• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2018

Discontinuities considerably affect the mechanical and hydraulic properties of rock mass. These properties of the rock mass are influenced by the geometry of the discontinuities to a great extent. This paper aims to render an account of the geometrical parameters of several discontinuity sets related to the surrounding rock mass of Rudbar Lorestan Pumped Storage Power Plant powerhouse cavern making use of the linear and areal (circular and rectangular) sampling methods. Taking into consideration quite a large quantity of scanline and the window samplings used in this research, it was realized that the areal sampling methods are more time consuming and cost-effective than the linear methods. Having corrected the biases of the geometrical properties of the discontinuities, density (areal and volumetric) as well as the linear, areal and volumetric intensity accompanied by the other properties related to four sets of discontinuities were computed. There is an acceptable difference among the mean trace lengths measured using two linear and areal methods for the two joint sets. A 3D discrete fracture network generation code (3DFAM) has been developed to model the fracture network based on the mapped data. The code has been validated on the basis of numerous geometrical characteristics computed by use of the linear, areal sampling methods and volumetric method. Results of the linear sampling method have significant variations. So, the areal and volumetric methods are more efficient than the linear method and they are more appropriate for validation of 3D DFN (Discrete Fracture Network) codes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2903-2908
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• 2015

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the eighth most common cancer as estimated from worldwide data. The incidence of HNC in Peninsular Malaysia was reported as 8.5 per 100,000 population. This study was aimed to determine the treatment outcomes for HNC patients treated in the Oncology Unit of University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). Materials and Methods: All newly diagnosed patients with squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (HNSCC) referred for treatment to the Oncology Unit at UMMC from 2003-2010 were retrospectively analyzed. Treatment outcomes were 5-year overall survival (OS), cause specific survival (CSS), loco-regional control (LRC) and radiotherapy (RT) related side effects. Kaplan-Meier and log rank analyses were used to determine survival outcomes, stratified according to American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage. Results: A total of 130 cases were analysed. Most cases (81.5%) were at late stage (AJCC III-IVB) at presentation. The 5-year OS for the whole study population was 34.4% with a median follow up of 24 months. The 5-year OS according to AJCC stage was 100%, 48.2%, 41.4% and 22.0% for stage I, II, III and IVA-B, respectively. The 5-year overall CSS and LCR were 45.4% and 55.4%, respectively. Late effects of RT were documented in 41.4% of patients. The most common late effect was xerostomia. Conclusions: The treatment outcome of HNSCC at our centre is lagging behind those of developed nations. Efforts to increase the number of patients presenting in earlier stages, increase in the use of combined modality treatment, especially concurrent chemoradiotherapy and implementation of intensity modulated radiotherapy, may lead to better outcomes for our HNC patients.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.505-519
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• 1998

The occurrence of PVNS in the TMJ is very rare. We report a case of PVNS which was misdiagnosed as a parotid tumor at first. CT and conventional radiograph revealed a well defined mass demonstrating higher attenuation than adjacent soft tissue. Erosion and expansion of the cortical plate of the mandibular condyle and sclerotic change beneath the margin of the lesion were also shown. MRI demonstrated well defined mass of very low signal intensity on both Tl and T2-weighted images due to ferromagnetic effect of the high concentrated hemosiderin and clearly delineated the extent of the lesion. Histopathologic findings and characteristic appearance of the various imaging methods were described and the usefulness of these images for diagnosis and pretreatment evaluation of PVNS were also discussed.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.25-30
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• 2010

Purpose: Behavior and movement are accomplished by voluntary contractions of skeletal muscles. There are three types of muscle contractions: concentric, isometric and eccentric. The aim of our study was to determine whether there is a difference in the cortical activation pattern between concentric contraction and eccentric contraction of the wrist extensor muscle. Methods: Four healthy right-handed volunteers without any previous history of physical or neurological illness were recruited. fMRI scanning was done during 4 repeated blocks of concentric and eccentric exercise of the wrist joint. Subjects exercised for 12 seconds and then rested for 12 seconds before beginning the second set of exercises. To determine the excitability of cortical neurons during exercise, voxel count and intensity index were analyzed. Results: For right hand movements, when concentric contractions of the right wrist were done, only the left primary motor area was activated. In contrast, during eccentric contraction, both the primary motor area and secondary motor area were activated. For left hand movements, both concentric and eccentric contractions induced only the supplementary motor cortex and the contralateral primary motor cortex. Conclusion: During eccentric contractions, both the primary motor area and secondary motor area are activated in ipsilateral and contralateral brain areas. Thus, eccentric contractions require more complex and difficult movements than concentric contractions do.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2009

Blasting is necessary for excavation processes since more than 70% of korean land is consist of mountains. The vibration and noise accompanied by blasting processes usually bring about public complaints. Blasting patterns are chosen by economical efficiency, stability and construction conveniency. However, there are many alternatives without control to settle the popular complaint. To prevent those alternatives, standard blasting method for design and construction were suggested by MLTM (Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs) in 2006. However, standard blasting pattern of MLTM was designed in a lump irrespective of types of rocks. Economical loss may occur by ignoring the characteristics of rocks for the applications to the rocks with low intensity, such as shale, or containing many joint. We deduced some economical progresses by performing test blasting with adjusted drilling spacing and length of burden considering the characteristics of local rock. This paper suggests the start of case studies for different applications. Economic improvement can be expected by applying those results deduced from case studies to design and construction.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.30 no.4 s.59
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• pp.805-814
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• 1997

