• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.913-921
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• 2021

Objective : Accurate measurement of T1 slope (a component of T1s minus cervical lordosis [CL]) is often constrained by anatomical limitations. In this situation, efforts should be made to find the exact meaning of T1s-CL and whether there are any alternatives to it. Methods : We enrolled 117 patients who received two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Occipital slope, C2 slope (C2s), C7 slope (C7s), T1, O-C2 angle (O-C2A), C2-7 angle (C2-7A), O-C7 angle (O-C7A), T1s-CL, C7-T1 angle (C7-T1A), and C2-7 sagittal vertical axis were measured. We determined 16° (T1s-CL) as the reference point for dividing subjects into the mismatch group and the balance group, and a comparative analysis was performed. Results : The mean value of C7-T1A was constantly maintained within 2.6° peri-operatively. In addition, C2s and T1s-CL showed the same absolute change (Δ|0.8|°). The mean values of T1s-CL of the mismatch and balance groups were 23.0° and 7.6°, respectively. The five factors with the largest differences between the two groups were as follows : C2s (Δ13.3°), T1s-CL (Δ15.4°), O-C2A (Δ8.7°), C2-7A (Δ14.7°), and segmental angle (Δ7.9°) before surgery. Only four factors showed statistically significant change between the two groups after ACDF : T1s-CL (Δ4.0° vs. Δ0.2°), C2s (Δ3.2° vs. Δ0.7°), O-C2A (Δ2.6° vs. Δ1.3°), C2-7A (Δ6.3° vs. Δ1.3°). A very strong correlation between T1s-CL and C2s was also found (r=|0.88-0.96|). Conclusion : C2s itself may be the essential key to represent T1s-CL. The amounts and directions of change of these two factors (T1s-CL and C2s) were also almost identical. The above phenomenon was re-confirmed once again through the correlation analysis.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.57-91
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• 2018

Despite the rapid growth of social care, understanding of care is segmental and caring is still marginalizing. The socialization of caring is actually a 'half-socialization' that is the result of injustice surrounding caring. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the problem of caring in terms of justice. In this paper, I discuss the limitations of social justice based on John Rawls 's social contract theory in the discussion of caring justice through feminists'writings on caring ethics. And then applying Nancy Fraser' s three scales of Justice-redistribution, recognition, and representation, the concept of caring justice has been newly constructed. The concept of caring is defined as a unified concept of caring including the aspect of the social rights of the care recipient as well as the labor rights of the care provider. Based on the analysis of care justice, we derive the ideal types of care policy and then evaluate the long-term care policy for the elderly, which is the central axis of Korean care policy. The results of this study are as follows: First, it is necessary to strengthen the labor rights of care providers especially for the socialization of care responsibilities and the proper allocation of social resources. Second, a service delivery system and care culture are needed to ensure the relational autonomy of care-receivers and care-givers for caring ethics and individualization of care. Third, the issue of care should be treated as the central agenda of politics in order to distribute care responsibility democratically and to distribute legitimate resources. This requires a paradigm shift from marginalization of care to mainstreaming of care. Ultimately, we should aim for a Caring Society.

• Journal of Breast Disease
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.52-59
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to determine whether clinicopathological factors are potentially associated with successful breast-conserving surgery (BCS) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and develop a nomogram for predicting successful BCS candidates, focusing on those who are diagnosed with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative tumors during the pre-NAC period. Methods: The training cohort included 239 patients with an HR-positive, HER2-negative tumor (${\geq}3cm$), and all of these patients had received NAC. Patients were excluded if they met any of the following criteria: diffuse, suspicious, malignant microcalcification (extent >4 cm); multicentric or multifocal breast cancer; inflammatory breast cancer; distant metastases at the time of diagnosis; excisional biopsy prior to NAC; and bilateral breast cancer. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the possible predictors of BCS eligibility after NAC, and the regression model was used to develop the predicting nomogram. This nomogram was built using the training cohort (n=239) and was later validated with an independent validation cohort (n=123). Results: Small tumor size (p<0.001) at initial diagnosis, long distance from the nipple (p=0.002), high body mass index (p=0.001), and weak positivity for progesterone receptor (p=0.037) were found to be four independent predictors of an increased probability of BCS after NAC; further, these variables were used as covariates in developing the nomogram. For the training and validation cohorts, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.833 and 0.786, respectively; these values demonstrate the potential predictive power of this nomogram. Conclusion: This study established a new nomogram to predict successful BCS in patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Given that chemotherapy is an option with unreliable outcomes for this subtype, this nomogram may be used to select patients for NAC followed by successful BCS.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.77-89
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• 2018

