• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.65 no.1
• /
• pp.96-106
• /
• 2022

Objective : The most common complication of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is cage subsidence and maintenance of disc height affects postoperative clinical outcomes. We considered cage subsidence as an inappropriate indicator for evaluating preservation of disc height. Thus, this study aimed to consider patients with complications such as reduced total disc height compared to that before surgery and evaluate the relevance of several factors before ACDF. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 40 patients who underwent stand-alone single-level ACDF using a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage at our institution between January 2012 and December 2018. Our study population comprised 19 male and 21 female patients aged 24-70 years. The minimum follow-up period was 1 year. Twenty-seven patients had preoperative bone mineral density (BMD) data on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Clinical parameters included sex, age, body mass index, smoking history, and prior medical history. Radiologic parameters included the C2-7 cobb angle, segmental angle, sagittal vertical axis, disc height, and total intervertebral height (TIH) at the preoperative and postoperative periods. Cage decrement was defined as the reduction in TIH at the 6-month follow-up compared to preoperative TIH. To evaluate the bone quality, Hounsfield unit (HU) value was calculated in the axial and sagittal images of conventional computed tomography. Results : Lumbar BMD values and cervical HU values were significantly correlated (r=0.733, p<0.001). We divided the patients into two groups based on cage decrement, and 47.5% of the total patients were regarded as cage decrement. There were statistically significant differences in the parameters of measuring the HU value of the vertebra and intraoperative distraction between the two groups. Using these identified factors, we performed a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Based on the ROC curve, the cut-off point was 530 at the HU value of the upper cortical and cancellous vertebrae (p=0.014; area under the curve [AUC], 0.727; sensitivity, 94.7%; specificity, 42.9%) and 22.41 at intraoperative distraction (p=0.017; AUC, 0.722; sensitivity, 85.7%; specificity, 57.9%). Using this value, we converted these parameters into a bifurcated variable and assessed the multinomial regression analysis to evaluate the risk factors for cage decrement in ACDF. Intraoperative distraction and HU value of the upper vertebral body were independent factors of postoperative subsidence. Conclusion : Insufficient intraoperative distraction and low HU value showed a strong relationship with postoperative intervertebral height reduction following single stand-alone PEEK cage ACDF.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.54-63
• /
• 2022

Recently, electric propulsion aircraft with various propeller mounting positions have been under construction. The position of the propeller relative to the wing can significantly affect the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. Placing the propeller in front of the wing produces a complex swirl flow behind or around the propeller. The up/downwash induced by the swirl flow can alter the wing's local effective angle of attack, causing a change in the aerodynamic load distribution across the wing's spanwise direction. This study investigated the influence of the distance between a propeller and a wing on the aerodynamic loads on the wing. The swirl flow generated by the propeller was modelled using an actuator disk theory, and the wing's aerodynamics were analysed with the VSPAERO tool. Results of the study were compared to wind tunnel test data and established that both axial and spanwise distance between the propeller and the wing positively affect the wing's lift-to-drag ratio. Specifically, it was observed that the lift-to-drag ratio increases when the propeller is positioned higher than the wing.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.5-13
• /
• 2007

The performance of innovative prestressed support (IPS) earth retention system applied in soft clay was investigated and presented. The IPS wale system provides a high flexural stiffness to resist the bending by lateral earth pressure, and transfers lateral earth pressure to strut supports. The IPS wale system provides a larger spacing of support than conventional braced and anchored systems. The IPS earth retention system was selected for temporary earth support in a building construction in North Busan area. The excavation was made 28.8 m wide, 52.0 m long, and 16.1 m deep through loose fill to soft clay. The IPS system consists of 650 mm thick slurry walls, and five levels of IPS wales and struts. Field monitoring data were collected including wall deflections at six locations, ground water levels at four locations, IPS wale deflections at thirty locations, and axial loads on struts at twenty locations, during construction. The IPS earth retention system applied in soft clay performed successfully within a designed criterion. Field measurements were compared with design assumptions of the IPS earth retention system. The applicability and stability of the IPS earth retention system in soft clay were investigated and evaluated.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.29 no.6A
• /
• pp.625-639
• /
• 2009

Experimental and analytical studies are performed on the mechanical behavior of concrete-filled tubular(CFT) truss girders for different f/L ratios. Bending tests are conducted on two CFT truss girder specimens to determine fundamental structural characteristics such as the strength and deformation properties. Nonlinear material models for CFT members subjected to an axial compressive force are compared in this paper by using the nonlinear finite element program, ABAQUS. Previous researchers have proposed several nonlinear stress-strain models of confined concrete. In this study, the nonlinear analyses are performed applying several stress-strain models for confined concrete proposed by Mander, Sakino, Han, Susantha and Ellobody, and the results are compared with the experimental results in terms of load-deflection and load-strain relationships. Based on the comparisons of the load-deflection relationships, the models proposed by Mander and Susantha provide a maximum load about 12.0~13.8% higher and that by Sakino gives a maximum load about 7.6% higher than the experimental results. The models proposed by Han and Ellobody give a maximum load only about 0.2~1.2% higher than the test results, showing the best agreement among the proposed stress-strain models. However, the load-strain relations predicted by the existing models generally provide conservative results exhibiting larger strains than the experimental data.

