• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2004

Purpose : The aim of this study is to investigate the properties of small field size and to measure the penumbra and central axis depth dose varying to the jaw setting and off axis distance for indicate this data to small field sizes radiation therapy. Material and methods : The percentage depth dose, beam profile and central axis output dose was measured by farmer type ion chamber and pinpoint chamber using Primart linac with 6MV energy. Beam quality and penumbra variations according to the central axis shift, from center to every 2cm outside increment, and field size, from $1{\times}1cm$ to $10{\times}10cm$ was investigated and compared with that of the standard geometrical condition's results Results : The differences of measured values between two ion chamber was about $37\%$ at 10cm depth with $1{\times}1cm$ field sizes but as field size increased this differences was diminished gradually. Measured data from various off axis distance with the different asymmetric collimations are not changed significantly but as size decreased the dose variation was increased and at $1{\times}1cm$ field size dose difference among off axis distance was as much as $13\%$, and as shallower the measured depth the central axis dose variations among the OAD was increased, penumbra was not changed noticeably depending on off axis distance but the percentage of penumbra from its initial field sizes was strongly dependant on field sizes and penumbra occupation rates of its own field sizes ranging from $6\%$ at $10{\times}10cm$ to $50\%$ at $1{\times}1cm$ field size. Conclusion : For imrt treatment, there are several numbers of different gentry angles with beams of nonuniform fluences are required and several complex factors involved. Among them the characteristics of beam output varying to the geometrical setting and design of collimators are of important to attaining a good treatment results. As mentioned in results the differences of measured values are changed significantly depends on ion chamber volume, depths and field size. For providing quality radiation treatment, especially at small field size, those factor's should have considering deliberately.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.195-207
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• 2006

Stem cells are the primordial, initial cells which usually divide asymmetrically giving rise to on the one hand self-renewals and on the other hand progenitor cells with potential for differentiation. Zygote (fertilized egg), with totipotency, deserves the top-ranking stem cell - he totipotent stem cell (TSC). Both the ICM (inner cell mass) taken from the 6 days-old human blastocyst and ESC (embryonic stem cell) derived from the in vitro cultured ICM have slightly less potency for differentiation than the zygote, and are termed pluripotent stem cells. Stem cells in the tissues and organs of fetus, infant, and adult have highly reduced potency and committed to produce only progenitor cells for particular tissues. These tissue-specific stem cells are called multipotent stem cells. These tissue-specific/committed multipotent stem cells, when placed in altered environment other than their original niche, can yield cells characteristic of the altered environment. These findings are certainly of potential interest from the clinical, therapeutic perspective. The controversial terminology 'somatic stem cell plasticity' coined by the stem cell community seems to have been proved true. Followings are some of the recent knowledges related to the stem cell. Just as the tissues of our body have their own multipotent stem cells, cancerous tumor has undifferentiated cells known as cancer stem cell (CSC). Each time CSC cleaves, it makes two daughter cells with different fate. One is endowed with immortality, the remarkable ability to divide indefinitely, while the other progeny cell divides occasionally but lives forever. In the cancer tumor, CSC is minority being as few as 3-5% of the tumor mass but it is the culprit behind the tumor-malignancy, metastasis, and recurrence of cancer. CSC is like a master print. As long as the original exists, copies can be made and the disease can persist. If the CSC is destroyed, cancer tumor can't grow. In the decades-long cancer therapy, efforts were focused on the reducing of the bulk of cancerous growth. How cancer therapy is changing to destroy the origin of tumor, the CSC. The next generation of treatments should be to recognize and target the root cause of cancerous growth, the CSC, rather than the reducing of the bulk of tumor, Now the strategy is to find a way to identify and isolate the stem cells. The surfaces of normal as well as the cancer stem cells are studded with proteins. In leukaemia stem cell, for example, protein CD 34 is identified. In the new treatment of cancer disease it is needed to look for protein unique to the CSC. Blocking the stem cell's source of nutrients might be another effective strategy. The mystery of sternness of stem cells has begun to be deciphered. ESC can replicate indefinitely and yet retains the potential to turn into any kind of differentiated cells. Polycomb group protein such as Suz 12 repress most of the regulatory genes which, activated, are turned to be developmental genes. These protein molecules keep the ESC in an undifferentiated state. Many of the regulator genes silenced by polycomb proteins are also occupied by such ESC transcription factors as Oct 4, Sox 2, and Nanog. Both polycomb and transcription factor proteins seem to cooperate to keep the ESC in an undifferentiated state, pluripotent, and self-renewable. A normal prion protein (PrP) is found throughout the body from blood to the brain. Prion diseases such as mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) are caused when a normal prion protein misfolds to give rise to PrP$^{SC}$ and assault brain tissue. Why has human body kept such a deadly and enigmatic protein? Although our body has preserved the prion protein, prion diseases are of rare occurrence. Deadly prion diseases have been intensively studied, but normal prion problems are not. Very few facts on the benefit of prion proteins have been known so far. It was found that PrP was hugely expressed on the stem cell surface of bone marrow and on the cells of neural progenitor, PrP seems to have some function in cell maturation and facilitate the division of stem cells and their self-renewal. PrP also might help guide the decision of neural progenitor cell to become a neuron.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.43-65
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• 2010

