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As platform industries prosper, games are becoming more and more like a team competition rather than an individual sport. Literature on platform envelopment and ecosystems competition shed light on the increasing need to consider cross-market effects of platforms’ activities in competitive analysis. Some established legal principles consider cross-market effects of platforms activities. However, they apply under strict conditions and may not be easily extended to cover the wide variety of platforms’ activities. Thus, this article proposes to introduce a secondary relevant market approach, whereby courts and competition agencies should be obliged to define a secondary relevant market and consider pro- and anticompetitive factors in that market, which significantly affect competition in a primary (original) relevant market. By applying the approach, we could address the increasing need to consider cross-market effect of platforms’ activities, without interrupting the keynote of traditional market definition, which focuses on close substitutes. It also enables us to fairly distribute the burden of proof among the parties. The approach can be applied in various contexts, such as platform market definition, nascent acquisition, platform envelopment, and ecosystems competition. It could also help legislators to pursue better targeted regulatory intervention.

With the increasing need for steel sheet quality assurance, the detection of micro-scaled inclusions in steel sheets has become critical. Many techniques have been explored to detect inclusions, e.g., visual inspection, radiography, magnetic testing, and ultrasound. Among these methods, ultrasound (US) is the most commonly used non-destructive testing (NDT) method due to its ease of use and deep penetration depth. However, ultrasound currently cannot be used for detecting the micro-scaled inclusions due to low spatial resolution, e.g., less than 30 μm, which are the key important factors causing the cracks in the high-quality steel sheets. Here, we demonstrate a high-resolution US imaging (USI) using high-frequency US transducers to image micro inclusions in steel sheets. Our system utilizes through-transmission USI and identifies ultrasound scattering produced by the inclusions. We first ultrasonically imaged the artificial flaws induced by the laser on the steel sheet surface for validating the system. We then imaged the real inclusions in the steel sheets formed during manufacturing processes and analyzed them to derive quantitative parameters related to the number of micro-scaled inclusions. Our results confirm that inclusions less than 30 μm can be identified using our high-resolution USI modality and has the potential to be used as an effective tool for quality assurance of the steel sheets.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment is a promising non-invasive method for killing or destroying the diseased tissues by locally delivering thermal and mechanical energy without damaging surrounding normal tissues. In HIFU, measuring the temperature at the site of delivery is important for improving therapeutic efficacy, controlling safety, and appropriately planning a treatment. Several researchers have proposed photoacoustic thermometry for monitoring HIFU treatment, but they had many limitations, including the inability to image while the HIFU is on, inability to provide two-dimensional monitoring, and the inability to be used clinically. In this paper, we propose a novel integrated real-time photoacoustic thermometry system for HIFU treatment monitoring. The system provides ultrasound B-mode imaging, photoacoustic structural imaging, and photoacoustic thermometry during HIFU treatment in real-time for both in vitro and in vivo environments, without any interference from the strong therapeutic HIFU waves. We have successfully tested the real-time photoacoustic thermometry by investigating the relationship between the photoacoustic amplitude and the measured temperature with in vitro phantoms and in vivo tumor-bearing mice. The results show the feasibility of a real-time photoacoustic thermometry system for safe and effective monitoring of HIFU treatment.

We implemented ultrasound non-destructive testing to detect micro-scaled flaws in the steel sheet using a cylindrically focused ultrasound transducer to save the scanning time. A few ten to hundred micrometer-sized flaws marked by laser on the steel sheets were successfully detected by 35-MHz ultrasound images and subsequent analysis based on envelope-processing and logarithmic compression. Also, our scanning system showed that the proposed transducer reduced testing time compared to a spherical transducer. For validation of detection, the positions of detected flaws in ultrasound was compared with that of optical microscope. Then, the ultrasound profiles at the position of the flaws were obtained to identify the properties of the signals reflected by the flaws. As a result, the scanning time was dramatically decreased by adopting a cylindrically focused transducer, while detection of the flaws was validated by comparing with the positions of real flaws. This work demonstrated that the cylindrically focused ultrasound transducer is a viable solution detecting micro-scaled flaws in the steel plate while reducing scanning time.

