppressing non-salient regions for the semantic scene understanding. However, most previous methods tend to fail in suppressing highly textured backgrounds and also high contrast edges belonging to the non-salient regions. To address this problem, we propose a method for detecting salient regions based on a self-ordinal resemblance measure (SORM). Our saliency map is defined by using the center-surround computations based on the ordinal signatures obtained from local regions centered at each pixel. It can be regarded as an energy map and thus extended to image retargeting. Our approach is fully automatic and nonparametric. To justify robustness of our approach, the proposed method is compared with the state of the art methods on various images.1

Wide-angle or fish-eye lenses are popularly used for the surveillance system due to their large field of view (FOV). However, images obtained by wide-angle cameras tend to be nonlinearly distorted owing to lens optics. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to correct the wide-angle lens distortion for surveillance systems. Our approach is based on the FOV model, which is an efficient and simple correction method. The FOV model works well for typical wide-angle lens, whose FOV is usually smaller than 150°. However, it begins to reveal problems as the FOV increases. First, we address two main problems of the FOV model and then improve the FOV model by refining the distortion curve. The proposed method is tested on images and videos with different FOV. Experimental results show the efficiency of our algorithm.

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is an attractive and effective technique for wireless communications. However, an OFDM signal has a large peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), which will cause serious nonlinear distortion especially when the signal passes through a nonlinear system. Adaptive symbol selection scheme (ASSS) is used to reduce the unwanted PAPR by selecting the adaptive OFDM signal with the smallest PAPR before transmitting. Because of the side information needed in ASSS, the effective data rate finally got in the receiver decreases. We develop a new modulation method using ASSS and channel estimation together, which can transmit the needed side information in the pilot tones made by channel estimation during the signal transmission. Our simulation results show that the method we proposed is a promising and valuable technique for reducing PAPR in OFDM signals.

Mobile IPTV is a multimedia service based on wireless networks with interactivity and mobility. Under mobile IPTV scenarios, people can watch various contents whenever they want and even deliver their request to service providers through the network. However, the frequent change of the wireless channel bandwidth may hinder the quality of service. In this paper, we propose an objective video quality measure (VQM) for mobile IPTV services, which is focused on the jitter measurement. Jitter is the result of frame repetition during the delay and one of the most severe impairments in the video transmission via mobile channels. We first employ YUV color space to compute the duration and occurrences of jitter and the motion activity. Then the VQM is modeled by the combination of these three factors and the result of subjective assessment. Since the proposed VQM is based on no-reference (NR) model, it can be applied for real-time applications. Experimental results show that the proposed VQM highly correlates to subjective evaluation.

Scorebox plays an important role in understanding contents of sports videos. However, the tiny scorebox may give the small-display-viewers uncomfortable experience in grasping the game situation. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to extract the scorebox from sports video frames. We first extract candidates by using accumulated intensity and edge information after short learning period. Since there are various types of scoreboxes inserted in sports videos, multiple attributes need to be used for efficient extraction. Based on those attributes, the optimal information gain is computed and top three ranked attributes in terms of information gain are selected as a three-dimensional feature vector for Support Vector Machines (SVM) to distinguish the scorebox from other candidates, such as logos and advertisement boards. The proposed method is tested on various videos of sports games and experimental results show the efficiency and robustness of our proposed method.

The concept of broadcasting multimedia content from the television service providers to the viewers over the Internet is known as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). To get wide acceptance from the consumers, this technology has to provide at least same or better quality of service (QoS) than the existing satellite and terrestrial television technologies. To establish this, maintaining QoS is an important research area to provide good quality of experience (QoE) for the viewers. This paper proposes an approach to measure color error in Full Reference (FR) or Reduced Reference (RR) quality assessment method in the sense to monitor the quality for providing better service. This technique provides good results as we found measuring both subjective and objective test.

IPTV is a system based on IP network, which may include service by a broadband connection. In this sense, it is possible to provide various multimedia contents by using IP network with interactivity. However, since IPTV service quality may be easily affected by network degradation such as packet loss, jitter, and so on, the quality of IPTV service may not be guaranteed. In this paper, we propose an objective measure for blocking artifacts, which is one of the most important impairments experienced when enjoying IPTV. Experimental results show that the proposed measure correlates well with the subjective evaluation.

