• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.272-278
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• 2017

Purpose: The aim of the present prospective clinical study was to assess the cumulative survival rate (CSR) of Neobiotech implants restored with fixed partial prosthesis in relation to its potential risk factors. Materials and methods: Thirty six partially edentulous patients received Neobiotech implants and implant supported fixed partial prosthesis at Korea University Guro Hospital Dental Center from November 2009 until November 2011. The observation period was set from the implant placement and the last clinical visit until December 2015. Implant survival rate was determined using the Kaplan-Meier method. The relationship between implant survival rate and the potential risk factors were analysed using the multi Cox proportional analysis (P<.05). Results: A total of 69 implants were placed in 36 patients after a mean observation period of 45.9 months. Two out of 69 implants failed before loading, yielding a 5-year cumulative survival rate of 97.1%. The maxillary implants have a lesser CSR than the mandibular implants based on log rank test analysis (maxilla=91.3%; mandible=100% P<.05). However, the multi Cox proportional analysis showed that implant location has no significant correlation with implant failure (P>.05). Conclusion: Neobiotech implants showed predictable results with a 5 year cumulative survival rate of 97.1%.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.4769-4774
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• 2016

Objective: To analyze the survival of elderly patients with breast cancer according to the type of treatment used. Methods: A cohort study of women aged 80 or over with breast cancer registered with the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (Instituto Nacional do $C{\hat{a}}ncer$ - INCA) between 2008 and 2009 was conducted. Prognosis was analyzed according to the cancer treatment performed: surgery, radiotherapy, or hormone therapy. Analysis of the overall 5-year survival rate was performed using the Kaplan - Meier method, and comparisons of curves were undertaken using the log-rank test. For multiple regression analysis, Cox regression was used, adjusting for age and clinical stage, considering values of p < 0.05 as significant. Data were all analyzed using the statistical package SPSS version 20. Results: 70 women with a mean age of $84.0{\pm}3.7years$ at diagnosis participated in the study. The median follow-up time was 37.1 months (range 0.5-75.5), and 31 deaths (44.3%) occurred during this time. The median survival time was 51.2 months (95% CI, 44.9-57.4), higher in those who underwent surgery (p = 0.012) and those who had hormone therapy (p=0.001). Treatment with surgery reduced the risk of death by 61.7% (HR 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.6; p = 0.001) when adjusted for clinical stage and age at diagnosis. However, there was no significant benefit from radiotherapy (HR 1.2; 95% CI, 0.5-2.5; p = 0.694). Conclusion: Treatment with surgery and hormone therapy increased the survival of our Brazilian patients with breast cancer aged 80 or over.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.216-221
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• 1996

The quantitative EEGs of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients were analyzed using spectral analysis and compared to age and sex-matched controls. The subjects were 19 patients(men=15, women=4) suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder(DSM-III-R). Absolute power, relative power and interhemispheric asymmetry of EEG were used to compare obsessive-compulsive disorder patients with controls. In order to fit the EEG data to a normal distribution, a log transformation of power values of every bandwidth in each deviation was calculated prior statistical analysis. The Wilcoxon rank test was performed to compare obsessive-compulsive group to the control group. In obsessive-compulsive disorder, abnormalities of quantitative EEGs are prominent in fronto-central. These results ore compatible with other brain imaging studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder and suggested that fronto-central area plays an important role in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2015

