• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.763-769
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• 2009

Background: In the majority of cases, sternal instability and wound infection concomitantly present after a cardiac operation following conventional median sternotomy, and these complications have a major influence on the postoperative course. The aim of this study is to compare the results of the different sternal wiring techniques of sternal infection. Material and Method: Between April 2004 and December 2008, 157 adult patients underwent cardiac in group A, whereas 71 patients who had undergone modified Robicsek sternal wiring were included in group B. The incidences of sternal wound complications in the two groups were assessed. Result: The mean age of the group B patients was older than that of the group A patients ($61{\pm}10$ years vs $57{\pm}13$ years). The incidence of preoperative left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction <30%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal failure requiring dialysis and diabetes mellitus were significantly higher in Group B, whereas the other perioperative risk factors for infection were not significantly different between the two groups. Two patients in group A experienced superficial wound infection, whereas 4 patients in group B displayed superficial wound infection, but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.255). Yet poststernotomy deep sternal wound infection appeared in 6 patients of group A, whereas none of the patients in group B displayed this malady. Conclusion: The modified Robicsek sternal wiring technique showed greater sternal stability even for the patient with a high risk for infection, and the technique caused a lower incidence of deep sternal wound infection.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 2002

Purpose : Oligodendrogliomas (ODG) are a rare, slow growing, tumor in the brain, which can be cured by complete surgical resection, but as yet it is not known if postoperative adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) is essential, We analyzed the treatment results of patients with irradiated ODG to investigate the efficacy of RT in terms of survival rates and other influencing prognostic factors. Methods and Materials : Between March 1983 and December 1997, 42 patients with ODG were treated with RT at our hospital. The RT was peformed dally at a dose of $1.8\~2.0\;Gy$, at 5 fractions per week, to a total dose of between 39.6 Gy and 64.8 Gy (mean 53.3 Gy). The ages of the patients ranged between 5 and 62 years, with a median age of 39 years. The mean follow-up period was 63.4 months (8-152 months). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess the survival, and 5 year survival rates (5-YSR). Log rank tests and Cox regression analyses were used to define the significance of prognostic factors. Results : The majority of ODG in this study were located in the cerebral hemisphere $(83.3\%)$. ODG are slightly more common in men than women, and commonly occurs in middle age, between the 3rd and 4th decades. It has been recommended that RT is commenced within 4 weeks following surgery (5-YSR; $86\%\;vs.\;49\%;\;p<0.03$). Histologically well differentiated, as opposed to poorly differentiated, tumors were found to have a more favorable prognosis (p<0.02). The actuarial 5-YSR was $65.3\%$ (median survival 90 months). 5-YSR for the various extents of surgical excision, followed by external RT, was superior to that of biopsy only followed by external RT $(69.9\%\;vs.\;25.6\%,\;p<0.01)$. Tumor size and location, overall elapsed irradiation days, age, sex, whole brain irradiation as a course of treatment and chemotherapy, had no influence on the 5-YSR (p>0.05). Conclusion : A local involved field irradiation with conventional fractionation, commencing within 4 weeks following surgical excision of the tumor, was beneficial for the 5-YSR, but a total radiation dose exceeding 60 Gy did not improve the 5-YSR.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 1998

Purpose : This study is to evaluate the efficacy of small bowel displacement system(SBDS) in post-operative pelvic radiation therapy(RT) of rectal cancer patients by measurement of small bowel volume included in the radiation fields receiving therapeutic dose. Materials and Method : Ten consecutive new rectal cancer patients referred to the department of Radiation Oncology of Samsung Medical Center in May of 1997 were included in this study. All patients were asked to drink $Castrographin^(R)$ before simulation and were laid prone for conventional simulation and CT scans with and without SBDS. The volume of opacified small bowel on CT scans, which was to be included in the radiation fields receiving therapeutic dose, was measured using Picture archiving and communication system (PACS). Results : The average small bowel volumes with and without SBDS were 176.0ml(5.2-415.6ml) and 185.1ml(54.5-434.2ml), respectively The changes of small bowel volume with SBDS compared to those without SBDS were more than $10\%$ decrease in three, less than 10% decrease in two, less than $10\%$ increase in three, and more than $10\%$ increase in two patients. Conclusion : No significant advantage of using SBDS in post-operative pelvic RT for rectal cancer patients has been shown by small bowel volume measurement using CT scan considering additional effort and time needed for simulation and treatment setup.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 1995

