Myounghee Kang

Effect of early chemoradiotherapy in patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer

Purpose We evaluated the effect of early chemoradiotherapy on the treatment of patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Materials and Methods Between January 2006 and December 2011, thirty-one patients with histologically proven LS-SCLC who were treated with two cycles of chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy and consolidation chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. The chemotherapy regimen was composed of etoposide and cisplatin. Thoracic radiotherapy consisted of 50 to 60 Gy (median, 54 Gy) given in 5 to 6.5 weeks. Results The follow-up period ranged from 5 to 53 months (median, 22 months). After chemoradiotherapy, 35.5% of the patients (11 patients) showed complete response, 61.3% (19 patients) showed partial response, 3.2% (one patient) showed progressive disease, resulting in an overall response rate of 96.8% (30 patients). The 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were 66.5%, 41.0%, and 28.1%, respectively, with a median OS of 21.3 months. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year progression free survival (PFS) rates were 49.8%, 22.8%, and 13.7%, respectively, with median PFS of 12 months. The patterns of failure were: locoregional recurrences in 29.0% (nine patients), distant metastasis in 9.7% (three patients), and both locoregional and distant metastasis in 9.7% (three patients). Grade 3 or 4 toxicities of leukopenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia were observed in 32.2%, 29.0%, and 25.8%, respectively. Grade 3 radiation esophagitis and radiation pneumonitis were shown in 12.9% and 6.4%, respectively. Conclusion We conclude that early chemoradiotherapy for LS-SCLC provides feasible and acceptable local control and safety.

Irreversible Paraplegia Following One Time Prophylactic Intrathecal Chemotherapy in an Adult Patient with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

We present an adult female patient who developed irreversible paraplegia and areflexia four days post intrathecal chemotherapy with methotrexate, cytosine arabinoside and hydrocortisone. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lumbar spine, diffuse gadolinium enhancement of the anterior spinal nerve roots (ventral roots) was detected. Methylprednisolone was intravenously administered at a daily dose of 30mg/kg for three days. Despite this treatment, flaccid weakness in the lower extremities and urinary retention persisted. Following consolidation chemotherapy, no improvement in neurologic status was noted. Six months later, a follow-up MRI revealed severe atrophy of the thoracic spinal cord.

Visual census and hydro-acoustic survey of demersal fish aggregations in Ulju small scale marine ranching area (MRA), Korea

Visual census and hydro-acoustic survey was carried out at Ulju small scale marine ranching area (MRA) to estimate demersal fish aggregations on September and November 2013. In this hydro-acoustic survey, the authors combined an image sonar with a scientific echo sounder to monitor an underwater situation and compare two acoustic data. Consequently, visual census survey was useful to estimate fish species composition for hydro-acoustic survey, because it is easy to identify aggregated fish species and overcome limits on a fishing depth and ability of an conventional fishing gear like a bottom gill-net or a fish trap at marine ranching area. Mean fish density was estimated as on September and on November and Fish abundance was finally calculated as 1.51ton (coefficient of variation, CV

Acoustic characteristics of Anchovy schools, and visualization of their connection with water temperature and salinity in the Southwestern Sea and the Westsouthern Sea of South Korea.

Morphological and positional characteristics of anchovy aggregations, confirmed by trawling, were examined in two locations of the southern part of theWest Sea (T1) and the western side of South Sea (T11) of South Korea. Morphological characteristics (mean length, height and area) of the anchovy aggregations at T1 were smaller than those at T11, however the positional characteristics (distributional depth and bottom depth) of the aggregations at T1 were larger than those at T11. Diverse dataset such as the ship`s cruise track, the cruse map, and interpolated three-dimensional-like water temperature were visualized in multiple dimensions. For a comprehensive understanding of the anchovy aggregations within their surrounding circumstances, the interpolated water temperature transferred to the location of anchovy aggregations at both stations were visualized based on geospatial information. Using quantitative investigation, the overall range of change in water temperature and salinity of anchovy aggregations at stations was considerably small. However, the water temperature and salinity of anchovy aggregations at T11 were somewhat higher than those at T1.

