• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.5081-5084
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• 2015

Background: Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the breast and is seen mainly in women. It's the most common cancer in women worldwide and is a major threat to health. The purpose of this study was to fit a Cox proportional hazards model for prediction and determination of years of survival in Iranian patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 366 patients with breast cancer in the Cancer Research Center were included in the study. A Cox proportional hazard model was used with variables such as tumor grade, number of removed positive lymph nodes, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression and several other variables. Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted and multi-years of survival were evaluated. Results: The mean age of patients was 48.1 years. Consumption of fatty foods (p=0.033), recurrence (p<0.001), tumor grade (p=0.046) and age (p=0.017) were significant variables. The overall 1- year, 3-year and 5-year survival rates were found to be 93%, 75% and 52%. Conclusions: Use of covariates and the Cox proportional hazard model are effective in predicting the survival of individuals and this model distinguished 4 effective factors in the survival of patients.

• Atmosphere
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.317-329
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• 2017

Ocean mixed layer (OML) depth affects diurnal cycle of sea surface temperature (SST) induced by change of solar radiation absorption and heat budget in ocean. The diurnal SST variation can lead to convection over the ocean, which can impact on localized precipitation both over coastal and inland. In this study, we investigate the OML characteristics affecting the diurnal cycle of SST for the Korean Peninsula and surrounding areas. To analyze OML characteristics, HYCOM oceanic mixed layer depth (MLD) and wind field at 10 m from ERA-interim during 2008~2016 are used. In the winter, MLD is deeply formed when the strong wind field is located on perpendicular to continental slope over deep seafloor areas. Besides, cooling SST-induced vertical mixing in OML is reinforced by dry cold air originated from Siberia. The OML in summer is shallowly distributed about 20 m. In order to estimate the impact of OML model in high resolution NWP model, four experimental simulations are performed. At this time, the prognostic scheme of skin SST is applied in NWP to simulate diurnal SST. The simulation results show that CNTL (off-OML) overestimates diurnal cycle of SST, while EXPs (on-OML) indicate similar results to observations. The prediction performance for precipitation of EXPs shows improvement compared with CNTL over coastal as well as inland. This results suggest that the application of the OML model in summer season can contribute to improving the prediction for performance of SST and precipitation over coastal area and inland.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2017

In order to reduce damages to major railroad components, which have the potential to cause interruptions to railroad services and safety accidents and to generate unnecessary maintenance costs, the development of rolling stock maintenance technology is switching from preventive maintenance based on the inspection period to predictive maintenance technology, led by advanced countries. Furthermore, to enhance trust in accordance with the speedup of system and reduce maintenances cost simultaneously, the demand for fault diagnosis and prognostic health management technology is increasing. The objective of this paper is to propose a highly reliable learning model using various machine learning algorithms that can be applied to critical rolling stock components. This paper presents a model for railway rolling stock component fault diagnosis and conducts a mechanical failure diagnosis of motor components by applying the machine learning technique in order to ensure efficient maintenance support along with a data preprocessing plan for component fault diagnosis. This paper first defines a failure diagnosis model for rolling stock components. Function-based algorithms ANFIS and SMO were used as machine learning techniques for generating the failure diagnosis model. Two tree-based algorithms, RadomForest and CART, were also employed. In order to evaluate the performance of the algorithms to be used for diagnosing failures in motors as a critical railroad component, an experiment was carried out on 2 data sets with different classes (includes 6 classes and 3 class levels). According to the results of the experiment, the random forest algorithm, a tree-based machine learning technique, showed the best performance.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2229-2234
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• 2012

Purpose: To assess efficacy of Ki67 combined with VEGF as a molecular grading model to predict outcomes with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Materials: 72 NMIBC patients who underwent transurethral resection (TUR) followed by routine intravesical instillations were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to confirm the prognostic values of the Ki67 labeling index (LI) and VEGF scoring for tumor recurrence and progression. Results: The novel molecular grading model for NMIBC contained three molecular grades including mG1 (Ki67 $LI{\leq}25%$, VEGF $scoring{\leq}8$), mG2 (Ki67 LI>25%, VEGF $scoring{\leq}8$; or Ki67 $LI{\leq}25%$, VEGF scoring > 8), and mG3 (Ki67 LI > 25%, VEGF scoring > 8), which can indicate favorable, intermediate and poor prognosis, respectively. Conclusions: The described novel molecular grading model utilizing Ki67 LI and VEGF scoring is helpful to effectively and accurately predict outcomes and optimize personal therapy.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.213-221
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• 1996

