• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.64-71
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• 2016

We develop a manufacture procedure for the production of a patient specific customized bolus (PSCB) using a 3D printer (3DP). The dosimetric accuracy of the 3D-PSCB is evaluated for electron beam therapy. In order to cover the required planning target volume (PTV), we select the proper electron beam energy and the field size through initial dose calculation using a treatment planning system. The PSCB is delineated based on the initial dose distribution. The dose calculation is repeated after applying the PSCB. We iteratively fine-tune the PSCB shape until the plan quality is sufficient to meet the required clinical criteria. Then the contour data of the PSCB is transferred to an in-house conversion software through the DICOMRT protocol. This contour data is converted into the 3DP data format, STereoLithography data format and then printed using a 3DP. Two virtual patients, having concave and convex shapes, were generated with a virtual PTV and an organ at risk (OAR). Then, two corresponding electron treatment plans with and without a PSCB were generated to evaluate the dosimetric effect of the PSCB. The dosimetric characteristics and dose volume histograms for the PTV and OAR are compared in both plans. Film dosimetry is performed to verify the dosimetric accuracy of the 3D-PSCB. The calculated planar dose distribution is compared to that measured using film dosimetry taken from the beam central axis. We compare the percent depth dose curve and gamma analysis (the dose difference is 3%, and the distance to agreement is 3 mm) results. No significant difference in the PTV dose is observed in the plan with the PSCB compared to that without the PSCB. The maximum, minimum, and mean doses of the OAR in the plan with the PSCB were significantly reduced by 9.7%, 36.6%, and 28.3%, respectively, compared to those in the plan without the PSCB. By applying the PSCB, the OAR volumes receiving 90% and 80% of the prescribed dose were reduced from $14.40cm^3$ to $0.1cm^3$ and from $42.6cm^3$ to $3.7cm^3$, respectively, in comparison to that without using the PSCB. The gamma pass rates of the concave and convex plans were 95% and 98%, respectively. A new procedure of the fabrication of a PSCB is developed using a 3DP. We confirm the usefulness and dosimetric accuracy of the 3D-PSCB for the clinical use. Thus, rapidly advancing 3DP technology is able to ease and expand clinical implementation of the PSCB.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.155-165
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• 2010

Purpose: In order to evaluate the positional uncertainty of internal organs during radiation therapy for treatment of liver cancer, we measured differences in inter- and intra-fractional variation of the tumor position and tidal amplitude using 4-dimentional computed radiograph (DCT) images and gated orthogonal setup kilovolt (KV) images taken on every treatment using the on board imaging (OBI) and real time position management (RPM) system. Materials and Methods: Twenty consecutive patients who underwent 3-dimensional (3D) conformal radiation therapy for treatment of liver cancer participated in this study. All patients received a 4DCT simulation with an RT16 scanner and an RPM system. Lipiodol, which was updated near the target volume after transarterial chemoembolization or diaphragm was chosen as a surrogate for the evaluation of the position difference of internal organs. Two reference orthogonal (anterior and lateral) digital reconstructed radiograph (DRR) images were generated using CT image sets of 0% and 50% into the respiratory phases. The maximum tidal amplitude of the surrogate was measured from 3D conformal treatment planning. After setting the patient up with laser markings on the skin, orthogonal gated setup images at 50% into the respiratory phase were acquired at each treatment session with OBI and registered on reference DRR images by setting each beam center. Online inter-fractional variation was determined with the surrogate. After adjusting the patient setup error, orthogonal setup images at 0% and 50% into the respiratory phases were obtained and tidal amplitude of the surrogate was measured. Measured tidal amplitude was compared with data from 4DCT. For evaluation of intra-fractional variation, an orthogonal gated setup image at 50% into the respiratory phase was promptly acquired after treatment and compared with the same image taken just before treatment. In addition, a statistical analysis for the quantitative evaluation was performed. Results: Medians of inter-fractional variation for twenty patients were 0.00 cm (range, -0.50 to 0.90 cm), 0.00 cm (range, -2.40 to 1.60 cm), and 0.00 cm (range, -1.10 to 0.50 cm) in the X (transaxial), Y (superior-inferior), and Z (anterior-posterior) directions, respectively. Significant inter-fractional variations over 0.5 cm were observed in four patients. Min addition, the median tidal amplitude differences between 4DCTs and the gated orthogonal setup