• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.387-390
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• 2007

Objective : To determine the presentation, incidence, and risk factors of seizures in patients treated for brain tumors. Methods : One hundred patients who consecutively underwent a craniotomy for the treatment of supratentorial brain tumors were assessed. The pathologies of the patients enrolled in the study included glioma [n=56], meningioma [n=31], metastatic brain tumor [n=7], primary central nervous system lymphoma [n=4], and central neurocytoma [n=2]. Anti-epileptic drugs [AEDs] were administered to all patients for up to six months after the surgery. Pre-defined variables for outcome analysis included tumor grade and location, extent of tumor resection, number of seizures, age at tumor diagnosis, adjuvant therapy, medication and radiological abnormalities. Results : Thirty patients [30%] presented at least a single episode of seizure at the time of admission. Five of these patients [16.7%] developed the seizure during the follow-up period. Newly developed seizure was noticed in six out of seventy patients [8.6%] without prior seizure. Histopathology was malignant gliomas in 10 and supratentorial meningioma in one. Early seizure developed only in two patients. Conclusion : Compared with patients without seizure, patients with seizure at the time of admission showed younger age [p=0.003], a higher portion of low-grade glioma [p=0.001], tumor location in the frontal and temporal lobes [p=0.003] and cortical involvement [p=0.017]. Our study suggestes that tumor progression is considered a significant risk factor for seizure development in glioma patients.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.355-364
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• 2011

Objectives: Though sulfur dioxide (SO2) is used widely at workplaces, itseffects on humans are not known. Thresholds are reportedwithout reference to gender or age and occupational exposure limits are basedon effects on lung functioning, although localized effects in the upper airways can be expected. This study's aim is to determine thresholds with respect to age and gender and suggests a new approach to risk assessment using breathing reflexes presumably triggered by trigeminal receptors in the upper airways. Methods: Odor thresholds were determined by the ascending method of limits in groups stratified by age and gender. Subjects rated intensities of different olfactory and trigeminal perceptions at different concentrations of $SO_2$. During the presentation of the concentrations, breathing movements were measured by respiratory inductive plethysmography. Results: Neither age nor gender effects were observed for odor threshold. Only ratings of nasal irritation were influenced bygender. A benchmark dose analysis on relative respiratory depth revealed a 10%-deviation from baseline at about 25.27 mg/$m^3$. Conclusion: The proposed new approach to risk assessment appearsto be sustainable. We discuss whether a 10%-deviation of breathingdepth is relevant.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.69
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• pp.407-426
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• 2016

The Marine Insurance Act 1906 (MIA 1906) has been a successful piece of legislation, having rarely been amended and having established, or served as an influence in the development of, the basis of marine insurance legislation in several countries. However, it has been recognised that some parts of the MIA 1906 have begun to show their antiquated nature, especially where established principles which were once thought to reflect undoubted propositions of law are now being openly criticised. Since 2006, the Law Commission and Scottish Law Commission (the 'Law Commissions') have been engaged in a major review of insurance contract law, finally leading to the Insurance Act 2015. The Insurance Act 2015 received Royal Assent on 12 February 2015, and was based primarily on the joint recommendations of the Law Commissions. The 2015 Act made substantial changes to several main areas of marine insurance law & practice: (i) the replacement of the pre-contractual duty of disclosure with a duty to make a "fair presentation of the risk"; (ii) the abolition of the "insurance warranty" under the Marine Insurance Act 1906, s.33, and provision of a new default remedy of suspension of liability until the breach is cured; (iii) partial codification of the fraudulent claims rule in insurance contract law, etc. The Act did not provide for any new statutory duty for insurers to investigate or pay claims in a timely fashion, although this may be revisited in the next Parliament. Moreover, the Law Commissions have reopened their consideration of the doctrine of insurable interest. The 2015Actmay not then signal the end of the legislative programme in this area.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1105-1109
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• 2012

