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This paper presents a RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes simulation) based CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) investigation of the three-dimensional flow phenomena in a JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency) 127-pin wire-wrapped fuel assembly. Complicated and vortical flow phenomena in the wire-wrapped fuel bundles have been elucidated by a CFD analysis with a high resolution scheme and a shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model, and by a vortex structure identification technique based on the critical point theory. The CFD results show a good agreement with the JAEA experiment results with the 127-pin wire-wrapped fuel assembly, which was implemented using water for validating the pressure drop formulas in the JAEA sub-channel analysis code, ASFRE. The generation and demise of the vortex structures in the edge, corner, and interior sub-channels were periodically synchronized with the angular positions of the wire spacers. The axial and tangential flows in the edge and corner sub-channels are much stronger than those in the interior sub-channels. The vortex structures in the edge sub-channels have higher axial and tangential velocities than those in the corner sub-channels, interior sub-channels, and the wake region generated by wire spacers. The vortex structures in the edge sub-channels are a type of longitudinal vortex, and have a larger scale than the other sub-channels. The vortex structures in the corner sub-channels have lower axial and tangential velocities than those in the edge and interior sub-channels. The turbulence intensity in the sub-channels is remarkably dominated by the magnitude of the axial velocity. The vortex structures in the edge, corner, and interior sub-channels have a higher turbulence intensity and lower vorticity than the small-scale wakes near the wire spacers. The driving forces on the wire in the X-, Y-, and Z-directions are not only dependent on the axial velocity, but are also significantly dependent on the relative angular position between the wire spacer and rod, and the relative position between the wire spacer and duct wall.

// Bum Jun Kim 1, 2, * , Jae Ho Jeong 3, * , Hyeong Su Kim 1 and Jung Han Kim 1 1 Division of Hemato-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kangnam Sacred-Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea 2 Division of Internal Medicine, National Army Capital Hospital, The Armed Forces Medical Command, Sungnam, Republic of Korea 3 Department of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Jung Han Kim, email: harricil@hotmail.com , harricil@hallym.or.kr Keywords: head and neck cancer, anti-EGFR agents, cetuximab, meta-analysis Received: July 23, 2017 Accepted: September 25, 2017 Published: October 20, 2017 ABSTRACT There has been a debate over whether the addition of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) agents to the conventional treatments has beneficial effects in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This meta-analysis was performed to investigate the role of anti-EGFR agents in patients with locoregionally advanced HNSCC (LA-HNSCC). A systematic search of the electronic databases was carried out. From eight randomized controlled trials, 2,263 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with chemoradiotherapy (CRT), the addition of an EGFR inhibitor to radiotherapy (RT) or CRT did not improve locoregional control (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.19 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.99–1.42], P = 0.06), progression-free survival (HR = 1.07 [95% CI: 0.92–1.24], P = 0.37), and overall survival (HR = 1.04 [95% CI, 0.88–1.23], P = 0.65) in patients with LA-HNSCC. Moreover, the addition of anti-EGFR agents increased the risk of skin toxicities (odds ratio = 4.04 [95% CI: 2.51–6.48], P < 0.00001) and mucositis (odds ratio = 1.58 [95% CI: 0.99–2.52], P = 0.06). In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that the addition of an anti-EGFR agent to RT or CRT do not improve clinical outcomes compared with CRT in patients with LA-HNSCC. Except for patients with coexisting medical conditions or decreased performance status, concurrent CRT should remain the standard of care for patients with LA-HNSCC.

This paper reviews the development, mechanism of action, clinical efficacy, and safety of regorafenib and TAS-102. Through this review, we aimed to help clinicians make an appropriate choice in patients who progressed after standard therapies. Regorafenib and TAS-102 have shown superior survival results compared with placebo in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). In the phase III CORRECT study, regorafenib showed significant improvement in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). TAS-102 was associated with OS and PFS benefit as well in the phase III RECOURSE study. However, the toxicity profiles were quite different between the two agents. Regorafenib and TAS-102 are approved for the management of refractory mCRC. Optimal treatment sequence for using these two novel agents is not defined yet. Safety profiles and patient’s condition should be considered before using these two agents in clinical settings. Further investigation is needed to identify the predictive biomarkers of both agents. These results will allow patients to benefit more from regorafenib and TAS-102.

This paper presents an elucidation of three-dimensional flow phenomena that induce an aero-acoustic sound of Blade passing frequency (BPF). Three-dimensional separated and vortical flow fields in an air conditioning system have been investigated by Experimental fluid dynamics (EFD) analysis using an unsteady wall pressure measurement system and by Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis using a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulation as described in the first report of the present study. Generally, the aero-acoustic sound of BPF is one of the main aero-acoustic sounds in air conditioning systems. Based on the EFD analysis, the wall pressure fluctuation of BPF is found to be not only located near the scroll tongue region but also widely located around the scroll casing wall. It was found that there is no correlation between the sensor positions in the circumferential direction and the pressure fluctuation level of BPF. Based on the CFD analysis results, it was found that an attachment line on the center of the scroll casing wall develops by interacting with secondary flow from the multi-blade fan. A pair of secondary vortex structures in the scroll casing longitudinally develops in the circumferential direction. As the pair of secondary flow structures with high vorticity develops in the circumferential direction and interacts with the scroll casing, wall pressure fluctuation of BPF is generated even though it is located far away from the scroll tongue.

This paper presents a suitable way for a practical RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes simulation) based CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) methodology which is applicable to real scale 217-pin wire-wrapped fuel assembly of KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) PGSFR (Prototype Gen-IV Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor). The main purpose of the current study is to support license issue for the KAERI PGSFR core safety and to elucidate thermal-hydraulic characteristics in a 217-pin wire-wrapped fuel assembly of KAERI PGSFR. A key point of differentiation of the RANS based CFD methodology in this study is adapting an innovative grid generation method using a fortran based in-house code with a GGI (General Grid Interface) function in a general-purpose commercial CFD code, CFX. The innovative grid generation method with GGI function can achieve to simulate a real wire shape with minimizing cell skewness. The RANS based CFD methodology is implemented with high resolution scheme in convection term and SST (Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model in the 7-pin 37-pin, and 127-pin wire-wrapped fuel assembly of PNC (Power reactor and Nuclear fuel development Corporation) and JNC (Japan Nuclear Cycle development institute). The sensitivity studies of wall grid scales, GGI function, and turbulence models are also carried out. The RANS based CFD methodology can be successfully extended to the real scale 217-pin wire-wrapped fuel bundles of KAERI PGSFR. Furthermore, three-dimensional thermal-hydraulic characteristics in 7-pin, 37-pin, 127-pin, and 217-pin fuel assemblies have been also investigated.

