• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.723-730
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• 2021

This study tries to compare dose distribution between arc radiation therapy and Tomotherapy, which are main radiation therapy modalities. The subjects of this study are lung cancer patients. For planning target volume (PTV), a dose of 60.0 Gy was set as a basis. The PTVmean of Arc was 61.04 Gy, and that of Tomotherapy was 58.50 Gy. The total lung capacities of Arc and Tomotherapy were 3.0 Gy and 4.24 Gy, respectively. The mean heart doses of Arc and Tomotherapy were 0.13 and 0.34, respectively; the mean trachea dose of Arc and Tomotherapy were 1.35 and 2.58, respectively; the mean esophagus dose of Arc and Tomotherapy were 0.41 and 0.86, respectively; the mean spinal cord dose of Arc and Tomotherapy were 3.65 and 4.68, respectively. With regard to the appropriateness of therapeutic effect in DHV, both modalities seemed appropriate. Tomotherapy protected normal tissues better than Arc radiation therapy. In Tomotherapy, patients need to have treatment long in a limited space. If such a point is overcome, Tomotherapy is better. Otherwise, Arc radiation therapy can be applied. This study was conducted with treatment planning images. Therefore, the results of this study are different from actual treatment results. If more research is conducted to overcome the limitation, the effects of radiation therapy are expected to increase further.

• Journal of Breast Cancer
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.425-432
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• 2018

Purpose: Pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) is rare, and its cause and prognosis are not well known. Additionally, treatment is limited with respect to the risk to the fetus. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics and treatment trends of PABC and the survival rate according to the treatment. Methods: In the Korean Breast Cancer Society Registry database, women younger than 50 years and who were diagnosed with breast cancer from 1996 to 2015 were included. PABC was defined as breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy or within 1 year after delivery. Results: We examined 411 patients with PABC and 83,381 patients with non-PABC. Over time, the proportions of patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery and sentinel lymph node biopsy increased, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy administration rates also increased. In the past, the overall survival of patients with PABC was poorer than that of patients with non-PABC, but there was no difference in overall survival rates in more recent years. There was no difference in overall survival rates between patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR], 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66-2.49; p=0.459), but PABC conferred poorer prognosis than non-PABC in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy (HR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.27-2.08; p<0.001). Conclusion: There was no difference in the prognosis between patients with PABC and those with non-PABC receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The increase in neoadjuvant chemotherapy according to current treatment guidelines is expected to improve the survival rate of patients with PABC.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.283-290
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to suggest a quantitative supplementary index for patients with suspected Raynaud phenomenon. The subjects were 99 patients with suspected Raynaud phenomenon, 48 patients with low likelihood, 16 patients with middle range and 35 patients with high range. The test was instilled in ice water at $15.2{\pm}0.8^{\circ}C$ for 10 minutes of both hands and then venous injected of 99m-Tc 370 Mbq(10 mCi). After 5, 10 and 20 minutes, temperature changes of both fingers were measured. As a result, the temperature of the fingers was $32.6{\pm}4.9^{\circ}C$ in patients with a low diagnostic probability of Raynaud syndromes and $22.7{\pm}6.0^{\circ}C$ for those with a high diagnostic probability(p<0.05). In conclusion, we could confirm the difference of Raynaud phenomenon and finger temperature, and confirmed the possibility of secondary diagnosis as a quantitative index of Raynaud's diagnosis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.164-170
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• 2019

The absorption and release capacities, survival efficiency, and recovery rates of five kinds of transport media were evaluated based on the swab elution method (Quantitative) of CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute) M40-A2. Liquid media showed mostly better results than semi-solid media in the three evaluations. The flocked swabs had better ability to absorption and discharge bacteria than the standard swabs. The liquid medium (S4) had the best survival efficiency. Pneumococcal strains with poor growth had a higher survival efficiency and recovery rate in liquid media (S4, S5). The results of microbial recovery showed that S. pyogenes met all the CLSI standards in all media. S. pneumoniae was inadequate in the semi- solid media (S2, S3) and all the remaining media met the criteria. H. influenzae was unsuitable in semi-solid media (S1, S3) and met the criteria in semi-solid medium (S2) and liquid medium (S4, S5). The viability of the H. influenzae, pneumococcal strain causing respiratory disease, was poor in most media. Overgrowth of P. aeruginosa was observed at room temperature. The combination of liquid medium and flocked swab confirmed the best results in the three evaluation methods.