대법원은 종래 명의주주와 실질주주가 분리되는 경우 실질주주의 권리행사를 인정해 왔다. 그러나 대상판결은 특별한 사정이 없는 한, 주주명부에 적법하게 주주로 기재되어 있는 자는 회사에 대한 관계에서 주식에 관한 의결권 등 주주권을 행사할 수 있고, 회사 역시 주주명부상 주주 외에 실제 주식을 인수하거나 양수하고자 하였던 자가 따로 존재한다는 사실을 알았든 몰랐든 간에 주주명부상 주주의 주주권 행사를 부인할 수 없으며, 주주명부에 기재를 마치지 아니한 자의 주주권 행사를 인정할 수도 없다고 설시하였다. 그러나 이 과정에서 주주명부의 효력에 관한 상법의 문언 내지 법리와의 사이에 다음과 같은 저촉이 발생하였다. 첫째, 대상판결은 주주명부의 추정력에 관한 기존의 법리를 배척하지 않고 오히려 이를 토대로 명의주주의 배타적 권리행사를 인정함으로써 명의주주의 권리행사가 거부되고 실질주주의 권리행사가 허용될 수 있는 여지를 남겨두었다. 둘째, 대상판결은 주주명부의 기재가 주주 뿐 아니라 회사도 구속한다는 입장을 취하였으나, 이러한 해석은 상법의 문언을 넘어서는 것일 뿐 아니라 실질주주의 존재를 알게 된 회사가 자기의 위험부담으로 그 권리행사를 인정하는 것조차 금지하는 문제가 있다. 셋째, 대상판결은 명의주주 외에 실제 주식을 인수 또는 양수하고자 했던 자가 따로 존재한다는 사실을 회사가 알았든 몰랐든 명의주주의 주주권 행사를 부인할 수 없으며, 주주명부에 기재를 마치지 않은 자의 주주권 행사를 인정할 수도 없다고 설시하였다. 그러나 적어도 회사가 실질주주의 존재를 알고 이를 증명할 수 있는 경우에는 실질주주의 권리행사를 허용할 수 있어야 할 것이다. 또한 대상판결은 위와 같은 법리를 타인명의 주식인수의 경우와 명의개서 미필주주의 경우를 구별하지 않고 동일하게 적용하고 있다. 타인명의 주식인수의 경우는 투기 목적 또는 각종 탈법 목적으로 이용될 우려가 클 뿐 아니라, 회사가 실질주주 여부를 일일이 조사하기 어려우므로 명의주주의 주주권 행사만을 허용하는 획일적 해결책이 바람직할 수 있다. 그러나 명의개서 미필주주의 경우는 각종 탈법 목적으로 활용될 우려가 적으며, 현실적으로 주식양수도 거래시 신속⋅정확하게 명의개서가 이루어지고 그 기록이 위⋅변조 등의 우려 없이 관리될 수 있도록 뒷받침하는 물적 기반이 매우 허술하다. 따라서 명의개서의 쌍면적 구속력을 현행법의 해석을 통해 급박하게 인정하려 하기 보다는, 입법적 조치를 통해 거래계가 이에 적응할 시간을 주고 명의개서의 신뢰성을 담보할 수 있는 물적 기반을 구축하도록 하는 방안이 바람직하지 않을까 한다.

In this study, we developed an imaging device for preclinical and clinical application using photoacoustic effect. The photoacoustic effect is to make ultrasound images using light as its name illustrates. Light irradiated in a short time (nano seconds) is absorbed by the tissue, and the local pressure is generated by the thermo-elastic expansion. The photoacoustic effect is a safe method of imaging because it uses an endogenous chromophore in the human body without the use of an external contrast agent. In this study, the image uses an optical-resolution photoacoustic microscope (OR-PAM) which has a resolution of 12 ¥im. The conventional or-pam has the disadvantage of being slow and bulky using mechanical motors. To overcome this problem, our research team developed a photoacoustic imaging system that uses a MEMS scanner to equip a fast image capability into a compact handheld probe.

Photovoltaics (PV) is an eco-friendly and green technology, as a renewable energy source, with the aim of minimizing carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere. The Korean government has financed various domestic installations as well as research and development (R&D) programs to enter and develop a lead in the worldwide PV market. In this study, R&D investments in the area of PV are analyzed in terms of the respective ministry, performer, research characteristics, PV materials and output levels in detail. The Korean government in the Fiscal year (FY) 2010 provided $178 million dollars from R&D funds for PV development. 74% of the R&D funds in the context of PV has been invested by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE). Expenditures for R&D programs in terms of PV are mainly funded by small-medium companies (40%), and the portion of the R&D investment in crystalline silicon solar cells is the highest in terms of materials. In spite of the high levels of R&D investment in PV, the output for commercialization was relatively lower compared to the R&D input in FY 2009–2010. With these results, we suggested to develop various solutions to improve the R&D investment efficiency for PV technology in Korea.

