• Title/Summary/Keyword: Feasibility assessment

Search Result 646, Processing Time 0.024 seconds

Continuous-infusion Ifosfamide and Doxorubicin Combination as Second-Line Chemotherapy for Recurrent or Refractory Osteosarcoma Patients in China: a Retrospective Study

  • Huang, Yu-Jing;He, Ai-Na;Sun, Yuan-Jue;Shen, Zan;Min, Da-Liu;Yao, Yang
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
    • /
    • v.16 no.6
    • /
    • pp.2391-2395
    • /
    • 2015
  • Objective: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of response to continuous-infusion ifosfamide and doxorubicin combination as second-line chemotherapy for patients with recurrent or refractory osteosarcoma. Materials and Methods: Eighteen recurrent or refractory osteosarcoma patients who were treated with continuous-infusion ifosfamide and doxorubicin combination between May 1999 and April 2011 were included in the analysis. Ifosfamide at $12g/m^2$ was administered by intravenous continuous infusion over 3 days, and doxorubicin $60mg/m^2$ was administered as an intravenous bolus injection on day 1. The combination therapy was repeated every 3 weeks. Treatment was continued until evidence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Results: The patients (ages 7-53 years) received a total of 42 cycles of chemotherapy (median: 2 courses; range: 2-5 courses). The overall response rate was 0% and the disease control rate was 22.3%, with four patients having stable disease. The median time to progression and overall survival time were 2 months (range: 2-5 months) and 9 months (range: 3-29 months), respectively. Major severe toxicities were leucopenia 7 (38.9%), nausea and vomiting 3 (16.7%) and alopecia 9 (50%). There were no treatment-related deaths. Conclusions: In our experience, continuous-infusion ifosfamide and doxorubicin combination therapy at this dosage and schedule was found to be well tolerated and moderate effective, which could be considered as salvage therapy for patients with recurrent or refractory osteosarcoma. Further assessment is necessary to confirm the safety and efficacy of this treatment.

Engineering-scale Validation Test for the T-H-M Behaviors of a HLW Disposal System (고준위폐기물 처분시스템의 열적-수리적-역학적 거동 규명을 위한 공학적 규모의 실증시험)

  • Lee Jae-Owan;Park Jeong-Hwa;Cho Won-Jin
    • Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
    • /
    • v.4 no.2
    • /
    • pp.197-207
    • /
    • 2006
  • The engineering performance of a high level waste repository is significantly dependent upon the T-H-M behavior in the engineered barrier system. An engineering-scale test facility (KENTEX) was set up to validate the T-H-M behaviors in the buffer of a reference disposal system developed in the 2002. The validation tests started on May 31, 2005 and is now in progress. The KENTEX facility and validation test programme are introduced, and pre-operation calculations are also presented to give information on the sensitive location of sensors and operational conditions. This test will provide information (e.g., large-scale apparatus, sensors, monitoring system etc.) needed for 'in-situ' tests, make the validation of a T-H-M model for the T-H-M performance assessment of the reference disposal system, and demonstrate the engineering feasibility of fabricating and emplacing the buffer of a repository.

  • PDF

Assessment of Scale Effects on Dynamics of Water Quality and Quantity for Sustainable Paddy Field Agriculture

  • Kim, Min-Young;Kim, Min-Kyeong;Lee, Sang-Bong;Jeon, Jong-Gil
    • Environmental Engineering Research
    • /
    • v.15 no.2
    • /
    • pp.123-126
    • /
    • 2010
  • Modeling non-point pollution across multiple scales has become an important environmental issue. As a more representative and practical approach in quantifying and qualifying surface water, a modular neural network (MNN) was implemented in this study. Two different site-scales ($1.5\;{\times}\;10^5$ and $1.62\;{\times}\;10^6\;m^2$) with the same plants, soils, and paddy field management practices, were selected. Hydrologic data (rainfall, irrigation and surface discharge) and water quality data (time-series nutrient loadings) were continuously monitored and then used for the verification of MNN performance. Correlation coefficients (R) for the results predicted from the networks versus measured values were within the range of 0.41 to 0.95. The small block could be extrapolated to the large field for the rainfall-surface drainage process. Nutrient prediction produced less favorable results due to the complex phenomena of nutrients in the drainage water. However, the feasibility of using MNN to generate improved prediction accuracy was demonstrated if more hydrologic and environmental data are provided. The study findings confirmed the estimation accuracy of the upscaling from a small-segment block to large-scale paddy field, thereby contributing to the establishment of water quality management for sustainable agriculture.