images were -0.05 cm (range, -0.83 to 0.60 cm), -0.15 cm (range, -2.58 to 1.18 cm), and -0.02 cm (range, -1.37 to 0.59 cm) in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively. Large differences of over 1 cm were detected in 3 patients in the Y direction, while differences of more than 0.5 but less than 1 cm were observed in 5 patients in Y and Z directions. Median intra-fractional variation was 0.00 cm (range, -0.30 to 0.40 cm), -0.03 cm (range, -1.14 to 0.50 cm), 0.05 cm (range, -0.30 to 0.50 cm) in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively. Significant intra-fractional variation of over 1 cm was observed in 2 patients in Y direction. Conclusion: Gated setup images provided a clear image quality for the detection of organ motion without a motion artifact. Significant intra- and inter-fractional variation and tidal amplitude differences between 4DCT and gated setup images were detected in some patients during the radiation treatment period, and therefore, should be considered when setting up the target margin. Monitoring of positional uncertainty and its adaptive feedback system can enhance the accuracy of treatments.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2012

Verification of internal organ motion during treatment and its feedback is essential to accurate dose delivery to the moving target. We developed an offline based internal organ motion verification system (IMVS) using cine EPID images and evaluated its accuracy and availability through phantom study. For verification of organ motion using live cine EPID images, a pattern matching algorithm using an internal surrogate, which is very distinguishable and represents organ motion in the treatment field, like diaphragm, was employed in the self-developed analysis software. For the system performance test, we developed a linear motion phantom, which consists of a human body shaped phantom with a fake tumor in the lung, linear motion cart, and control software. The phantom was operated with a motion of 2 cm at 4 sec per cycle and cine EPID images were obtained at a rate of 3.3 and 6.6 frames per sec (2 MU/frame) with $1,024{\times}768$ pixel counts in a linear accelerator (10 MVX). Organ motion of the target was tracked using self-developed analysis software. Results were compared with planned data of the motion phantom and data from the video image based tracking system (RPM, Varian, USA) using an external surrogate in order to evaluate its accuracy. For quantitative analysis, we analyzed correlation between two data sets in terms of average cycle (peak to peak), amplitude, and pattern (RMS, root mean square) of motion. Averages for the cycle of motion from IMVS and RPM system were $3.98{\pm}0.11$ (IMVS 3.3 fps), $4.005{\pm}0.001$ (IMVS 6.6 fps), and $3.95{\pm}0.02$ (RPM), respectively, and showed good agreement on real value (4 sec/cycle). Average of the amplitude of motion tracked by our system showed $1.85{\pm}0.02$ cm (3.3 fps) and $1.94{\pm}0.02$ cm (6.6 fps) as showed a slightly different value, 0.15 (7.5% error) and 0.06 (3% error) cm, respectively, compared with the actual value (2 cm), due to time resolution for image acquisition. In analysis of pattern of motion, the value of the RMS from the cine EPID image in 3.3 fps (0.1044) grew slightly compared with data from 6.6 fps (0.0480). The organ motion verification system using sequential cine EPID images with an internal surrogate showed good representation of its motion within 3% error in a preliminary phantom study. The system can be implemented for clinical purposes, which include organ motion verification during treatment, compared with 4D treatment planning data, and its feedback for accurate dose delivery to the moving target.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.57-78
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• 2020

With the development of the Internet, consumers have had an opportunity to check product information easily through E-Commerce. Product reviews used in the process of purchasing goods are based on user experience, allowing consumers to engage as producers of information as well as refer to information. This can be a way to increase the efficiency of purchasing decisions from the perspective of consumers, and from the seller's point of view, it can help develop products and strengthen their competitiveness. However, it takes a lot of time and effort to understand the overall assessment and assessment dimensions of the products that I think are important in reading the vast amount of product reviews offered by E-Commerce for the products consumers want to compare. This is because product reviews are unstructured information and it is difficult to read sentiment of reviews and assessment dimension immediately. For example, consumers who want to purchase a laptop would like to check the assessment of comparative products at each dimension, such as performance, weight, delivery, speed, and design. Therefore, in this paper, we would like to propose a method to automatically generate multi-dimensional product assessment scores in product reviews that