The purpose of this study is to propose management strategies to lower the level of concentration. First, this study analyzes the characteristics of particle sizes in three different areas, the residential, the roadside, and the industrial areas. Second, it has examined the size of particles which can influence on the increase of concentration level. The distribution of particle size for concentration was not different by regions. The highest portion in the observed is near . In addition, both near and near are found higher in portion. The fractions of and in are 68.2% and 75.8% respectively. The fraction of in is 89.8%. The particle diameters contributed to the increase of concentration are different by regions. In the residential area, the sizes of near and near particles are found to be the cause for the increase of concentration level. However the particle sizes for the increase of concentration level are and in roadside and industrial area respectively. Therefore, fine particles are found as the key factors to raise concentration level in the two areas, while both fine and coarse particles are in the residential areas. When examined the concentration level change, it was categorized by two different time zones, the high concentration level time and the lower concentration time. In high concentration time, the concentration has increased in the morning in the residential and roadside areas. On the contrary, the level has increased in the evening in the industrial area. In low concentration time, the level of concentration in the roadside area is significantly higher in the morning than the concentration level of other times. There is no significantly different concentration level found in the both residential and industrial areas throughout the day.

【Wangsong Reservoir needs a systematic approach that can control water purity and water quality improvement. This study was carried out to assess the seasonal variation of water quality and the effect of pollutant being loaded from watershed in a sallow eutrophic reservoir(Wangsong Reservoir) from March to November, 2011. Wangsong Reservoir, located in Uiwang City, has the capacity of 2 million $m^{3}$ in irrigation water supply with the drainage of 4.2 $km^{2}$ . Average concentrations of BOD, COD, T-N, T-P, and Chloropyll-a in Wangsong Reservoir were 5.8 mg/L, 9.7 mg/L, 4.299 mg/L, 0.106 mg/L and 73.1 mg/ $m^{3}$ , respectively. In the inflow streams and treated sewage of Wangsong Reservoir, the T-N concentrations of 4.114 - 14.619 mg/L were higher than those in the Reservoir and the other pollutants were lower. As a result of investigation, Wangsong Reservoir exceeded the agricultural water standard level due to algal growth and accumulation from the upper streams and sewage. In order to achieve the targeted water quality in Wangsong Reservoir, it is required to be decreased in pollutants of internal and inflow streams.】

BACKGROUND: Cultivation of genetically modified(GM) crops rapidly has increased in the global agricultural area. Among those, herbicide resistant GM crops are reported to have occupied 89.3 million hectares in 2010. However, cultivation of GM crops in the field evoked the concern of the possibility of gene transfer from transgenic plant into soil microorganisms. In our present study, we have assessed the effects of herbicide-resistant GM Chinese cabbage on the surrounding soil microbial community. METHODS AND RESULTS: The effects of a herbicideresistant genetically modified (GM) Chinese cabbage on the soil microbial community in its field of growth were assessed using a conventional culture technique and also culture-independent molecular methods. Three replicate field plots were planted with a single GM and four non-GM Chinese cabbages (these included a non-GM counterpart). The soils around these plants were compared using colony counting, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and a species diversity index assessment during the growing periods. The bacterial, fungal and actinomycetes population densities of the GM Chinese cabbage soils were found to be within the range of those of the non-GM Chinese cabbage soils. The DGGE banding patterns of the GM and non-GM soils were also similar, suggesting that the bacterial community structures were stable within a given month and were unaffected by the presence of a GM plant. The similarities of the bacterial species diversity indices were consistent with this finding. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that soil microbial communities are unaffected by the cultivation of herbicide-resistant GM Chinese cabbage within the experimental time frame.

A novel genetically modified organism (GMO) detection method was developed using a simple and rapid procedure to identify a regulatory gene introduced into genetically modified (GM) maize. After DNA extraction from GM maize flours, fragments of the conserved sequence of the cauliflower masaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter gene along with a competitive internal control gene were amplified using duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Amplification products were then detected using a disposable detection device. The quantitative detection limit for GM maize 59122 was found to be 1.0% (w/w). Because the combination-method involving PCR technology coupled with a disposable detection device does not require expensive instrumentation or expertise, it will serve as a valuable alternative to immunoassays and traditional PCR-based tests in the detection of GMOs.