Facing a complex environment driven by a decade, many companies are adopting new strategic frameworks such as Customer Relationship Management system to achieve sustainable profitability as well as overcome serious competition for survival. In many business areas, CRM system advanced a great deal in a matter of continuous compensating the defect and overall integration. However, pharmaceutical companies in Korea were slow to accept them for usesince they still have a tendency of holding fast to traditional way of sales and marketing based on individual networks of sales representatives. In the circumstance, this article tried to empirically address current status of CRM system as well as the effects of the system on the performance of pharmaceutical companies by applying BSC method's four perspectives, from financial, customer, learning and growth and internal process. Survey by e-mail and post to employers and employees who were working in pharma firms were undergone for the purpose. Total 113 cases among collected 140 ones were used for the statistical analysis by SPSS ver. 15 package. Reliability, Factor analysis, regression were done. This study revealed that CRM system had a significant effect on improving financial and non-financial performance of pharmaceutical companies as expected. Proposed regression model fits well and among them, CRM marketing information system shed the light on substantial impact on companies' outcome given profitability, growth and investment. Useful analytical information by CRM marketing information system appears to enable pharmaceutical firms to set up effective marketing and sales strategies, these result in favorable financial performance by enhancing values for stakeholderseventually, not to mention short-term profit and/or mid-term potential to growth. CRM system depicted its influence on not only financial performance, but also non-financial fruit of pharmaceutical companies. Further analysis for each component showed that CRM marketing information system were able to demonstrate statistically significant effect on the performance like the result of financial outcome. CRM system is believed to provide the companies with efficient way of customers managing by valuable standardized business process prompt coping with specific customers' needs. It consequently induces customer satisfaction and retentionto improve performance for long period. That is, there is a virtuous circle for creating value as the cornerstone for sustainable growth. However, the research failed to put forward to evidence to support hypothesis regarding favorable influence of CRM sales representative's records assessment system and CRM customer analysis system on the management performance. The analysis is regarded to reflect the lack of understanding of sales people and respondents between actual work duties and far-sighted goal in strategic analysis framework. Ordinary salesmen seem to dedicate short-term goal for the purpose of meeting sales target, receiving incentive bonus in a manner-of-fact style, as such, they tend to avail themselves of personal network and sales and promotional expense rather than CRM system. The study finding proposed a link between CRM information system and performance. It empirically indicated that pharmaceutical companies had been implementing CRM system as an effective strategic business framework in order for more balanced achievements based on the grounded understanding of both CRM system and integrated performance. It suggests a positive impact of supportive CRM system on firm performance, especially for pharmaceutical industry through the initial empirical evidence. Also, it brings out unmet needs for more practical system design, improvement of employees' awareness, increase of system utilization in the field. On the basis of the insight from this exploratory study, confirmatory research by more appropriate measurement tool and increased sample size should be further examined.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.122-129
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• 2005