Concurrent craniospinal radiotherapy and intrathecal chemotherapy in patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia second relapsed in central nervous system (CNS) following allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Before the era of treatment with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), the involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) was a rare finding in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) [1–4]. Relapsed APL in the CNS usually has a poor outcome. Recently, arsenic trioxide (ATO) has been used as a salvage treatment for APL patients who have relapsed or who have become refractory to ATRA and chemotherapy [5]. ATO followed by stem cell transplantation is standard salvage treatment for patients with relapsed APL. However, there is no consensus stratergy in case of APL patients relapsed in CNS, especially second relapsed APL patients in CNS after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. We describe a case of concurrent craniospinal radiotherapy and intrathecal chemotherapy in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia second relapsed in central nervous system (CNS) following allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Efficient eliminating methods of noises imbedded acoustic signals

The hydro–acoustic technology has been widely used in not only South Korea but also many foreign countries for various scientific purposes. Unfortunately acoustic data especially collected from field surveys may contain noises caused by a variety of sources. Therefore, it is exceedingly important to eliminate noises when acoustic data are analyzed to derive quantitative results. This study introduced two methods for eliminating noises easily and effectively using post–processing software. Used acoustic data were collected on the Jinhae bay and Tongyeong coast of the South Sea in April 2015. The first method, that is the Wang’s method, placed emphasis on ‘erosion filter’ to eliminate only data samples contaminated by noises. The second method (Yamandu’s method) focused on the ‘resample by number of pings’ to remove pings contained noises. To substantiate the effectiveness of two methods, the mean Sv (Volume backscattering strength), mean height and depth of the fish schools detected were compared between before and after using the noise elimination methods. In the Wang’s method the mean Sv was decreased from –52.4 dB to –52.9 dB, and in the Yamandu’s method from –52.6 dB to –53.3 dB, indicating that noises were successfully eliminated. The mean height (1.5 m) and depth (19.0 m) were same between before and after using two methods showing that the shapes of fish schools were not changed.

Acoustic method for discriminating plankton from fish in Lake Dom Helvecio of Brazil using a time varied threshold

An acoustic method for discriminating plankton from fish , in Lake Dom Helvecio of Brazil , is developed . The flow of data from this method is comprised of time varied threshold (TVT ), dilation filter , bitmap and mask functions . The TVT can , of itself , precisely explain how to select an appropriate value . The final results of the echogram , which only shows plankton by masking fish signals , is used to examine the acoustic density of plankton by depth and time . The results indicate that the acoustic density of the plankton is at a depth of between 5m to 15 m, its density is especially high at 10 m to 15 m. The results of the acoustic density of plankton by time indicate that May 7 is higher in density than May 8. Future study plans include the use of net samples , environmental datasets to identify the abundance and ecology described by the Chaoborus spp . from other species .

Overview of the Applications of Hydroacoustic Methods in South Korea and Fish Abundance Estimation Methods

I provide an overview of the application of hydroacoustic methods in South Korea to understand the current research status in relation to fisheries acoustics and to determine which areas require further study. One main purpose for using a scientific echosounder, a representative tool using the hydroacoustic method, is to evaluate the abundance of fisheries resources. Thus, two representative methods for abundance estimation are described. The history of fisheries acoustics worldwide is also summarized.

Target-strength Measurements of Sandfish Arctoscopus japonicus

The goal of this study was to estimate the target strength (TS) of the sandfish Arctoscopus japonicus using in-situ and ex-situ methods with an echosounder. For the in-situ TS measurement, the survey was conducted by taking hydroacoustic measurements at 38 and 120 kHz and using a coastal gill net, in Goseong, in the northeastern sea of Korea in early December 2009. Ex-situ measurement of TS used live specimens and the tethering method, and was conducted at 120 kHz. The distribution of fork length (FL) was bimodal: 14.6–19.8 cm (n = 241 individuals, mean = 17.0 cm) for males and 16.3–24.5 cm (n = 105 individuals, mean = 19.6 cm) for females. The in-situ TS ranged from −79.8 to −59.1 dB (mean = −74.3 dB for males and −64.1 dB for females) at 38 kHz and −79.9 to −56.2 dB (mean = −74.3 dB for males and −64.1 dB for females) at 120 kHz. The mean TS of females was approximately 10 dB higher than that of males at each dominant frequency. The female ex-situ TS values ranged from 68.5 to −54.6 dB, and those of males was from −67.7 to −59.3 dB. The mean TS value for females was 2.9 dB higher than that of males. These results may be used in echo-integration surveys of sandfish to estimate their abundance and seasonal distribution.

First Trial of the State of the Art Acoustic Systems Mounted on the R/V Tamgu 21

At the first time in South Korea, the state of the art acoustic systems were mounted on the R/V Tamgu 21. The acoustic systems are an EK80 broadband echosounder (18, 38, 70, 120, 200 and 333 kHz) which has two beam modes such as continuous wave (narrowband) and frequency modulation (broadband), an M...