Purpose : The aim of this study is to analyze the survival rate, treatment failure and complication of radiation therapy alone in stage III uterine cervical cancer. Materials and Methods : From January 1980 through December 1985, 227 patients with stage III uterine cervical cancer treated with radiation therapy at Kosin Medical Center were retrospectively studied. Among 227 patients, 72 patients($317{\%}$) were stage IIIa, and 155 patients($68.3{\%}$) were stage IIIb according to FIGO classification. Age distribution was 32-71 years (median: 62 years). Sixty nine patients($95.8{\%}$) in stage IIIa and 150 patient ($96.8{\%}$) in stage IIIb were squamous cell carcinoma. pelvic lymph node metastasis at initial diagnosis was 8 patients($11.1{\%}$) in stage IIIa and 29 patients($18.7{\%}$) in stage IIIb, Among 72 patients with stage IIIa, 36 patients ($50{\%}$) were treated with external radiation therapy alone by conventional technique (180-200 cGy/fr.) and 36 patients($50{\%}$) were treated with external radiation therapy with intracavitary radiotherapy(ICR) with $Cs^{137}$ sources, and among 155 patients with stage IIIb, 80 patients ($51.6{\%}$) were treated with external radiation therapy alone and 75 patients ($48.4{\%}$) were treated with external radiation therapy with ICR. Total radiation doses of stage IIIa and IIIb were 65-105 Gy(median: 78.5 Gy) and 65-125.5 Gy (median 83.5 Gy). Survival rate was calculated by life-table method. Results : Complete response rates were $58.3{\%}$(42 patients) in stage IIIa and $56.1{\%}$(87 patients) in stage IIIb. Overall 5 year survival rates were $57{\%}$ in stage IIIa and $40{\%}$ in stage IIIb. Five year survival rates by radiation technique in stage IIIa and IIIb were $64{\%},\;40{\%}$ in the group treated in combination of external radiation and ICR, and $50\%,\;40\%$ in the group of external radiation therapy alone(P=NS). Five year survival rates by response of radiation therapy in stage IIIa and IIIb were $90\%,\;66\%$ in responder group and $10\%,\;7\%$ in non-responder group (P<0.001) There were statistically no significant differences of 5 year survival rate by total radiation doses and external radiation doses(40 Gy vs 50 Gy) of whole or true pelvis in stage IIIa and IIIb(P=NS). Treatment failures rates were $40.3\%$(29 patients) in stage IIla and $57.4\%$(89 patients) in stage IIIb. 17 patients ($23.6\%$) in stage IIIa and 46 patients ($29.7\%$) in stage IIIb experienced complications. Total radiation doses more than 85 Gy produced serious complication in both stage IIIa($50\%$) and IIIb($50\%$). Serious complication rates were higher in group received external radiation doses of 50 Gy than 40 Gy to whole or true pelvis in stage IIIa and IIIb. Serious rectal complication developed in rectal doses more than 65 Gy, and serious bladder complication developed in bladder doses more than 75 Gy. Major cause of death was cachexia due to locoregional failure in both stage IIIa($34.7\%$) and IIIb($43.9\%$). Conclusion : From this study, we found that external radiation therapy with ICR was found to have a tendency to be superior to external radiation therapy alone in survival rate, local control rate and complication rate but not different in statistics, and external radiation doses of 50 Gy than 40 Gy to whole or true pelvis produced serious rectal and bladder complications in stage III uterine cervical cancer.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.64-71
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• 2007

