• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.253-257
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• 2022

The free fibula flap (FFF) is based on the peroneal artery (PA) system, and it is well known that several anatomical variations of the lower limb vascular system exist, including peronea arteria magna (PAM). PAM is a rare congenital variation in which both anterior tibial artery and posterior tibial artery are either aplastic or hypoplastic, and as a result, PA will be the dominant blood supply to the foot. This variation was described as type III-C in Kim-Lippert's Classification of the Infra-Popliteal Arterial Branching Variations. The awareness of its existence is crucial as it often precludes FFF from being harvested due to the risk of significant limb ischemia and limb loss. Despite some literature reporting donor site complications and impending limb loss following FFF harvest in PAM, preoperative vascular mapping before FFF transfer remains controversial among the microsurgeons. We present a case with an incidental intraoperative finding of PAM that had a successful FFF harvest by luck, without preoperative vascular mapping.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.194-201
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• 2013

To investigate monitoring unit (MU) efficiency and plan quality of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) using flattening-filter free (FFF) photon beam in association with target size and location. A virtual patient was generated in Eclipse$^{TM}$ (ver. A10, Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, USA) treatment planning system. The length of major and minor axis in axial view was 50 cm and 30 cm, respectively. Cylindrical-shaped targets were generated inside that patient at the center (symmetric target) and in the periphery (asymmetric target, 7.5 cm away from the center of the patient to the right direction) of the virtual patient. The longitudinal length was 10 cm and the diameters were 2, 5, 10 and 15 cm. Total 8 targets were generated. RapidArc$^{TM}$ plans using TrueBeam STx$^{TM}$ were generated for each target. Two full arcs were used and the axis of rotation of the gantry was set to be at the center of the virtual patient. Total MU, homogeneity index (HI), target mean dose, the value of gradient measure and body mean dose were calculated. In the case of symmetric targets, averaged total MU of FFF plan was 23% and 19% higher than that of flattening filter (FF) plan when using 6 MV and 10 MV photons, respectively. The difference of HI, target mean dose, gradient measure and body mean dose between FF and FFF was less than 0.04, 2.6%, 0.1 cm and 2.2%, respectively. For the asymmetric targets, total MU of FFF plan was 21% and 32% was higher than that of FF when using 6 MV and 10 MV photons, respectively. The homogeneity of the target was always worse when using FFF than using FF. The maximum difference of HI was 0.22. The target mean dose of FFF was 3.2% and 4.1% higher than that of FF for the 6 MV and 10 MV, respectively. The difference of gradient measure was less than 0.1 cm. The body mean dose was higher when using FFF than FF about 4.2% and 2.8% for the 6 MV and 10 MV, respectively. No significant differences between VMAT plans of FFF beam and FF beam were observed in terms of quality of treatment plan. The HI was higher when using FFF 10 MV photons for the asymmetric targets. The MU was increased noticeably when using FFF photon beams.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.288-297
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• 2014

Dynamic conformal arc therapy (DCAT) and flattening-filter-free (FFF) beams are commonly adopted for efficient conformal dose delivery in stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Off-axis geometry (OAG) may be necessary to obtain full gantry rotation without collision, which has been shown to be beneficial for peripheral targets using flattened beams. In this study dose distributions in OAG using FFF were evaluated and the effect of mechanical rotation induced uncertainty was investigated. For the lateral target, OAG evaluation, sphere targets (2, 4, and 6 cm diameter) were placed at three locations (central axis, 3 cm off-axis, and 6 cm off-axis) in a representative patient CT set. For each target, DCAT plans under the same objective were obtained for 6X, 6FFF, 10X, and 10FFF. The parameters used to evaluate the quality of the plans were homogeneity index (HI), conformality indices (CI), and beam on time (BOT). Next, the mechanical rotation induced uncertainty was evaluated using five SBRT patient plans that were randomly selected from a group of patients with laterally located tumors. For each of the five cases, a plan was generated using OAG and CAG with the same prescription and coverage. Each was replanned to account for one degree collimator/couch rotation errors during delivery. Prescription isodose coverage, CI, and lung dose were evaluated. HI and CI values for the lateral target, OAG evaluation were similar for flattened and unflattened beams; however, 6FFF provided slightly better values than 10FFF in OAG. For all plans the HI and CI were acceptable with the maximum difference between flattened and unflattend beams being 0.1. FFF beams showed better conformality than flattened beams for low doses and small targets. Variation due to rotational error for isodose coverage, CI, and lung dose was generally smaller for CAG compared to OAG, with some of these comparisons reaching statistical significance. However, the variations in dose distributions for either treatment technique were small and may not be clinically significant. FFF beams showed acceptable dose distributions in OAG. Although 10FFF provides more dramatic BOT reduction, it generally provides less favorable dosimetric indices compared to 6FFF in OAG. Mechanical uncertainty in collimator and couch rotation had an increased effect for OAG compared to CAG; however, the variations in dose distributions for either treatment technique were minimal.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.1172-1176
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• 2003

This study aims to investigate the applicability of Sd/StFFF and to develop a method for size characterization of urban airborne particles, focusing primarily on particles larger than about 1 mm. It was found that the airborne concentration vary with time, although no particular seasonal trend was observed. When averaged over time, the airborne concentration was the lowest in the park areas with 99 ㎍/m³. The apartment, industrial, and central city area showed similar levels of the airborne concentrations with 166, 170, and 171 ㎍/m³, respectively. The housing area showed the highest airborne concentration with 201 μg/m³ among all tested areas. A power-programmed Sd/StFFF was used for size analysis of airborne particles with the initial field strength of 300 rpm, $t_a$ = 4, $t_i$ = -16, p = 8, and the flow rate of 7 mL/min. It was found that urban airborne samples were mostly populated by particles having diameters between about 5 to 20 ㎛, although all have broad size distributions ranging up to about 50 ㎛. Under the Sd/StFFF condition used in this study, no significant differences were found in size distributions among the airborne particles collected at different urban sites, and also among those collected at different times.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.1315-1320
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• 2011