To analyze the thermal expansion behavior of the material system with various phases such as bi-dispersed composites, many metallurgical parameters such as the size, shape, elastic modulus, and volume fraction of each phase in the system should be considered. In this study, a new approach was attempted to understand the effect of the metallurgical parameters on the linear coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). In this metallurgical approach, it was considered that during cooling the relaxation of residual stresses create elasto-plastic deformation zone around ceramic hard phases and crystallized phases in the soft metal matrix. The size of reinforced phases and other metallurgical factors of matrix alloy or composite system were also considered. The interacting effects among the reinforced hard phases, the crystallized phases and the soft matrix were considered by introducing the influence of the elasto-plastic deformation zone around each phase, which is distinguished from the previous approaches. According to this theoretical approach, it was revealed that the linear CTE of material system with various phases are influenced by the size of the effective plastic region and reinforced phases as well as the volume fraction, the shape, the elastic modulus, and Poisson’s ratio of each phase.

For a quantum step in further cost reduction, the multilevel cell concept has been combined with the NAND flash memory. Key requirements of mass storage, low cost, and high serial access throughput have been achieved by sacrificing fast random access performance. This paper describes a 128-Mb multilevel NAND flash memory storing 2 b per cell. Multilevel storage is achieved through tight cell threshold voltage distribution of 0.4 V and is made practical by significantly reducing program disturbance by using a local self-boosting scheme. An intelligent page buffer enables cell-by-cell and state-by-state program and inhibit operations. A read throughput of 14.0 MB/s and a program throughput of 0.5 MB/s are achieved. The device has been fabricated with 0.4-/spl mu/m CMOS technology, resulting in a 117 mm/sup 2/ die size and a 1.1 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ effective cell size.

Background/Aims Combination treatment consisting of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with epirubicin and cisplatin (HAIC-EC) and systemic infusion of low-dose 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) are sometimes effective against advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, there is no effective treatment for advanced HCCs with arterioportal shunts (APS) or arteriovenous shunts (AVS). Methods We investigated a response and adverse events of a new combination protocol of repeated HAIC-EC and percutaneous intratumoral injection chemotherapy with a mixture of recombinant interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and 5-FU (PIC-IF) in patients with far-advanced HCCs with large APSs or AVSs. Results There was a complete response (CR) for the large vascular shunts in all three patients and for all tumor burdens in two patients. Significant side effects were flu-like symptoms (grade 2) and bone marrow suppression (grade 2 or 3) after each cycle, but these were well-tolerated. Conclusions These results suggest that the combination of HAIC-EC and PIC-IF is a new and promising approach for advanced HCC accompanied by a large APS or AVS.

Acute phlegmonous gastritis is an uncommon disease, often fatal condition characterized by suppurative bacterial infection of the gastric wall. It has a high mortality rate mainly because the diagnosis is usually made late. Until recently, gastrectomy in combination with antibiotics was recommended. We had experienced a case of 66-year-old man presented with epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, and hematemesis, followed by aspiration pneumonia. At upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, the gastric lumen was narrow, and the mucosa was severely inflamed, which was erythematous, swelled, and showed necrotic areas covered with purulent exudate. Klebsiella oxytoca and Acinetobacter lwoffii were isolated in the gastric tissue culture. Contrast-enhanced computerized tomography scan of abdomen demonstrated diffuse gastric wall thickening and an intramural abscess in the gastric antral wall. Although delayed gastric emptying by gastroparesis prolonged the in-hospital period, the only medical treatment with antibiotics alone successfully cured the patient without gastrectomy.

In this study, the prevalence of antibiotic resistance was examined among 74 Staphylococcus pseudintermedius strains recently isolated from clinical cases of canine pyoderma and otitis externa at the veterinary teaching hospital at Konkuk University, Korea. Bacterial resistance to the nine commonly used antibiotics was evaluated by a standard disk diffusion technique based on the guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. The results demonstrated that most S. pseudintermedius isolates were resistant to penicillin (95.9%) or tetracycline (91.9%), but highly susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (90.5%). Among the 74 isolates, 13 mecA-positive and methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) strains were identified, displaying a high level of resistance (84.6- 100%) to each of the individual antibiotics evaluated, with the exception of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (46.2% resistance). Notably, all of the MRSP isolates exhibited simultaneous resistance to four or more different antibiotics, indicating that they are multiple drug resistant (MDR) strains. Taken together, these results imply that more careful selection or prescription of antibiotics for canine pyoderma and otitis externa should be required for reducing the emergence and/or spread of MDR strains, especially MDR-MRSP isolates, in veterinary pet clinics in Korea.