Speech articulators are coordinated for the purpose of segmental constriction in terms of a task. In particular, vertical jaw movements repeatedly contribute to consonantal as well as vocalic constriction. The current study explores vertical jaw movements in conjunction with bilabial constriction in bilabial stop /p/ in the context /a/-to-/a/. Revisiting kinematic data of /p/ collected using the electromagenetic midsagittal articulometer (EMMA) method from seven (four female and three male) speakers of Seoul Korean, we examined maximum vertical jaw position, its relative timing with respect to the upper and lower lips, and lip aperture minima. The results of those dependent variables are recapitulated in terms of linguistic (different word boundaries) and paralinguistic (different speech rates) factors as follows. Firstly, maximum jaw height was lower in the across-word boundary condition (across-word < within-word), but it did not differ as a function of different speech rates (comfortable = fast). Secondly, more reduction in the lip aperture (LA) gesture occurred in fast rate, while word-boundary effects were absent. Thirdly, jaw raising was still in progress after the lips' positional extrema were achieved in the within-word condition, while the former was completed before the latter in the across-word condition. Lastly, relative temporal lags between the jaw and the lips (UL and LL) were more synchronous in fast rate, compared to comfortable rate. When these results are considered together, it is possible to posit that speakers are not tolerant of lenition to the extent that it is potentially realized as a labial approximant in either word-boundary condition while jaw height still manifested lower jaw position in the across-word boundary condition. Early termination of vertical jaw maxima before vertical lower lip maxima across-word condition may be partly responsible for the spatial reduction of jaw raising movements. This may come about as a consequence of an excessive number of factors (e.g., upper lip height (UH), lower lip height (LH), jaw angle (JA)) for the representation of a vector with two degrees of freedom (x, y) engaged in a gesture-based task (e.g., lip aperture (LA)). In the task-dynamic application toolkit, the jaw angle parameter can be assigned numerical values for greater weight in the across-word boundary condition, which in turn gives rise to lower jaw position. Speech rate-dependent spatial reduction in lip aperture may be able to be resolved by means of manipulating activation time of an active tract variable in the gestural score level.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.649-660
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• 2019

Objective : To analyze the angiographic features and clinical course, including treatment outcomes and the natural course, of fusiform middle cerebral artery aneurysms (FMCAAs) according to their location, size, and configuration. Methods : We reviewed the literature on adult cases of FMCAAs published from 1980 to 2018; from 25 papers, 112 FMCAA cases, for which the location, size, and configuration could be identified, were included in this study. Additionally, 33 FMCAA cases in our hospital were included, from which 16 were assigned to the observation group. Thus, a total of 145 adult FMCAA cases were included. We classified the FMCAAs according to their location (l-type 1, beginning from prebifurcation; l-type 2, beginning from bifurcation; l-type 3, beginning from postbifurcation), size (small, <10 mm; large, ${\geq}10mm$; giant, ${\geq}25mm$), and configuration (c-type 1, classic dissecting aneurysm; c-type 2, segmental ectasia; c-type 3, dolichoectatic dissecting aneurysm). Results : The c-type 3 was more commonly diagnosed with ischemic symptoms (31.8%) than hemorrhage (13.6%), while 40.9% were found accidentally. In contrast, c-type 2 was more commonly diagnosed with hemorrhagic symptoms (14.9%) than ischemic symptoms (10.6%), and 72.3% were accidentally discovered. According to location, ischemic symptoms and hemorrhage were the most frequent symptoms in l-type 1 (28.6%) and l-type 3 (34.6%), respectively. Most of l-type 2 FMCAAs were found incidentally (68.4%). Based on the size of FMCAAs, only 11.1% of small aneurysms were found to be hemorrhagic, while 18.9% and 26.0% of large and giant aneurysms were hemorrhagic, respectively. Although four aneurysms of the 16 FMCAAs in the observation group increased in size and one aneurysm decreased in size during the observation period, no rupture was seen in any case and there were no significant predictors of aneurysm enlargement. Of 104 FMCAAs treated, 14 cases (13.5%) were aggravated than before surgery and all the aggravated cases were l-type 1. Conclusion : While ischemic symptoms occurred more frequently in l-type 1 and c-type 3, hemorrhagic rather than ischemic symptoms occurred more frequently in l-type 3 and c-type 2. In case of l-type 1 FMCAAs, more caution is required in determining the treatment due to the relatively high complication rate.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.422-431
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• 2019

