• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.7
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• pp.775-779
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• 2008

Vallecular cyst is an uncommon but potentially dangerous condition causing stridor and has been associated with sudden airway obstruction resulting in death due to its anatomical location in neonates. It may also present with various degrees of feeding problems resulting in failure to thrive. When a vallecular cyst is suspected clinically, endoscopic laryngoscopy is necessary to visualize it. Other conditions leading to neonatal stridor such as laryngomalacia and other laryngotracheal abnormalities should be ruled out. Marsupialization with a $CO_2$ laser is the most effective and safest treatment to prevent recurrence. We report a case of a 1-month-old male infant with a vallecular cyst synchronous with gastroesophageal reflux, and failure to thrive. He was referred to our hospital because of hoarseness, inspiratory stridor, feeding-cyanosis, chest retraction and failure to thrive. Diagnostic workup revealed a cyst at the tongue base, suggesting a vallecular cyst. The cyst was removed by laryngomicrosurgery with $CO_2$ laser. After the surgery, the symptoms improved and the body weight increased steadily. We report a successfully treated case of neonatal vallecular cyst with symptoms of upper respiratory obstruction, gastroesophageal reflux, and failure to thrive.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.771-777
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• 2007

Several endocrine disrupting chemicals(EDCs) were monitored to evaluate the estrogenic activities and the concentrations by yeast two-hybrid assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) in sewage treatment plant(STP) which consist of industrial and domestic line. In the influent of domestic line, estrone, 17$\beta$-estradiol, 17$\alpha$-ethinylestradiol and alkylphenolethoxylate(APE) were detected up to 167.1, 39.7, 7.3 and 145.4 ng/L, respectively. The average removal efficiency of 17$\beta$-estradiol after the activated sludge process was 77.5% and further removed to 80.8% after the sand filtration-ozonation step. These results suggests that the activated sludge process has limited potential to remove the estrogenic activity effectively. The contributions of the estrogenic chemicals to the estrogenic activities were 70.7, 23.3, 3.7 and 2.3% for estrone, 17$\beta$-estradiol 17$\alpha$-ethinylestradiol and APE, respectively, in the domestic line effluents. Therefore, 17$\beta$-estradiol and estrone contributed most of the estrogenic activity in the domestic line effluents.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2003

The gonad index (GI), reproductive cycle with gonad developmental phases, first sexual maturity and the sex ratio of the jedo venus, Protothaca jedensis, on the coastal waters of Boryeong, Korea were investigated by histological study. Samples were collected from the subtidal zone of Boryeong, Korea from January to December, 1999. Monthly changes in the gonad index in femal and male clams gradually increased from February and reached the maximum in May, and then the values rapidly decreased from June and reached the minimum in November as seen in variations of the reproductive cycle. The spawning period of this species was once a year between May and July, there was a spawning peak between June and July when seawater temperature was over 20$^{\circ}C$. The reproductive cycle of this species in female and male clams can be classified into five successive stages: early active stage (December to March), late active stage (February to June), ripe stage (April to July), partially spawned stage (May to July) and spent/inactive stage (July to January). Percentages of first sexual maturity of female and male clams of 30.1-35.0 mm in shell length were 52.6% and 60.0%, respectively, and 100% for the clams over 45.1 mm in shell length. The sex ratio of individuals > 30.1 mm in shell length was 1:1 (X$^2$ = 0.40, p > 0.05).

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.101-109
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• 1998

Spermatogenesis and reproductive cycle of the razor clam, solen grandis, were investigated monthly by histological and cytological observations. Samples were collected from natural intertidal population at Oshik-do, Kunsan, Korea, for one year, beginning from January to December, 1993. solen grandis is dioecious. Morphological structures of the spermatozoon of this species ar esimilar to those of other bivalve spermatozoa having a primitive type; i.e., a small head, a cap-shaped acrosome and a short mid-piece with four mitochondria surrounding axial filament. The head of spermatozoon is approximately 2 \mu m in length and sperm tail is about 20 \mu m long. The axoneme of tail flagellum consists of nine pairs of peripheral microtubules at the periphery and a pair of central microtubules at the center. Four spherical mitochondria form the paranucleus. Spawning occures once a year between early June and July, and the main spawning was observed in July when seawater temperature reaches above 20 \circ C. The reproductive cycle of male razor clam can be divieded into fivesuccessive stages; early active (December to january), late active (January to march), mature (March to early August), partially spawned (June to July), and spent/inactive stage (August to December).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4567-4570
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• 2013