In order to develop a suitable secondary renal disease model and diagnostic markers of renal disease in the rat, the change of PIIIP (aminoterminal procollagen III peptide) in serum and hydroxyproline levels in the renal tissue that reflect the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) during development of experimental renal diseases were observed. Two types of experimental primary diseases, diabetes mellitus administrated by streptozotocin (STZ, 75 mg/kg, i.p.) and liver cirrhosis produced by bile duct ligation/scission (BDL/s) operation, were induced. The hydroxyproline level increased according to the high PIIIP and NCl(carboxyterminal procollagen IV peptide) in Western blot analysis as early as 1 week in the STZ treated-rat kidney. Increased renal ECM was observed at 15 weeks in STZ and BDL/s model under the microscopic examination. High PAS positive reaction was found in capillary basement membrane in STZ treated-rats and mesangium in BDL/s operated rats at this time, showing the histological characteristics of diabetic nephropathy and cirrhotic glomerulonephritis in human, respectively. Such secondary renal failure were supported by additional tests including urinalysis and renal function test. The serum PIIIP detected by ELISA was a useful parameter to estimate synthesis rate of renal ECM during development of renal disease without extrarenal fibrosis i.e. liver cirrhosis in rats. This study is proposed that STZ treatment or BDL/s operation may be a suitable experimental animal model for the induction and development of chronic secondary renal diseases. Morover, it was found that hydroxyproline level in renal tissues was a good parameter of the change of renal ECM at the early stage of the diseases without apparent histological changes. Especially, serum PIIIP could be a choice as a diagnostic or prognostic marker during the development of renal diseases in rats.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.224-235
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• 2024

Purpose: Biliary atresia (BA) is the leading cause of neonatal cholestasis (25-45%). The primary treatment is hepatic portoenterostomy (Kasai procedure), but only 20-40% provide long-term benefits. This study aimed to develop a predictive model for surgical efficacy by comparing preoperative and early postoperative indicators in infants with different outcomes. Methods: We enrolled 166 infants with BA (93 girls, 73 boys) who underwent the Kasai procedure between September 2002 and December 2021, dividing them into favorable or adverse outcome groups. Over 40 parameters were measured, and the diagnostic significance of the prognostic model was evaluated. Results: Kasai surgery was efficacious in 69 patients (42%) and non-efficacious in 97 (58%). Our model assesses efficacy by day 14 after surgery, improving on the <34 µmol/L direct bilirubin threshold established for 3-6 months after the procedure. Including the Desmet fibrosis score refined the model. Conclusion: Blood cholesterol below 5.41 mmol/L, direct bilirubin below 56.3 µmol/L on postoperative days 14±3, and a low Desmet score indicate a high probability of efficacious Kasai surgery in infants with BA.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.300-308
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• 2000

Purpose :The aim of this study is to analysis of suwival and recurrence rates of the uterine cervical carcinoma patients whom received the radiation therapy respectively. The prognostic factors, such as Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, carcinoembriogenic antigen (CEA) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen has been studied. Methods and Materials : From January 1981 to December 1998, eight-hundred twenty-seven uterine carvical cancer patients were treat with radiation therapy. All of the patients were divided into two groups : the radiation therapy only (S2l patients) group and the postoperative radiation therapy (326 patients) group. The age, treatment modality, clinical stage, histopathology, recurrence, follow-up Pap smears, CEA and SCC antigen were used as parameters for the evaluation. The prognostic factors such as survival and recurrence rates were peformed with the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox hazard model, respectively. Median rollow-up was 38.6 months. Results :On the radiation therapy only group, 314 patients (60$\%$) achieved complete response (CR), 47 patients (9$\%$) showed local recurrence (LR), 78 patients (15$\%$) developed distant metastasis (DM). On the Postoperative radiation therapy group, showed 276 Patients (85$\%$) CR, 8 Patients (2$\%$) LR, 37 Patients (11$\%$) DM. The 5-year survival and recurrence rates was evaluated for all parameters. The statistically significant factors for the survival rate in univariate analysis were clinical stage (p=0.0001), treatment modality (p=0.0010), recurrence (p=0.0001), Pap smear (p=0.0329), CEA (p=0.0001) and SCC antigen (p=0.0001). Conclusion: This study indicated that after treatment, the follow-up studies of Pap smear, CEA and SCC antigen were significant parameter and prediction factors for the survival and recurrence of the uterine cervical carcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1463-1467
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• 2016