• Journal of the Korean neurological association
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.294-301
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• 2018

Background: Neuroimaging can play a crucial role in discovering potential abnormalities to cause secondary headache. There has been a progress in the fields of headache diagnosis and neuroimaging in the past two decades. We sought to investigate neuroimaging findings according to headache disorders, age, sex, and imaging modalities in first-visit headache patients. Methods: We used data of consecutive first-visit headache patients from 9 university and 2 general referral hospitals. The International Classification of Headache Disorders, third edition, beta version was used in headache diagnosis. We finally enrolled 1,080 patients undertook neuroimaging in this study. Results: Among 1,080 patients (mean age: $47.7{\pm}14.3$, female: 60.8%), proportions of headache diagnosis were as follows: primary headaches, n=926 (85.7%); secondary headaches, n=110 (10.2%); and cranial neuropathies and other headaches, n=43 (4.1%). Of them, 591 patients (54.7%) received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Neuroimaging abnormalities were found in 232 patients (21.5%), and their proportions were higher in older age groups and male sex. Chronic cerebral ischemia was the most common finding (n=88, 8.1%), whereas 76 patients (7.0%) were found to have clinically significant abnormalities such as primary brain tumor, cancer metastasis, and headache-relevant cerebrovascular disease. Patients underwent MRI were four times more likely to have neuroimaging abnormalities than those underwent computed tomography (33.3% vs. 7.2%, p<0.001). Conclusions: In this study, the findings of neuroimaging differed according to headache disorders, age, sex, and imaging modalities. MRI can be a preferable neuroimaging modality to identify potential causes of headache.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.50-57
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• 2021

Objectives Clozapine is the most effective atypical antipsychotic agent for the treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), however, only 40%-70% of TRS patients respond to clozapine. Moreover, TRS encompasses various symptom dimensions. Therefore, augmentation with other medications for clozapine is frequently applied. However, the prescription pattern of clozapine and combined medications in Korea is yet to be examined. This study aims to investigate the maintenance treatment pattern of clozapine and augmentation agents in one Korean tertiary hospital. Methods The patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders under clozapine maintenance, defined as one-year clozapine continuation, were subjected for analysis. Medication data at one-year time-point after clozapine initiation was extracted and analyzed. Results Among total 2897 patients having clozapine prescription experience from January 2000 to December 2018, 1011 patients were on clozapine maintenance. The mean age of clozapine initiation was 30.2 ± 11.3 years, and the maintenance dose of clozapine was 217.8 ± 124.3 mg/day. Combination rate of antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants were 43.5%, 25.3%, 38.6%, respectively. Most frequently prescribed drugs in each category were aripiprazole, valproate, and sertraline. Olanzapine equivalent dose of combined antipsychotics was 10.4 ± 7.7 mg/day. Male patients were prescribed higher dose of combined antipsychotics and higher rate of antidepressants. Female patients had later onset of clozapine prescription. Patients with two or more combined antipsychotics were prescribed higher dose of clozapine and higher rate of antidepressants compared to patients with one combined antipsychotic. Conclusions Taken together, among the patients taking clozapine, a substantial rate of patients were under polypharmacy. The present findings based on the real-world prescription pattern could provide the valuable clinical information on the treatment of TRS-related conditions.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.271-281
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• 2021

Objective : Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are approved for treating non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, the safety and efficacy of combined ICI and Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKS) treatment remain undefined. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed patients treated with ICIs with or without GKS at our institute to manage patients with brain metastases from NSCLC. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients with brain metastases from NSCLC treated with ICIs between January 2015 and December 2017. Of 134 patients, 77 were assessable for brain responses and categorized into three groups as follows : group A, ICI alone (n=26); group B, ICI with concurrent GKS within 14 days (n=24); and group C, ICI with non-concurrent GKS (n=27). Results : The median follow-up duration after brain metastasis diagnosis was 19.1 months (range, 1-77). At the last follow-up, 53 patients (68.8%) died, 20 were alive, and four were lost to follow-up. The estimated median overall survival (OS) of all patients from the date of brain metastasis diagnosis was 20.0 months (95% confidence interval, 12.5-27.7) (10.0, 22.5, and 42.1 months in groups A, B, and C, respectively). The OS was shorter in group A than in group C (p=0.001). The intracranial disease progression-free survival (p=0.569), local progression-free survival (p=0.457), and complication rates did not significantly differ among the groups. Twelve patients showed leptomeningeal seeding (LMS) during follow-up. The 1-year LMS-free rate in treated with ICI alone group (69.1%) was significantly lower than that in treated with GKS before ICI treatment or within 14 days group (93.2%) (p=0.004). Conclusion : GKS with ICI showed no favorable OS outcome in treating brain metastasis from NSCLC. However, GKS with ICI did not increase the risk of complications. Furthermore, compared with ICI alone, GKS with ICI may be associated with a reduced incidence of LMS. Further understanding of the mechanism, which remains unknown, may help improve the quality of life of patients with brain metastasis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.105-121
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• 2021