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women in India and the disease burden is increasing annually. The lack of awareness initiatives, structured screening, and affordable treatment facilities continue to result in poor survival. We present a breast cancer survival scenario, in urban population in India, where standardised care is distributed equitably and free of charge through an employees' healthcare scheme. We studied 99 patients who were treated at our hospital during the period 2005 to 2010 and our follow-up rates were 95.95%. Patients received evidence-based standardised care in line with the tertiary cancer centre in Mumbai. One-, three- and five-year survival rates were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method. Socio-demographic, reproductive and tumor factors, relevant to survival, were analysed. Mortality hazard ratios (HR) were calculated using Cox proportional hazard method. Survival in this series was compared to that in registries across India and discrepancies were discussed. Patients mean age was 56 years, mean tumor size was 3.2 cms, 85% of the tumors belonged to T1 and T2 stages, and 45% of the patients belonged to the composite stages I and IIA. Overall 5-year survival was 74.9%. Patients who presented with large-sized tumors (HR 3.06; 95% CI 0.4-9.0), higher composite stage (HR 1.91; 0.55-6.58) and undergone mastectomy (HR 2.94; 0.63-13.62) had a higher risk of mortality than women who had higher levels of education (HR 0.25; 0.05-1.16), although none of these results reached the significant statistical level. We observed 25% better survival compared to other Indian populations. Our results are comparable to those from the European Union and North America, owing to early presentation, equitable access to standardised free healthcare and complete follow-up ensured under the scheme. This emphasises that equitable and affordable delivery of standardised healthcare can translate into early presentation and better survival in India.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6067-6072
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• 2012

Background: Breast cancer in developing countries is on the rise. There are currently no guidelines to screen women at risk in India. Since mammography in the western world is a well-accepted screening tool to prevent late presentation of breast cancer and improve mortality, it is intuitive to adopt mammography as a screening tool of choice. However, it is expensive and fraught with logistical issues in developing countries like India. Materials and Methods: Our breast cancer screening camp was done at a local district hospital in India after approval from the director and administrators. After initial training of local health care workers, a one-day camp was held. Clinical breast examination, mammograms, as well as diagnostic evaluation with ultrasound and fine needle aspiration biopsy were utilized. Results: Out of total 68 women screened only 2 women with previous history of breast cancer were diagnosed with breast cancer recurrence. None of the women in other groups were diagnosed with breast cancer despite suspicious lesions either on clinical exam, mammogram or ultrasound. Most suspicious lesions were fibroadenomas. The average cost of screening women who underwent mammography, ultrasound and fine needle aspiration was $30 dollars, whereas it was $16 in women who had simple clinical breast examination. Conclusions: Local camps act as catalysts for women to seek medical attention or discuss with local health care workers concerns of discovering new lumps or developing breast symptoms. Our camp did diagnose recurrence of breast cancer in two previously treated breast cancer patients, who were promptly referred to a regional cancer hospital. Further studies are needed in countries like India to identify the best screening tool to decrease the presentation of breast cancer in advanced stages and to reduce mortality.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.3-10
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• 2003

Soil and groundwater contamination by petroleum hydrocarbon products is only one of many environmental problems in Korea. However, many environmental consulting companies have been targeted their business on this subject because the petroleum-oil-lubricant (POL) products have been widely used product and accidental releases of the products from storages resulted numerous small and large contaminated sites throughout Korea. Therefore, many small and large companies are actively participating in environmental assessment and remediation projects for the POL contaminated sites. Remedial technologies for the POL contaminated sites have been developed for many years by government and private institutions throughout the world. Development of a new decontamination technology for the POL contaminated sites is no longer attractive issue in research community because scientific bases of most cost-effective remedial technologies are well understood and have been used in the field by commercial sector. Numerous sites contaminated by underground tanks at gas stations have been remediated by relatively small companies in this country. We should appreciate their noticeable contributions as a frontier under very difficult market environment in Korea. We heard many successful stories as well as a few failure stories. Soil-groundwater remediation of POL contaminated site is not a simple task as shown in the text books or protocols. Therefore, failure risk is always with us, which requires continuous efforts for improvement of the technologies by the users and developers. In this presentation, author will discuss technical problems encountered and improvement made during implementation of several remedial technologies applied by Samsung Environmental Team. This is not a presentation about research or case study. We want to share our thought and experience with environmental engineers actively engaged in soil and groundwater remediation projects in Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1007-1010
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• 2015

Background: The clinical significance of bilateral breast cancer is unclear and its influence on prognosis is controversial. Materials and Methods: Between 2005 and 2009 we identified 110 cases of bilateral breast cancer (BBC) ; 49 patients had synchronous (duration between the occurrence of carcinoma in both breasts was less than 12 months) and 61 had metachronous (duration was more than one year with no ipsilateral local recurrence). We compared the patient characteristics including age, menopausal status, clinical stage, tumor size, histological classification, lymph node status, and hormone receptor and Her-2 status. We also compared the treatment given and overall and disease free survival (DFS) of both groups. Results: Synchronous cases tend to present more aggressively than metachronous cases and age at first presentation adversely affects survival. The 5 year overall survival was 78.7% for metachronous and 60% for synchronous. Patients with positive hormonal status had better five year disease free survival in metachronous compared to synchronous cases, at 76% and 63%, respectively. Age at first presentation >45years had better DFS (65%) compared to those with age ${\leq}45$ years (52%) at 5 years follow up. Conclusions: Patients with synchronous breast cancer may have worse prognosis. Young age and hormone receptor negative were risk factors in our study. Close follow up and early detection of contralateral breast cancer is mandatory.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10791-10795
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• 2015