With the advent of third generation (3G) mobile devices, there is an increasing demand for intelligent display techniques to deliver better viewing experience to small mobile devices users. In this paper, we propose a novel framework for region of interest (ROI) determination in music videos. The most important issue is how to determine ROI under various illumination conditions. We employ the gray-world assumption to estimate and remove the light source color and reconstruct the color space by using hue information. Based on the reconstructed color space, we propose a new method to determine ROI by using the model of attractive force. The proposed method is tested on various music videos to confirm the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are a new class of oral antihyperglycemic drugs; inhibition of the cotransporter allows for increased renal glucose excretion that consequently leads to reduced plasma glucose level. We report a rare case of a 73-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus who developed severe ketoacidosis caused by an SGLT2 inhibitor. At admission, severe ketoacidosis with arterial PH 6.99 was observed, though her serum glucose level of 232 mg/dL was not excessively high. It is necessary to pay attention to patients with type 2 diabetes being treated with an SGLT2 inhibitor, as anorexia, diarrhea, dehydration, and weight loss can develop in conjunction with a high fat/protein diet.

Multilayer graphene is synthesized by a simplified process employing an evaporator in which a target substrate is deposited with a Ni catalyst layer before being heated to grow graphene directly. Carbon atoms adsorbed onto the surface of the Ni source as impurities from the atmosphere are incorporated into the catalyst layer during the deposition, and diffuse toward the catalyst/substrate interface, where they crystallize as graphene with a thickness of less than 2 nm. The need for a transfer process and external carbon supply is eliminated. The graphene is characterized by conventional analysis approaches, including nano-scale visualization and Raman spectroscopy, and utilizing photonics, graphene-functionalized passive laser mode-locking is demonstrated to confirm the successful synthesis of the graphene layer, resulting in an operating center wavelength of 1569.4 nm, a pulse duration of 1.35 ps, and a repetition rate of 31.6 MHz.

Finding defects with automatic visual inspection techniques is an essential task in various industrial fields. Despite considerable studies to achieve this task successfully, most previous methods are still vulnerable to ambiguities from diverse shapes and sizes of defects. We introduce a simple yet powerful method to segment defects on various texture surfaces in an unsupervised manner. Specifically, our method is based on the multiscale scheme of the phase spectrum of Fourier transform. The proposed method can even handle one-dimensional long defect patterns (e.g., streaks by scratch), which have been known to be hard to process in previous methods. In contrast to traditional inspection methods limited to locating particular sorts of defects, our approach has the advantage that it can be applied to segmenting arbitrary defects, because of the nonlinear diffusion involved in the multiscale scheme. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed method provides much better results for defect segmentation than several competitive methods presented in the literature.

Background In order to reduce time and efforts to develop microbial strains with better capability of producing desired bioproducts, genome-scale metabolic simulations have proven useful in identifying gene knockout and amplification targets. Constraints-based flux analysis has successfully been employed for such simulation, but is limited in its ability to properly describe the complex nature of biological systems. Gene knockout simulations are relatively straightforward to implement, simply by constraining the flux values of the target reaction to zero, but the identification of reliable gene amplification targets is rather difficult. Here, we report a new algorithm which incorporates physiological data into a model to improve the model’s prediction capabilities and to capitalize on the relationships between genes and metabolic fluxes. Results We developed an algorithm, flux variability scanning based on enforced objective flux (FVSEOF) with grouping reaction (GR) constraints, in an effort to identify gene amplification targets by considering reactions that co-carry flux values based on physiological omics data via “GR constraints”. This method scans changes in the variabilities of metabolic fluxes in response to an artificially enforced objective flux of product formation. The gene amplification targets predicted using this method were validated by comparing the predicted effects with the previous experimental results obtained for the production of shikimic acid and putrescine in Escherichia coli. Moreover, new gene amplification targets for further enhancing putrescine production were validated through experiments involving the overexpression of each identified targeted gene under condition-controlled batch cultivation. Conclusions FVSEOF with GR constraints allows identification of gene amplification targets for metabolic engineering of microbial strains in order to enhance the production of desired bioproducts. The algorithm was validated through the experiments on the enhanced production of putrescine in E. coli, in addition to the comparison with the previously reported experimental data. The FVSEOF strategy with GR constraints will be generally useful for developing industrially important microbial strains having enhanced capabilities of producing chemicals of interest.