A novel image noise reduction filter is developed in wavelet domain. The correlations of intensity and anisotropy of wavelet coefficients in different sub-bands and scales are utilized as features to separate signal from random noise. Dynamic thresholding is used to further increase the sensitivity and discrimination against different noise patterns and standard deviations. Simulation in Matlab is carried out by filtering an AWGN-added sub-set of test images from Kodak image data base and a standard digital Macbeth Color Chart. Average PSNR scores of R, G and B color channels are competitive to bilateral filter and a prominent commercial noise reduction tool Neat Image. In addition, the low computational complexity of threshold operation makes it applicable for low cost implementations in various imaging devices as a real time noise reduction module.

The Korean Government continues to support the photovoltaic (PV) sector to develop high-efficiency, high-reliability PV technologies. However, considering this R&D investment the level of Korean PV technology is low. In this study, PV-related SCI (Science Citation Index) papers issued from 2009 to 2012 are investigated to understand the trends of the technology and its research network. SCI papers on dye-sensitized solar cells and organic/polymer solar cells are more common than papers on other PV related technologies. A qualitative comparative analysis is also conducted into the impact factor of the journals. Finally, social network analysis is used to investigate indicators, such as density and centrality, to help policy makers direct future R&D investment more effectively. The results reveal that USA and European countries such as Germany, the UK, and Spain published the most influential papers, while Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan stood out in terms of quantity. Countries and institut...

The performance of multilayer 64 channel 3.5 MHz phased array ultrasonic probe using 0.67Pb(Mg/sub 1/3/Nb/sub 2/3/)O/sub 3/-0.33PbTiO/sub 3/ single crystal was investigated. Multilayer PMN-PT single crystal with 2 layers shows 5 times larger dielectric constant and slightly higher k/sub 33/' than single layer. 2 way sensitivity of the multilayer phased array is about 4 dB higher than that of single layer phased array. The -6 dB bandwidth of multilayer phased array is about 100% and this is similar to that of single layer phased array. Sensitivity variation between single and multilayer phased array is similar and the deviation is almost same as the PZT ceramic phased array.

The NAND flash memory was originally designed to target solid-state mass storage applications. Key requirements of mass storage, low cost and high serial access throughput, have been achieved by sacrificing a non-critical feature, fast random access. For a quantum step in cost reduction, the multi-level cell is combined with NAND flash memory. This 128 Mb multi-level NAND flash memory stores two bits per cell by tight programmed cell threshold voltage (Vth) control and is made practical by significantly reducing program disturbs.

A new scheme for page programming of multi-level NAND flash memory has been developed. It maintains the 528 byte page size of 32 Mb NAND flash memories with a high throughput of 0.5 MB/s. The circuitry has been successfully implemented into an experimental 128 Mb multi-level flash memory.

This paper describers the results and lessons from the voice over IP trial service on the Korea Telecom's VoIP Testbed. The testbed was made up of four different vendors' systems and solutions constituted four separate zones. Even though the backbone network of the testbed was not commercial IP network, we could comprehend some engineering parameters essential to packetized voice QoS. And we got some know-how. These kinds of results will be much help to traditional telco confronted with many difficult issues especially on packet voice network.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

