• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2013

Purpose: To evaluate the treatment outcomes of preoperative versus postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on locally advanced rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: Medical data of 114 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with CRT preoperatively (54 patients) or postoperatively (60 patients) from June 2003 to April 2011 was analyzed retrospectively. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) or a precursor of 5-FU-based concurrent CRT (median, 50.4 Gy) and total mesorectal excision were conducted for all patients. The median follow-up duration was 43 months (range, 16 to 118 months). The primary end point was disease-free survival (DFS). The secondary end points were overall survival (OS), locoregional control, toxicity, and sphincter preservation rate. Results: The 5-year DFS rate was 72.1% and 48.6% for the preoperative and postoperative CRT group, respectively (p = 0.05, the univariate analysis; p = 0.10, the multivariate analysis). The 5-year OS rate was not significantly different between the groups (76.2% vs. 69.0%, p = 0.23). The 5-year locoregional control rate was 85.2% and 84.7% for the preoperative and postoperative CRT groups (p = 0.98). The sphincter preservation rate of low-lying tumor showed significant difference between both groups (58.1% vs. 25.0%, p = 0.02). Pathologic tumor and nodal down-classification occurred after the preoperative CRT (53.7% and 77.8%, both p < 0.001). Acute and chronic toxicities were not significantly different between both groups (p=0.10 and p = 0.62, respectively). Conclusion: The results confirm that preoperative CRT can be advantageous for improving down-classification rate and the sphincter preservation rate of low-lying tumor in rectal cancer.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.6A
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• pp.789-798
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• 2008

The stiffness method provides a framework to calculate the structural deformations directly from solving the equilibrium state. However, to use the displacement shape functions leads to approximate estimation of stiffness matrix and resisting forces, and accordingly results in a low accuracy. The conventional flexibility method uses the relation between sectional forces and nodal forces in which the equilibrium is always satisfied over all sections along the element. However, the determination of the element resisting forces is not so straightforward. In this study, a new fiber finite element mixed method has been developed for nonlinear anaysis of steel-concrete composite structures in the context of a standard finite element analysis program. The proposed method applies the Newton method based on the load control and uses the incremental secant stiffness method which is computationally efficient and stable. Also, the method is employed to analyze the steel-concrete composite structures, and the analysis results are compared with those obtained by ABAQUS. The comparison shows that the proposed method consistently well predicts the nonlinear behavior of the composite structures, and gives good efficiency.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.83 no.3
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• pp.620-631
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• 2022

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of features suggestive of nodal metastasis on preoperative MRI in patients with invasive breast cancer. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the preoperative breast MRI of 192 consecutive patients with surgically proven invasive breast cancer. We analyzed MRI findings of axillary lymph nodes with regard to the size, long/short ratio, cortical thickness, shape and margin of the cortex, loss of hilum, asymmetry, signal intensity (SI) on T2-weighted images (T2WI), degree of enhancement in the early phase, and enhancement kinetics. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, chi-square test, t test, and McNemar's test were used for statistical analysis. Results Increased shorter diameter, uneven cortical shape, increased cortical thickness, loss of hilum, asymmetry, irregular cortical margin, and low SI on T2WI were significantly suggestive of metastasis. ROC analysis revealed the cutoff value for the shorter diameter and cortical thickness as 8.05 mm and 2.75 mm, respectively. Increased cortical thickness (> 2.75 mm) and uneven cortical shape showed significantly higher sensitivity than other findings in McNemar's test. Irregular cortical margins showed the highest specificity (100%). Conclusion Cortical thickness > 2.75 mm and uneven cortical shape are more sensitive parameters than other findings, and an irregular cortical margin is the most specific parameter for predicting axillary metastasis in patients with invasive breast cancer.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.243-256
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• 2024

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether 2-[¹⁸F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT) can aid in evaluating the risk of malignancy in ampullary tumors detected by endoscopy. Materials and Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study analyzed 155 patients (79 male, 76 female; mean age, 65.7 ± 12.7 years) receiving 2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT for endoscopy-detected ampullary tumors 5-87 days (median, 7 days) after the diagnostic endoscopy between June 2007 and December 2020. The final diagnosis was made based on histopathological findings. The PET imaging parameters were compared with clinical data and endoscopic features. A model to predict the risk of malignancy, based on PET, endoscopy, and clinical findings, was generated and validated using multivariable logistic regression analysis and an additional bootstrapping method. The final model was compared with standard endoscopy for the diagnosis of ampullary cancer using the DeLong test. Results: The mean tumor size was 17.1 ± 7.7 mm. Sixty-four (41.3%) tumors were benign, and 91 (58.7%) were malignant. Univariable analysis found that ampullary neoplasms with a blood-pool corrected peak standardized uptake value in earlyphase scan (SUVe) ≥ 1.7 were more likely to be malignant (odds ratio [OR], 16.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.13-36.18; P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis identified the presence of jaundice (adjusted OR [aOR], 4.89; 95% CI, 1.80-13.33; P = 0.002), malignant traits in endoscopy (aOR, 6.80; 95% CI, 2.41-19.20; P < 0.001), SUVe ≥ 1.7 in PET (aOR, 5.43; 95% CI, 2.00-14.72; P < 0.001), and PET-detected nodal disease (aOR, 5.03; 95% CI, 1.16-21.86; P = 0.041) as independent predictors of malignancy. The model combining these four factors predicted ampullary cancers better than endoscopic diagnosis alone (area under the curve [AUC] and 95% CI: 0.925 [0.874-0.956] vs. 0.815 [0.732-0.873], P < 0.001). The model demonstrated an AUC of 0.921 (95% CI, 0.816-0.967) in candidates for endoscopic papillectomy. Conclusion: Adding 2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT to endoscopy can improve the diagnosis of ampullary cancer and may help refine therapeutic decision-making, particularly when contemplating endoscopic papillectomy.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.95-109
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• 1993