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of rapid detection of Down syndrome and Edward syndrome by Interphase Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) analysis. Methods : Aretrospective study in 309 cases of amniotic fluid samples, analysed by interphase FISH with DNA probes specific to chromosome 18 and 21, was performed. All FISH results w ere compared with conventional cytogenetic karyotypings. Results : The results were considered as informative and they were obtained within 48 hrs. A case of Down syndrome and a case of Edward syndrome were diagnosed by FISH and confirmed by subsequent cytogenetic analysis. In 12 cases with normal FISH results, the cytogenetic analysis showed a case of partial trisomy 22, three cases of sex chromosomal aneuploidy, two cases of mosaicism, two cases of microdeletion, and four cases of structural rearrangement. Conclusion : FISH is a rapid and effective diagnostic method, which can be used as an adjunctive test to cytogenetic analysis, for prenatal identification of chromosome aneuploidies. For the more genome-wide screening with variety of probes, the technique of FISH is both expensive and labor-intensive.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.171-182
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• 2009

Conventionally, many pig producers have utilized a continual sow managements system that the matings, farrowings and weanings are done weekly basis. But this transitional method is not able to cut the cycle of diseases and fully apply all-in/all-out system because of the continuous flow of sows and pigs. Conventional weekly management system is currently limiting in small farm to work efficiently both for workers and pigs. Therefore, pig producers have found novel management methods for applying all-in/all-out system, improving pig health, leading to better growth, lowering mortality and reducing medication costs nowadays. Moreover, all-in/all-out pig management system has known as a strategy for improving productivity in swine farm. The batch system is one of the best management methods to adopt all-in/all-out pig management system that prevent spreading diseases in pig and remove cycle of diseases. Batch farrowing system is a concept for providing a group of sows that delivery within a specific farrowing interval and inducing a large enough scale of piglets to fill the weaner facilities. There are different types of batch farrowing system with batch size and interval of farrowing when several factors at the swine farm are considered such as total number of sows, available facilities in the farm, and the efficiency of workforce. Sow managements such as farrowing, weaning and breeding, every 3 weeks rather than weekly, 2 or 5-week interval have advantages for workers and reproductive cycle of sows as well as pig flow. Because there are several pros and cons both in weekly and batch management system, various factors should be considered to apply the most suitable management system in each individual farm. To improve poor swine productivity in Korea compared to ED, batch system for sows will be an alternative choice which is able to prevent high incidence of diseases in swine farm such as PMWS, PRRS, PRDC and PED because all-in/all-out pig management can be also applied automatically by using this management system.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.410-418
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• 2010

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major pathogens that can cause staphylococcal infection and food poisoning. In this study, we compared conventional culture methods and real-time PCR for detection of S. aureus in artificially inoculated milk, sausage, raw pork, and vegetable salad. The performance of a coagulase test for confirming S. aureus was also compared with a colony PCR test. Bulk food samples (500 g each) were artificially inoculated with S. aureus and divided into 20 samples (25 g or mL each). All samples were added to tryptic soy broth (225 mL/sample) with 10% NaCl and incubated at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 h. After the enrichment, broth cultures were streaked onto Baird-Parker (BP) agar with egg yolk tellulite, and incubated at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 h. In addition, 1 mL of broth cultures was collected to perform real-time PCR. Two suspicious colonies from the BP agar were picked up and plated on nutrient agar and incubated at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 h followed, by a coagulase confirmation test and a colony PCR analysis. There were no statistical differences between culture methods and realtime PCR in food samples with low background microflora, such as milk and sausage. However, a significant statistical difference was found between the culture methods and real-time PCR for raw pork and vegetable salad. Furthermore, the colony PCR test of the presumptive colonies on BP agar for confirming S. aureus is more accurate and efficient than the coagulase test for unprocessed foods.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.125-139
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• 2013