The assessment of the contribution of overland flow to basin response by means of hydrological approach (수문학적 접근법에 의한 유역응답내 지표면유동의 기여도 평가)

  • Kim Joo-Cheol;Yoon Yeo-Jin;Kim Jae-Han
    • Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
    • /
    • v.39 no.7 s.168
    • /
    • pp.553-562
    • /
    • 2006
  • The relative contributions of overland-flow and stream-flow to the response process at the basin scale are evaluated in the present study. The moments of GIUH models were applied to the data of the Bocheong watershed in the Geum river basin in Korea in order to discuss the feasibility. The GIUH model derived in this study consists of the stream path and overland region. The characteristic velocities for the flows between two cases mentioned above make a clear distinction as expected and would have more physical meaning than the ones of the model by Rodriguez-Iturbe and Valdes(1979). The path lengths of overland for each stream order are nearly constant, whereas the case of stream is shown to grow larger according to the basin sizes. As a result, the overall basin response process was founded out to be greatly under the influence of the hydrodynamic behavior of overland, and its behavior is suggested to be further researched for catching the broader meanings.

Assessment of Preemption Signal Control Strategy for Emergency Vehicles in Korea (국내 긴급차량 우선신호(preemption) 제어 적용성 평가에 관한 연구)

  • Yang, Lyun-Ho;Lee, Sang-Soo;Oh, Young-Tae
    • Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
    • /
    • v.26 no.5
    • /
    • pp.63-72
    • /
    • 2008
  • Signalized intersections are operated without a signal preemption control strategy in Korea, thus there is no priority treatment for an emergency vehicle passing through the intersections. In this paper, a signal preemption control strategy is introduced to improve the safety and operational efficiency of an emergency vehicle. Using the micro simulation tool, the effects on delay and travel speed of the signal preemption control strategy are analyzed for various traffic conditions to identify the general performance trends. Then, another simulation analysis is performed to verify the feasibility of the control strategy using real network data collected from field study. Results show that the preemption control strategy provides the positive impact on emergency vehicles' operation, but the positive impact is reduced as the v/c ratios increase. As expected, the average delays of the normal vehicles are slightly increased, but the magnitude is not significant. Therefore, it is expected that the introduction of the preemption control strategy in Korea would produce the positive social benefits.

Assessment of the Structural Safety for Light-Weight Steel Twin Car-Ferry for Coastal Voyage (연안 항해용 스틸 쌍동 차도선의 경량화 모델 및 구조안전성 평가)

  • Kim, Jae-hyeong;Lee, Sang-eui;Park, Joo-Shin;Lee, Gyeong-Woo;Seo, Kwang-Cheol
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
    • /
    • v.26 no.4
    • /
    • pp.403-411
    • /
    • 2020
  • This paper discusses the main findings of the development of the twin-hull Car ferry for island freight and passenger transport. The final model had a 19 m wide beam to create enough space for cars on the deck area and thus, enhance the economic feasibility in the market. The vessel had a V-shape with a bulbous bow to minimize the wave-making resistance and the hydrodynamic performance of the ship was verified through computational fluid dynamics. Multi-objective optimization problems of Pareto simulated annealing were used to achieve a weight reduction of approximately 3.9 % and reduce the manufacturing cost. The main results obtained in this study are expected to be useful to engineers and professionals in related industries interested in research on twin catamaran.

Durability Characteristics and Environmental Assessment of Controlled tow-Strength Materials Using Bottom Ash (Bottom Ash를 재활용한 저강도 고유동 재료의 내구성 및 환경영향 평가)

  • 원종필;이용수;이존자
    • Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
    • /
    • v.14 no.2
    • /
    • pp.223-230
    • /
    • 2002
  • The main intent of this research was to determine the feasibility of utilizing recycling bottom ash as CLSM (controlled low-strength material). CLSM is a cementitious material, commonly a blend of portland cement, fly ash, sand, and water, that is usually flowable and self-leveling at the time of placement. The durability characteristics of mixtures made bottom ash we compared with those of fly ash CLSM in order to evaluate the effectiveness and suitability of bottom ash as material in CLSM. A comprehensive evaluation of the bottom ash in CLSM and mix proportions indicated that the bottom ash are capable of performing as CLSM mixtures. The durability characteristic of CLSM incorporating the bottom ash under various physical and chemical causes of deterioration were investigated. Test results indicated that CLSM using bottom ash has acceptable durability performance. CLSM incorporating with bottom ash were also found to be environmentally safe.