To investigate and accommodate opinions on the revision of the official occupational title of the medical technologist, the Korean Association of Medical Technologists (KAMT) requested 22,638 people registered as its regular members to participate in an online survey and select their two preferred options from the alternative job titles presented. Survey responses were collected from 3,999 people (17.66%). To examine job title preferences among the KAMT members, each respondent was asked to choose two terms from the choice set. As a result, 6,958 responses were obtained, and out of the total responses, 5,555 (79.83%) indicated a choice for a job title that included the word 'analyst' as the preferred alternative. The survey results showed that "Diagnostic Laboratory Analyst" was the most preferred alternative selected by the largest proportion of respondents (2,417 responses, 34.73%), followed by "Clinical Laboratory Analyst" (1,710 responses, 24.57%), "Biomedical Pathology Technologist" (758 responses, 10.89%), "Biomedical Analyst" (730 responses, 10.49%), "Biomedical Laboratory Analyst" (730 responses, 10.03%), and "Clinical Laboratory Scientist" (646 responses, 9.26%). Therefore, based on the responses of the surveyed members, results of consultation and literature review, the Standard Classification of Occupations (SCO), and the current status of the job titles used in major countries, it is suggested that the occupational title of medical technologists should be changed by adopting "Diagnostic Laboratory Analyst", "Biomedical Laboratory Analyst", or "Biomedical Analyst" as their new official job title.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.1049-1057
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• 2020

This study aimed to develop a flow measurement method using drone in flood season. Measuring flow in all branches is difficult to conduct annually due to budget and labor limitation, safety and river works. Especially when heavy rain like storm comes, changes in stage-discharge relationship should be reviewed; however, it is usually impeded by the aforementioned issues. To solve the problem, it developed a simple measuring method with a minimum of labor and time. A numeric map and numeric orthophoto coordinate of South Korea are mostly based on Transverse Mercator Projection (TM) in accordance with rectangular coordinate system and use World Geodetic Reference System 1980 (GRS80) oval figure for conversion. Applying a concept of aerial photogrammetry, it located four visible Ground Control Points (GCP) near the river at Uijeongbu-si (Singok Bridge) and Yeongdong-gun (Youngdong 2nd Bridge) station and measured the coordinates using VRS DGPS. Hovering at a same level, drones took orthophoto of water surface at an interval of 3 seconds. It defined the pictures with GRS80 TM coordinate system, a rectangular coordinate system and then conducted an orthometric correction using GCP coordinates. According to X and Y coordinate analysis, it estimated the distance between the floating positions at 3 seconds-intervals and calculated the flow through the flow area according to the flow path. This study attested applicability of the flow measurement method using drone in flood season by applying the rectangular coordinate system based on the concept of aerial photogrammetry.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.257-268
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• 2021

As the variety and scale of facilities increase due to industrialization and urbanization, blind spots for facility safety management have occurred, resulting in numerous casualties.To meet safety and security needs of citizens living in smart cities, we present a procedure for establishing an integrated platform for facility safety management by combining 5G and digital twin technologies. It can be used to perform inspection according to risk factors and aging of facilities. In this paper, the current status of facility management and application directions of new 5G digital twin-based smart city technologies are reviewed and digital twin implementation procedures are presented. Five cities were selected as target areas: Osan, Gwangmyeong, Guri, Uijeongbu, and Anyang. Old and emergency facilities of each local government were selected. A total of 33 digital twin facilities reflecting policy directions of each city were selected. Focusing on facilities determined by each city, the purpose of this study was to define information technology infrastructure elements for the application of the 5G digital twin facility safety management integrated platform, define categories of implementation services, and suggest a concrete integrated platform configuration plan.