• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.2861-2866
• /
• 2012

Background: The aim of our study was to assess the practical utility of the palliative prognostic index (PPI) as a prognostic tool used by nurse specialists in a hospice consultation setting in Taiwan. Methods: In total, 623 terminal cancer patients under hospice consultation care from one medical center in northern Taiwan were enrolled between January 1 and June 30, 2011. PPI was assessed by a nurse specialist at first hospice consultation and patients categorized into groups by prognosis (good, intermediate, poor). Patient survival was analyzed retrospectively to determine significance of between-group differences. Results: By PPI sum score, 37.2% of patients were in the good prognosis group, 18% in the intermediate prognosis group and 44.8% in the poor prognosis group. The death rates were 56%, 81.2% and 89.6% and median survivals were 76, 18 and 7 days, respectively. The hazard ratio was 0.19 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.10-0.24, p<0.001) for the poor versus good prognosis group and 0.54 (95% CI 0.43-0.69, p<0.001) for the poor versus intermediate prognosis group. The sensitivity and specificity for the poor prognosis group was 66% and 71%; the positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 81% and 52%, respectively, to predict patient death within 21 days (area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic was 0.68). Conclusions: Assessment by PPI can accurately predict survival of terminal cancer patients receiving hospice consultation care. PPI is a simple tool and can be administered by nurse members of hospice consultation teams.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.12-20
• /
• 1999

In this paper, we compared speaker verification performance of the speech data collected in clean environment and in channel environment. For the improvement of the performance of speaker verification gathered in channel, we have studied on the efficient feature parameters in channel environment and on the preprocessing. Speech DB for experiment is consisted of Korean doublet of numbers, considering the text-prompted system. Speech features including LPCC(Linear Predictive Cepstral Coefficient), MFCC(Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient), PLP(Perceptually Linear Prediction), LSP(Line Spectrum Pair) are analyzed. Also, the preprocessing of filtering to remove channel noise is studied. To remove or compensate for the channel effect from the extracted features, cepstral weighting, CMS(Cepstral Mean Subtraction), RASTA(RelAtive SpecTrAl) are applied. Also by presenting the speech recognition performance on each features and the processing, we compared speech recognition performance and speaker verification performance. For the evaluation of the applied speech features and processing methods, HTK(HMM Tool Kit) 2.0 is used. Giving different threshold according to male or female speaker, we compare EER(Equal Error Rate) on the clean speech data and channel data. Our simulation results show that, removing low band and high band channel noise by applying band pass filter(150～3800Hz) in preprocessing procedure, and extracting MFCC from the filtered speech, the best speaker verification performance was achieved from the view point of EER measurement.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.301-308
• /
• 2009

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of FDG-PET/CT as follow up imaging tool in patients with endometrial cancer after therapy. Material and Methods: One hundred one patients with endometrial cancer who underwent FDG PET/CT after the treatment of this disease were included in this study population (25-79 yr old, Mean age 50.6 yr old) and all these patients also performed various laboratory and imaging studies such as serum tumor marker, CT or MRI. The lesions having increased focal FDG uptake were classified into benign, equivocal, and malignant one according to their pattern and activity. Tumor recurrence was confirmed by histopathological results and other clinical and imaging data. Results: Among the 19 patients with 30 malignant or equivocal hot uptakes, 11 of 14 patients supposed to be malignant finding in PET/CT were proved to be tumor recurrence, while one of 5 patients with equivocal lesions were recurred malignancy, Two false negative cases were turned out to be peritoneal carcinomatosis, Estimated sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of PET/CT for diagnosis of recurrence in endometrial carcinoma after treatment were 86 %, 92 % and 91 %, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values in the same issue were 63% and 98%, respectively. Conclusion: FDG-PET/CT is useful for regular work up of endometrial carcinoma after the treatment because of its high negative predictive value as well as high sensitivity and specificity.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.25-35
• /
• 2020