Purpose: To analyze prognostic factors for locoregional recurrence (LRR), distant metastasis (DM), and overall survival (OS) in cervical cancer patients who underwent radical hysterectomy followed by postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in a single institute. Materials and Methods: Clinicopathologic data of 135 patients with clinical stage IA2 to IIA2 cervical cancer treated with PORT from 2001 to 2012 were reviewed, retrospectively. Postoperative parametrial resection margin (PRM) and vaginal resection margin (VRM) were investigated separately. The median treatment dosage of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) to the whole pelvis was 50.4 Gy in 1.8 Gy/fraction. High-dose-rate vaginal brachytherapy after EBRT was given to patients with positive or close VRMs. Concurrent platinum-based chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) was administered to 73 patients with positive resection margin, lymph node (LN) metastasis, or direct extension of parametrium. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used for analyzing LRR, DM, and OS; Cox regression was applied to analyze prognostic factors. Results: The 5-year disease-free survival was 79% and 5-year OS was 91%. In univariate analysis, positive or close PRM, LN metastasis, direct extension of parametrium, lymphovascular invasion, histology of adenocarcinoma, and chemotherapy were related with more DM and poor OS. In multivariate analysis, PRM and LN metastasis remained independent prognostic factors for OS. Conclusion: PORT after radical hysterectomy in uterine cervical cancer showed excellent OS in this study. Positive or close PRM after radical hysterectomy in uterine cervical cancer correlates with poor prognosis even with CCRT. Therefore, additional treatments to improve local control such as radiation boosting need to be considered.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9823-9829
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• 2014

Background: High-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) is recognized as an efficient component of therapy against pediatric osteosarcoma in combination with other drugs such as cisplatin (CDP), carboplatin (CBDCA), doxorubicin (ADM), etoposide (VP-16) and ifosfamide (IFO). Objectives: To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the HD-MTX/CDP/DOX/VP-16/IFO [MTX(+)] protocol comparable to CDP/ADM/CBDCA/IFO [MTX(-)] for treating childhood osteosarcoma at Ramathibodi Hospital (1999-2014). Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of osteosarcoma patients aged less than 18 years treated with two chemotherapeutic regimens between 1999 and 2014. A total of 45 patients received the MTX(-) and 21 the MTX(+) protocol. Results: Overall limb-salvage and amputation rate were 12.9% and 77.7%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis results for 3-year disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) regardless of treatment regimens were $43.4{\pm}6.0%$ and $53.2{\pm}6.1%$ respectively. The 3-year DFS and OS were improved significantly with the MTX(+) protocol compared to MTX(-) protocol (p=0.010 and p=0.009, log rank test) [$69.8{\pm}10.5%$, $79.8{\pm}9.1%$ for MTX(+) and $31.1{\pm}6.9%$, $42.2{\pm}7.4%$ for MTX(-) protocol, respectively]. Patients with metastatic osteosarcoma treated with the MTX(+) protocol had statistically significant higher 3-year DFS and OS than those treated with the MTX(-) protocol ($66.7{\pm}13.6%$ and $15.0{\pm}8.0%$ for 3-year DFS, p=0.010, $73.3{\pm}13.2%$ and $20{\pm}8.9%$ for 3-year OS, p=0.006, respectively). The independent risk factors for having inferior 3-year DFS and OS were poor histological response (tumor necrosis <90%) and treatment with the MTX(-) protocol. The multivariate analysis identified only the treatment with the MTX(-) protocol as an independent predictor of inferior OS with a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.53 (95% confidence interval of 1.2-10.41, p=0.022). Conclusions: Our study demonstrated the tolerability, feasibility and efficacy of the HDMTX-based regimen improving the survival rate in pediatric osteosarcoma cases, in line with reports from developed countries.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.5089-5095
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• 2014