Objective : In an aging society, the number of patients with symptomatic degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) is increasing and there is an emerging need for fusion surgery. However, few studies have compared transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) and lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) for the treatment of patients with DS. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical and radiological outcomes between TLIF and LLIF in DS. Methods : We enrolled patients with symptomatic DS at L4-5 who underwent TLIF with open pedicle screw fixation (TLIF group, n=41) or minimally invasive LLIF with percutaneous pedicle screw fixation (LLIF group, n=39) and were followed-up for more than one year. Clinical (visual analog scale and Oswestry disability index) and radiological outcomes (spondylolisthesis rate, segmental sagittal angle [SSA], mean disc height [MDH], intervertebral foramen height [FH], cage subsidence, and fusion rate) were assessed. And we assessed the changes in radiological parameters between the postoperative and the last follow-up periods. Results : Preoperative radiological parameters were not significantly different between the two groups. LLIF was significantly superior to TLIF in immediate postoperative radiological results, including reduction of spondylolisthesis rate (3.8% and 7.2%), increase in MDH (13.9 mm and 10.3 mm) and FH (21.9 mm and 19.4 mm), and correction of SSA ($18.9^{\circ}$ and $15.6^{\circ}$) (p<0.01), and the changes were more stable from the postoperative period to the last follow-up (p<0.01). Cage subsidence was observed significantly less in LLIF (n=6) than TLIF (n=21). Fusion rate was not different between the two groups. The clinical outcomes did not differ significantly at any time point between the two groups. Complications were not statistically significant. However, TLIF showed chronic mechanical problems with screw loosening in four patients and LLIF showed temporary symptoms associated with the surgical approach, such as psoas and ileus muscle symptoms in three and two cases, respectively. Conclusion : LLIF was more effective than TLIF for spondylolisthesis reduction, likely due to the higher profile cage and ligamentotactic effect. In addition, LLIF showed mechanical stability of the reduction level by using a cage with a larger footprint. Therefore, LLIF should be considered a surgical option before TLIF for patients with unstable DS.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.97-107
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• 2019

Objectives: Small animal maxillofacial models, such as non-segmental critical size defects (CSDs) in the rabbit mandible, need to be standardized for use as preclinical models of bone regeneration to mimic clinical conditions such as maxillofacial trauma. The objective of this study is the establishment of a mechanically competent CSD model in the rabbit mandible to allow standardized evaluation of bone regeneration therapies. Materials and Methods: Three sizes of bony defect were generated in the mandibular body of rabbit hemi-mandibles: $12mm{\times}5mm$, $12mm{\times}8mm$, and $15mm{\times}10mm$. The hemi-mandibles were tested to failure in 3-point flexure. The $12mm{\times}5mm$ defect was then chosen for the defect size created in the mandibles of 26 rabbits with or without cautery of the defect margins and bone regeneration was assessed after 6 and 12 weeks. Regenerated bone density and volume were evaluated using radiography, micro-computed tomography, and histology. Results: Flexural strength of the $12mm{\times}5mm$ defect was similar to its contralateral; whereas the $12mm{\times}8mm$ and $15mm{\times}10mm$ groups carried significantly less load than their respective contralaterals (P<0.05). This demonstrated that the $12mm{\times}5mm$ defect did not significantly compromise mandibular mechanical integrity. Significantly less (P<0.05) bone was regenerated at 6 weeks in cauterized defect margins compared to controls without cautery. After 12 weeks, the bone volume of the group with cautery increased to that of the control without cautery after 6 weeks. Conclusion: An empty defect size of $12mm{\times}5mm$ in the rabbit mandibular model maintains sufficient mechanical stability to not require additional stabilization. However, this defect size allows for bone regeneration across the defect. Cautery of the defect only delays regeneration by 6 weeks suggesting that the performance of bone graft materials in mandibular defects of this size should be considered with caution.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.5
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• pp.776-783
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• 2021