Background: There are many situations where walking in an actual community needs to change direction along with walking on a straight path, and this situation needs to be reflected in assessing walking ability of the community. Therefore, in this study, we tried to determine whether the assessments can distinguish the level of walking in the community. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Fifty-two survivors with chronic stroke have participated in the study. According to the evaluation result of 10mWT, the subjects of 0.8m/s and above were classified as the group who could walk in the community (n=22), and the subjects of 0.4m/s~0.8m/s were classified into the group who could not walk in the community (n=30). Modified Rivermead Mobility Index, Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke, Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Berg Balance Scale, 10-meter Walk Test (10mWT) were used to evaluate the motor skills. Furthermore, Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale was used to evaluate psychological factors, and Timed Up & Go Test (TUG), Figure-of-Eight Walk Test (F8WT), Four Square Step Test (FSST), Step Test (ST) were applied to evaluate dynamic balance and mobility. Results: As a result for distinguishing walking levels in the community, TUG was 14.25 seconds, F8WT was 13.34 seconds, FST was 19.43 seconds, and ST of affected side and non-affected side were 6.5 points and 7.5 points, respectively. TUG (AUC=0.923), F8WT (AUC=0.905), and FST (AUC=0.941) were highly accurate, but the ST of affected side and non-affected side (AUC=0.806, 0.705) showed the accuracy of the median degree, respectively. Conclusion: To distinguish walking levels in the community of survivors with chronic stroke, TUG and FSST have been found to be the best assessment tool, and in particular, FSST could be very valuable in clinical use as the most important assessment tool to distinguish walking levels in the community.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.19
• /
• pp.8371-8376
• /
• 2014

Background: The use of statistical methods has become an imperative tool in breast cancer survival data analysis. The purpose of this study was to develop the best statistical probability model using the Bayesian method to predict future survival times for the black non-Hispanic female breast cancer patients diagnosed during 1973-2009 in the U.S. Materials and Methods: We used a stratified random sample of black non-Hispanic female breast cancer patient data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional regression methods. Four advanced types of statistical models, Exponentiated Exponential (EE), Beta Generalized Exponential (BGE), Exponentiated Weibull (EW), and Beta Inverse Weibull (BIW) were utilized for data analysis. The statistical model building criteria, Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC), and Deviance Information Criteria (DIC) were used to measure the goodness of fit tests. Furthermore, we used the Bayesian approach to obtain the predictive survival inferences from the best-fit data based on the exponentiated Weibull model. Results: We identified the highest number of black non-Hispanic female breast cancer patients in Michigan and the lowest in Hawaii. The mean (SD), of age at diagnosis (years) was 58.3 (14.43). The mean (SD), of survival time (months) for black non-Hispanic females was 66.8 (30.20). Non-Hispanic blacks had a significantly increased risk of death compared to Black Hispanics (Hazard ratio: 1.96, 95%CI: 1.51-2.54). Compared to other statistical probability models, we found that the exponentiated Weibull model better fits for the survival times. By making use of the Bayesian method predictive inferences for future survival times were obtained. Conclusions: These findings will be of great significance in determining appropriate treatment plans and health-care cost allocation. Furthermore, the same approach should contribute to build future predictive models for any health related diseases.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.39-47
• /
• 2009

The METRO-K is a model for a radiological dose assessment due to a radioactive contamination in the Korean urban environment. The model has been taken part in the Urban Remediation Working Group within the IAEA's (International Atomic Energy Agency) EMRAS (${\mathbf{\underline{E}}}nvironmental$ ${\mathbf{\underline{M}}}odeling$ for ${\mathbf{\underline{RA}}}diation$ ${\mathbf{\underline{S}}}afety$) program. The Working Croup designed for the intercomparison of radioactive contamination to be resulted from the explosion of a radiological dispersal device in a hypothetical city. This paper dealt intensively with a part among a lot of predictive results which had been performed in the EMRAS program. The predictive results of three different models (METRO-K, RESRAD-RDD, CPHR) were submitted to the Working Group. The gap of predictive results was due to the difference of mathemathical modeling approaches, parameter values, understanding of assessors. Even if final results (for example, dose rates from contamintaed surfaces which might affect to a receptor) are similar, the understanding on the contribution of contaminated surfaces showed a great difference. Judging from the authors, it is due to the lack of understanding and information on radioactive terrors as well as the social and cultural gaps which assessors have been experienced. Therefore, it can be known that the experience of assessors and their subjective judgements might be important factors to get reliable results. If the acquisition of a little additional information is possible, it was identified that the METRO-K might be a useful tool for decision support against contamination resulting from radioactive terrors by improving the existing model.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.38-45
• /
• 2006