Injuries to the menisci occur in a variety of ways, most commonly with a twist, pivot, squat, or valgus stress to the knee. Tear patterns are classified to longitudinal, horizontal, or transverse features according to the mechanism of injury. Work-related meniscal tear usually occurs with a repetitive usage of the foot, hence it can be classified as a cumulative traumatic disorder. We found a 47 year-old female worker who had been taking charge of repetitive foot-switch stepping for 8 years. She suffered from pain in the right knee since 5 months ago. Tenderness along the medial joint line of the right knee was observed and pain was aggravated with full flexion of the right knee. On magnetic resonance imaging, high signal intensity was observed at the posterior horn of the medial meniscus of the right knee. Degenerative longitudinal and transverse complex tear in the medial meniscus was observed on arthroscopy. Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy was performed. We surveyed the work process and the health status of co-workers. It turned out that the work process was compatible to injure the meniscus and nine out of fourteen co-worker(64.3%) complained pain of the knee. No other factors related to her meniscal tear could be found except for the situation at her work. Therefore, we conclude that meniscal tear is related to the repetitive stepping of foot switch.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI) with participation in badminton and to find the effects of badminton on the shoulder joint. Methods: A questionnaire was answered by 143 people with shoulder pain and disability in badminton clubs located in Busan, Gyeongsangnam-do. Out of the 143 subjects (91 males, 52 females), about half (72 people) were over 40 years old, with 71 people over 50 years old. The questionnaire contained 27 questions involving demographic participation characteristics, playing characteristics, and SPADI. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS statistics program to conduct frequency analysis, cross analysis, the t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. Results: The correlation between badminton career, frequency of play, and SPADI was statistically significant. There was a significant increase in SPADI scores for players over 40 years old. The over 40 year old group with less than 5 years of badminton had a significantly increase in SPADI score. The over 50 year old group showed a significantly lower SPADI score compared with the over 40 group. Conclusion: We suggest that beginner badminton players learn correct posture and badminton skills from professionals, participate regularly, and maintain an appropriate intensity/frequency of badminton.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.179-188
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• 2011

Steel structures have been allowed to have fatigue damage tolerance in fact. If it would be assessed whether fatigue crack is growing or not and How fast fatigue crack is propagating, we should make a rational decision on methods and a period of reinforcement in the maintenance. In this study, fatigue crack growth tests on two kinds of through-thickness cracked steel plates and a out-of-plane gusset welded joint were conducted to evaluate fatigue crack growth rate using the COD(Crack Opening Displacement), and COD measurement using strain gauges was examined to offer a practical method. As a result, we proposed a reasonable assessing method for fatigue crack growth rate using the COD and it was experimentally proved practical to estimate the COD through measuring strains.

• Journal of Communications and Networks
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.664-677
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• 2011

In order to control interference and improve spectrum efficiency in the femtocell and macrocell overlaid system (FMOS), we propose a joint frequency bandwidth dynamic division, clustering and power control algorithm (JFCPA) for orthogonal-frequency-division-multiple access-based downlink FMOS. The overall system bandwidth is divided into three bands, and the macro-cellular coverage is divided into two areas according to the intensity of the interference from the macro base station to the femtocells, which are dynamically determined by using the JFCPA. A cluster is taken as the unit for frequency reuse among femtocells. We map the problem of clustering to the MAX k-CUT problem with the aim of eliminating the inter-femtocell collision interference, which is solved by a graph-based heuristic algorithm. Frequency bandwidth sharing or splitting between the femtocell tier and the macrocell tier is determined by a step-migration-algorithm-based power control. Simulations conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm showed the frequency-reuse probability of the FMOS reuse band above 97.6% and at least 70% of the frequency bandwidth available for the macrocell tier, which means that the co-tier and the cross-tier interference were effectively controlled. Thus, high spectrum efficiency was achieved. The simulation results also clarified that the planning of frequency resource allocation in FMOS should take into account both the spatial density of femtocells and the interference suffered by them. Statistical results from our simulations also provide guidelines for actual FMOS planning.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.295-303
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• 2018

Purpose: We evaluated prognostic value of the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer/International Union for Cancer Control (AJCC/UICC) staging system for nasopharyngeal cancer and investigated whether tumor volume/metabolic information refined prognostication of anatomy based staging system. Materials and Methods: One hundred thirty-three patients with nasopharyngeal cancer who were staged with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) between 2004 and 2013 were reviewed. Multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate prognostic value of the 8th edition of the AJCC/UICC staging system and other factors including gross tumor volume and maximum standardized uptake value of primary tumor (GTV-T and SUV-T). Results: Median follow-up period was 63 months. In multivariate analysis for overall survival (OS), stage group (stage I-II vs. III-IVA) was the only significant prognostic factor. However, 5-year OS rates were not significantly different between stage I and II (100% vs. 96.2%), and between stage III and IVA (80.1% vs. 71.7%). Although SUV-T and GTV-T were not significant prognostic factors in multivariate analysis, those improved prognostication of stage group. The 5-year OS rates were significantly different between stage I-II, III-IV (SUV-T ≤ 16), and III-IV (SUV-T > 16) (97.2% vs. 78% vs. 53.8%), and between stage I, II-IV (GTV-T ≤ 33 mL), and II-IV (GTV-T > 33 mL) (100% vs. 87.3% vs. 66.7%). Conclusion: Current anatomy based staging system has limitations on prognostication for nasopharyngeal cancer despite the most accurate assessment of tumor extent by MRI. Tumor volume/metabolic information seem to improve prognostication of current anatomy based staging system, and further studies are needed to confirm its clinical significance.