// Bum Jun Kim 1, * , Jae Ho Jeong 2, * , Jung Han Kim 1 , Hyeong Su Kim 1 , Hyun Joo Jang 3 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hemato-Oncology, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea 2 Center for Colorectal Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Republic of Korea 3 Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, Hwasung, Republic of Korea * These authors equally contributed to this work as first authors Correspondence to: Jung Han Kim, email: harricil@hotmail.com Hyeong Su Kim, email: nep2n@hallym.or.kr Keywords: colon cancer, adjuvant treatment, targeted agent, bevacizumab, cetuximab Received: February 13, 2017 Accepted: March 02, 2017 Published: March 10, 2017 ABSTRACT There has been debate as to whether targeted agents have beneficial effect when added to adjuvant chemotherapy for patient with colon cancer. We conducted this meta-analysis to investigate the role of targeted agents in the adjuvant treatment of colon cancer. We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library databases. We included phase III trials with the data of disease-free survival (DFS) and adverse events (AEs) of adjuvant treatment with targeted agents. From 5 eligible studies, a total of 9,991 patients with resected colon cancer were included in the meta-analysis of hazard ratio (HR) for 3-year DFS and odds ratio (OR) for grade 3 or higher AEs. The addition of targeted agents showed no improvement of 3-year DFS, compared to standard adjuvant chemotherapy alone (HR = 1.04 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.96–1.13], P = 0.31). In the subgroup analysis according to the type of targeted agents, neither bevacizumab (HR = 1.03 [95% CI, 0.88–1.21], P = 0.72) nor cetuximab (HR = 1.11 [95% CI, 0.94–1.31], P = 0.22) was associated with improvement of DFS. Moreover, targeted agents significantly increased grade 3 or higher AEs (OR = 1.73 [95% CI, 1.21–2.46], P = 0.003) and treatment-related death (OR = 2.15 [95% CI, 1.16–3.99], P = 0.02). In conclusion, this meta-analysis demonstrates that the addition of targeted agents to standard adjuvant chemotherapy results in no improvement of DFS with increased severe AEs and treatment-related death in patients with resected colon cancer.

This paper elucidates three-dimensional flow phenomena that induce aero-acoustic noise at certain frequencies. Three-dimensional separated and vortical flow fields in an air conditioning system are investigated by Experimental fluid dynamics (EFD) analysis using an unsteady wall pressure measurement system with 30 high-respond pressure transducers and by Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis using a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulation with a k-e turbulence model. The EFD investigation revealed that the regions with high wall pressure fluctuation are located near the scroll tongue and on the bottom of the diffuser casing wall. A wall pressure fluctuation of 0.056 Blade passing frequency (BPF) was observed at sensor A near the scroll tongue, and a wall pressure fluctuation of 0.173 BPF was observed on part of the evaporator casing wall. The CFD investigation revealed that the reverse flow is generated by interaction between the scroll tongue and multi-blade fan. The reverse flow develops strongly over a wide range in the multi-blade fan near the scroll tongue. Furthermore, there is also a longitudinally separated vortex near the bottom of the diffuser casing. The reverse flow and longitudinally separated vortex interact with the wall casing. For this reason, the scroll tongue and the bottom of the diffuser casing had high pressure fluctuations in the EFD investigation. By considering aero-acoustic factors, an aerodynamic sound of 0.056 BPF can be explained by Helmholtz resonance phenomenon, which is generated by high pressure fluctuation due to the reverse flow near the scroll tongue. An aerodynamic sound of 0.173 BPF can be explained by the standing wave phenomenon, which is generated by high pressure fluctuation due to the longitudinally separated vortex on the bottom of the diffuser casing wall.

Background/Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of direct oral anticoagulants for cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with active cancer. Patients and Methods: This study included patients with advanced unresectable/metastatic upper gastrointestinal (GI) or hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) cancers with high risks of VTE and bleeding. Results: No significant differences were noted in potential bleeding factors between the rivaroxaban (n=105) and low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) (n=69) groups. Rivaroxaban exhibited similar risk of recurrent/aggravated VTE compared with LMWH (p=0.625) but increased risk of major bleeding (17.4% vs. 7.6%; p=0.072), clinically relevant bleeding (31.9% vs. 14.3%; p=0.019), and total bleeding (40.6% vs. 19%; p=0.010). The multivariate analysis regarded rivaroxaban as a significant factor for major bleeding (p=0.043) and clinically relevant bleeding (p=0.043). Conclusion: Rivaroxaban exhibits comparable efficacy but increases bleeding risks compared with LMWH in patients with active unresectable/metastatic upper GI tract or HPB cancers, requiring extra caution of higher major bleeding risks.

Aim To compare the efficacy and safety of intermittent every other days 5-dose filgrastim with single pegfilgrastim in patients with breast cancer receiving adjuvant docetaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (TAC) chemotherapy. Methods In this pilot study, Korean patients who had undergone complete resection for breast cancer and scheduled for adjuvant TAC chemotherapy were enrolled. Patients were randomized to receive either intermittent 5 doses of filgrastim (5 mcg/kg/day) or once-a-cycle pegfilgrastim (6 mg) as primary prophylaxis during the first three cycles of the TAC chemotherapy. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was analyzed as well. Results A total of 22 patients were randomly and equally divided into filgrastim or pegfilgrastim arms. Febrile neutropenia (FN) occurred in 1 patient in the pegfilgrastim arm (1 of 33 cycles) and none in the filgrastim arm. G3 neutropenia occurred in 1 patient (1 of 33 cycles) in the filgrastim arm and 2 patients (4 of 33 cycles) in the pegfilgrastim arm (P = 0.476). G4 neutropenia occurred in 11 patients (28 of 33 cycles) in the filgrastim arm and 9 patients (18 of 33 cycles) in the pegfilgrastim arm (P = 0.476). Except for on day 9 in cycle 3, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of ANC. Conclusion We observed no significant differences between the two methods of prophylaxis in terms of FN and G3/4 neutropenia incidence in patients receiving adjuvant TAC chemotherapy. Intermittent every other days 5-dose filgrastim may be available alternative to pegfilgrastim.

The specific recognition between a monoclonal antibody (mAb) and its epitope can be used in a tag system that has proved valuable in a wide range of biological applications. Herein, we describe a novel tag called RA-tag that is composed of a seven amino acid sequence (DIDLSRI) and recognized by a highly specific mAb, 47RA, against the bacterial toxin Vibrio vulnificus RtxA1/MARTXVv. By using recombinant proteins with the RA-tag at the N-terminal, C-terminal, or an internal site, we demonstrated that the tag system could be an excellent biological system for both protein purification and protein detection in enzyme-linked immunosorbent, Western blot, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence staining analyses in Escherichia coli, mammalian cell lines, yeast, and plant. In addition, our RA-tag/47RA mAb combination showed high sensitivity and reliable affinity (KD = 5.90 × 10−8 M) when compared with conventional tags. Overall, our results suggest that the RA-tag system could facilitate the development of a broadly applicable tag system for biological research.