Background: Phyllodes tumors of the breast are rare fibroepithelial lesions, so relatively little is known about this disease entity. The present study was designed to identify differences in clinical features between benign borderline and malignant phyllodes tumors. Materials and Methods: Data from 246 women with phyllodes tumors of the breast treated in Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between 2002 and 2012 were collected and analyzed, including age at presentation, age at treatment, course, size of primary tumor, location, histological type, type of surgery and treatment, local recurrence, distant metastasis, fibroadenoma history, disease-free survival and number of mitosis per 10hpf. There are 125 (55%) benign, 55 (24%) borderline and 47 (21%) malignant tumors. Results: In univariate analysis, average age at presentation, average age at treatment, size of primary tumor, ulceration or not, type of primary surgery, distant metastasis and number of mitosis per 10 hpf turned out to be statistically different among the three PT types (p=0.014, 0.018, <0.000, 0.003, <0.000, 0.001 and <0.000, respectively), while recurrence and disease-free survival (DFS) demonstrated trends for statistical significance (P =0.055 and 0.060, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed distant metastasis and excision were significantly different in benign, borderline and malignant phyllodes tumors of the breast (p=0.041 and 0.018, OR=0.061 and 0.051). At the same time, size of primary tumor with p=0.052 tended to be different between groups (OR=1.127). However, age at treatment, ulceration and DFS showed no statistically significant variation (p=0.400, 0.286 and 0.413, respectively). Conclusions: Benign borderline and malignant phyllode tumors have different distant metastasis risk, different primary tumor size and different surgical procedures, and malignant PTs are more likely to be bigger and to metastasize.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.70-70
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• 2011

The prospects of current and coming solar-photovoltaic (PV) technologies are envisioned, arguing this solar-electricity source is beyond a tipping point in the complex worldwide energy outlook. Truly, a revolution in both the technological advancements of solar PV and the deployment of this energy technology is underway; PV is no longer an outlier. The birth of modern photovoltaics (PV) traces only to the mid-1950s, with the Bell Telephone Laboratories' development of an efficient, single-crystal Si solar cell. Since then, Si has dominated the technology and the markets, from space through terrestrial applications. Recently, some significant shift toward technology diversity have taken place. Some focus of this presentation will be directed toward PV R&D and technology advances, with indications of the limitations and relative strengths of crystalline (Si and GaAs) and thin-film (a-Si:H, Si, Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2, CdTe). Recent advances, contributions, industry growth, and technological pathways for transformational now and near-term technologies (Si and primarily thin films) and status and forecasts for next-generation PV (nanotechnologies and non-conventional and "new-physics" approaches) are evaluated. The need for R&D accelerating the now and imminent (evolutionary) technologies balanced with work in mid-term (disruptive) approaches is highlighted. Moreover, technology progress and ownership for next generation solar PV mandates a balanced investment in research on longer-term (the revolution needs revolutionary approaches to sustain itself) technologies (quantum dots, multi-multijunctions, intermediate-band concepts, nanotubes, bio-inspired, thermophotonics, ${\ldots}$ and solar hydrogen) having high-risk, but extremely high performance and cost returns for our next generations of energy consumers. This presentation provides insights to the reasons for PV technology emergence, how these technologies have to be developed (an appreciation of the history of solar PV)-and where we can expect to be by this mid-21st century.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.192-197
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• 2006

Objective : Eleven patients treated with posterior cerebral artery[PCA] aneurysm during 6.3-years period are retrospectively reviewed to determine treatment outcome. Methods : Eleven patients with PCA aneurysm were treated from January 1998 to May 2004. Their medical records and radiologic studies were reviewed retrospectively. The records of these patients were analysed with particular reference to their demographic details, mode of presentation, and treatment outcome. Results : Of the 11 patients, 8 patients presented with symptoms related aneurysmal bleeding. Three patients had unruptured PCA aneurysms. Open or endovascular surgery was performed in 9 patients; None of these patients exhibited a third nerve palsy, visual field deficit, or hemiparesis at the time of presentation. Postoperatively, 2 made a good recovery, 2 had a moderate disability because of cerebral infarction after surgery, and 5 had a severe disability because of cerebral infarction after surgery. Of 2 conservatively treated patients, 1 was doing well but the other died as a result of brain swelling. Conclusion : The treatment of the PCA aneurysms is difficult regardless of the aneurysmal size, site, and treatment modality. All reasonable treatment to reduce the risk of associated morbidity should be considered.