• The Korean Journal of Woman Psychology
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.679-704
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to have a phenomenological understanding of the experiences in the marital relationship after the first baby is born. For this purpose, thirteen couples (marriage duration of less than five years; within three years of the child birth) were recruited and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interview data were analyzed through the open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. In the next step, we derived the marital relationship paradigm after the first baby arrived. The causal/situational conditions that caused changes in the marital relationship were the parenting burden and the marital adjustment level. The central phenomena were parenting and housework burden, which were moderated by the husbands' support. The action/interaction strategies were couple's high awareness and acceptance for their new role and pursuit of the shared meaning of the family. When the strategies were successful, a deeply satisfying feeling and shared values could be obtained. Finally, we identified the core category to integrate of other categories into a conceptual framework, and that is 'the awareness and acceptance for their new role and the pursuit of a sense of We-ness'.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.235-260
• /
• 2012

This study was aimed at looking into and understanding child-rearing experience of mothers from multicultural families based on the grounded theory, one of the qualitative research methods. For this, twelve mothers from multicultural families were selected and data were collected through in-depth interviews with them and then analyzed through the open coding, axial coding and selective coding. The analysis suggested that main phenomena mothers from multicultural families experienced are the conflict of child-rearing and educational crisis, and the confused identity of parenting. These main phenomena had much to do with contextual factors such as economic hardship, lower level of the Korean language, cultural differences, prejudices and ignorance. The severeness of conflict and crisis of child-rearing and the intensity of identity confusion for parenting depended on arbitral conditions such as family bonds, positive expectation for the future of their children, and the help of supportive systems. Mothers were dealing with difficulties of child-rearing through action and interaction of resignation and denial, introspection and the intention to overcome difficulties, and the capacity building. As a result, mothers from multicultural families acknowledged that there is a limit to their position and roles they can play and tried to change in order to resolve problems related to their children, positioning themselves for more active lives in Korean society. Through discussion based on the findings of the study, this study can help better understand child-rearing experience of mothers from multicultural families and suggest several directions for future researches on multicultural families.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.205-233
• /
• 2014

This study aims to identify work conflicts in Korean socio-cultural context by applying grounded theory. Survey has been conducted through in-depth interviews with 11 different employees from various occupational categories. Data collected from the survey were then analyzed based on the grounded theory of Strauss and Corbin (1998), thus resulted in a paradigm model consisting of 31 categories, 63 subcategories, and 100 concepts by open coding. Axial coding was then conducted and the results were as follows. The causal condition was the 'character of an opponent'. Contextual conditions which affect the causal condition were 'situational characteristics', 'character of an opponent', 'character of oneself', and their 'mutuality'. 'Negative feeling' was the central phenomena of work conflict and action/interaction strategies were verified to be 'avoidance', 'expression', 'effort toward solving problems' and 'increasing conflict'. Intervening conditions were 'interrelation', 'intervention', and 'group/task characteristics'. The consequences were organized as 'conflict continuance', 'personnel change' and 'positive effect'. Through selective coding, 'managing with the conflict' was derived as core-category and three different types of management were classified. Ultimately, this study shows how employees work in Korea experience the work conflicts and what kinds of socio-cultural factors have influence on the work conflicts, which can supplement previous inadequate empirical research. Also, this study can provide implications and suggestions as a fundamental integrated model for the future empirical research on work conflicts.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.88-100
• /
• 2020

Objective: We aimed to develop and validate a deep learning system for fully automated segmentation of abdominal muscle and fat areas on computed tomography (CT) images. Materials and Methods: A fully convolutional network-based segmentation system was developed using a training dataset of 883 CT scans from 467 subjects. Axial CT images obtained at the inferior endplate level of the 3rd lumbar vertebra were used for the analysis. Manually drawn segmentation maps of the skeletal muscle, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat were created to serve as ground truth data. The performance of the fully convolutional network-based segmentation system was evaluated using the Dice similarity coefficient and cross-sectional area error, for both a separate internal validation dataset (426 CT scans from 308 subjects) and an external validation dataset (171 CT scans from 171 subjects from two outside hospitals). Results: The mean Dice similarity coefficients for muscle, subcutaneous fat, and visceral fat were high for both the internal (0.96, 0.97, and 0.97, respectively) and external (0.97, 0.97, and 0.97, respectively) validation datasets, while the mean cross-sectional area errors for muscle, subcutaneous fat, and visceral fat were low for both internal (2.1%, 3.8%, and 1.8%, respectively) and external (2.7%, 4.6%, and 2.3%, respectively) validation datasets. Conclusion: The fully convolutional network-based segmentation system exhibited high performance and accuracy in the automatic segmentation of abdominal muscle and fat on CT images.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.322-332
• /
• 2022