we would like to compare. The methods presented in this study consist largely of two phases. One is the pre-preparation phase and the second is the individual product scoring phase. In the pre-preparation phase, a dimensioned classification model and a sentiment analysis model are created based on a review of the large category product group review. By combining word embedding and association analysis, the dimensioned classification model complements the limitation that word embedding methods for finding relevance between dimensions and words in existing studies see only the distance of words in sentences. Sentiment analysis models generate CNN models by organizing learning data tagged with positives and negatives on a phrase unit for accurate polarity detection. Through this, the individual product scoring phase applies the models pre-prepared for the phrase unit review. Multi-dimensional assessment scores can be obtained by aggregating them by assessment dimension according to the proportion of reviews organized like this, which are grouped among those that are judged to describe a specific dimension for each phrase. In the experiment of this paper, approximately 260,000 reviews of the large category product group are collected to form a dimensioned classification model and a sentiment analysis model. In addition, reviews of the laptops of S and L companies selling at E-Commerce are collected and used as experimental data, respectively. The dimensioned classification model classified individual product reviews broken down into phrases into six assessment dimensions and combined the existing word embedding method with an association analysis indicating frequency between words and dimensions. As a result of combining word embedding and association analysis, the accuracy of the model increased by 13.7%. The sentiment analysis models could be seen to closely analyze the assessment when they were taught in a phrase unit rather than in sentences. As a result, it was confirmed that the accuracy was 29.4% higher than the sentence-based model. Through this study, both sellers and consumers can expect efficient decision making in purchasing and product development, given that they can make multi-dimensional comparisons of products. In addition, text reviews, which are unstructured data, were transformed into objective values such as frequency and morpheme, and they were analysed together using word embedding and association analysis to improve the objectivity aspects of more precise multi-dimensional analysis and research. This will be an attractive analysis model in terms of not only enabling more effective service deployment during the evolving E-Commerce market and fierce competition, but also satisfying both customers.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.498-506
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• 2005

Background : This study compared the bronchodilator efficacy and safety of tiotropium inhalation capsules ($18{\mu}g$ once daily) with a ipratropium metered dose inhaler (2 puffs of $20{\mu}g$ q.i.d.) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Method : After the initial screening assessment and a two-week run-in period, patients received either tiotropium $18{\mu}g$ once daily or ipratropium $40{\mu}g$ four times daily over a period of 4 weeks in a double blind, double dummy, parallel group study. The outcome measures were the lung function, the daily records of the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), the patients' questionnaire, and the use of concomitant salbutamol. The forced expiratory volume in one second ($FEV_1$) and the forced vital capacity (FVC) were measured 5 minutes before inhalation, and 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 hours after inhaling the study drug on days 0, 14 and 28. Result : In 16 centers, 134 patients with a mean (SD) age of 66 (7) years and a predicted $FEV_1$ of 42 (12)% were analyzed. The trough $FEV_1$ response was significantly higher in the tiotropium group than in the ipratropium group after a four-week treatment period. The weekly mean morning PEFR of the tiotropium group was consistently higher than that of the ipratropium group during the 4-week treatment period with differences ranging from 12.52 to 13.88 l/min, which were statistically significant. Tiotropium was well tolerated by the COPD patients during the 4-week treatment period and had a similar safety profile to ipratropium. Conclusion : This study shows that tiotropium administrated once daily has a superior bronchodilator effect with a similar safety profile in treating COPD patients compared with ipratropium, inhaled four times daily.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 1988

