Jin-Hyuk Chung

Analysis of traffic accident size for Korean highway using structural equation models

Accident size can be expressed as the number of involved vehicles, the number of damaged vehicles, the number of deaths and/or the number of injured. Accident size is the one of the important indices to measure the level of safety of transportation facilities. Factors such as road geometric condition, driver characteristic and vehicle type may be related to traffic accident size. However, all these factors interact in complicate ways so that the interrelationships among the variables are not easily identified. A structural equation model is adopted to capture the complex relationships among variables because the model can handle complex relationships among endogenous and exogenous variables simultaneously and furthermore it can include latent variables in the model. In this study, we use 2649 accident data occurred on highways in Korea and estimate relationship among exogenous factors and traffic accident size. The model suggests that road factors, driver factors and environment factors are strongly related to the accident size.

Gallbladder lymphangioma: MR findings

Intraabdominal lymphangiomas are rare lesions that can be difficult to diagnose. We report ultrasonographic (US), computed tomographic (CT), magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and pathologic findings in a patient with cavernous lymphangioma originating in the gallbladder. US and CT showed a multiseptated cystic mass in the gallbladder fossa. T2-weighted MR images and MR cholangiopancreatography depicted the lumen of the gallbladder and thin septations of the cystic mass, which originated in the gallbladder. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography showed no apparent communication between the cyst and the gallbladder. Histologic findings obtained during the operation were consistent with cavernous lymphangioma. Its characteristic histology was observed in the subserosal layer of the gallbladder. This case is a rare instance of cavernous lymphangioma originating in the gallbladder preoperatively diagnosed by MR and MR cholangiopancreatography.

Intestinal Behcet's disease: breath-hold MR imaging

AbstractBackground: To determine the feasibility of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the evaluation of intestinal Behçets disease. Methods: Eight patients diagnosed to have intestinal Behçets disease prospectively underwent MR imaging. Five patients had previously undergone abdominal surgery for intestinal Behçets disease 27–81 months previously. Breath-hold T2-weighted single-shot fast spin echo, T1-weighted multiplanar spoiled gradient recalled echo, and postgadolinium-enhanced fat-suppressed T1-weighted opposed-phase multiplanar spoiled gradient recalled echo images were obtained. MR findings were analyzed by three independent radiologists in terms of the presence and location of bowel wall thickening and ulcer, maximal bowel wall thickness, grade of bowel wall enhancement, and presence and nature of extraluminal manifestations. K statistics were used to evaluate interobserver variability. Results: Seven cases (88%), including the five cases with previous operations, demonstrated bowel thickening of more than 9 mm and increased enhancement. Ulcer was depicted in four cases (50%) in the terminal ileum or an anastomosis site. Three cases (38%) showed extraluminal manifestation, such as mesenteric infiltration around the involved bowel (two cases) and a sinus tract to subhepatic abscess from perforation (one case). Conclusion: Breath-hold MR imaging is useful for the evaluation of bowel wall thickening, enhancement, mesentery infiltration, and abscess formation. Characteristic ulcerative lesions may be also depicted on T1- and T2-weighted breath-hold images. MR imaging is a useful method for postoperative follow-up study for the evaluation of recurrence.