Background: The incidence of breast cancer is rapidly increasing in Yemen with recent indications of constituting one-third of female cancers. The main problem in Yemen remains very late presentation of breast cancer, most of which should have been easily recognisable. Since stage of disease at diagnosis is the most important prognostic variable, early diagnosis is an important option to be considered for control of breast cancer in low resourced settings like Yemen. In the present study, we aimed at describing breast cancer knowledge, perceptions and breast self-examination (BSE) practices among a sample of Yemeni women. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study covered 400 women attending four reproductive health centres in Aden, Yemen through face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire during April - July 2014. We collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge about breast cancer, and screening practices as well as respondents' perceptions based on the five sub scales of the Health Belief Model (HBM): perceived susceptibility; perceived severity; perceived barriers; perceived benefits; and self-efficacy. The response format was a five-point Likert scale. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20) was used for statistical analysis. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Logistic regression analysis was conducted with BSE as a dependent variable. Results: The mean age of women was 26.5 (S.D=5.6) years. The majority (89.0%) had never ever performed any screening. Two-thirds of respondents had poor knowledge. Perceived BSE benefits and self-efficacy and lower BSE barriers perception were significant independent predictors of BSE practice. Conclusions: Poor knowledge and inadequate BSE practices are prevailing in Yemen. The need for implementing culturally sensitive targeted education measures is mandatory in the effort to improve early detection and reduce the burden of breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.5-10
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• 2016

Breast cancer, the second cause of cancer-related death after lung cancer and the most common cancer in women after skin cancer, is curable if detected in early stages of clinical presentation. Knowledge as to any age cut-off points which might have significance for prognostic groups is important in screening and treatment planning. Therefore, determining a change-point could improve resource allocation. This study aimed to determine if a change point for survival might exist in the age of breast cancer diagnosis. This study included 568 cases of breast cancer that were registered in Breast Cancer Research Center, Tehran, Iran, during the period 1986-2006 and were followed up to 2012. In the presence of curable cases of breast cancer, a change point in the age of breast cancer diagnosis was estimated using a mixture survival cure model. The data were analyzed using SPSS (versions 20) and R (version 2.15.0) software. The results revealed that a change point in the age of breast cancer diagnosis was at 50 years age. Based on our estimation, 35% of the patients diagnosed with breast cancer at age less than or equal to 50 years of age were cured while the figure was 57% for those diagnosed after 50 years of age. Those in the older age group had better survival compared to their younger counterparts during 12 years of follow up. Our results suggest that it is better to estimate change points in age for cancers which are curable in early stages using survival cure models, and that the cure rate would increase with timely screening for breast cancer.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.430-439
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• 2007

The objective of this work is the air quality modeling according to the practical roughness length using the building information as surface boundary conditions. As accurate wind and temperature field are required to produce realistic urban air quality modeling, comparative simulations by various roughness length are discussed. The prognostic meteorological fields and air quality field over complex areas of Seoul, Korea are generated by the PSU/NCAR mesoscale model (MM5) and the Third Generation Community Multi-scale Air Quality Modeling System (Models-3/CMAQ), respectively. The simulated $O_3$ concentration on complex terrain and their interactions with the weak synoptic flow had relatively strong effects by the roughness length. A comparison of the three meteorological fields of respective roughness length reveals substantial localized differences in surface temperature and wind folds. Under these conditions, the ascended mixing height and weakened wind speed at night which induced the stable boundary stronger, and the difference of simulated $O_3$ concentration is $2{\sim}6\;ppb$.