Ammonia is the major limiting factor in intensive aquaculture production systems. Therefore, quantification of ammonia excretion is important for the water quality management in aquaculture systems. Ammonia excretion is known to be affected by many factors such as body weight and dietary protein level (DPL). In this study, experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of body weight and DPLs on the rates of ammonia excretion of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Three sizes of fishes (mean initial weight; 4.8 g,42.7 g and 176.8 g) were fed each of two dietary protein levels (30.5% and 35.5%). Daily feeding levels for the three fish sizes of 4.8 g, 42.7 g and 176.8 g were 6%, 3%, and 1.5% body weight per day, respectively. Each group of fish was stocked in a 17.1-L aquarium and all treatments were triplicated. Following feeding, the weight-specific ammonia excretion rate of O. niloticus increased, peaked at 4 to 8 h, and returned to pre-feeding levels within 24 h. Total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) excretion.ate per unit weight decreased with the increase of fish weight for each diet (P<0.05). The TAN excretion rate increased with increasing dietary protein content for each fish size (P<0.05). TAN excretion rates (Y) for each diet with different fish weights were described by the following equations: low DPL diet (30.5%): $Y\;(mg\;kg^{-1}\;d^{-1})=955.69-147.12\;lnX\;(r^2=0.95)$, high DPL diet (35.5%): $Y\;(mg\;kg^{-1}\;d^{-1})=1362.41-209.79\;lnX\;(r^2=0.99)$. Where: X=body weight (g wet wt.). The TAN excretion rates ranged 28.5%-37.1% of the total nitrogen ingested for the low DPL diet (30.5%) and 37.4-38.5% for the high DPL diet (35.5%). Total nitrogen losses of fish fed the high DPL diet $(35.5%;\;0.26\sim0.91g\;kg^{-1}\;d^{-1})$ were higher than those fed the low DPL diet $(30.5%;\;0.22\sim0.68g\;kg^{-1}\;d^{-1})$. The losses decreased per kg of fish as fish size increased. Results will provide valuable information fer water quality management and culture of Nile tilapia in recirculating aquaculture systems.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.636-641
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• 2005

Mulberry leaves, high in dietary fiber and some nutritional materials, are thought to have hypocholesterolemic effect. Therefore, effect of mulberry leaf powder on serum lipid profiles were studied using rats with diet-induced hypercholesterolemia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed AIN-93 diet (control group), and diets containing high-cholesterol and 0% mulberry leaves powder, high-cholesterol and 5% mulberry leaves powder, and high-cholesterol and 10% mulberry leaves powder for 4 weeks. Hypercholesterolemia was induced by adding 1% cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid to all diets except in control group. Although no differences were observed in food intake and initial body weight among groups, mulberry leaf treatment resulted in significant decreases in food efficiency ratio and body weight gain. Mulberry leaf treatment decreased serum lipid profiles, atherogenic index, cardiac risk factor, low density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, serum aspartate transaminase, and liver lipid levels. High density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, serum HDL-cholesterol, and fecal lipid levels increased, suggesting mulberry leaves could improve hyperlipidemia and liver action, thereby proventing cardiovascular disease.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.237-243
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• 2006

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the treatment outcomes and the prognosis for gastric cancer patients with hepatic metastasis. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was based on the medical records of 85 gastric cancer patients with hepatic metastasis (62 synchronous and, 23 metachronous) who received chemotherapy with or without resectional therapy from March 1990 to March 2006. The survival rate was analyzed according to clinicopathologic factors and therapeutic factors, such as whether or not a gastrectomy, a hepatic resection, and/or chemotherapy had been performed. Results: The median survival of gastric cancer patients with hepatic metastasis was 11 months (synchronous: 11 months and metachronous: 17 months). The rates of gastrectomies and hepatic resections in the synchronous group were 24.1% and 16.1%, respectively A 23.5% prevalence of extra-hepatic metastasis was observed. The median survivals of patients who underwent a gastrectomy with a hepatic resection, a gastrectomy alone, and non-surgical treatment were 60, 18, and 9 months, respectively (P<0.05). The disease-free median survival of the metachronous group was 8 ($3{\sim}39$) months. There was no difference in initial pathologic stage and frequency of hepatic metastasis after the gastrectomy in the metachronous group. In the synchronous group, extra-hepatic metastasis, a gastrectomy as the operative procedure, a hepatic resection as the operative procedure and the response to chemotherapy were statistically significant in the univariate analysis, and a hepatic resection as the operative procedure, the response to chemotherapy, and extra-hepatic metastasis were independant prognostic factors identified by the multivariate analysis. In the metachronous group, extra-hepatic metastasis, the response to chemotherapy and differentiation were statistically significant in the univariate analysis, and extra-hepatic metastasis was an independent prognostic factor identified by the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: An aggressive surgical therapy and effective chemotherapy are necessary in the treatment of gastric cancer patients with hepatic metastasis. (J Korean Gastric Cancer Assoc 2006;6:237-243)

• Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Sports Medicine
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2002

Purpose : To analyze the clinical results of treatment for the osteochondritis dissecans of femoral condyle by age, the type of lesion and method of treatment. Methods : From March 1991 to February 2000, 17 patients (20 cases) with osteochondritis dissecans of the femoral condyle were followed up over 1 year. Three patients had bilateral lesion. There were 12 cases with trauma history (9 cases with sports injury and 3 cases with direct trauma). The initial symptoms were pain, clicking, locking, giving way in the order of frequency, pain was revealed in all cases. Clinical evaluation of IKDC and Hughston method were used for subjective and objective function. Results : The number of male patient was 12, and the mean age was 19.8 year old (11$\~$50). The location of the lesion was 14 cases in medial femoral condyle and 6 cases in lateral femoral condyle. The arthroscopic findings of the lesion in 15 cases were as follows, early separation in 6 cases, partially detachment in 4 cases, and crators and complete detachment in 5 cases. 5 cases were treated with mutiple drilling and 5 cases with Herbert screw fixation, 3 cases with Herbert screw fixation and bone graft. In early stage, 7 cases were treated with conservative method. In the grading of Hughston score, 6 cases were graded as excellent, 9 cases as good, 15 cases were graded as good to excellent. Based on the IKDC scale, 1 case was graded as normal, 6 as nearly normal, and 10 as abnormal. Conclusions : The trauma seemed to be important factor in occurrence of osteochondritis dissecans of the femoral condyle. The clinical results of juvenile period showed better than adolescence and adult period, it is necessary to detect the lesion as soon as possible. The result of subjective evaluation was worse than the Hughston evaluation. It was caused by limiting involvement of sports activity and limited activity in the adolescence.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.2 s.247
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• pp.132-138
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• 2005

Background: Mitral valve repair (MVP) is the optimal procedure for mitral regurgitation (MR), however, failure and subsequent reoperations are the limitations. The current study assessed the procedure in relation to the primary valve related causes of recurrent MR. Material and Method: MR was treated in 493 patients undergoing MVP from January of 1994 to January of 2002. The causes of MR were degenerative $(n=252,\;51.5\%),$ rheumatic $(n=156,\; 31.6\%),$ and others $(n=85,\; 16.9\%).$ Surgery comprised 446 ring annuloplasties $(90.5\%),$ 227 new chordae formations $(46\%),$ 125 quadriangular resections $(25.3\%),$ 28 chordae transfers $(5.7\%),$ and 8 Alfieri's stitches $(1.6\%).$ The mean follow up was $29.04\pm22.81$ months. Result: There were 5 early $(1.01\%)$, and 5 late deaths $(1.01\%).$ The reoperation rate was $1.42\%$. There were 45 $(9.1\%)$ recurrent MR (grade III or IV). Of these, 24 were procedure related including incomplete repair (n=14), discordant new chordae length (n=8) and others (n=2). In 21 patients, the cause was valve related including rheumatic disease progression (n=10), recurrent chordae elongation or prolapse (n=5) and others (n=6). Severe MR was higher after incomplete repair (p < 0.001), and valve related failure strongly correlated with rheumatic progression (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Since completeness of operation is the prime risk factor that determine the repair durability, intra-operative assessment of the initial repair with trans-esophageal echocardiography is essential.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.127-140
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• 2010