Objective : The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for distal adding on (AO) or distal junctional kyphosis (DJK) in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) treated by posterior spinal fusion (PSF) to L3 with a minimum 2-year follow-up. Methods : AIS patients undergoing PSF to L3 by two senior surgeons from 2000-2010 were analyzed. Distal AO and DJK were deemed poor radiographic results and defined as >3 cm of deviation from L3 to the center sacral vertical line (CSVL), or >10° angle at L3-4 on the posterior anterior- or lateral X-ray at ultimate follow-up. New stable vertebra (SV) and neutral vertebra (NV) scores were defined for this study. The total stability (TS) score was the sum of the SV and NV scores. Results : Ten of 76 patients (13.1%) were included in the poor radiographic outcome group. The other 66 patients were included in the good radiographic outcome group. Lower Risser grade, more SV-3 (CSVL doesn't touch the lowest instrumented vertebra [LIV]) on standing and side bending films, lesser NV and TS score, rigid L3-4 disc, more rotation and deviation of L3 were identified risk factors for AO or DJK. Age, number of fused vertebrae, curve correction, preoperative coronal/sagittal L3-4 disc angle did not differ significantly between the two groups. Multiple logistic regression results indicated that preoperative Risser grade 0, 1 (odds ratio [OR], 1.8), SV-3 at L3 in standing and side benders (OR, 2.1 and 2.8, respectively), TS score -5, -6 at L3 (OR, 4.4), rigid disc at L3-4 (OR, 3.1), LIV rotation >15° (OR, 2.9), and LIV deviation >2 cm from CSVL (OR, 2.2) were independent predictive factors. Although there was significant improvement of the of Scoliosis Research Society-22 average scores only in the good radiographic outcome group, there was no significant difference in the scores between the groups. Conclusion : The prevalence of AO or DJK at ultimate follow-up for AIS with LIV at L3 was 13.1%. To prevent AO or DJK following fusion to L3, we recommend that the CSVL touch L3 in both standing and side bending, TS score is -4 or less, the L3/4 disc is flexible, L3 is neutral (<15°) and ≤2 cm from the midline and the patient is ≥ Risser 2.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.73-82
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• 2022

The study presents a three-dimensional approach to simulate the nonlinear behavior of a 72 m long Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) pre-stressed box girder for a pedestrian bridge in Busan, South Korea. The concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model is adopted to model the non-linear behavior of the UHPFRC material, in which the material properties are obtained from uniaxial compressive and tensile tests. The simulation model based on the proposed stress-strain curve is validated by the results of four-point bending model tests of a 50 m UHPFRC pre-stressed box girder. The results from the simulation models agree with the experimental observations and predict the flexural behavior of the 50 m UHPFRC pre-stressed box girder accurately. Afterward, the validated model is utilized to investigate the flexural behavior of the 72 m UHPFRC pre-stressed box girder. Here, the load-deflection curve, stress status of the girder at various load levels, and connection details is analyzed. The load-deflection curve is also compared with design load to demonstrate the great benefit of the slender UHPFRC box girder. The obtained results demonstrate the applicability of the nonlinear finite element method as an appropriate option to analyze the flexural behavior of pre-stressed long-span girders.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2022

Objective : Oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) is a surgical technique that utilizes a large interbody cage to indirectly decompress neural elements. The position of the cage relative to the vertebral body could affect the degree of foraminal decompression. Previous studies determined the position of the cage using plain radiographs, with conflicting results regarding the influence of the position of the cage to the degree of neural foramen decompression. Because of the cage obliquity, computed tomography (CT) has better accuracy than plain radiograph for the measurement of the obliquely inserted cage. The objective of this study is to find the correlation between the position of the OLIF cage with the degree of indirect decompression of foraminal stenosis using CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods : We review imaging of 46 patients who underwent OLIF from L2-L5 for 68 levels. Segmental lordosis (SL) was measured in a plain radiograph. The positions of the cage were measured in CT. Spinal canal cross-sectional area (SCSA), and foraminal crosssectional area (FSCA) measurements using MRI were taken into consideration. Results : Patients' mean age was 69.7 years. SL increases 3.0±5.1 degrees. Significant increases in SCSA (33.3%), FCSA (43.7% on the left and 45.0% on the right foramen) were found (p<0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis shows putting the cage in the more posterior position correlated with more increase of FSCA and decreases SL correction. The position of the cage does not affect the degree of the central spinal canal decompression. Obliquity of the cage does not result in different degrees of foraminal decompression between right and left side neural foramen. Conclusion : Cage position near the posterior part of the vertebral body increases the decompression effect of the neural foramen while putting the cage in the more anterior position correlated with increases SL.