In this study, the optimal configuration of arch structure has been tested by a decomposition technique. The object of this study is to provide the method of optimizing the shapes of both two hinged and fixed arches. The problem of optimal configuration of arch structures includes the interaction formulas, the working stress, and the buckling stress constraints on the assumption that arch ribs can be approximated by a finite number of straight members. On the first level, buckling loads are calculated from the relation of the stiffness matrix and the geometric stiffness matrix by using Rayleigh-Ritz method, and the number of the structural analyses can be decreased by approximating member forces through sensitivity analysis using the design space approach. The objective function is formulated as the total weight of the structures, and the constraints are derived by including the working stress, the buckling stress, and the side limit. On the second level, the nodal point coordinates of the arch structures are used as design variables and the objective function has been taken as the weight function. By treating the nodal point coordinates as design variable, the problem of optimization can be reduced to unconstrained optimal design problem which is easy to solve. Numerical comparisons with results which are obtained from numerical tests for several arch structures with various shapes and constraints show that convergence rate is very fast regardless of constraint types and configuration of arch structures. And the optimal configuration or the arch structures obtained in this study is almost the identical one from other results. The total weight could be decreased by 17.7%-91.7% when an optimal configuration is accomplished.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2008

Purpose: This study evaluates the association of estrogen receptor(ER), progesterone receptor(PR), Her-2, COX-2, and survivin with the clinicopathological features and outcomes in young Korean women with breast cancer using recently developed tissue microarray(TMA) technology. Materials and Methods: A cohort of 212 young patients with breast cancer diagnosed at the age of 45 years or younger from March 1994 to August 2005, were enrolled in this study. The age range of patients was $23{\sim}45$ years(median age, 39 years). The minimum and median follow-up periods were 24 months and 60 months, respectively. Serial sections of primary tumors were processed by the use of a TMA for immunohistochemical staining for five biomarkers. The correlation of these five biomarkers and the clinicopathological features and outcomes were analyzed by statistical methods. Results: The majority of the patients were stage T1(90 patients) or T2(101 patients), and 105 patients(49.5%) had an axillary node metastasis. The 5-year overall and relapse free survival rates for all of the patients were 90.4% and 82.3%, respectively, and 36 patients had a locoregional or distant metastasis as a first event. Positive expression of ER, PR, Her-2, COX-2, and survivin was determined in 38.2%, 45.3%, 25.9%, 41.5%, and 43.4%, of the tumor samples, respectively. Tumor stage, nodal status, age, as well as expression of ER, PR, and HER-2 status were significantly associated with the disease free survival rate. Tumor stage, nodal status, as well as expression of ER, PR, and HER-2 were significantly related with the overall survival rate. Expression of COX-2 and survivin were not single independent prognostic factors for the disease free and overall survival rate although co-expression of HER-2 and COX-2 had a tendency as a poor prognostic factor. By multivariate analysis, only T stage and lymph node status were significant prognostic factors, and ER status was a marginally significant prognostic factor(p=0.075). Conclusion: Expression of ER, PR and HER-2 were significant prognostic factors for the relapse free and overall survival rate. Expression of COX-2 and survivin were not prognostic factors for young women with breast cancer.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.115-130
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• 2013

The sectional methods of current design codes have been broadly used for the design of various kinds of reinforced concrete pile caps. Lately, the strut-tie model approach of current design codes also became one of the attracting methods for pile caps. However, since the sectional methods and the strut-tie model approach of current design codes have been established by considering the behaviors of structural concrete without D-regions and two-dimensional concrete structures with D-regions, respectively, it is inappropriate to apply the methods to the pile caps dominated by 3-dimensional structural behavior with disturbed stress regions. In this study, the refined 3-dimensional strut-tie models, which consider the strength characteristics of 3-dimensional concrete struts and nodal zones and the load-carrying capacity of concrete ties in tension regions, are proposed for the rational analysis and design of pile caps. To examine the validity of the proposed models and to verify the necessity of appropriate constituent elements for describing 3-dimensional structural behavior and load-transfer mechanism of pile caps, the ultimate strength of 78 reinforced concrete pile caps tested to failure was examined by the proposed models along with the sectional and strut-tie model methods of current design codes.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2007