We propose a novel photonic application as well as an optical tool to verify the crystallinity of interface-grown graphene demonstrating passive mode-locked lasers. The interface growth process enables the formation of multi-layered graphene at an interface of substrate and catalyst, therefore directly onto the targeted substrate without a transfer process. The synthesized graphene is characterized using Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy before ultrashort pulse formation to confirm the validity of the process for high-speed photonic applications of graphene. The resultant pulses have a repetition rate, pulse duration, RF extinction ratio of 14.01 MHz, 1.0 ps, and ∼35 dB, respectively.

We present a new approach for visual saliency detection from various natural images. It is inspired by our careful observation that the human visual system (HVS) responds sensitively and quickly to high textural contrast, derived from the discriminative directional pattern from its surroundings as well as the noticeable luminance difference, for understanding a given scene. By formulating such textural contrast within a multiscale framework, we construct a more reliable saliency map even without color information when compared to most previous approaches still suffering from the complex and cluttered background. The proposed method has been extensively tested on a wide range of natural images, and experimental results show that the proposed scheme is effective in detecting visual saliency compared to various state-of-the-art methods.

We propose a novel image-importance model for content-aware image resizing. In contrast to the previous gradient magnitude-based approaches, we focus on the excellence of gradient domain statistics. The proposed scheme originates from a well-known property of the human visual system that the human visual perception is highly adaptive and sensitive to structural information in images rather than nonstructural information. We do not model the image structure explicitly, because there are diverse aspects of image structure and they cannot be easily modeled from cluttered natural images. Instead, our method obtains the structural information in an image by exploiting the gradient domain statistics in an implicit manner. Extensive tests on a variety of cluttered natural images show that the proposed method is more effective than the previous content-aware image-resizing methods and it is very robust to images with a cluttered background, unlike the previous schemes.

We present a novel (to our best knowledge) optical recognition technique for detecting shadows from a single image. Most prior approaches definitely depend on explicit physical computational models, but physics-based approaches have the critical problem that they may fail severely even with slight perturbations. Unlike traditional approaches, our method does not rely on any explicit physical models. This breakthrough originates from a discovery of a new modeling mechanism, derived from a biological vision principle, the so-called retinex theory, which is well suited for single-image shadow detection. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the previous optical recognition techniques and gives robust results even in real-world complex scenes.

Background Sirt6 has been implicated in the regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism and the development of hepatic steatosis. The aim of this study was to address the potential role of Sirt6 in the protective effects of rosiglitazone (RGZ) on hepatic steatosis. Methods To investigate the effect of RGZ on hepatic steatosis, rats were treated with RGZ (4 mg·kg−1·day−1) by stomach gavage for 6 weeks. The involvement of Sirt6 in the RGZ's regulation was evaluated by Sirt6 knockdown in AML12 mouse hepatocytes. Results RGZ treatment ameliorated hepatic lipid accumulation and increased expression of Sirt6, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivtor-1-α (Ppargc1a/PGC1-α) and Forkhead box O1 (Foxo1) in rat livers. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation was also increased by RGZ, accompanied by alterations in phosphorylation of LKB1. Interestingly, in free fatty acid-treated cells, Sirt6 knockdown increased hepatocyte lipid accumulation measured as increased triglyceride contents (p = 0.035), suggesting that Sirt6 may be beneficial in reducing hepatic fat accumulation. In addition, Sirt6 knockdown abolished the effects of RGZ on hepatocyte fat accumulation, mRNA and protein expression of Ppargc1a/PGC1-α and Foxo1, and phosphorylation levels of LKB1 and AMPK, suggesting that Sirt6 is involved in RGZ-mediated metabolic effects. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that RGZ significantly decreased hepatic lipid accumulation, and that this process appeared to be mediated by the activation of the Sirt6-AMPK pathway. We propose Sirt6 as a possible therapeutic target for hepatic steatosis.