Big data refers to the data that cannot be processes with conventional contemporary data technologies. As smart devices and social network services produces vast amount of data, big data attracts much attention from researchers. There are strong demands form governments and industries for bib data as it can create new values by drawing business insights from data. Since various new technologies to process big data introduced, academic communities also show much interest to the big data domain. A notable advance related to the big data technology has been in various fields. Big data technology makes it possible to access, collect, and save individual's personal data. These technologies enable the analysis of huge amounts of data with lower cost and less time, which is impossible to achieve with traditional methods. It even detects personal information that people do not want to open. Therefore, people using information technology such as the Internet or online services have some level of privacy concerns, and such feelings can hinder continued use of information systems. For example, SNS offers various benefits, but users are sometimes highly exposed to privacy intrusions because they write too much personal information on it. Even though users post their personal information on the Internet by themselves, the data sometimes is not under control of the users. Once the private data is posed on the Internet, it can be transferred to anywhere by a few clicks, and can be abused to create fake identity. In this way, privacy intrusion happens. This study aims to investigate how perceived personal information overload in SNS affects user's risk perception and information privacy concerns. Also, it examines the relationship between the concerns and user resistance behavior. A survey approach and structural equation modeling method are employed for data collection and analysis. This study contributes meaningful insights for academic researchers and policy makers who are planning to develop guidelines for privacy protection. The study shows that information overload on the social network services can bring the significant increase of users' perceived level of privacy risks. In turn, the perceived privacy risks leads to the increased level of privacy concerns. IF privacy concerns increase, it can affect users to from a negative or resistant attitude toward system use. The resistance attitude may lead users to discontinue the use of social network services. Furthermore, information overload is mediated by perceived risks to affect privacy concerns rather than has direct influence on perceived risk. It implies that resistance to the system use can be diminished by reducing perceived risks of users. Given that users' resistant behavior become salient when they have high privacy concerns, the measures to alleviate users' privacy concerns should be conceived. This study makes academic contribution of integrating traditional information overload theory and user resistance theory to investigate perceived privacy concerns in current IS contexts. There is little big data research which examined the technology with empirical and behavioral approach, as the research topic has just emerged. It also makes practical contributions. Information overload connects to the increased level of perceived privacy risks, and discontinued use of the information system. To keep users from departing the system, organizations should develop a system in which private data is controlled and managed with ease. This study suggests that actions to lower the level of perceived risks and privacy concerns should be taken for information systems continuance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.1-2
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• 2011

Hybrid rockets have lately attracted attention as a strong candidate of small, low cost, safe and reliable launch vehicles. A significant topic is that the first commercially sponsored space ship, SpaceShipOne vehicle chose a hybrid rocket. The main factors for the choice were safety of operation, system cost, quick turnaround, and thrust termination. In Japan, five universities including Hokkaido University and three private companies organized "Hybrid Rocket Research Group" from 1998 to 2002. Their main purpose was to downsize the cost and scale of rocket experiments. In 2002, UNISEC (University Space Engineering Consortium) and HASTIC (Hokkaido Aerospace Science and Technology Incubation Center) took over the educational and R&D rocket activities respectively and the research group dissolved. In 2008, JAXA/ISAS and eleven universities formed "Hybrid Rocket Research Working Group" as a subcommittee of the Steering Committee for Space Engineering in ISAS. Their goal is to demonstrate technical feasibility of lowcost and high frequency launches of nano/micro satellites into sun-synchronous orbits. Hybrid rockets use a combination of solid and liquid propellants. Usually the fuel is in a solid phase. A serious problem of hybrid rockets is the low regression rate of the solid fuel. In single port hybrids the low regression rate below 1 mm/s causes large L/D exceeding a hundred and small fuel loading ratio falling below 0.3. Multi-port hybrids are a typical solution to solve this problem. However, this solution is not the mainstream in Japan. Another approach is to use high regression rate fuels. For example, a fuel regression rate of 4 mm/s decreases L/D to around 10 and increases the loading ratio to around 0.75. Liquefying fuels such as paraffins are strong candidates for high regression fuels and subject of active research in Japan too. Nakagawa et al. in Tokai University employed EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) to modify viscosity of paraffin based fuels and investigated the effect of viscosity on regression rates. Wada et al. in Akita University employed LTP (Low melting ThermoPlastic) as another candidate of liquefying fuels and demonstrated high regression rates comparable to paraffin fuels. Hori et al. in JAXA/ISAS employed glycidylazide-poly(ethylene glycol) (GAP-PEG) copolymers as high regression rate fuels and modified the combustion characteristics by changing the PEG mixing ratio. Regression rate improvement by changing internal ballistics is another stream of research. The author proposed a new fuel configuration named "CAMUI" in 1998. CAMUI comes from an abbreviation of "cascaded multistage impinging-jet" meaning the distinctive flow field. A CAMUI type fuel grain consists of several cylindrical fuel blocks with two ports in axial direction. The port alignment shifts 90 degrees with each other to make jets out of ports impinge on the upstream end face of the downstream fuel block, resulting in intense heat transfer to the fuel. Yuasa et al. in Tokyo Metropolitan University employed swirling injection method and improved regression rates more than three times higher. However, regression rate distribution along the axis is not uniform due to the decay of the swirl strength. Aso et al. in Kyushu University employed multi-swirl injection to solve this problem. Combinations of swirling injection and paraffin based fuel have been tried and some results show very high regression rates exceeding ten times of conventional one. High fuel regression rates by new fuel, new internal ballistics, or combination of them require faster fuel-oxidizer mixing to maintain combustion efficiency. Nakagawa et al. succeeded to improve combustion efficiency of a paraffin-based fuel from 77% to 96% by a baffle plate. Another effective approach some researchers are trying is to use an aft-chamber to increase residence time. Better understanding of the new flow fields is necessary to reveal basic mechanisms of regression enhancement. Yuasa et al. visualized the combustion field in a swirling injection type motor. Nakagawa et al. observed boundary layer combustion of wax-based fuels. To understand detailed flow structures in swirling flow type hybrids, Sawada et al. (Tohoku Univ.), Teramoto et al. (Univ. of Tokyo), Shimada et al. (ISAS), and Tsuboi et al. (Kyushu Inst. Tech.) are trying to simulate the flow field numerically. Main challenges are turbulent reaction, stiffness due to low Mach number flow, fuel regression model, and other non-steady phenomena. Oshima et al. in Hokkaido University simulated CAMUI type flow fields and discussed correspondence relation between regression distribution of a burning surface and the vortex structure over the surface.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.380-385
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• 2006