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the commonest radiocurable cancer in Malaysia. This study aimed to determine the treatment outcomes and late effects of radiotherapy for NPC patients treated in University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). Materials and Methods: All newly diagnosed patients with NPC referred for treatment to the Oncology unit at UMMC from 2004-2008 were retrospectively analyzed. Treatment outcomes were 5 years overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS), cause-specific survival (CSS), locoregional control (LRC) and radiotherapy-related late effects. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis and differences in survival according to AJCC stage was compared using the log-rank test. Results: A total of 176 patients with newly diagnosed NPC were treated in UMMC during this period. Late presentation was common, with 33.5% presenting with T3-4 disease, 84.7% with N1-3 disease and 75.6% with AJCC stage 3-4 disease. Radical RT was given to 162 patients with 22.7% having RT alone and 69.3% having CCRT. The stipulated OTT was 7 weeks and 72.2% managed to complete their RT within this time period. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was given to 14.8% while adjuvant chemotherapy was administered to 16.5%. The 5 years OS was 51.6% with a median follow up of 58 months. The 5 years OS according to stage were 81.8% for stage I, 77.9% for stage II, 47.4% for stage III and 25.9% for stage IV. The 5 years overall CSS, DFS and LRC were 54.4%, 48.4% and 70.6%, respectively. RT related late effects were documented in 80.2%. The commonest was xerostomia (66.7%). Other documented late effects were hearing deficit (17.3%), visual deficit (3.1%), neck stiffness (3.1%), dysphagia (3.4%), cranial nerve palsy (2.5%), pneumonitis (0.6%) and hypothyroidism (1.2%). Conclusions: The 5 years OS and LRC in this study are low compared to the latest studies especially those utilizing IMRT. Implementation of IMRT for NPC treatment should be strongly encouraged.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartB
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• v.10B no.2
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• pp.169-178
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• 2003

This study outlines two viewpoints the classification of phone likely unit (PLU) which is the foundation of korean large vocabulary speech recognition, and the effectiveness of Chiljongseong (7 Final Consonants) and Paljogseong (8 Final Consonants) of the korean language. The phone likely classifies the phoneme phonetically according to the location of and method of articulation, and about 50 phone-likely units are utilized in korean speech recognition. In this study auditory phonetical knowledge was applied to the classification of phone likely unit to present 45 phone likely unit. The vowels 'ㅔ, ㅐ'were classified as phone-likely of (ee) ; 'ㅒ, ㅖ' as [ye] ; and 'ㅚ, ㅙ, ㅞ' as [we]. Secondly, the Chiljongseong System of the draft for unified spelling system which is currently in use and the Paljongseonggajokyong of Korean script haerye were illustrated. The question on whether the phonetic value on 'ㄷ' and 'ㅅ' among the phonemes used in the final consonant of the korean fan guage is the same has been argued in the academic world for a long time. In this study, the transition stages of Korean consonants were investigated, and Ciljonseeng and Paljongseonggajokyong were utilized in speech recognition, and its effectiveness was verified. The experiment was divided into isolated word recognition and speech recognition, and in order to conduct the experiment PBW452 was used to test the isolated word recognition. The experiment was conducted on about 50 men and women - divided into 5 groups - and they vocalized 50 words each. As for the continuous speech recognition experiment to be utilized in the materialized stock exchange system, the sentence corpus of 71 stock exchange sentences and speech corpus vocalizing the sentences were collected and used 5 men and women each vocalized a sentence twice. As the result of the experiment, when the Paljongseonggajokyong was used as the consonant, the recognition performance elevated by an average of about 1.45% : and when phone likely unit with Paljongseonggajokyong and auditory phonetic applied simultaneously, was applied, the rate of recognition increased by an average of 1.5% to 2.02%. In the continuous speech recognition experiment, the recognition performance elevated by an average of about 1% to 2% than when the existing 49 or 56 phone likely units were utilized.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2003

Reproductive cycle and sex ratio of the marsh clam Corbicula japonica, a oviparous clam, were investigated monthly by histological observation. Samples were collected in brackish water of Namdae stream on the east coast of Korea from November 2000 to October 2001. It was able to devide the reproductive cycle of this species into five successive stages; early active (April to June), late active (May to June), ripe (June to August), partially spawned (June to September), spent (September to January) and resting stage (February to April). The spawning period was from July to September, and the main spawning occurred between August and September when seawater temperatures reached above 26$^{\circ}C$. Mature eggs of Corbicula japonica were 60-70 ${\mu}m$ in diameter. The sex ratio of individuals over 10.1 mm in shell length was about 1:1 (x$^2$ = 1.22, p > 0.05).