Background We investigated the relationships of adiponectin/leptin (A/L) ratio with cardiovascular risk factors, insulin resistance index, and metabolic syndrome (MS) in apparently healthy Korean male adults. Methods Sixty-eight male subjects were enrolled among the participants of an annual health check-up program (mean age, 55.1 years). Percent body fat (%) was measured using a bioelectric impedance analyzer. Serum leptin level was measured via radioimmunoassay, and adiponectin level was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-insulin resistance (IR) index was calculated, and the presence of metabolic syndrome was assessed. Results Adiponectin, leptin, and A/L ratio showed significant correlations with percent body fat, lipid profile, and HOMA-IR. Mean leptin and HOMA-IR levels were significantly higher, while A/L ratio was significantly lower in subjects with MS. With increasing number of MS components, the mean values of leptin and HOMA-IR increased and the A/L ratio decreased. In multiple regression analysis, HOMA-IR was significantly correlated with triglyceride, fasting glucose, and A/L ratio, while A/L ratio was significantly correlated with body mass index and HOMA-IR. HOMA-IR and A/L ratio were significant predictors for each other after adjustment for other factors. Conclusion A/L ratio correlated well with lipid profile, HOMA-IR, and the presence and number of MS components in Korean male subjects.

Background: Acute postprandial hyperglycemia is an important affector for atherosclerosis in subjects with glucose intolerance. We analyzed the relationship of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) with fasting and post-challenge plasma glucose levels according to different time points during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Methods: In 663 subjects with fasting hyperglycemia, 75 g OGTT were performed to confirm the glucose tolerant status, and fasting, post-challenge 30-minute and 120-minute glucose levels were measured. Anthropometric measurements were done, and fasting lipid profiles were measured. baPWV were measured in all subjects and the relationship between fasting, 30- and 120-minute post-challenge glucose levels and baPWV were analyzed. Results: Among the participants, 62.9% were prediabetes and 31.7% were diabetes. Mean baPWV value was significantly higher in subjects with diabetes compared with prediabetes group. In bivariate correlation analyses, age, blood pressure, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, 30-minute and 120-minute post-challenge glucose levels showed significant positive correlation with baPWV value. In multiple regression analysis, 30-minute post-challenge glucose level was a weak but significant determinant for mean baPWV value even after adjustment for other confounding variables. Conclusions: Postprandial hyperglycemia, especially 30-minute glucose levels showed significant correlation with baPWV in subjects with fasting hyperglycemia. These results can imply the deleterious effect of acute hyperglycemic excursion on arterial stiffness in subjects with glucose intolerance.

배경: 지방조직은 골수 유래의 중간엽 줄기세포와 같은 다분화 능력을 가진 성체줄기세포를 포함한다. 지방조직으로부터 추출한 지방유래 줄기세포가 다양한 분화 유도를 통해 지방세포, 골세포, 근육세포로 분화할 수 있음이 밝혀졌다. 본 연구에서는 지방조직으로부터 얻은 기질세포에서 지방세포로의 탁월한 분화능력을 가지고 있는 순수한 지방유래 줄기세포를 추출해 낼 수 있는 지 알아보았다. 방법: 수컷 Sprague-Dawley 쥐(n=15)의 4부위 지방조직(피하 지방, 부고환 지방, 장간막 지방, 후복막 지방)에서 불필요한 조직을 제거한 나머지 기질세포만을 얻는다. Nycodenz를 이용하여 기질세포를 밀도차등원심분리하여 4개의 분획을 얻어 각각을 배양시킨다. 포화 상태에 이른 지방줄기세포를 지방세포로 분화를 유도하여 세포 내 지방 축적 여부를 염색을 통해 확인한다. 결과: 밀도차등 원심불리로 지방조직 기질세포는 4개의 분획(Fx-1, Fx-2, Fx-3, Fx-4)으로 나뉘었으며, 4부위 지방조직 모두 세 번째 분획(Fx-3)의 세포 수가 가장 많았다. 그러나 지방세포로의 분화는 4부위 지방조직 모두 두 번째 분획(Fx-2)에서 탁월했으며 분획을 나누지 않은 것(control)과 비교했을 때 더 나은 분화 능력을 보였다. 지방으로 분화가 가장 잘 되는 지방 조직은 retroperitoneal fat tissue였으며 그 다음이 subcutaneous fat tissue였고, epididymal fat tissue는 상대적으로 분화율이 떨어지는 것을 관찰하였다, Mesenteric fat tissue는 분화가 거의 되지 않았다. 결과: 지방조직별, 밀도별로 지방조직 기질세포를 나누어 분리함으로써 지방조직으로의 분화 능력이 우수한 지방줄기세포를 찾을 수 있었다. 향후 지방줄기세포를 이용한 연구 및 활용에 있어서 지방조직별, 분획별 기질세포의 이용으로 일관된 결과를 얻는 데 도움이 될 것이다.