Background: As a common and essential contrast medium at present, gadobenate dimeglumine has shown better performance than some other agents when applied to Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging Screening (Breast MRI Screening). Nevertheless, reports on the diagnostic performance of these two mediums (gadobenate dimeglumine and gadopentetate dimeglumine) are not completely consistent. Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of gadobenate dimeglumine and gadopentetate dimeglumine for Breast MRI Screening in patients suffering from breast cancer and to provide more convinced evidence to guide clinical practice in terms of appropriate contrast agents. Data Sources and Review Methods: Original articles in English and Chinese published before January 2013 were selected from available databases (The Cochrane Library, PUBMED, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database, Chinese Journal Full-text). The criteria for inclusion and exclusion were based on the standard for diagnosis tests. Meta-Disc software (Version 1.4) was used for data analysis. Then, the area under curve (AUC) of SROC and the spearman rank correlation of sensitivity against (1-specificity) were calculated. Results: Total of 17 researches involving 1934 patients were included. The pooled sensitivity of gadobenate dimeglumine and gadopentetate dimeglumine were 0.99 (0.97, 1.00) and 0.93 (0.88, 1.00) respectively. The pooled specificity for these two contrast agents were 0.924 (0.902, 0.943) and 0.838 (0.817, 0.858) respectively, and the AUC of SROC curve were 0.9781 and 0.9215 respectively. Conclusions: Gadobenate dimeglumine can be regarded as a more effective and feasible contrast medium for Breast MRI Screening. At least 5% differences in diagnostic performance are usually considered as clinically relevant.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.743-776
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• 2012

This study utilizes the meta-analysis for the benefits transfer (MA-BT) approach to measure social costs the 7 target sites in the City and County of Honolulu. The estimated MA models (MA-1 and MA-1) were evaluated in terms of validity and reliability criteria. This study utilized a parametric t-test and a non-parametric sign rank test for checking validity. A transfer error measured by an absolute percentage difference was utilized to check reliability their similarity. The GIS was utilized for data collection in order to measure social costs for each target site. The results clearly demonstrated that social costs were substantially higher thant direct costs and varied market conditions and different methods used. In terms of validity and reliability criteria, MA models were preferred to the mean transfer value approach. MA-BT approach is desirable for measuring social costs for a project designed to measure social costs for these 7 proposed landfill sites with inaccessible data, on short time frames, and with little money. If researchers and planners have enough time and money, they can implement primary research. If not, the meta-analysis for the benefits transfer approach can be much better than no framework. The use of a GIS can help to identify secondary data within a specific radius of each target site.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.1229-1243
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• 1997

The purpose of this study were to :(a) investigate meal costs, plate waste costs, and advantages/disadvantages of conventional /commissary foodservices and (b) compare the effectiveness of commissary foodservice systems with that of conventional systems. Questionnaires were developed and mailed to 136 schools in Kyonggi-do. A total of 106 questionnaires were usable, resulting in a 77.9% response rate. Teacher's teaching of good food habits and students satisfaction with school foodservices were surveyed in three schools from each system. Moreover, plate waste was measured to express cost and benefit in currency. Data were analyzed using the SAS package for description analysis, t-test, $\chi$$^2$ test, ANOVA, and the Vilcoxon rank sum test. Approximately seventy percent of 294schools in Kyonggi-do were operating commissary systems and most of them were of the rural (reduced paid) type. The number of meals served varied significantly between types of foodservice. The results of this study indicated that average food , labor utility , and supply costs were saved in the commissary system and that the total meal cost/person for a day was 1218.7 won compared to 1452.4 won in the conventional system. Though total meal costs were saved in the commissary system, dietitians had difficulties cooperating with school foodservice committees and supporters associations, especially in satellites of the commissary system. In addition, dietitians and teachers in the commissary system did not carry out teaching activities on good food habits to students as often as in the conventional system. Other problems that dietitians recognized in the commissary system were difficulties in training employees and parents for portion control and serving relatively simple menus. Students, as customers of school foodservices, are very important for system evaluation . Students in the commissary system scored of food itself , cleanliness of tableware, waiting time, quantity of meal and food temperature significantly lower than students in the conventional system. Moreover , the rate of plate waste was 20.5% in the commissary system as compared to 3.3% in the conventional system. Cost-effectiveness (saving 233.7won/person/day) is the main benefit of the commissary system. However , because of lower satisfaction scores and a highest plate waste rate, 201.9won/ person were wasted in the commissary system. The results of this study suggest that increasing the number of meals served within a commissary system might maximize the efficiency of the system, but increasing the number of satellites is not recommended because it might be out of dietitians control in many aspects.

