• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.30-36
• /
• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the feasibility of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) on baseline 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) as a predictive factor for prognosis in early stage primary lung cancer treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Materials and Methods: Twenty-seven T1-3N0M0 primary lung cancer patients treated with curative SBRT between 2010 and 2018 were retrospectively evaluated. Four patients (14.8%) treated with SBRT to address residual tumor after wedge resection and one patient (3.7%) with local recurrence after resection were included. The SUVmax at baseline PET/CT was assessed to determine its relationship with prognosis after SBRT. Patients were divided into two groups based on maximum SUVmax on pre-treatment FDG PET/CT, estimated by receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: The median follow-up period was 17.7 months (range, 2.3 to 60.0 months). The actuarial 2-year local control, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival were 80.4%, 66.0%, and 78.2%, respectively. With regard to failure patterns, 5 patients exhibited local failure (in-field failure, 18.5%), 1 (3.7%) experienced regional nodal relapse, and other 2 (7.4%) developed distant failure. SUVmax was significantly correlated with progression (p = 0.08, optimal cut-off point SUVmax > 5.1). PFS was significantly influenced by pretreatment SUVmax (SUVmax > 5.1 vs. SUVmax ≤ 5.1; p = 0.012) and T stage (T1 vs. T2-3; p = 0.012). Conclusion: SUVmax at pre-treatment FDG PET/CT demonstrated a predictive value for PFS after SBRT for lung cancer.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.107-115
• /
• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with smoking relapse within six months after quit attempts among workers in small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea. Methods: The analysis was conducted for a total of 194 people who attempted to quit smoking by applying for a smoking cessation support service at the Regional Tobacco Control Center. The data used in the study were extracted from the Smoking Cessation Service Integrated Information System. Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to identify variables associated with smoking relapse within six months' time period. Results: Smoking relapse rate within six months was 66.0%, and variables associated with relapse included the cases such as carbon monoxide (CO) at the time of registration (HR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.10~4.22 for CO ≥20 ppm or more vs.CO <10 ppm), the average number of cigarettes smoked per day (HR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00~1.07), and the number of counseling(HR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.54~0.67). Conclusion: Smoking characteristics and counseling showed one of the strongest correlations with relapse within six months. This implies that it is necessary to understand the smoking characteristics and patterns of workers and to provide continuous smoking cessation counseling tailored to individual characteristics for effective smoking relapse prevention.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.41 no.5
• /
• pp.447-458
• /
• 2020

This study presents the K-means clustering analysis-based classification of the meteorological patterns affecting the occurrence of high PM₁₀ concentration in the southeastern region of the Korean peninsula for the last five years (2014-2018). Regional differences in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam related to high PM₁₀ episodes, were clarified through the statistical comparison study using synoptic scale meteorological elements using NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction/FNL (Final Operational Global Analysis) re-analysis meteorological data. Meteorological patterns were classified into a total of five categories (C1-C5). The incidence of each cluster was 24.8% (C1), 21.3% (C2), 20.4% (C3), 17.3% (C4), and 16.2% (C5), respectively. The high PM₁₀ concentration in the southeastern region resulted from long and short range transports (C1, C3, C5) from outside of the region, and the emissions (C2, C4) inside the region. In the high PM₁₀ episodes in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions, meteorological characteristics such as different geopotential height and wind speed at 500 hPa in each cluster and the change in the location of high pressure over Korean Peninsula is strongly associated with the dispersion of PM₁₀ around inventories in the region and the tendency of long-range transportation of PM₁₀ emitted from outside of region.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.37 no.6_1
• /
• pp.1647-1656
• /
• 2021

In order to reduce the spread of infection due to COVID-19, South Korea has established a four-step social distancing standard and implemented it by changing the steps based on the rate of confirmed cases. The implementation of social distancing brought about a change in the amount of activity of citizens by limiting social contact such as movement and gathering of people. One of the data that can intuitively confirm this is Night Time Light (NTL). NTL is a variable that can measure the size of the national economy measured using lights captured by satellites, and can be used to understand people's social activities during the night. The NTL visible data is obtained via the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day-Night Band (DNB) onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite. 1023 of Suomi data from 1 January 2019 until 26 October 2021 were collected to generate time series of NTL radiance change over Seoul to analyze the correlation with social distancing policy. The results show that implementing the level of social distancing generally decreased the NTL radiance both in spatial disparities and temporal patterns. The higher level of policy, limiting human activities combined with the low number of people who have been vaccinated and the closure of various facilities. Because of social distancing, the differences in human activities affected the nighttime light during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in Seoul, South Korea. Therefore, this study can be used as a reference for the government in evaluating and improving policies related to efforts reducing the transmission of COVID-19.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.57-65
• /
• 2015