PURPOSE Since the introduction of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine (nab-P+GEM) as first-line (1L) treatment for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPDAC), optimal second-line (2L) chemotherapy after progression is unclear. We assessed clinical outcomes of 2L chemotherapy for disease that progressed on 1L nab-P+GEM. Materials and Methods Among the 203 patients previously treated with 1L nab-P+GEM for mPDAC at Asan Medical Center, between February and December 2016, records of 120 patients receiving 2L chemotherapy after progression on nab-P+GEM were retrospectively reviewed. The response rate and survival were evaluated along with analysis of prognostic factors. RESULTS Fluoropyrimidine-oxaliplatin doublets (FOLFOX or XELOX) were used in 78 patients (65.0%), fluoropyrimidine monotherapy in 37 (30.8%), and liposomal irinotecan plus fluorouracil in two (1.7%). The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 3.29 months and 7.33 months from the start of 2L therapy. Fluoropyrimidine-oxaliplatin regimens and fluoropyrimidine monotherapy did not yield significantly different median PFS (2.89 months vs. 3.81 months, p=0.40) or OS (7.04 months vs. 7.43 months, p=0.86). A high neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (> 2.2) and a short time to progression with 1L nab-P+GEM (< 6.4 months) were independent prognostic factors of poor OS with 2L therapy. CONCLUSION 2L fluoropyrimidine-oxaliplatin doublets and fluoropyrimidine monotherapy after failure of 1L nab-P+GEM had modest efficacy, with no differences in treatment outcomes between them. Further investigation is warranted for the optimal 2L chemo-regimens and sequencing of systemic chemotherapy for patients with mPDAC.

PurposeStereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a promising treatment modality for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). We evaluated the clinical outcomes of SBRT in patients with LAPC.Patients and methodsWe retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients with LAPC who underwent SBRT at our institution between April 2011 and July 2016. Fiducial markers were implanted using endoscopic ultrasound guidance one week prior to 4-dimensional computed tomography (CT) simulation and daily cone beam CT was used for image guidance. Patients received volumetric modulated arc therapy or intensity modulated radiotherapy using respiratory gating technique. A median dose of 28 Gy (range, 24-36 Gy) was given over four consecutive fractions delivered within one week. Survival outcomes including freedom from local disease progression (FFLP), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Acute and late toxicities related to SBRT were assessed.ResultsA total of 95 patients with LAPC were analyzed, 52 of which (54.7%) had pancreatic head cancers. Most (94.7%) had received gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. The 1-year FFLP rate was 80.1%. Median OS and PFS were 16.7 months and 10.2 months, respectively; the 1-year OS and PFS rates were 67.4% and 42.9%, respectively. Among 79 patients who experienced failure, the sites of first failures were isolated local progressions in 12 patients (15.2%), distant metastasis in 55 patients (69.6%), and both in 12 patients (15.2%). Seven patients (7.4%) were able to undergo surgical resection after SBRT and four had margin-negative resections. Three patients (3.2%) had grade 3 nausea/vomiting during SBRT, and late grade 3 toxicity was observed in another three patients.ConclusionsLAPC patients who received chemotherapy and SBRT had favorable FFLP and OS with minimal treatment-related toxicity. The most common pattern of failure was distant metastasis, which warrants further studies on the optimal scheme of chemotherapy and SBRT.

4006 Background: There is no globally established second-line therapy after progression on GemCis in BTC. Although ABC-06 trial showed the clinical benefit of mFOLFOX compared to active symptom control, further investigation is needed. Methods: NIFTY is an investigator-initiated, multicenter, open-label, randomized, phase 2b study. Pts with > 19 years, ECOG PS 0/1, histologically confirmed metastatic BTC, and disease progression on first-line GemCis were eligible. Pts were randomized 1:1 to nal-IRI (70 mg/m2, 90 min) plus 5-FU (2400 mg/m2, 46 hours)/LV (400 mg/m2, 30 min), every 2 weeks or 5-FU/LV, every 2 weeks until disease progression per investigator review or intolerable toxicities (stratification: primary tumor site, prior surgery and institution). Tumor response was evaluated per RECIST v1.1, every 6 weeks (fixed schedule). Primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS) per blinded independent central review (BICR). Secondary endpoints were PFS per investigator review, overall survival (OS) overall response rates (ORR), and safety. This study was designed to improve median PFS from 2 months (P0) to 3.3 months (P1; HR 0.6) with 2-sided alpha of 0.05, power of 80% and follow-up loss rates of 10%; a total of 174 pts were required. Results: A total of 178 patients were enrolled between SEP 2018 and FEB 2020; with exclusion of 4 pts who did not receive any study treatment, 174 pts (88 for nal-IRI plus 5-FU/LV group and 86 for 5-FU/LV group) were included in the Full Analysis Set. Median age was 64 yrs (range 37-84); 99/75 pts were male/female; 74/47/53 pts had intrahepatic/extrahepatic/gallbladder cancers. Pts characteristics were well balanced between two arms. With median follow-up duration of 6.1 mo (IQR 3.5-11.2), median PFS per BICR in nal-IRI plus 5-FU/LV group and 5-FU/LV group was 7.1 mo (95% CI, 3.6-8.8) and 1.4 mo (1.2-1.5), respectively (HR=0.56 [0.39-0.81], p=0.0019); median PFS per investigator review was 3.9 mo (2.7-5.2) and 1.6 mo (1.3-2.2), respectively (HR=0.48 [0.34-0.69], p

382 Background: Liposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) plus fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV) has demonstrated its clinical benefit in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPAC) who progressed on prior gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. However, its role in patients who previously treated with conventional irinotecan has not been investigated. We analyzed clinical outcomes of nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV in mPAC patients after progression on conventional irinotecan-containing chemotherapy. Methods: In this multicenter retrospective analysis, a total of 35 patients with mPAC who received nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV after progression on irinotecan-containing regimen, between January 2017 and March 2020, were included. The ratio of time-to-progression (TTP) with nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV to TTP with conventional irinotecan (TTPr) was correlated with duration and cumulative dose of prior conventional irinotecan. Results: The median age was 58 years (range, 35-73) and 16 patients (46%) were male. All patients received prior irinotecan as the component of FOLFIRINOX. The median duration of prior irinotecan was 4.6 months (range, 0.5-16.8) and median cumulative dose of prior irinotecan was 1230 mg (range, 150-4650). Objective response rate of nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV was 2.9% (1 partial response) and stable disease was achieved in 31.4% (n = 11). With median follow-up duration of 9.2 months [95% CI, 7.8-10.5], the median PFS and OS were 2.0 months [95% CI, 1.4-2.6] and 4.4 months [95% CI, 3.6-5.7], respectively. 6-month PFS rate was 16.3% and OS rate was 37.5%. The median TTPr was 0.41 (range 0.07-2.07) and this showed negative correlation between cumulative dose of prior irinotecan (R = -0.37, p = 0.041). There was a tendency for the negative correlation between TTPr and duration of prior irinotecan (R = -0.35, p = 0.062). Most common grade 3-4 toxicities were neutropenia (20%) and fatigue (8.6%). Conclusions: Nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV showed only modest efficacy for mPAC patients who progressed on conventional irinotecan-containing chemotherapy. Cumulative dose of prior conventional irinotecan may be correlated with the efficacy of nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV.

