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Linguistic and psychometric validation of a translated questionnaire.To validate the Korean version of Zurich claudication questionnaire (ZCQ) both linguistically and psychometrically.The ZCQ is considered as a disease specific and gold standard measure for evaluation of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). However, there has been no validated Korean version of the ZCQ.The ZCQ was translated forward and backward, culturally adapted by 2 independent translators, and approved by an expert committee. The final version of the Korean ZCQ was added to a routine questionnaire including a visual analog pain scale (VAS) for back and leg pain, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and the European Quality of Life-5 dimensions (EQ-5D). Psychometric validation included reliability by internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha, the test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and concurrent validity by comparing the Korean ZCQ to VAS for back/leg pain, ODI, and EQ-5D using Pearson correlation.A total of 109 patients were included in this study. The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of the ZCQ was shown to have good reliability for all three domains: the ICCs for symptom, function, and satisfaction domains were 0.79, 0.84, and 0.91, respectively. Internal consistency of the Korean ZCQ for the symptom, function, and satisfaction domains was also excellent (Cronbach α = 0.894, 0.939, and 0.961, respectively). For concurrent validity, all three domains of the Korean ZCQ were significantly correlated with external criteria including VAS for back/leg pain, ODI, and EQ-5D. In the assessment of responsiveness, 21 patients who completed the ZCQ both before and after surgery demonstrated significantly different scores for symptom and disability domains.The validated Korean version of the ZCQ is a transculturally equivalent, reliable, and valid tool for use in assessing symptoms, function, and satisfaction with treatment in patients with LSS.3.

Background and purpose — There are few studies on overgrowth of the affected limb after treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). We investigated the incidence of overgrowth and its risk factors in DDH patients. Patients and methods — 101 patients were included in this study. Overgrowth was defined by 2 criteria: when the height of the femoral head of the affected side was higher than that of the contralateral side by more than 10 mm, or by more than 15 mm. The potential risk factors of distinct overgrowth were retrospectively examined using multivariable analysis. Results — When overgrowth was defined as femoral head height difference (FHHD) > 10 mm, its incidence was 44%, and only femoral osteotomy was identified as a significant risk factor with a relative risk (RR) of 1.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0–2.5). When overgrowth was defined as FHHD > 15 mm, its incidence was 23%, and femoral osteotomy was identified as the only significant risk factor with an RR of 2.3 (CI 1.2–4.5). Overgrowth developed more frequently in patients who underwent femoral osteotomy at the age of 2 to 4 years (87%) than in the others (46%) (p = 0.04). Interpretation — Overgrowth of the affected limb is common in DDH patients. Patients who underwent femoral osteotomy, especially at the age of 2 to 4 years, may require careful follow-up because of the substantial risk for overgrowth.

The preoperative status of the teres minor (Tm) can affect the outcome of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA). The effect of preoperative Tm hypertrophy on the outcome of RTSA is unclear.A total of 86 shoulders that underwent RTSA were retrospectively enrolled. Of these, 48 cases with a Tm occupation ratio (OR) of0.288 in the preoperative magnetic resonance image were assigned to the hypertrophic group, and 38 cases to the control group. The two groups were compared with respect to preoperative rotator cuff tear involvement, fatty infiltration, pre- and postoperative rotator cuff ORs, pain scores, functional scores, range of motion, and muscle strength. Postoperative Tm ORs in 1-year follow-up multidetector computed tomography were compared with preoperative Tm ORs.Preoperatively, integrities of infraspinatus (ISP) and supraspinatus were significantly different between the 2 groups (P = .001, 0.009, each). Preoperative ISP ORs were significantly related to preoperative Tm ORs (r = -0.534, P.001). The mean pre- to postoperative change of Tm ORs in the hypertrophic group decreased (-0.029 ± 0.068), whereas that of the control group increased (+0.047 ± 0.092). Postoperative pain scores, functional scores, range of motion, and muscle strength were not different between groups.In cases of advanced rotator cuff tear requiring RTSA, Tm hypertrophy is found to be related to tear and atrophy of the ISP, suggesting that Tm hypertrophy is a compensatory change for ISP dysfunction. However, Tm hypertrophy was observed to diminish after RTSA. Preoperative Tm hypertrophy appears to have no beneficial effect on the outcomes of RTSA.

>> In this paper, in order to prevent electric shock of high voltage system of HFCV after crash test,insulation performance measurement methods were studied. Under conditions of in-use, insulation performance tests can be divided into measurement method using the vehicle’'s own RESS as DC voltage source and measurement method using DC voltage from off-vehicle sources.However, these tests can not be applied after a post-crash because parts of high voltage system cover should beremoved, and insulation performance can be influenced during these tests.Therefore, we proposed post-crash insulation performance test methods for preventing electric shock through problem analysis of previous post-crash insulation performance tests. Also, test equipment which can measure voltage absence and total energy was developed. We verified performance of the equipment through experiments with vehicle test. Key words : Isolation Resistance(절연저항), Electrical Shock(감전), Voltage Absence(전압방전), Energy(에너지),Evaluation Equipment(평가장비), Evaluation Method(평가방법)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quantitative accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) rendered images acquired with multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) by means of distance measurements of a dry human skull for various slice thicknesses and acquisition modes. A radiologist directly measured the distance of line items on the skull surface to establish reference "gold standards." The skull specimen was scanned with a MDCT with various scanning parameters (slice thicknesses and acquisition modes). An observer measured the corresponding distances of the same items on 3D rendered images. The quantitative accuracy of distance measurements was statistically evaluated. There were no significant statistical differences (P value

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the image quality and discriminative ability of FDG-PET images reconstructed by filtered back projection (FBP) and ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) in patients with lung cancer. Thirty-six subjects including normal controls and lung cancer patients underwent whole body PET scan (emission 3 min, transmission 1 min) using a GE Advance scanner after the administration of approximately 370 MBq of FDG. The raw data were then reconstructed by conventional FBP and OSEM. The PET images were interpreted by two observers with random exposure of normal and diseased cases for transverse and coronal sections. The results were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The optimal parameters for reconstructing by OSEM involved 2 iterations and 16 subsets. The image quality of thirty-six subjects including normal controls and lung cancer patients reconstructed by OSEM was generally superior to FBP in terms of visual analysis. Though FBP had poor image quality, it had better image contrast than OSEM. The ROC curve plotted for the identification of lung cancer in coronal sections showed better results than in transverse sections by FBP and OSEM, except for the OSEM result of observer 2. ROC analysis showed that OSEM performed better than conventional FBP in terms of its discriminative ability of lung cancer with FDG PET, although there was no significant difference in the area under the ROC curve (p-value >0.05). The results suggest that the simultaneous use of FBP and OSEM images is helpful for the FDG-PET diagnosis of lung cancer.

This study evaluated the quantitative measurements of three-dimensional (3D) volume images using multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) and one skull specimen. Twenty-one linear distances were measured five times each by vernier caliper. A dry human skull was imaged with MDCT for various acquisition parameters at slice thicknesses of 1.25, 2.50, 3.75, and 5.00 mm for the different acquisition modes of axial and spiral scan. The distance of each corresponding item displayed on 3D rendered images was measured seven times by an uninvolved observer using a 3D software tool. Data analysis was performed to determine if there were any statistically significant differences in acquisition parameters. No significant image differences were found among the scan modes for each slice thickness. For a given scan mode, acquisition slice thickness was the important factor for quantitative measurement of 3D rendered CT images.