$SO_2$ gas injuries for 19 varieties of 10 species of plants were investigated within a environmentally controlled growth chamber. Visible injuries were observed when exposing the plants either 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.7 or 1.5ppm of $SO_2$ gas for 5 days from 9 : 00 to 17 : 00 everyday. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Light brown spots were shown on Raphanus sativus(Chunchu, Taeback, Jinjudaepyung), Brassica campestris(Manchun, Josaengmiho, Seoul, Jeonseung), and Capsicum annum(Searona, Hongsanho, Hongilpum); brown spots on Sesamum indicum(Pungnyun, Kwangsan); reddish brown shades on Cleosia cristata; and black brown spots on Perilla frutescens, Calendula officinalis, Chrysanthemum morifolium, and Salvia splendens, respectively. 2. The spotty injuries induced by $SO_2$ gas injuries for 19 varieties of 10 species of plants were investigated within a environmentally controlled growth chamber. Visible injuries were observed when exposing the plants either 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.7 or 1.5ppm of $SO_2$ gas for 5 days from 9 : 00 to 17 : 00 everyday. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Light brown spots were shown on Raphanus sativus(Chunchu, Taeback, Jinjudaepyung), Brassica campestris(Manchun, Josaengmiho, Seoul, Jeonseung), and Capsicum annum(Searona, Hongsanho, Hongilpum); brown spots on Sesamum indicum(Pungnyun, Kwangsan); reddish brown shades on Cleosia cristata; and black brown spots on Perilla frutescens, Calendula officinalis, Chrysanthemum morifolium, and Salvia splendens, respectively. 2. The spotty injuries induced by SO₂ gas on Raphanus sativus, Callistephus chinensis, Capsicum annum, Perilla frutescens, Calendula officinalis, Salvia splendens, and Sesamum indicum; the many small spots on Chrysanthemum morifolium; and the brown shade on Celosia cristata appeared on the upper surface of the intervein, on the leaf apex area and on the entire upper surface of leaves, respectively. 3. Visual injuries of Capsicum annum(Chunchu), Perilla frutescens, Sesamum indicum(Pungnyun, Kwangsan), and Salvia splendens were developed at 0.4ppm of SO₂ gas fumigation. Brassica campestris(Jeonseung), Capsicum annum(Searona, Hongilpum), and Cleosia cristata, however, showed the injury at 1.5ppm of $SO_2$ gas concentration. 4. Based on the tolerance grade(time when the 1st injury appeared), Raphanus sativus, Perilla frutescens, Sesamum indicum, and Salvia splendens were the most sensitive plants and Chrysanthemum morifolium, Callistephus chinensis, Cleosia cristata, and Calendula officinalis were the plants most tolerant of $SO_2$ gas. gas on Raphanus sativus, Callistephus chinensis, Capsicum annum, Perilla frutescens, Calendula officinalis, Salvia splendens, and Sesamum indicum; the many small spots on Chrysanthemum morifolium; and the brown shade on Celosia cristata appeared on the upper surface of the intervein, on the leaf apex area and on the entire upper surface of leaves, respectively. 3. Visual injuries of Capsicum annum(Chunchu), Perilla frutescens, Sesamum indicum(Pungnyun, Kwangsan), and Salvia splendens were developed at 0.4ppm of $SO_2$ gas injuries for 19 varieties of 10 species of plants were investigated within a environmentally controlled growth chamber. Visible injuries were observed when exposing the plants either 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.7 or 1.5ppm of $SO_2$ gas for 5 days from 9 : 00 to 17 : 00 everyday. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Light brown spots were shown on Raphanus sativus(Chunchu, Taeback, Jinjudaepyung), Brassica campestris(Manchun, Josaengmiho, Seoul, Jeonseung), and Capsicum annum(Searona, Hongsanho, Hongilpum); brown spots on Sesamum indicum(Pungnyun, Kwangsan); reddish brown shades on Cleosia cristata; and black brown spots on Perilla frutescens, Calendula officinalis, Chrysanthemum morifolium, and Salvia splendens, respectively. 2. The spotty injuries induced by SO₂ gas on Raphanus sativus, Callistephus chinensis, Capsicum annum, Perilla frutescens, Calendula officinalis, Salvia splendens, and Sesamum indicum; the many small spots on Chrysanthemum morifolium; and the brown shade on Celosia cristata appeared on the upper surface of the intervein, on the leaf apex area and on the entire upper surface of leaves, respectively. 3. Visual injuries of Capsicum annum(Chunchu), Perilla frutescens, Sesamum indicum(Pungnyun, Kwangsan), and Salvia splendens were developed at 0.4ppm of SO₂ gas fumigation. Brassica campestris(Jeonseung), Capsicum annum(Searona, Hongilpum), and Cleosia cristata, however, showed the injury at 1.5ppm of $SO_2$ gas concentration. 4. Based on the tolerance grade(time when the 1st injury appeared), Raphanus sativus, Perilla frutescens, Sesamum indicum, and Salvia splendens were the most sensitive plants and Chrysanthemum morifolium, Callistephus chinensis, Cleosia cristata, and Calendula officinalis were the plants most tolerant of $SO_2$ gas. gas fumigation. Brassica campestris(Jeonseung), Capsicum annum(Searona, Hongilpum), and Cleosia cristata, however, showed the injury at 1.5ppm of $SO_2$ gas concentration. 4. Based on the tolerance grade(time when the 1st injury appeared), Raphanus sativus, Perilla frutescens, Sesamum indicum, and Salvia splendens were the most sensitive plants and Chrysanthemum morifolium, Callistephus chinensis, Cleosia cristata, and Calendula officinalis were the plants most tolerant of $SO_2$ gas.