Purpose The tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) expression in breast cancer is a positive prognostic marker for certain breast cancer subtypes. We evaluated the efficacy of dual anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) blockade in HER2-positive breast cancer and hypothesized that high TILs tumors are associated with better outcomes. Methods A total of 176 patients who were treated with neoadjuvant docetaxel, carboplatin, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab (TCHP) between December 2015 and December 2018 were reviewed. They were grouped based on a cut-off value of the stromal TILs grade (≤ 20% TILs, > 20% TILs). Results In total, 107 patients (60.8%) achieved pathological complete response (pCR). Hormone receptor (HR)-negativity (p = 0.001) and a high TILs grade (p = 0.022) were independent predictors of pCR. Among the HR-negative patients, high TILs tumors were significantly associated with pCR (p = 0.035). Conclusion HR status and the TILs grade are significantly correlated with pCR in dual anti-HER2 neoadjuvant therapy. The evaluation of the TILs at baseline may be beneficial for predicting pCR in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Introduction: Liposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) plus fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV) has shown clinical benefit in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPAC) who progressed on gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. However, its role in patients with mPAC previously treated with conventional irinotecan-containing chemotherapy has not been appropriately investigated. Methods: In this retrospective analysis, patients with mPAC who received nal-IRI plus 5-FU/LV after conventional irinotecan-containing regimen between January 2017 and March 2020, were identified from two referral cancer centers in South Korea. The ratio of time to progression (TTP) with nal-IRI plus 5-FU/LV to TTP with conventional irinotecan (TTPr) was analyzed with respect to the duration and cumulative dose of conventional irinotecan treatment. Results: In total, 35 patients treated with nal-IRI plus 5-FU/LV after the irinotecan-containing regimen were analyzed. The median age was 58 years and 16 (46%) patients were male. The median duration of conventional irinotecan therapy was 4.6 months at a median cumulative dose of 1230 mg. The objective response rate of nal-IRI plus 5-FU/LV was 2.9%, and stable disease was achieved in 11 (31.4%) patients. During the median follow-up of 9.2 [95% confidence interval (CI): 7.8–10.5] months, the median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 2.0 (95% CI: 1.4–2.6) months and 4.4 (95% CI: 3.6–5.7) months, respectively. The 6-month PFS and OS rates were 16.3% and 37.5%, respectively. The median TTPr was 0.41 (range, 0.07–2.07), showing a negative correlation with the cumulative dose of prior irinotecan therapy (R = −0.37, p = 0.041). A tentative negative correlation between TTPr and duration of prior irinotecan therapy was observed ( R = −0.35, p = 0.062). The most common grade 3–4 toxicities were neutropenia (20%) and fatigue (8.6%). Conclusion: Nal-IRI plus 5-FU/LV showed modest effectiveness and manageable toxicities for patients with mPAC previously treated with conventional irinotecan-containing chemotherapy. The cumulative dose of prior conventional irinotecan therapy may be inversely correlated with the effectiveness of nal-IRI plus 5-FU/LV.

Enteropathogenic E. coli causes attaching and effacing (A/E) intestinal lesions. The genes involved in the formation of A/E lesions are encoded within a chromosomal island comprising of five major operons, LEE1-5. The global regulator H-NS represses the expression of these operons. Ler, a H-NS homologue, counteracts the H-NS-mediated repression. Using a novel genetic approach, we identified the amino acid residues in Ler that are involved in the interaction with H-NS: I20 and L23 in the C-terminal portion of α-helix 3, and I42 in the following unstructured linker region.

The prototype generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR) has been developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. This reactor uses sodium as a reactor coolant to transfer the core heat energy to the turbine. Sodium has chemical characteristics that allow it to violently react with materials such as a water or steam. When a sodium–water reaction (SWR) occurs due to leakage or breakage of steam generator tubes, high-pressure waves and corrosive reaction products are produced, which threaten the structural integrity of the components of the intermediate heat-transfer system (IHTS) and the safety of the primary heat-transfer system (PHTS). In the PGSFR, SWR events are included in the design-basis event. This event should be analyzed from the viewpoint of the integrities of the IHTS and fuel rods. To evaluate the integrity of the IHTS based on the consequences of the SWR, the behaviors of the generated high-pressure waves are analyzed at the major positions of a failed IHTS loop using a sodium–water advanced analysis method-II code. The integrity of the fuel rods must be consistently maintained below the safety acceptance criteria to avoid the consequences of the SWR. The integrity of the PHTS is evaluated using the multidimensional analysis of reactor safety-liquid metal reactor code to model the whole plant.

Background Endocrine therapy (E) has a major role in treatment of hormone receptor (HR)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC). However, in contrast to western countries, premenopausal patients (PRE) more prevalent (50% of all breast cancer patients) and have less options of E than postmenopausal patients (POST) in Korea where the use of LHRH agonist in combination aromatase inhibitors (AIs) in PRE is restricted. Recently we have been successfully established nationwide cohort for the patients MBC (575 patients from 26 institutes). This study was designed to evaluate the role of E especially in PRE. Methods The patients with MBC were prospectively or retrospectively enrolled between September 2014 and May 2015. Only menopausal status-confirmed patients (296) were analyzed. Postmenopause was defined, based on NCCN guideline. Total duration of treatment was defined as the time from start day of any first treatment to end of any last treatment. Total duration of E was defined as the sum of time duration of each E. Overall survival was calculated from the start day of any treatment for MBC to any causes of death. This work is supported by National Strategic Coordinating Center for Clinical Research (H110C2020). Results A total of 296 patients with HR-positive MBC were analyzed [PRE, 169 (57.1%) and POST, 127 (42.9%)]. Except age (mean 44 and 60 years), baseline characteristics including in pathology, HER2 status, initial pathologic stage, de novo metastasis versus recurrence, surgery and adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and radiotherapy) were well balanced. 92 (54.4%) of PRE and 77 (60.6%) of POST received at least one or more E through all treatment course. 41 (24.2%) of PRE and 44 (34.6%) received E as 1st-line treatment (p=0.034). Among PRE who received 1st-line of E, 30 (71.4%) and 9 (21.4%) of PRE received 2nd- and 3rd-line E. 20 (45.4%) and 10 (22.7%) of POST received 2nd- and 3rd- or more line of E. Most of PRE (54%) received tamoxifen+/-goserelin and 32% of PRE received AIs along with ovarian suppression. 71% of POST received AIs. As initial treatment, E was more frequently used in POST than in PRE (34.6% and 24.3%, p=0.053). Overall survival (OS) of all patients was 18.2 months (95% CI, 14.8-21.5). There was no difference in OS between PRE (17.8 months, 10.9-24.8) and POST (18.5 months, 95% CI, 13.2-23.9) (P=0.337). No difference of OS was observed (E, 18.1 moths, 95% CI, 13.0-23.3; chemotherapy 21.2 moths, 95% CI, 16.8-25.5), regardless of initial treatment. Total duration of treatment of PRE and POST were 15.2 and 13.6 months, respectively with no significant difference (p=0.389). PRE (8.3 moths, 95% CI,5.7-10.8) showed the trend toward longer duration of E in comparison with POST (5.5 moths, 95% CI,4.4-6.7), however the difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.051). Conclusion E was more commonly used as 1st-line therapy in POST than in PRE. Although PRE had limited options of E, E was used in long duration of treatment especially in PRE. These findings suggested that E had a role in treatment for PRE with HR-positive MBC and could be used in treatment for PRE with good efficacy. Citation Format: Kim T-Y, Ahn J-H, Yoon JH, Sohn JH, Kim GM, Lee KH, Park YH, Koh S-J, Lee SE, Chae Y, Lee KS, Lee KE, Won HS, Kim JH, Jeong J, Park KH, Cho EK, Im Y-H, Im S-A, Jung KH. Role of endocrine therapy in premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer, compared with postmenopausal patients: Diachronic analyses from nationwide cohort in Korea (KCSG BR 14-07). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-09-09.