Whey protein (WP) is a mixture of proteins, and is of high nutritional values. WP has become an important source of functional ingredients in various health-promoting foods. In this study, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) were used for separation and analysis of whey proteins. It was found that a lab-prepared WP from raw milk is mostly of ${\beta}$-lactoglobulin with small amount of higher molecular weight components, while a commercial whey protein isolate (WPI) powder contains relatively larger amount of components other than ${\beta}$-lactoglobulin, including IgG and protein aggregates. Results suggest that AsFlFFF provides higher resolution for the major whey proteins than SEC in their normal operation conditions. AsFlFFF could differentiate the BSA and Albumin, despite a small difference in their molecular weights, and also was able to separate much smaller amount of aggregates from monomers. It is noted that SEC was able to show the presence of low molecular weight components other than the major whey proteins in the WP samples, which AsFlFFF could not show, probably due to the partial loss of those low molecular weight species through the membrane.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.1-7
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• 2020

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is a process extruding and stacking materials. PLA materials are one of the most frequently used materials for FFF method of 3D printing. Polylactic acid (PLA)-based materials are among the most widely used materials for FFF-based three-dimensional (3D) printing. PLA is an eco-friendly material made using starch extracted from corn, as opposed to plastic made using conventional petroleum resin; PLA-based materials are used in various fields, such as packaging, aerospace, and medicines. However, it is important to analyze the mechanical properties of theses materials, such as elastic strength, before using them as structural materials. In this study, the reliability of PLA-based materials is assessed through an analysis of the changes in the linear elasticity of these materials under thermal degradation by applying a hyperelastic analytical model.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1339-1344
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• 2003

Flow field-flow fractionation (FlFFF) is a technology to separate the molecules by size in an open channel. Molecules with different size have different diffusivities and are located vertically in different positions when passing through an open channel. In this study, hollow fiber membranes instead of conventional rectangular channels have been used as materials for the open channel and this change would decrease the cost of manufacturing. FlFFF is a useful technique to characterize the biopolymeric materials. Retention time, diffusion coefficients and Stokes radius of analysis can be calculated from the related simple equations. Hollow-fiber flow field-flow fractionation (HF-FlFFF) has been used for the characterization and separation of protein mixture in a phosphate buffer solution and has demonstrated the potential to be developed into a disposable FlFFF channel. The important indexes for the analytical separation are selectivity, resolution and plate height. The optimized separation condition for protein mixture of Ovalbumin, Alcohol dehydrogenase, Apoferritin and Thyroglobulin is ${\dot V}_{out}/{\dot V}_{rad}=0.65/0.85\;mL/min$.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2004.05b
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• pp.192-194
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• 2004

FFF에서 외부장은 시료의 종류에 따라 선택적으로 사용되며, 그 외부장의 종류에 따라 세부기술로 구분되어진다. 원심력(gravitational or centrifugal field)을 외부장으로 사용하는 침강장-흐름분획법(sedimentation FFF)은 지름이 0,05∼1um정도인 콜로이드 입자의 분리에 좋은 방법이다. 온도구배(thermal fradient)를 이용하는 열장-흐름분획법(thermal FFF)은 유기 고분자의 분리 및 고분자의 물성연구에 이용된다.(중략)

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.413-418
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• 2006

Sodium hyaluronate (NaHA), water soluble polymer having ultra-high molecular weight, is characterized by using on-line frit inlet asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (FI-AFlFFF) and multiangle light scattering (MALS). This study demonstrates the capability of power programming FI-AFlFFF for the separation of NaHA and the applicability of FI-AFlFFF with MALS for the characterization of molecular weight distribution and their structural information. Since sample injection and relaxation in FI-AFlFFF are achieved by using hydrodynamic relaxation, separation of high molecular weight polymers can be achieved smoothly without halting the separation flow. Experiments are carried out with the two different NaHA products (a raw NaHA sample and a thermally degraded NaHA product) and molecular weight distribution and conformations in solution are determined. Influence of sample filtration on the change of molecular weight distribution is also discussed.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.173-184
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• 2019

As the size of semiconductors becomes smaller, it is necessary to perform high precision polishing of nanoscale. Ceria, which is generally used as an abrasive, is widely used because of its uniform quality, but its stability is not high because it has a high molecular weight and causes agglomeration and rapid precipitation. Such agglomeration and precipitation causes scratches in the polishing process. Therefore, it is important to accurately analyze the size distribution of ceria particles. In this study, a study was conducted to select dispersants useful for preventing coagulation and sedimentation of ceria. First, a dispersant was synthesized and a ceria slurry was prepared. The defoamer selection experiment was performed in order to remove the air bubbles which may occur in the production of ceria slurry. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) were used to determine the size distribution of ceria particles in the slurry. AsFlFFF is a technique for separating nanoparticles based on sequential elution of samples as in chromatography, and is a useful technique for determining the particle size distribution of nanoparticle samples. AsFlFFF was able to confirm the presence of a little quantities of large particles in the vicinity of 300 nm, which DLS can not detect, besides the main distribution in the range of 60-80 nm. AsFlFFF showed better accuracy and precision than DLS for particle size analysis of a little quantities of large particles such as ceria slurry treated in this study.