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.210-219
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• 2000

The magnetoresistance characteristics of FeN/Co/Cu/Co and FeN/Co/Cu/Co/Cu/Co/FeN multilayers using ferromagnetic iron-nitrides (FeN) has been studied. The microstructure of FeN film is the mixed ${\alpha}$-Fe and $\varepsilon$-Fe$_3$N phase on the condition that the flow rate of N$_2$ gas is over 0.4 sccm. The magnetoresistance effect is observed because of shape magnetic anisotropy induced by needle-shaped $\varepsilon$-Fe$_3$N phase. This magnetoresistance effect changes, because the degree that the shape magnetic anisotropy adheres to the adjacent Co pinned layer is varied according to the flow rate of N$_2$ gas and the thickness of FeN film. The best magnetoresistance effect is obtained on the condition that the thickness of Co free layer is 70 ${\AA}$ and the maximum MR ratio(%) value of 3.2% shows in the FeN(250 ${\AA}$)/Co(70 ${\AA}$)/Cu(25 ${\AA}$)/Co(70 ${\AA}$)/Cu(25 ${\AA}$)/Co(70 ${\AA}$)/FeN(250 ${\AA}$) mutilayer film which is fabricated at the N, gas flow rate of 0.5 sccm and the FeN film thickness of 250 ${\AA}$. Four steps are observed in the magnetoresistance curve owing to this difference of coercive force, because respective magnetic layers in the multilayer possess different coercive forces. These effects observed in these mutilayer films can be expected to application to the memory device the same MRAM as can carry out simultaneously four signals.

• Solar Energy
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.3-12
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• 1990

This paper deals with experimental research to increase thermal storage efficiency of hot water stored in an actual storage tank for solar application. The effect of increased energy input rate due to stratification has been discussed and illustrated through experimental data, which was taken by changing dynamic and geometric parameters. Ranges of the parameters were defined for flow rate, the ratio of diameter to height of the tank and inlet-exit water temperature difference. During the heat storage, when the flow was lower, the temperature difference was larger and the ratio of diameter to height of the tank was higher, the momentum exchange decreased. As for this experiment, when the flow rate was 8 liter/min, the temperature difference was $30^{\circ}C$ and the ratio of diameter to height of the tank was 3, the momentum exchange was minimized resulting in a good thermocline and a stable stratification. In the case of using inlet ports, if the modified Richardson number was less than 0.004, full mixing occured and so unstable stratification occured, which mean that this could not be recommended as storage through thermal stratification. Using a distributor was better than using inlet ports to form a sharp thermocline and to enhance the stratification. It was possible to get storage efficiency of 95% by using the distributor, which was higher than a storage efficiency of 85% obtained by using inlet ports in same operation condition. Furthermore, if the distributor was manufactured so that the mainpipe decreases in diameter toward the dead end to maintain constant static pressure, it might be predicted that further stable stratification and higher storage efficiency are obtainable(ie:more than 95%).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1901-1906
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• 2015

Background: Brain metastases occur in about 20-40% of patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), and are usually associated with a poor outcome. Whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is widely used but increasingly, more aggressive local treatments such as surgery or stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) are being employed. In our study we aimed to describe the various factors affecting outcomes in NSCLC patients receiving local therapy for brain metastases. Materials and Methods: The case records of 125 patients with NSCLC and brain metastases consecutively treated with radiotherapy at two tertiary centres from January 2006 to June 2012 were analysed for patient, tumour and treatment-related prognostic factors. Patients receiving SRS/SRT were treated using Cyberknife. Variables were examined in univariate and multivariate testing. Results: Overall median survival was 3.4 months (95%CI: 1.7-5.1). Median survival for patients with multiple metastases receiving WBRT was 1.5 months, 1-3 metastases receiving WBRT was 3.6 months and 1-3 metastases receiving surgery or SRS/SRT was 8.9 months. ECOG score (${\leq}2$ vs >2, p=0.001), presence of seizure (yes versus no, p=0.031), treatment modality according to number of brain metastases (1-3 metastases+surgery or $SRS/SRT{\pm}WBRT$ vs 1-3 metastases+WBRT only vs multiple metastases+WBRT only, p=0.007) and the use of post-therapy systemic treatment (yes versus no, p=0.001) emerged as significant on univariate analysis. All four factors remained statistically significant on multivariate analysis. Conclusions: ECOG ${\leq}2$, presence of seizures, oligometastatic disease treated with aggressive local therapy (surgery or SRS/SRT) and the use of post-therapy systemic treatment are favourable prognostic factors in NSCLC patients with brain metastases.