Background BOLERO-2 phase III trial established the efficacy of everolimus (EVE) plus exemestane (EXE) for the treatment of postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative, advanced breast cancer (aBC). However, in this study only a minority ( Methods EVEREXES is an open-label phase IIIb, single arm, multi-center trial, which from March 2013 to October 2014 enrolled 232 post-menopausal, HR-positive and HER2-negative, aBC patients previously treated with aromatase inhibitors, across 13 countries in Asia Pacific, Middle East, North and South Africa, with a significant majority of patients being of Asian ethnicity (196, 84.5%). Its primary objective was to investigate the safety and tolerability profile of EVE+EXE. Secondary objectives were the evaluation of efficacy (assessed by PFS, ORR, and CBR based on RECIST 1.1 criteria) and change in ECOG performance status. Results At data cut off of 31st of January 2015, at a median follow up of 11.7 months, median PFS for the ITT population was 9.5 months [9.2-11.6 months], based on local assessment, with the observation of 1 (0.4%) CR and 35 (15.4%) PR. Regarding safety and tolerability, a majority (81.1%) of grade (G) 1/2 adverse events (AEs) was reported. In particular, the following pattern was observed in terms of % of patients who developed G1/G2/G3 mTOR-inhibition induced AEs: stomatitis (36.1, 13.7, 10.6), rash (21.6/6.2/0), fatigue (10.6, 4.4, 2.2), hyperglycemia (6.2, 11.5, 7.0), weight decrease (7.5, 7, 0.9), pneumonitis (5.7, 7, 0.9). No Grade 4 AEs related to EVE+EXE treatment were observed, with exception of one case of non infectious pneumonitis (0.4%). Median dose intensity of everolimus was 9.2 mg/day. Conclusions Efficacy and safety results from EVEREXES trial further confirm the role of EVE+EXE for the treatment of HR+/Her2- advanced BC patients in Eastern countries. Results were consistent with data previously reported in BOLERO-2 trial. Citation Format: Im Y-H, Uslu R, Lee KS, Nagarkar R, Sohn J, Sevinc A, Altundag K, Chang Y-C, Abdel-Razeq H, Im S-A, Jeong J, Park HY, Arpornwirat W, Bastick P, Le TH, Ocak Arikan O, Xue HL, Canatar A, Valenti R, Kim S-B. Clinical effectiveness of everolimus and exemestane in advanced breast cancer patients from Asia and Africa: First efficacy and updated safety results from the phase IIIb EVEREXES study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-13-09.

Background Recently, many clinical trials (TRIAL) especially incorporated with molecular-targeted agents are being conducted in treatment for breast cancer worldwide. However, the relation of participating clinical trials with survival has not been actively studied. This study was designed to evaluate whether participation in clinical trials could improve overall survival (OS) or not in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), compared with conventional treatment. Method Korean Cancer Study Group (KCSG) has successfully established Nationwide Cohort in KOREA to conduct diachronic analysis (KCSG BR 14-07). Clinical data for patients with MBC were collected from this Cohort. OS was defined as the time duration from first diagnosis of metastasis to any cause of death. This work is supported by National Strategic Coordinating Center for Clinical Research (H110C2020). Results A total of 575 patients with metastatic breast from 26 institutes in KOREA cancer MBC were consequently enrolled between September 2014 and May 2015. 156 (27.1%) of patients were enrolled to at least one or more clinical trials and 419 patients received only conventional treatment (CONV). Age, hormone status, HER2 status, initial pathologic stage, metastasis versus recurrence, adjuvant treatment, ECOG performance status (PS) (0, 1 vs 2 or more) were similar between TRIAL and CONV. 30% of trials were associated with HER2-targeted agents. As initial treatment, chemotherapy was more frequently used in TRIAL (85.9%) than in CONV (79.0%) (P=0.038). Number of regimens of chemotherapy was greater in TRIAL (2.9+/-1.8) than CONV (2.1+/-1.6) (P Conclusion Participating in clinical trials could be associated with prolongation of survival. This results constantly maintained in HER2-positive and triple-negative MBC. These findings suggested that clinical trials are useful for the patients with MBC, even if the patients do not complete the standard treatment. Citation Format: Kim T-Y, Sohn JH, Kim S-B, Yoon JH, Kim GM, Lee KH, Koh S-J, Park YH, Lee SE, Chae Y, Lee KS, Lee KE, Won HS, Kim JH, Jeong J, Park KH, Cho EK, Im Y-H, Im S-A, Jung KH. Does participation in clinical trials influence on survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer?. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-10-03.

The wire-wrapped fuel bundle is commonly proposed in sodiumcooled fast reactors (SFRs) to enhance heat transfer of coolant in a compact triangular fuel array. In spite of its good performance, the wires around the fuel rods produce complex and periodic flow field, and it could eventually generate large uncertainties in design and licensing. In recent decades, the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is gaining popularity to address this issue due to its capability to provide local flow and thermal information in large details. In this regard, CFD analyses have been performed here on the 37 and 61 pin SFR wire-wrapped fuel bundle experiment conducted at KAERI. The main purposes of this study are (1) to validate the CFD method in the SFR fuel bundle geometry, and (2) to investigate the local and the subchannel flow behaviors. First, the CFD simulations are compared with the experimental data and it is found that the applied models and the meshing schemes are good for prediction on the pressure drop and the mass flow rate for the given geometry. Afterward, the local flow data from the CFD is averaged for each subchannel in order to extract subchannel information. Then, the subchannel flow distribution characteristics are investigated and discussed using a flow split factor. Finally, this study proposes a model to predict the flow split factor in terms of subchannel types and wire rotation for the given wire-wrapped design.

In this study, measurement of turbulence intensity, pressure drop and local velocity field in the sodium fast reactor (SFR) wire-wrapped 19-pin bundle have been conducted to compare with the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANS)-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The refractive indices between test section and working fluid, anise oil, were matched for the flow visualization. The turbulence intensity measurement showed that the transition of flow regime occurs at around Re = 13,800 at the test section. Pressure drop results revealed that the low-Re model showed the superior agreement with the experimental results. The particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement was performed at the Reynolds numbers from 15,000 to 17,000. The velocity fields measured in the edge and interior subchannels. From the comparisons, it was found that the CFD simulation showed good agreement with the PIV measurement on specific flow characteristics such as vortex structure, swirl flow, and velocity direction change.