Background: ω -3 fatty acids are known to improve lipid profiles, the distribution of lipoprotein subclasses, and secondary prevention against post-myocardial infarction. Rare reports have emerged of synergistic results of ω -3 fatty acids with simvastatin in cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus with hypertriglyceridemia. The purpose of this study was to determine the combined relationship of ω-3 fatty acids plus simvastatin on lipid, lipoprotein size and the types of subspecies. Methods: This randomized, multi-center, comparison study evaluated eight weeks of combination therapy (ω -3 fatty acids (Omacor) 4 g/day plus simvastatin 20 mg/day) or monotherapy (simvastatin 20 mg/day) for at least six weeks in 62 diabetic patients. Subjects with a triglyceride concentration of more than 200 mg/dL were eligible for inclusion. Results: No significant differences for ω-3 fatty acids + simvastatin versus simvastatin alone were observed for triglycerides (-22.7% vs. -14.3%, P = 0.292), HDL peak particle size (+2.8% vs. -0.4%, P = 0.076), LDL mean particle size (+0.4% vs -0.1%, P = 0.376) or LDL subspecies types, although the combination therapy showed a tendency toward lower triglycerides, larger HDL, and LDL particle sizes than did the monotherapy. There were no significant differences between the two groups in regard to HDL-C, LDL-C, or HbA1c levels. There were no serious adverse events and no abnormalities in the laboratory values associated with this study.

Background: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels represent a 2~3 month average of blood glucose concentration. The use of HbA1c as a diagnostic tool for diabetes is gaining interest. Therefore, we determined the cutoff point of HbA1c for predicting abnormal glucose tolerance status in non-diabetic Korean subjects. Methods: We analyzed the data from 1,482 subjects without diabetes mellitus in whom a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed due to suspected abnormal glucose tolerance. We obtained an HbA1c cutoff point for predicting diabetes using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: A cut-off point of 5.95% HbA1c yielded sensitivity of 60.8% and specificity of 85.6%, respectively, for predicting diabetes. There was a difference in HbA1c cut-off value between men and women, 5.85% and 6.05%, respectively. Conclusion: To use the cut-off point of 5.95% HbA1c for predicting undiagnosed diabetes in Koreans may be reliable. However, studies of different ethnic groups have reported disparate HbA1c cut-off points. Thus, ethnicity, age, gender, and population prevalence of diabetes are important factors to consider in using elevated HbA1c value as a tool to diagnose diabetes.

Objective: Inflammatory cytokines may play important roles in the pathogenesis of adult onset Still's disease. The enhanced expression of IL-18 was reported in the bone marrow of a Japanese systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patient but not in the other organs. To date, there are very few studies relating the bone marrow and AOSD. This study examined the bone marrow findings as well as TNF-α and IL-18 expression in the bone marrow of AOSD patients. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 15 AOSD patients who had undergone a bone marrow examination at a university hospital. The clinical and laboratory findings, as well as the bone marrow findings, were analyzed. Immunohistochemistry of IL-18 and TNF-α in bone marrow was performed. Results: The bone marrow cellularity and myeloid/erythroid cell ratio showed no correlation with the clinical and laboratory findings. TNF-α was expressed at 0.8∼9.8% and IL-18 was expressed at 0.4∼9.8% of bone marrow cells. Cytokine expression was not associated with the clinical patterns of AOSD. The platelet count correlated with the bone marrow TNF-α expression but TNF-α did not correlate with IL-18 expression.