Objective: CT plays a central role in determining the resectability of pancreatic cancer, which directs the use of neoadjuvant therapy. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of CT in predicting circumferential resection margin (CRM) involvement in patients with resectable or borderline resectable pancreatic head cancer. Materials and Methods: Seventy-seven patients who were scheduled for upfront surgery for resectable or borderline resectable pancreatic head cancer were prospectively enrolled, and 75 patients (38 male and 37 female; mean age ± standard deviation, 68 ± 11 years) were finally analyzed. The CRM status was evaluated separately for the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and posterior and superior mesenteric vein/portal vein (SMV/PV) margins. Three independent radiologists reviewed the preoperative CT images and evaluated the resection margin status. The reference standard for CRM status was pathologic examination of pancreaticoduodenectomy specimens in an axial plane perpendicular to the axis of the second portion of the duodenum. The diagnostic accuracy of CT was assessed for overall CRM involvement, defined as involvement of the SMA or posterior margins (per-patient analysis), and involvement of each of the three resection margins (per-margin analysis). The data were pooled using a crossed random effects model. Results: Forty patients had pathologically confirmed overall CRM involvement in pancreatic cancer, while CRM involvement was not seen in 35 patients. For overall CRM involvement, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 15% (95% confidence interval: 7%-49%) and 99% (96%-100%), respectively. For each of the resection margins, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 14% (9%-54%) and 99% (38%-100%) for the SMA margin, 12% (8%-46%) and 99% (97%-100%) for the posterior margin; and 37% (29%-53%) and 96% (31%-100%) for the SMV/PV margin, respectively. Conclusion: CT showed very high specificity but low sensitivity in predicting pathological CRM involvement in pancreatic cancer.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.99-124
• /
• 2009

Many firms in Korea have adopted and used advanced information technology in an effort to boost efficiency. The process of adapting to the new technology, at the same time, can vary from one firm to another. As such, this research focuses on several relevant factors, especially the roles of social interaction as a key variable that influences the technology adaptation process and the outcomes. Thus far, how a firm goes through the adaptation process to the new technology has not been yet fully explored. Previous studies on changes undergone by a firm or an organization due to information technology have been pursued from various theoretical points of views, evolved from technological and institutional views to an integrated social technology views. The technology adaptation process has been understood to be something that evolves over time and has been regarded as cycles between misalignments and alignments, gradually approaching the stable aligned state. The adaptation process of the new technology was defined as "appropriation" process according to Poole and DeSanctis (1994). They suggested that this process is not automatically determined by the technology design itself. Rather, people actively select how technology structures should be used; accordingly, adoption practices vary. But concepts of the appropriation process in these studies are not accurate while suggested propositions are not clear enough to apply in practice. Furthermore, these studies do not substantially suggest which factors are changed during the appropriation process and what should be done to bring about effective outcomes. Therefore, research objectives of this study lie in finding causes for the difference in ways in which advanced information technology has been used and adopted among organizations. The study also aims to explore how a firm's interaction with social as well as technological factors affects differently in resulting organizational changes. Detail objectives of this study are as follows. First, this paper primarily focuses on the appropriation process of advanced information technology in the long run, and we look into reasons for the diverse types of the usage. Second, this study is to categorize each phases in the appropriation process and make clear what changes occur and how they are evolved during each phase. Third, this study is to suggest the guidelines to determine which strategies are needed in an individual, group and organizational level. For this, a substantially grounded theory that can be applied to organizational practice has been developed from a longitudinal comparative case study. For these objectives, the technology appropriation process was explored based on Structuration Theory by Giddens (1984), Orlikoski and Robey (1991) and Adaptive Structuration Theory by Poole and DeSanctis (1994), which are examples of social technology views on organizational change by technology. Data have been obtained from interviews, observations of medical treatment task, and questionnaires administered to group members who use the technology. Data coding was executed in three steps following the grounded theory approach. First of all, concepts and categories were developed from interviews and observation data in open coding. Next, in axial coding, we related categories to subcategorize along the lines of their properties and dimensions through the paradigm model. Finally, the grounded theory about the appropriation process was developed through the conditional/consequential matrix in selective coding. In this study eight hypotheses about the adaptation process have been clearly articulated. Also, we found that the appropriation process involves through three phases, namely, "direct appropriation," "cooperate with related structures," and "interpret and make judgments." The higher phases of appropriation move, the more users represent various types of instrumental use and attitude. Moreover, the previous structures like "knowledge and experience," "belief that other members know and accept the use of technology," "horizontal communication," and "embodiment of opinion collection process" are evolved to higher degrees in their dimensions of property. Furthermore, users continuously create new spirits and structures, while removing some of the previous ones at the same time. Thus, from longitudinal view, faithful and unfaithful appropriation methods appear recursively, but gradually faithful appropriation takes over the other. In other words, the concept of spirits and structures has been changed in the adaptation process over time for the purpose of alignment between the task and other structures. These findings call for a revised or extended model of structural adaptation in IS (Information Systems) literature now that the vague adaptation process in previous studies has been clarified through the in-depth qualitative study, identifying each phrase with accuracy. In addition, based on these results some guidelines can be set up to help determine which strategies are needed in an individual, group, and organizational level for the purpose of effective technology appropriation. In practice, managers can focus on the changes of spirits and elevation of the structural dimension to achieve effective technology use.