We measured the concentrations of five aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, and styrene) in the atmosphere during four seasonal campaigns at Deokjeok and Jeju Islands in the Yellow Sea from October 2005 to June 2006. Toluene was the most abundant aromatic hydrocarbon, with median of 0.24 ppb at Deokjeok and 0.20 ppb at Jeju, followed by benzene (0.21 ppb, 0.15 ppb) and m,p-xylene (0.06 ppb, 0.06 ppb). Aromatic hydrocarbon measurements exhibited the typical seasonality of the major emission sources, such as vehicle exhaust, solvent evaporation, and regional circulation patterns. The ratios of m,p-xylene/ethylbenzene of 1.57 at Deokjeok and 1.05 at Jeju reflected the degree of proximity to outflows of each source region, South Korea and China. The toluene/benzene ratios of 1.0 were consistently both on field observations and on the 3-D chemical model simulation, which is slightly higher than that in the Western Pacific area. It implied that the air over the Yellow Sea was influenced to a great extent by the surrounding areas. We confirmed that current emission inventories of aromatic hydrocarbons in Northeast Asia reasonably reproduced temporal and spatial variations of toluene and benzene over the Yellow Sea.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.253-260
• /
• 2003

Purpose: No general consensus has been reached regarding the necessity of postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) and the optimal techniques of its application for patients with chest wall invasion (pT3cw) and node negative (NO) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We retrospectively analyzed the PT3cwN0 NSCLC patients who received PORT because of presumed inadequate resection margin on surgical findings. Materials and Methods: From Aug. 1994 till June 2000, 21 pT3cwN0 NSCLC patients received PORT at Samsung Medical Center; all of whom underwent curative on-bloc resection of the primary tumor plus the chest wall and regional lymph node dissection. PORT was typically stalled 3 to 4 weeks after operation using 6 or 10 MV X-rays from a linear accelerator. The radiation target volume was confined to the tumor bed plus the immediate adjacent tissue, and no regional lymphatics were included. The planned radiation dose was 54 Gy by conventional fractionation schedule. The survival rates were calculated and the failure patterns analyzed. Results: Overall survival, disease-free survival, loco-regional recurrence-free survival, and distant metastases-free survival rates at 5 years were 38.8$\%$, 45.5$\%$, 90.2$\%$, and 48.1$\%$, respectively. Eleven patients experienced treatment failure: six with distant metastases, three with intra-thoracic failures, and two with combined distant and intra-thoracic failures. Among the five patients with intra-thoracic failures, two had pleural seeding, two had in-field local failures, and only one had regional lymphatic failure in the mediastinum. No patients suffered from acute and late radiation side effects of RTOG grade 3 or higher. Conclusion: The strategy of adding PORT to surgery to improve the probability, not only of local control but also of survival, was justified, considering that local control was the most important component in the successful treatment of pT3cw NSCLC patients, especially when the resection margin was not adequate. The incidence and the severity of the acute and late side effects of PORT were markedly reduced, which contributed to improving the patients' qualify of life both during and after PORT, without increasing the risk of regional failures by eliminating the regional lymphatics from the radiation target volume.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.258-275
• /
• 2000

The purpose of this study is to investigate diurnal variations of snowstorm occurred along the East Coast of the Korean Peninsula. The snowstorm which occurred on 5${\sim}$7 January 1997 have been analyzed. The pressure patterns were analyzed through surface and upper-air chart(850hPa). Diurnal variations of four areas, i. e. Youngdong, Mt. Taebaek, Youngseo and Kyungbuk regions were analyzed through wind direction and speed, cloud amounts, surface temperature, dewpoint temperature, relative humidity and sea level pressure. And snowfall amounts over four areas were analyzed through regional distribution, daily and temporal variations. The snowfall which occurred on January 5 was caused by the weak low pressure which is located in Kyusu region of Japan. The snowfall of January 6 occurred due to the Siberian high's expansion and instability. And northeasterly wind is one factor of the snowstorm which occurred in Mt. Taebaek region on 7 January. Heavy snowfall was caused by westerly wind but easterly wind occurred weak snowfall in Youngdong area. The precipitation of Kyungbuk region(eapecially, Pohang) was less than that of Youngdong region because the air mass which was not modified had influence on Kyungbuk region on 6${\sim}$7 January, 1997.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.121-131
• /
• 2007