Bile duct brush cytology has been employed as a diagnostic tool for the evaluation of pancreatic and biliary tract strictures. The specificity of this method is high however, its sensitivity is quite low. A recent study employing liquid based cytology (LBC) reported results comparable to those achieved via conventional cytology. Therefore, we have attempted to prospectively evaluate the diagnostic utility of bile duct brush cytology in pancreaticobiliary diseases. A total of 46 cases with bile duct stricture were enrolled including 11 cases of benign stricture, 29 cases of bile duct carcinoma, 3 cases of gallbladder cancer, and 3 cases of pancreatic cancer. Both conventional smear and LBC using $MonoPrep2^{TM}$ system were conducted in each case. The cytological diagnosis of each case was classed into the following categories; benign, suspicious for malignancy, and malignancy. The diagnostic accuracy of both cytologic methods was investigated. LBC evidenced a high rate of material insufficiency (13/46), which was attributed to low cellularity. The kappa index of both cytological methods was 0.508. Cytological and tissue diagnoses were correlated in 25 cases conducted from biopsy or operation. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 41.2% (7/17), 100% (8/8), 100% (7/7), and 44.4% (10/18) in conventional smear; 58.8% (10/17), 87.5% (7/8), 90.9% (10/11), and 50.0% (7/14) in LBC; and 94.1% (16/17), 87.5% (7/8), 94.1% (16/17), and 87.5% (7/8) in any one of both cytological methods, respectively. Based on these results, the sensitivity of LBC was found to be superior to that of conventional smear and we were able to obtain higher positive predictive value upto 94.1% by simultaneously conducting both cytologic methods.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.7-12
• /
• 2013

This study presents the influence on growth properties determined using a novel predictive growth model of wild-type Salmonella spp. KSC 101 by variations in the temperature and time during cut packaging in cold, uncooked pork meat. The experiment performed for model development included an arrangement of different temperatures ($0^{\circ}C$, $5^{\circ}C$, $10^{\circ}C$, $15^{\circ}C$, and $20^{\circ}C$) and time durations (0, 1, 2, and 3 hours) that reflect actual pork-cut and packaging processes. No growth was observed at $0^{\circ}C$ and $5^{\circ}C$, whereas some growth was observed at $10^{\circ}C$, $15^{\circ}C$, and $20^{\circ}C$, with a mean increase of only 0.34 log CFU/g. The growth observed at $20^{\circ}C$ was more robust than that observed at $15^{\circ}C$, but the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). However, compared with PMP (Pathogen Modeling Program), the wild-type Salmonella spp. KSC 101 showed a more rapid growth. We used the Gompertz 4 parameter equation as the primary model, and the exponential decay formula as the secondary model. The estimated $R^2$ values were 0.99 or higher. The developed model was evaluated by comparison of the experimental and predictive values, and the values were in agreement with the ${\pm}0.5$ log CFU/g, although the RMSE (Root mean square error) value was 0.103, which indicates a slight overestimation. Therefore, we suggest that the developed predictive growth model would be useful as a tool for evaluating sanitation criteria in pork cut-packaging processes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.24
• /
• pp.10683-10690
• /
• 2015

The big gap between efficacy of population level prevention and expectations due to heterogeneity and complexity of cancer etiologic factors calls for selective yet personalized interventions based on effective risk assessment. This paper documents our research protocol aimed at refining and validating a two-stage and web-based cancer risk assessment tool, from a tentative one in use by an ongoing project, capable of identifying individuals at elevated risk for one or more types of the 80% leading cancers in rural China with adequate sensitivity and specificity and featuring low cost, easy application and cultural and technical sensitivity for farmers and village doctors. The protocol adopted a modified population-based case control design using 72, 000 non-patients as controls, 2, 200 cancer patients as cases, and another 600 patients as cases for external validation. Factors taken into account comprised 8 domains including diet and nutrition, risk behaviors, family history, precancerous diseases, related medical procedures, exposure to environment hazards, mood and feelings, physical activities and anthropologic and biologic factors. Modeling stresses explored various methodologies like empirical analysis, logistic regression, neuro-network analysis, decision theory and both internal and external validation using concordance statistics, predictive values, etc..

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.859-864
• /
• 2013

Aim: To compare the effectiveness of self-examination, clinical examination and screening methods using 1% toluidine blue and Lugol's iodine in estimating the prevalence of lesions at risk of malignancy and oral malignant disease amongst the male inmates of Yerwada Central Jail, Pune. Material and Methods: Study was carried out on male inmates in two phases. In the first phase self-examination and clinical examination was carried out on 2,257 male inmates. 164 suspicious cases were subjected to phase II of the study out of whom, 82 participants were screened with 1% toluidine blue and 2% Lugol's iodine followed by biopsy procedure. Results: Sensitivity and specificity for self-examination with clinical examination was 92.2% and 96.6% respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) and positive (+LR) and negative likelihood ratio (-LR) for Toluidine Blue were 88.1%, 66.6% 97.1%, 30%, 2.63 and 0.17 respectively while for Lugol's Iodine they were 94.7%, 83.8%, 98.6%, 55.5%, 5.67 and 0.06 respectively. Conclusions: Prevalence of lesions at risk of malignancy and oral malignant disease by self-examination was 7.8% and by clinical examination was 6.3%. Self-examination is an effective tool in early detection of oral cancer. Use of Lugol's iodine as a screening tool for oral lesions is highly effective in inmate populations.