720 Background: Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC) and locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer (LAUPC) are heterogeneous disease entity with various prognosis. Based on the phase III PRODIGE trial, (m)FOLFIRINOX has been widely used for the management of patients with BRPC and LAUPC. Considering the lack of large phase 3 trial of (m)FOLFIRINOX for BRPC and LAUPC, real-life evidences of (m)FOLFIRINOX are needed. Methods: In this retrospective analysis, 199 patients who received at least one dose of (m)FOLFIRINOX between February 2013 and January 2017 were included. Endpoints of this study were objective response rates (ORR), surgical resection rate, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: Median age was 60 years (range, 33-79) and 62.3% of patients were male. Pancreas head (n=112, 56.3%) was the most common primary tumor site, followed by body (n=42, 21.1%) and multifocal (n=34, 17.1%). By an independent radiology review, patients were classified to BRPC (n=75, 37.7%) and LAUPC (n=124, 62.3%). With median 40.3 months (95% CI, 36.7-43.8) of follow-up duration in surviving patients, ORR was 26.6% (n=53), median PFS and OS were 10.6 months (95% CI, 9.5-11.7) and 17.1 months (95% CI, 13.2-20.9), respectively. There was no difference in PFS and OS between BRPC and LAUPC (median PFS, 11.1 months [95% CI, 8.8-13.5] vs. 10.1 months [95% CI, 8.4-11.8], p=0.47); (median OS, 18.4 months [95% CI, 16.1-20.8] vs. 17.1 months [95% CI, 13.2-20.9], p=0.50). Curative-intent surgery (R0 and R1) was done in 63 patients (33.2%, 49 for R0 and 14 for R1) after treatment with (m)FOLFIRINOX. Resection rates were 58.2% in BRPC patients and 19.4% in LAUPC patients (p

689 Background: FOLFIRINOX is one of standard 1st-line regimens for patients (pts) with advanced PDAC. However, there is no globally established 2nd-line regimen after failure of FOLFIRINOX. Although gemcitabine-based regimens are recommended by multiple guidelines and widely used in daily practice, further analysis is needed to reveal the magnitude of clinical benefit with these regimens. Nab-P+Gem is another standard 1st-line regimen for PDAC, but there are limited data as 2nd-line therapy in PDAC. Therefore, we conducted multicenter retrospective analysis of 2nd-line nab-P+Gem after progression on FOLFIRINOX in pts with advanced PDAC. Methods: Between Feb 2016 and Feb 2019, a total of 103 pts with histologically documented PDAC who received nab-P+GEM after progression on 1st-line FOLFIRINOX were identified among 5 referral cancer centers in South Korea. Results: Median age was 60 years and 50 pts (49%) were male. All but one pts had ECOG performance status of 0-1 at the time of nab-P+GEM. At the time of nab-P+GEM, 25 (24%) and 78 (76%) patients had locally advanced and metastatic disease, respectively. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) with nab-P+GEM was 9.8 months (95% CI: 8.9-10.6) and 4.6 months (95% CI: 3.7-5.5), respectively. Among pts with measurable disease (n = 95), partial response and stable disease were achieved in 8 (8%) and 56 (54%), respectively. Median OS from the start of 1st-line FOLFIRINOX was 20.9 months (95% CI: 15.2-26.6). Most common adverse event of all grade was anemia (77%), followed by neutropenia (60%), fatigue (52%), thrombocytopenia (45%), and peripheral neuropathy (30%). Most common grade 3-4 adverse events were neutropenia (36%), anemia (9%), and peripheral neuropathy (8%). Conclusions: In medically fit pts with advanced PDAC who failed on 1st-line FOLFIRINOX, nab-P+GEM was effective and well tolerated as 2nd-line therapy.

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) has become a promising technology for future cloud computing. MEC enables low-latency service by extending the computation capability to the edge of the network; therefore, hardware accelerators are an essential part of MEC server. As graphics processing unit (GPU) is high-energy consumption, field programmable gate array (FPGA) can be an alternative to accelerate services in power-limited environment as MEC. In this paper, we present an OpenCL-based SIFT accelerator for image features extraction on FPGA that can be deployed as a service on MEC environment. The experimental result on an image with a size of 1024 × 1024 shows that our accelerator speeds-up the bottleneck of the SIFT algorithm up to 13.7 times compared to software version and the energy efficiency is 1.38 times better than the GPU accelerator on an high-end NVIDIA GPU.

Along with the high accuracy and the various use-cases of CNN, the number of services which are based on CNN continues to grow. Thanks to the development of GPU, a hardware accelerator for parallel processing, CNN have become powerful despite of its large amount of computations. In recent year, many studies have suggested using FPGA as a CNN accelerator due to its advantages over GPU. However, using these two accelerators together can greatly improve the processing performance because GPU and FPGA have complementary characteristics. Although there are some scheduling algorithms in the literature for the heterogeneous platform, they do not consider power efficiency and compliance with the deadline of an application at the same time. This paper found that the most power efficient accelerator is different for each sub-layers of CNN. It confirmed that task partitioning in the unit of sub-layers can improve the energy-efficiency of the system. Based on this finding this paper proposes an energy-efficient adaptive task partitioning scheme for CNN-based service. Experimental results show that the proposed scheduling consumes less energy than EDP method while satisfying the requested deadline of tasks.

Purpose: Hepatitis B virus infection is a well-known risk factor for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. However, its prognostic impact has rarely been investigated in advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: Between April 2010 and May 2015, 296 patients with unresectable or metastatic intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma who received gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GemCis) were categorized into a hepatitis B virus group (n=62; 21%) and a non-hepatitis B virus group (n=234; 79%). Clinicopathological features and survival outcomes were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Results: The median age of patients was 59 years (range, 27–78). The median overall survival with first-line GemCis was 9.4 months (95% CI 8.4, 10.4). Compared to the non-hepatitis B virus group, the hepatitis B virus group was younger (median age, 57 vs. 61 years, P = 0.001), mainly male (74% vs. 57%, P = 0.02), and had lower frequency of elevated cancer antigen (CA) 19-9 (34% vs. 59%, P = 0.001) and alkaline phosphatase (43% vs. 61%, P = 0.01). In a univariate analysis, the hepatitis B virus infection showed a marginal relationship with poor overall survival compared to the non-hepatitis B virus infection (median, 8.3 vs. 10.0 months; P=0.13). A multivariate analysis of potential prognostic factors revealed a significant association with poor overall survival in the hepatitis B virus group (hazard ratio (HR) =1.50, P = 0.02). Initial metastatic disease (vs. recurrent/unresectable disease; HR=1.50), metastatic sites ⩾ 2 (vs. 0–1; HR=1.51), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ⩾ 2 (vs. 0–1; HR=1.93), elevated total bilirubin (vs. normal; HR=1.83), and low albumin (vs. normal; HR=1.52) were significantly related to an unfavorable overall survival. Conclusions: This study suggests that the hepatitis B virus infection may be associated with distinctive clinicopathological characteristics and poor outcome in advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma treated with GemCis.