• Journal of Communications and Networks
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.289-307
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• 2010

The problem of model selection arises in a number of contexts, such as subset selection in linear regression, estimation of structures in graphical models, and signal denoising. This paper studies non-asymptotic model selection for the general case of arbitrary (random or deterministic) design matrices and arbitrary nonzero entries of the signal. In this regard, it generalizes the notion of incoherence in the existing literature on model selection and introduces two fundamental measures of coherence-termed as the worst-case coherence and the average coherence-among the columns of a design matrix. It utilizes these two measures of coherence to provide an in-depth analysis of a simple, model-order agnostic one-step thresholding (OST) algorithm for model selection and proves that OST is feasible for exact as well as partial model selection as long as the design matrix obeys an easily verifiable property, which is termed as the coherence property. One of the key insights offered by the ensuing analysis in this regard is that OST can successfully carry out model selection even when methods based on convex optimization such as the lasso fail due to the rank deficiency of the submatrices of the design matrix. In addition, the paper establishes that if the design matrix has reasonably small worst-case and average coherence then OST performs near-optimally when either (i) the energy of any nonzero entry of the signal is close to the average signal energy per nonzero entry or (ii) the signal-to-noise ratio in the measurement system is not too high. Finally, two other key contributions of the paper are that (i) it provides bounds on the average coherence of Gaussian matrices and Gabor frames, and (ii) it extends the results on model selection using OST to low-complexity, model-order agnostic recovery of sparse signals with arbitrary nonzero entries. In particular, this part of the analysis in the paper implies that an Alltop Gabor frame together with OST can successfully carry out model selection and recovery of sparse signals irrespective of the phases of the nonzero entries even if the number of nonzero entries scales almost linearly with the number of rows of the Alltop Gabor frame.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.121-126
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• 2013

Background: Significance of HPV infection and genic mutation of APC and K-ras in rectal cancer has been investigated but not clarified. The objective of our study was to investigate these parameters in patients with rectal cancer to analyze correlations with biological behaviour, to determine relationships among the three, and also to demonstrate survival prognosis effects. Methods: From December 2007 to September 2008, 75 rectal cancer cases confirmed by histopathology in the Tumor Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University were enrolled. The control group consisted of normal rectal mucous membrane taken simultaneously, a least 10 cm distant from the carcinoma fringe. HPV DNA, the MCR of APC and exon-1 of K-ras were detected by PCR and PCR-SSCP. All results were analyzed in relation to clinical pathological material, using chi-square and correlation analysis via SPSS.13 and Fisher's Exact Probability via STATA. 9.0. All 75 patients were followed up for survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier and Log-rank tests. Results: 55 out of 75 cases demonstrated gene HPV L1 while it was notdetected in normal rectal mucosa tissue. HPV infection was correlated with age and lymphatic metastasis (P<0.05) but not other characteristics, such as ethnicity, tumor size, histological type, tumor type, Duke's stage and infiltration depth. Some 43 cases exhibited APC genic mutation (57.3%) and 34 K-ras genic mutation (45.3%). APC genic mutation was correlated with gender(P<0.05), but not age, histological type, infiltration depth, lymphatic metastasis and Duke's stage. In 55 cases of rectal cancer with HPV infection, there were 31 cases with genic mutation of APC (56.4%) and 24 with genic mutation of K-ras (43.6%). For the 20 cases of rectal cancer with non-HPV infection, the figures were 12 cases (60%) and 10 (50.0%), respectively, with no significant relation. Survival analysis showed no statistical significance for K-ras genic mutation, APC genic mutation or HPV infection (P>0.05). However, the survival time of the patients with HPV infection was a little shorter than in cases without HPV infection. Conclusions: Our results suggest that HPV infection might be an important factor to bring about malignant phenotype of rectal cancer and influence prognosis. Genic mutation of APC and K-ras might be common early molecular events of rectal cancer, but without prognostic effects on medium-term or early stage patients with rectal cancer.