The benefit that a consumer derives from the use of a good often depends on the number of other consumers purchasing the same goods or other compatible items. This property, which is known as network externality, is significant in many IT related industries. Over the past few decades, network externalities have been recognized in the context of physical networks such as the telephone and railroad industries. Today, as many products are provided as a form of system that consists of compatible components, the appreciation of network externality is becoming increasingly important. Network externalities have been extensively studied among economists who have been seeking to explain new phenomena resulting from rapid advancements in ICT (Information and Communication Technology). As a result of these efforts, a new body of theories for 'New Economy' has been proposed. The theoretical bottom-line argument of such theories is that technologies subject to network effects exhibit multiple equilibriums and will finally lock into a monopoly with one standard cornering the entire market. They emphasize that such "tippiness" is a typical characteristic in such networked markets, describing that multiple incompatible technologies rarely coexist and that the switch to a single, leading standard occurs suddenly. Moreover, it is argued that this standardization process is path dependent, and the ultimate outcome is unpredictable. With incomplete information about other actors' preferences, there can be excess inertia, as consumers only moderately favor the change, and hence are themselves insufficiently motivated to start the bandwagon rolling, but would get on it once it did start to roll. This startup problem can prevent the adoption of any standard at all, even if it is preferred by everyone. Conversely, excess momentum is another possible outcome, for example, if a sponsoring firm uses low prices during early periods of diffusion. The aim of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of the adoption process in markets exhibiting network effects by focusing on two factors; switching and agent heterogeneity. Switching is an important factor that should be considered in analyzing the adoption process. An agent's switching invokes switching by other adopters, which brings about a positive feedback process that can significantly complicate the adoption process. Agent heterogeneity also plays a important role in shaping the early development of the adoption process, which has a significant impact on the later development of the process. The effects of these two factors are analyzed by developing an agent-based simulation model. ABM is a computer-based simulation methodology that can offer many advantages over traditional analytical approaches. The model is designed such that agents have diverse preferences regarding technology and are allowed to switch their previous choice. The simulation results showed that the adoption processes in a market exhibiting networks effects are significantly affected by the distribution of agents and the occurrence of switching. In particular, it is found that both weak heterogeneity and strong network effects cause agents to start to switch early and this plays a role of expediting the emergence of 'lock-in.' When network effects are strong, agents are easily affected by changes in early market shares. This causes agents to switch earlier and in turn speeds up the market's tipping. The same effect is found in the case of highly homogeneous agents. When agents are highly homogeneous, the market starts to tip toward one technology rapidly, and its choice is not always consistent with the populations' initial inclination. Increased volatility and faster lock-in increase the possibility that the market will reach an unexpected outcome. The primary contribution of this study is the elucidation of the role of parameters characterizing the market in the development of the lock-in process, and identification of conditions where such unexpected outcomes happen.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.95-102
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• 2017

The fires in the traditional markets often occur recently with the most of them expanded into great fires so that the damage is very serious. The status of traditional markets handling the distribution for ordinary people is greatly shrunk with the aggressive marketing of the local large companies and the foreign large distribution companies after the overall opening of the local distribution market. Most of the traditional markets have the history and tradition from decades to centuries and have grown steadily with the joys and sorrows of ordinary people and the development of the local economy. The fire developing to the large fire has the characteristics of the problem that the fire possibility is high since all products can be flammable due to the deterioration of facilities, the arbitrary modification of equipment, and the crowding of the goods for sale. Furthermore, most of the stores are petty with their small sizes so that the passage is narrow affecting the passage of pedestrians. Accordingly, the traditional markets are vulnerable to fire due to the initial unplanned structural problem so that the large scale fire damage occurs. The study is concerned with systematically classifying and analyzing the result by applying the TRIZ tool to the fire risk factors to extract the fundamental problem with the fire of the traditional market and make the active response. The study was done for preventing the fire on the basis of it and the expansion to the large fire in case of fire to prepare the specific measure to minimize the fire damage. On the basis of the fire expansion risk factor of the derived traditional market, the study presented the passive measures such as the improvement of the fire resisting capacity, the fire safety island, etc. and the active and institutional measures such as the obligation of the fire breaking news facilities, the application of the extra-high pressure pump system, the divided use of the electric line, etc.