Macrophages release iron into the bloodstream via a membrane-bound iron export protein, ferroportin (FPN). The hepatic iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin controls FPN internalization and degradation in response to bacterial infection. Salmonella typhimurium can invade macrophages and proliferate in the Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV). Hepcidin is reported to increase the mortality of Salmonella-infected animals by increasing the bacterial load in macrophages. Here we assess the iron levels and find that hepcidin increases iron content in the cytosol but decreases it in the SCV through FPN on the SCV membrane. Loss-of-FPN from the SCV via the action of hepcidin impairs the generation of bactericidal reactive oxygen species (ROS) as the iron content decreases. We conclude that FPN is required to provide sufficient iron to the SCV, where iron serves as a cofactor for the generation of antimicrobial ROS rather than as a nutrient for Salmonella., The effects of iron on vacuole-resident Salmonella in macrophages are unclear. Here the authors show that the bacteria are not subject to nutritional inhibition by iron deprivation, but that iron depletion in the vacuole, via the hepcidin-ferroportin axis, inhibits the bactericidal effect of oxidative burst.

Purpose nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine (AG) and FOLFIRINOX have been established as standard first-line treatment in metastatic pancreatic cancer (mPC). We performed retrospective analysis comparing the efficacies of AG and FOLFIRINOX in daily practice setting. Materials and Methods We analyzed 308 patients who presented initially as mPC and received AG (n = 149) or FOLFIRINOX (n = 159) as first-line treatment between 2013 and 2016. Primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Result There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of baseline characteristics, except older age and higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score in AG group. The response rates (34% vs 34%) and median PFS (6.8 vs 5.1 months) were comparable between two groups (p = 0.88 and p = 0.19, respectively), while median OS was significantly better with AG than FOLFIRINOX (11.4 vs 9.6 months; p = 0.002). Elevated baseline CA19–9 level and liver metastasis were independent adverse prognostic factors for PFS and OS. In subgroup analyses, PFS with AG was better in patients with age ≥ 65 years, peritoneal metastasis, and higher CCI than that with FOLFIRINOX. Conclusion Both AG and FOLFIRINOX showed comparable efficacy outcomes in daily practice setting. AG might be preferentially considered in patients with peritoneal metastasis, comorbid medical conditions or old age.

Oral fluoropyrimidine S-1 contains tegafur, which is metabolized to 5-fluorouracil by cytochrome P450 2A6 (CYP2A6). We here examined associations between CYP2A6 polymorphisms and treatment outcomes of adjuvant S-1 in gastric cancer patients. Patients received adjuvant S-1 (40 mg/m2 twice daily, days 1–28, every 6 weeks for eight cycles) after curative surgery for pathological stage II–III gastric cancer. We analyzed the wild-type allele (W) (CYP2A6*1) and four variant alleles (V) (CYP2A6*4, *7, *9, *10) that abolish or reduce this enzyme activity. Patients (n = 200) were enrolled between November 2007 and July 2013 with the following clinical characteristics: median age, 57 years (range, 32–83 years); 128 men, 72 women. With a median follow-up of 46.4 months, the 3-year relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 83.1 % (95 % CI, 77.7–88.5 %) and 94.8 % (95 % CI, 91.6–98.0 %), respectively. Genotype distributions were as follows: W/W (n = 49, 24.5 %), W/V (n = 94, 47.0 %), and V/V (n = 57, 28.5 %). Overall toxicity did not differ according to genotype for any grade (p = 0.612) or grade ≥3 (p = 0.143). However, RFS differed significantly according to CYP2A6 genotype. The 3-year RFS rates were 95.9 % for W/W, 83.1 % for W/V, and 72.5 % for V/V (p = 0.032). Carriers of W/V and V/V genotypes had a poorer RFS with a hazard ratio of 3.41 (95 % CI, 1.01–11.52; p = 0.049) and 4.03 (95 % CI, 1.16–13.93; p = 0.028), respectively, compared with the W/W genotype. CYP2A6 polymorphisms are not associated with toxicity of S-1 chemotherapy, but correlate with the efficacy of S-1 in the adjuvant setting for gastric cancer.

Three-dimensional flow phenomena in a wire-wrapped 37-pin fuel assembly mock-up of a Japanese loop-type sodium-cooled fast reactor, Monju, were investigated with a numerical analysis using a general-purpose commercial computational fluid dynamics code, CFX. Complicated and vortical flow phenomena in the wire-wrapped 37-pin fuel assembly were captured by a Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes flow simulation using a shear stress transport turbulence model. The main purpose of the current study is to understand the three-dimensional complex flow phenomena in a wire-wrapped fuel assembly to support the license issue for the core design. Computational fluid dynamics results show good agreement with friction factor correlation models. The secondary flow in the corner and edge subchannels is much stronger than that in an interior subchannel. The axial velocity averaged in the corner and edge subchannels is higher than that averaged in the interior subchannels. Three-dimensional multiscale vortex structures start to be formed by an interaction between secondary flows around each wire-wrapped pin. Behavior of the large-scale vortex structures in the corner and edge subchannels is closely related to the relative position between the hexagonal duct wall and the helically wrapped wire spacer. The small-scale vortex is axially developed in the interior subchannels. Furthermore, a driving force on each wire spacer surface is closely related to the relative position between the hexagonal duct wall and the wire spacer.

Background The rectum is a relatively uncommon site for lymphoma compared with other gastrointestinal sites; no consensus regarding management of primary rectal lymphoma (PRL) has been formed due to its limited frequency. We aimed to investigate clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes in patients with PRL in a single center patient cohort. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the results of 16 consecutive patients with PRL, identified and treated at the Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea between January 1993 and December 2014. Results These 16 patients with PRL constituted 0.8% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients (N=1,984). B-cell lymphomas (N=14) made up the majority of the series, and half of these were extranodal marginal zone lymphomas (ENMZL, N=7). Ten patients received systemic chemotherapy with (N=3) or without rituximab (N=7), and 4 of these received additional local therapy. The others received radiotherapy (N=3) or endoscopic mucosal resection (N=3). Twelve patients (75%) achieved complete response (CR) after first-line treatment. Event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) in stages IE and IIE were significantly longer compared with stages IVE (P=0.001 and P=0.001, respectively). All patients with ENMZL (N=7) achieved CR during or after initial treatment. Conclusion PRL is very rare and seems to present mostly as B-cell type. Stage is the most important prognostic factor, with significantly better survival associated with localized diseases. ENMZL may be one of the most common types of PRL with favorable treatment outcomes.

Inflammaging is defined as low-grade, chronic, systemic inflammation in aging, in the absence of overt infection. Age-associated deterioration of gastrointestinal function could be ascribed to the inflammaging, although evidence is yet to emerge. Here we show that microvessels in aging mouse intestine were progressively deprived of supportive structures, microvessel-associated pericytes and adherens junction protein vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin, and became leaky. This alteration was ascribed to up-regulation of angiopoetin-2 in microvascular endothelial cells. Up-regulation of the angiopoietin-2 was by TNF-α, originated from M2-like residential CD206+ macrophages, proportion of which increases as animal ages. It was concluded that antigenic burdens encountered in intestine throughout life create the condition of chronic stage of inflammation, which accumulates M2-like macrophages expressing TNF-α. The TNF-α induces vascular leakage to facilitate recruitment of immune cells into intestine under the chronic inflammatory setting.