목적: 전신염증반응증후군과 패혈증에 빠지면 과도한 산화성 스트레스가 발생한다. 고용량 셀레늄 정맥내 투여가 인체의 염증 조절 작용을 보완하여 일부 전신염증반응증후군 및 패혈증 환자의 예후에 영향을 미친다는 보고가 있어 본 연구에서는 전신염증반응증후군 환자에게 고용량 셀레늄을 정맥내 투여할 경우의 효과에 대해 알아보고자 하였다. 방법: 대상 환자들은 무작위로 셀레늄군 또는 대조군으로 분류하였고, 셀레늄군에 1주일간 매일 셀레늄 800 μg을 30분에 걸쳐 정맥내 일시주사하였고, 대조군에는 생리 식염수를 주사하였다. 급성기 반응물질과 질환 중증도지표가 호전되는 속도를 비교하기 위하여 진찰 및 혈액 검사를 시행하였다. 결과: 2010년 3월부터 2011년 8월까지 경증 전신염증반응 증후군 환자와 중등증 전신염증반응증후군 환자 23명이 등록 되었다. 셀레늄군의 혈청 셀레늄 농도는 시험 0일 9.95 μg/dL에서 시험 7일 18.15 μg/dL로 유의하게 호전되었으나(p=0.005), 대조군의 혈청 셀레늄 농도는 시험 0일에 비해 시험 7일에 유의한 변화가 없었다(p=1.000). 백혈구 수와 SOFA 점수는 셀레늄군에서 시험 0일에 비하여 시험 7일과 시험 14일에 유의한 호전을 보였으나 대조군에서는 시험 7일과 시험 14일 모두 유의한 호전이 없었다. 혈청 CRP 수치는 셀레늄군에서 시험 0일에 비하여 시험 7일과 시험 14일에 유의하게 호전을 보였으나 대조군에서는 시험 7일에는 유의한 호전이 없었고, 시험 14일에 유의한 호전을 보였다. APACHEII (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II) 점수는 셀레늄군과 대조군 모두에서 시험 0일에 비하여 시험 7일과 시험 14일에 유의한 호전을 보였다. 셀레늄 투여와 연관된 특별한 부작용은 관찰되지 않았다. 결론: 경증 전신염증반응증후군 환자와 중등증 전신염증 반응증후군 환자에 고용량 셀레늄 정맥내 일시주사는 일부 급성기 반응물질 및 질환중증도지표를 호전키는 효과가 있다. 그러나 본 연구는 대상자의 수가 적고, 이중 눈가림 방법이 사용되지 않아 편견의 가능성이 있으며, 투약의 효과지표로 급성기 반응물질과 질환중증도지표만을 모니터하였고, 7일 사망률, 28일 사망률 등 예후지표를 보지 않았다는 한계점이 있어 향후 대규모 연구의 필요성을 환기시키는 점에 그 의의가 있다고 판단된다.

Type 1 endoleak of common iliac artery (type Ib endoleak) should be treated during endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). An 86-year-old female was diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysm measuring 6.6 cm in diameter and right internal iliac artery aneurysm measuring 4.0 cm in diameter. She underwent EVAR after right internal iliac artery embolization. There was type Ib endoleak, which was repaired by balloon-expandable stent, Palmaz XL stent (Cordis). We report successful treatment of type Ib endoleak with Palmaz XL stent, which may be considered as an alternative option for type Ib endoleak after EVAR.

A method and a system of automatically detecting a boundary of a target object by using an ultrasound diagnostic image. In accordance with the present invention, the boundary of the target object can be detected automatically and precisely. The ultrasound diagnostic method and system form an edge detection boundary candidate model by detecting an edge of the ultrasound diagnostic image, forming a simplification boundary candidate model by performing a simplification operation to the edge detection boundary candidate model, forming a sessionization boundary candidate model by performing a sessionization operation to the simplification boundary candidate model, and detecting the boundary of the target object of the ultrasound diagnostic image based on the edge detection boundary candidate model, the simplification boundary candidate model and the sessionization boundary candidate model. In accordance with the present invention, the boundary of the target object is automatically detected by using the ultrasound diagnostic image to reduce any inconvenience to the user and solve the problem in which the measured result may vary with each user, which was caused by a conventional method of manually detecting the boundary.

Septic pulmonary embolism is the process in which an infected thrombus becomes detached from its site of origin and lodges in a pulmonary artery, and is usually associated with infective endocarditis, especially right-sided, or infection-associated with indwelling catheters, peripheral septic thrombophlebitis, and periodontal diseases, etc. Here, we report a case of septic pulmonary embolism associated with tricuspid valve infective endocarditis. A 23-year-old female was admitted to our hospital, due to fever, sore throat, and myalgia. In her past medical history, she had undergone a surgical operation for closure of a ventricular septal defect, but was informed that the operation resulted in an incomplete closure. The initial chest radiograph demonstrated multiple rounded, parenchymal nodules in various sizes; several nodules had central lucency suggesting cavitations. Echocardiography demonstrated a large vegetation attached to the septal tricuspid valve leaflet, extending from right ventricular inflow tract to outflow tract. Computed tomography of thorax revealed bilateral peripheral nodules and wedge-shaped consolidation at various sizes, mostly accompanied by cavitations.

Structured analysis is a widely used system modeling technique for understanding real world systems before they are built. It is based on functional decomposition of the problem domain. However, its inherent weakness is in identification and partitioning of a system's functionality. This paper proposes a use case driven approach to structured analysis. This approach makes it easier for model builders to find the functionality of a system and its partitioning it also matches well with structured analysis as it is top-down approach like the structured analysis. The approach is presented along with an example of its application.