Background and Objectives：The prevalence rate of laryngeal cancer, the cancer known as good prognosis in comparison to other malignancy, accounts for 1% of all malignancy in Korea(Korea Central Cancer Registry, 2002). The purpose of this study is to review the treatment experiences of our hospital and find prognostic factors in laryngeal cancer patients. Materials and Method：A retrospective study was conducted on 244 laryngeal cancer patients between January 1987 through December 2003. Age, sex, TNM stage, 5 year survival rate, prognostic factors were analyzed. Results：The overall 5 year survival rate was 57.8%. The 5 year survival rate according to primary site and treatment method showed supraglottis 49.5%, glottis 79.2%, transglottis 28.2% and surgery only 71.4%, radiotherapy only 58.1%, post operative radiotherapy 47.2%, salvage operation 52.0%. There was no statistically significant difference among the results obtained by 4 different methods of treatment. but in supraglottis, surgery only has good 5 year survival rate(75.8%) compare to radiotherapy only(38.3%), postoperative radiotherapy(20.0%), salvage operation(43.7%) and there was statistically significant difference. The 5 year survival rate according to clinical stage and T status showed 84.1%, 37.2%, in stage I & II, III & IV respectively, 72.9%, 37.5% in stage T1 & T2, T3 & T4 respectively. The 5 year survival rate according to nodal status showed N(-)77.1%, N(+)35.6%. Conclusion：Those patient with early T stage, early clinical stage, glottic cancer, negative neck node and surgery only patient in supraglottis showed good treatment results in univariate analysis. The clinical stage and primary site of laryngeal cancer were found to be significant prognostic factors in laryngeal cancer patients in multivariate analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.331-338
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• 2004

Stress transfer to the surrounding tissues is one of the factors involved in the design of dental implants. Unfortunately, insufficient data are available for stress transfer within the regenerated bone surrounding dental implants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concentration of stresses within the regenerated bone surrounding the implant using three-dimensional finite element stress analysis method. Stress magnitude and contours within the regenerated bone were calculated. The $3.75{\times}10-mm$ implant (3i, USA) was used for this study and was assumed to be 100% osseointegrated, and was placed in mandibular bone and restored with a cast gold crown. Using ANSYS software revision 6.0, a program was written to generate a model simulating a cylindrical block section of the mandible 20 mm in height and 10 mm in diameter. The present study used a fine grid model incorporating elements between 165,148 and 253,604 and nodal points between 31,616 and 48,877. This study was simulated loads of 200N at the central fossa (A), at the outside point of the central fossa with resin filling into screw hole (B), and at the buccal cusp (C), in a vertical and $30^{\circ}$ lateral loading, respectively. The results were as follows; 1. In case the regenerated bone (bone quality type IV) was surrounded by bone quality type I and II, stresses were increased from loading point A to C in vertical loading. And stresses according to the depth of regenerated bone were distributed along the implant evenly in loading point A, concentrated on the top of the cylindrical collar loading point B and C in vertical loading. And, In case the regenerated bone (bone quality type IV) was surrounded by bone quality type III, stresses were increase from loading point A to C in vertical loading. And stresses according to the depth of regenerated bone were distributed along the implant evenly in loading point A, B and C in vertical loading. 2. In case the regenerated bone (bone quality type IV) was surrounded by bone quality type I and II, stresses were decreased from loading point A to C in lateral loading. Stresses according to the depth of regenerated bone were concentrated on the top of the cylindrical collar in loading point A and B, distributed along the implant evenly in loading point C in lateral loading. And, In case the regenerated bone (bone quality type IV) was surrounded by bone quality type III, stresses were decreased from loading point A to C in lateral loading. And stresses according to the depth of regenerated bone were distributed along the implant evenly in loading point A, B and C in lateral loading. In summary, these data indicate that both bone quality surrounding the regenerated bone adjacent to implant fixture and load direction applied on the prosthesis could influence concentration of stress within the regenerated bone surrounding the cylindrical type implant fixture.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.929-934
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• 2013

Aim: To analyze the significance of different clinical factors for prognostic prediction in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. Methods: Two hundred and twenty-seven DLBCL patients were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were managed with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) regimen or rituximab plus the CHOP (RCHOP) regimen. Results: Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), ${\beta}2$-microglobulin (${\beta}2$-M), B symptoms, Ann Arbor stage and genetic subtypes were statistically relevant in predicting the prognosis of the overall survival (OS). In the CHOP group, the OS in patients with germinal center B-cell-like (GCB)(76.2%) was significantly higher than that of the non-GCB group (51.9%, P=0.032). With RCHOP management, there was no statistical difference in OS between the GCB (88.4%) and non-GCB groups (81.9%, P=0.288). Conclusion: Elevated LDH and ${\beta}2$-M levels, positive B symptoms, Ann Arbor stage III/IV, and primary nodal lymphoma indicate an unfavorable prognosis of DLBCL patients. Patients with GCB-like DLBCL have a better prognosis than those with non-GCB when treated with the CHOP regimen. The RCHOP treatment with the addition of rituximab can improve the prognosis of patients with DLBCL.