Despite the close linkage in changes between the ecological and hydrological processes in forest ecosystems, an integrative approach has not been incorporated successfully. In this study, based on the vegetation and hydrologic data of the Gwangneung headwater catchment with the Geographic Information System, we attempted such an integrated approach by employing the Regional Hydro-Ecologic Simulation System (RHESSys). To accomplish this, we have (1) constructed the input data for RHESSys, (2) developed an integrated calibration system that enables to consider both ecological and hydrological processes simultaneously, and (3) performed sensitivity analysis to estimate the optimum parameters. Our sensitivity analyses on six soil parameters that affect streamflow patterns and peak flow show that the decay parameter of horizontal saturated hydraulic conductivity $(s_1)$ and porosity decay by depth (PD) had the highest sensitivity. The optimization of these two parameters to estimate the optimum streamflow variation resulted in a prediction accuracy of 0.75 in terms of Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSec). These results provide an important basis for future evaluation and mapping of the watershed-scale soil moisture and evapotranspiration in forest ecosystems of Korea.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.17 no.3 s.83
• /
• pp.305-311
• /
• 2007

Glucocorticoids (GCs) alter metabolism, synaptogenesis, apoptosis, neurogenesis, and dendritic morphology in the hippocampus. To better understand how glucocorticoids regulate these aspects of hippocampal biology, we studied gene expression patterns in the CA3 (Hippocampal pyramidal cell field CA3) and dentate gyrus (DG). Litter-matched Lewis inbred rats treated for 20 days with either 9.5 mg per day sustained-release corticosterone or placebo pellets were compared with high-density oligonucleotide microarray analysis (Rat Neurobiology U34 Arrays, Affymetrix). In placebo-treated rats, 32 genes were expressed at greater levels in CA3 than DG, whereas 3 genes were expressed at great levels in DC than CA3. Regional differences were also apparent in corticosterone-induced changes in the hippocampal transcriptome. Six genes in CA3 and 41 genes in DC were differentially regulated by corticosterone. As per the glucocorticoid effects on gene transcription in the brain, forty three of these genes were upregulated, and 4 genes were downregulated. Genes differentially expressed in hippocampus included those for 13 neurotransmitter proteins, 5 ion channel related proteins, 4 transcription factors, 3 neurotrophic factors, 1 cytokine, 1 apoptosis related protein, and 5 genes involved in synaptogenesis. Interestingly, GCs can have suppressive effects on brain BDNF mRNA transcription, one of the neurotrophic factors. These results indicate the diversity of targets affected by chronic exposure to corticosterone and highlight important regional differences in hippocampal neurobiology.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.1-17
• /
• 2023

Korea's natural parks are managed by dividing them into four use districts: nature preservation district, natural environment district, cultural heritage district, and park village district within the park under the goal of 'conservation and sustainable use of natural parks'. However, the use districts divided in this way are designated by reflecting the results derived from the simple drawing overlapping method, and there is a limit in that objective and scientific evidence for this is insufficient. In addition, in Taeanhaean National Park, the case of this study, only a very small area of less than 1% of the nature preservation district is designated, and the natural environment district that serves as a buffer space is designated on an excessively wide scale, making it difficult to efficiently manage the national park. Therefore, the use district is not fulfilling its role. In this study, the purpose of this study was to present a method for analyzing the spatial characteristics of natural parks using environmental indicators and unsupervised learning analysis methods to set the use districts of natural parks. In this study, evaluation indicators that can evaluate the natural and human environments were derived, and the distribution patterns for each indicator were analyzed. Afterwards, by applying Self-Organizing Map (SOM) analysis, one of the unsupervised learning analysis methods, districts with similar characteristics were derived in Taeanhaean National Park, and the characteristics of each district were analyzed. As a result of the study, 7 districts with different characteristics were derived in Taeanhaean National Park, and by examining the contribution of each indicator together, it was possible to reveal that each district had different representative characteristics even though it was an adjacent area. This study evaluated natural parks by comprehensively considering the indicators of the natural and human environments. In addition, the SOM method used in the study is meaningful in that it can provide scientific and objective grounds for the existing zoning and apply it to the management plan.