Development of Long Term Flow Duration Curves for the Management of Total Maximum Daily Loads - in the Nakdong River Basin - (수질오염총량관리 단위유역 장기유황곡선 구축 -낙동강수계를 대상으로-)

  • Kim, Gyeong hoon;Kwon, Heon gak;Ahn, Jung min;Kim, Sanghun;Im, Tae hyo;Shin, Dong seok;Jung, Kang-Young
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
    • /
    • v.26 no.8
    • /
    • pp.939-953
    • /
    • 2017
  • For the development of flow duration curves for the management of 41 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) units of the Nakdong River basin, first, an equation for estimating daily flow rates as well as the level of correlation (correlation and determination coefficients) was extrapolated through regression analysis of discrete (Ministry of Environment) and continuous (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation) measurement data. The equation derived from the analysis was used to estimate daily flow rates in order to develop flow duration curves for each TMDL unit. By using the equation, the annual flow duration curves and flow curves, for the entire period and for each TMDL unit of the basin, were developed to be demonstrated in this research. Standard flow rates (abundant-, ordinary-, low- and drought flows) for major flow duration periods were calculated based on the annual flow duration curves. Then, the flow rates, based on percentile ranks of exceedance probabilities (5, 25, 50, 75, and 95%), were calculated according to the flow duration curves for the entire period and are suggested in this research. These results can be used for feasibility assessment of the set values of primary and secondary standard flow rates for each river system, which are derived from complicated models. In addition, they will also be useful for the process of implementing TMDL management, including evaluation of the target level of water purity based on load duration curves.

Transition from Conventional to Reduced-Port Laparoscopic Gastrectomy to Treat Gastric Carcinoma: a Single Surgeon's Experience from a Small-Volume Center

  • Kim, Ho Goon;Kim, Dong Yi;Jeong, Oh
    • Journal of Gastric Cancer
    • /
    • v.18 no.2
    • /
    • pp.172-181
    • /
    • 2018
  • Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the surgical outcomes and investigate the feasibility of reduced-port laparoscopic gastrectomy using learning curve analysis in a small-volume center. Materials and Methods: We reviewed 269 patients who underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG) for gastric carcinoma between 2012 and 2017. Among them, 159 patients underwent reduced-port laparoscopic gastrectomy. The cumulative sum technique was used for quantitative assessment of the learning curve. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the baseline characteristics of patients who underwent conventional and reduced-port LDG, and the operative time did not significantly differ between the groups. However, the amount of intraoperative bleeding was significantly lower in the reduced-port laparoscopic gastrectomy group (56.3 vs. 48.2 mL; P<0.001). There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of the first flatus time or length of hospital stay. Neither the incidence nor the severity of the complications significantly differed between the groups. The slope of the cumulative sum curve indicates the trend of learning performance. After 33 operations, the slope gently stabilized, which was regarded as the breakpoint of the learning curve. Conclusions: The surgical outcomes of reduced-port laparoscopic gastrectomy were comparable to those of conventional laparoscopic gastrectomy, suggesting that transition from conventional to reduced-port laparoscopic gastrectomy is feasible and safe, with a relatively short learning curve, in a small-volume center.

Assessment of environmental effects in scour monitoring of a cable-stayed bridge simply based on pier vibration measurements

  • Wu, Wen-Hwa;Chen, Chien-Chou;Shi, Wei-Sheng;Huang, Chun-Ming
    • Smart Structures and Systems
    • /
    • v.20 no.2
    • /
    • pp.231-246
    • /
    • 2017
  • A recent work by the authors has demonstrated the feasibility of scour evaluation for Kao-Ping-Hsi Cable-Stayed Bridge simply based on ambient vibration measurements. To further attain the goal of scour monitoring, a key challenge comes from the interference of several environmental factors that may also significantly alter the pier frequencies without the change of scour depth. Consequently, this study attempts to investigate the variation in certain modal frequencies of this bridge induced by several environmental factors. Four sets of pier vibration measurements were taken either during the season of plum rains, under regular summer days without rain, or in a period of typhoon. These signals are analyzed with the stochastic subspace identification and empirical mode decomposition techniques. The variations of the identified modal frequencies are then compared with those of the corresponding traffic load, air temperature, and water level. Comparison of the analyzed results elucidates that both the traffic load and the environmental temperature are negatively correlated with the bridge frequencies. However, the traffic load is clearly a more dominant factor to alternate the identified bridge deck frequency than the environmental temperature. The pier modes are also influenced by the passing traffic on the bridge deck, even though with a weaker correlation. In addition, the variation of air temperature follows a similar tendency as that of the passing traffic, but its effect on changing the bridge frequencies is obviously not as significant. As for the effect from the alternation of water level, it is observed that the frequency baselines of the pier modes may positively correlate with the water level during the seasons of plum rains and typhoon.