The term pseudohypoparathyroidism describes a rare disorder characterized by resistance to the action of immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (PTH) in peripheral tissue rather than a deficiency of PTH. Patients present with tetany, spasm, hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, and Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO). We present a case of symptomatic hypocalcemia due to pseudohypoparathyroidism aggravated by rhabdomyolysis. A 21-year-old man presented with tetany, AHO phenotypes and an ankle infection. Rhabdomyolysis was confirmed by marked elevation of serum creatine phosphokinase, more than 10 times above normal. Spasm was observed and the serum value of total c alcium was as low as 3.7 mg/dL and that of phosphate was as high as 7.0 mg/dL, and the peak level of PTH was at 80.4 pg/mL. Although not surveyed by Ellsworth-Howard test and molecular study, it was classified as pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1a or 1c. The clinical and laboratory abnormalities were corrected by vitamin D in addition to calcium. The patient’s mother, sister, and grandmother had AHO phenotypes without clinical and biochemical manifestations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case by maternal inheritance that AHO phenotypes appear for three generations of a family in Korea. (J Korean Endocr Soc 24:195~200, 2009) ꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏ

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are both considered as systemic diseases with an abnormal immune response that depends on interactions between susceptibility genes and environmental factors. Patients with UC may share common manifestations with SLE, for example peripheral arthritis, oral ulcer. Although many autoimmune disorders tend to coexist in one patient, these two diseases are rarely associated with each other. We reported a case of a 36-year-old female where rectal bleeding was identified as ulcerative colitis. She was diagnosed as SLE prior to ulcerative colitis. There are no documented reports on SLE with ulcerative colitis in Korea.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of thyroid nodules in healthy adults without a history of thyroid disease and the results of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Methods: We retrospectively studied 4,832 adults (2,427 women, 2,405 men) over the age of 20 who had visited our health care center from January, 2005, to March, 2008. Subjects with previous thyroid disease were excluded. All were screened by thyroid ultrasonography and FNAC was performed on large or potentially malignant nodules. Results: Thyroid nodules were present in 686 women (28.3%) and 396 men ( 16.5%), with a female predominance (odds ratio = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.35~1.60). The prevalence of a thyroid nodule was significantly correlated with age in both women and men (P < 0.001). Multinodularity also increased according to age in both groups. Ninety patients were tested with conventional FNAC and 195 underwent ultrasonography-guided FNAC. The rate of inadequate cytology by ultrasonographic guidance was lower than by freehand methods, and the total rate of malignant cytology per patient was 17.9%. Ultrasonographic characteristics that significantly correlated with histologically-confirmed papillary carcinoma included a solid component, hypoechogenecity, irregular margin, and the presence of microcalcification or macrocalcification. Conclusion: The prevalence of thyroid nodules detected by ultrasonography was 28.3% in healthy women and 16.5% in healthy men population. The prevalence and multinodularity was significantly correlated with age in both groups. It’s useful to examine thyroid by ultrasonography because of detecting more nodules, providing guidance of FNAC, achieving more adequate sampling and not missing small malignant nodules. (J Korean

This paper presents a method for recognizing human actions from a single query action video. We propose an action recognition scheme based on the ordinal measure of accumulated motion, which is robust to variations of appearances. To this end, we first define the accumulated motion image (AMI) using image differences. Then the AMI of the query action video is resized to a subimage by intensity averaging and a rank matrix is generated by ordering the sample values in the sub-image. By computing the distances from the rank matrix of the query action video to the rank matrices of all local windows in the target video, local windows close to the query action are detected as candidates. To find the best match among the candidates, their energy histograms, which are obtained by projecting AMI values in horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, are compared with those of the query action video. The proposed method does not require any preprocessing task such as learning and segmentation. To justify the efficiency and robustness of our approach, the experiments are conducted on various datasets.