To establish law-put fertilization technique and increase of fertilization efficiency during cultivation of vinyl mulching for plant, the improvement of soil properties, nutrition efficiency and yields by band spotty fertilization(BSF) using band spotty applicator was carried out at garlic(Alltuiti sativum L.) field in Honam Agricultural Research Institute from 2001 to 2002 for 2 years. The value of pH and the content of total nitrogen, organic matter, exchangeable potassium and calcium of soil after experiment were increased but the content of available phosphate was decreased than soil before experiment. Uptake amounts of nitrogen fertilized by plants were more than in BSF plots($89{\sim}111kg\;ha^{-1}$) compared to in CF(conventional fertilization) Plot ($76kg\;ha^{-1}$) and nitrogen use efficiency were high in BSF plots(42.9~58.2%) compared to in CF plot(34.9%). Also Uptake amounts of potassium fertilized by plants were more than in BSF plots($34{\sim}58kg\;ha^{-1}$) compared to in CF plot($33kg\;ha^{-1}$) and potassium use efficiency were high in BSF plots(21.6~41.2%) compared to in CF plot(19.4%). Residual amount of nitrogen fertilized on soil were more than in BSF plots($38{\sim}54kg\;ha^{-1}$) compared to in CF plot($22kg\;ha^{-1}$) while loss amount of nitrogen fertilized on soil were less than in BSF plots($32{\sim}53kg\;ha^{-1}$) compared to in CF plot($120kg\;ha^{-1}$). Also Residual amount of potassium fertilized on soil were more than in 100% BSF plot($109kg\;ha^{-1}$) compared to in CF plot($72kg\;ha^{-1}$) while loss amount of nitrogen fertilized on soil were less than in BSF plots($14{\sim}38kg\;ha^{-1}$) compared to in CF plot($113kg\;ha^{-1}$). The BSF plots were increased plant height, leaf number, leaf sheath diameter, bulb diameter and height compared to CF plot. The total yields of garlic were more increased 14~19% because of high large bulb rate, commercial yields in 70, 100% BSF plots compared to in CF plot($102.9Mg\;ha^{-1}$). It was found that 70% band spotty fertilization was more effective as fertilization method to reduce both environmental pollution and chemical nitrogen fertilizer in plastic film mulching cultivation.