Korea's labor productivity in construction sites is dependent on experience and act in accordance with the human element of the construction workers. In order to increase the work productivity of the construction site that requires a strategic management to potentially hindrance factors of labor productivity. However, without considering the potential problems, management of labor productivity in prior studies is focused only on the immediate problems. The purpose of this study is to compare the site-specific analysis of labor productivity impediments using easy IPA to identify potential causes. As a result of the analysis was to identify the realistic problems of job insecurity and poor working conditions as well as economic problems. It is expected that it is possible to provide the basic data to strategy suggestions for long-term labor productivity improvement of the construction site. Keywords : Labor productivity, Construction site, IPA * Corresponding author: Ahn, Byung-Ju, Professor, Department of Architectural Engineering, Jeonju University, Jeollabuk-do, 560-759, Korea.Received September 25, 2014: revised October 21, 2014accepted October 27, 2014

In response to microbial infection, expression of the defensin-like peptide hepcidin (encoded by Hamp) is induced in hepatocytes to decrease iron release from macrophages. To elucidate the mechanism by which Salmonella enterica var. Typhimurium (S. typhimurium), an intramacrophage bacterium, alters host iron metabolism for its own survival, we examined the role of nuclear receptor family members belonging to the NR3B subfamily in mouse hepatocytes. Here, we report that estrogen-related receptor γ (ERRγ, encoded by Esrrg) modulates the intramacrophage proliferation of S. typhimurium by altering host iron homeostasis, and we demonstrate an antimicrobial effect of an ERRγ inverse agonist. Hepatic ERRγ expression was induced by S. typhimurium-stimulated interleukin-6 signaling, resulting in an induction of hepcidin and eventual hypoferremia in mice. Conversely, ablation of ERRγ mRNA expression in liver attenuated the S. typhimurium-mediated induction of hepcidin and normalized the hypoferremia caused by S. typhimurium infection. An inverse agonist of ERRγ ameliorated S. typhimurium-mediated hypoferremia through reduction of ERRγ-mediated hepcidin mRNA expression and exerted a potent antimicrobial effect on the S. typhimurium infection, thereby improving host survival. Taken together, these findings suggest an alternative approach to control multidrug-resistant intracellular bacteria by modulating host iron homeostasis.

Background Patients with BTC have dismal prognosis with 5-year survival of less than 10%. GemCis is the globally established first-line therapy based on the phase III ABC-02 trial. However, there is no standard second-line therapy after failure of 1st line GemCis, although 5-FU-based therapy has been widely used. Nal-IRI (Onivyde®) comprises irinotecan sucrosofate salt encapsulated in pegylated liposomes that protect the drug from premature conversion in the liver. This randomized phase 2 trial is designed to compare the clinical outcomes between nal-IRI plus 5-FU/LV with 5-FU/LV alone as 2nd line therapy in patients with BTC who progressed on 1st line Gem/Cis. Trial design NIFTY trial is a multicenter, open-label, randomized, phase II trial and 5 referral cancer centers in Korea participated in this study. Histologically documented biliary tract cancer (intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and gallbladder cancer), documented progression on 1st line Gem/Cis, and at least one measurable lesion are key inclusion criteria. Eligible patients are randomized with 1:1 ratio to experimental arm (80 mg/m2 irinotecan hydrochloride trihydrate salt equivalent to 70 mg/m2 irinotecan free base over 90 minutes, followed by 400 mg/m2 LV over 30 min, and then 2400 mg/m2 5-FU over 46 h, every 2 weeks) and control arm (400 mg/m2 LV over 30 min, and then 2400 mg/m2 5-FU over 46 h, every 2 week). Response evaluation is graded by RECIST v1.1 and conducted every 6 weeks. Primary endpoint is progression-free survival and secondary endpoints are overall survival, response rates, quality of life assessed by EORTC QLQ-C30 and safety profile. We hypothesized that the addition of nal-IRI to 5-FU/LV would enhance the PFS to median 3.3 months (P1) from median 2.0 (P0) with 5-FU/LV alone. With alpha of 0.05, power of 80%, and drop-out rates of 10%, a total of 174 patients (87 patients per each arm) are needed based on this hypothesis. As of March 2019, a total of 89 patients (51% of the target number) are enrolled. Clinical trial identification NCT03524508. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Shire and Servier. Disclosure C. Yoo: Research grant / Funding (self): Shire; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (self): Servier; Honoraria (self): Ipsen. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Background mFOLFIRINOX and GEM are standard chemotherapy for pts with PDAC. This single-arm phase 2 trial assessed the efficacy and safety of perioperative chemotherapy consisted of preoperative mFOLFIRINOX and postoperative GEM in pts with BR/LA-PDAC. Methods Pts with histologically proven and radiologically confirmed BR/LA-PDAC as defined by NCCN criteria were eligible. Pts received 8 cycles of preoperative mFOLFIRINOX (oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2, irinotecan 180 mg/m2, 5-FU 2,400 mg/m2 over 46 hours, and leucovorin 400 mg/m2), every 2 weeks. For pts who underwent surgery, postoperative GEM (1,000 mg/m2 D1, 8, 15, every 4 weeks) was given for 6 cycles. Primary endpoint was 1-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate and secondary endpoints were PFS, overall survival (OS) and curative surgery rate. A total of 44 pts were required to show the improvement in 1-year PFS rates from 30% to 50% with a two-sided alpha of 0.05, beta of 0.8 and drop-out rates of 10%. Results Between May/2016 and Mar/2018, 44 patients were enrolled. Median age was 60 years (range, 35-76) and 26 pts (59%) were male. Pancreas head was most common site (n = 26, 59%), and 29 (66%) and 15 (34%) pts had BR- and LA-PDAC, respectively. With mFOLFIRINOX, response rate was 34% and surgery was done in 27 pts (61%); 22 and 5 pts achieved R0 and R1 resection, respectively, and postoperative GEM was given in 26 patients (96%). With median follow-up of 20.7 months (95% CI, 14.4-27.0), 1-year PFS rate was 52.0% (95% CI, 37.1-66.9), and 2-year OS rate was 49.8% (95% CI, 38.2-71.4). Median PFS and OS was 12.2 months (95% CI, 7.9-15.9), and 22.3 months (95% CI, 11.3-33.3), respectively. Median OS was significantly prolonged in pts who underwent surgery compared to those who did not (26.2 months [95% CI, 23.1-29.3] vs 9.0 months [95% CI, 6.6-11.4 months]; p Conclusions Perioperative chemotherapy using mFOLFIRINOX and GEM was feasible and effective for pts with BR/LA-PDAC. Clinical trial identification NCT02749136. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Boryung Pharmaceuticals. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

4078 Background: Although many studies using whole-exome sequencing or targeted sequencing have reported the molecular profile of BTC, its clinical implications remains unclear. In this study, we assessed a predictive role of DDR gene mutations in advanced BTC patients treated with platinum-containing regimen. Methods: Eighty-eight patients with pathologically-confirmed BTC who received first-line gemcitabine-cisplatin combination (n = 69) or fluoropyrimidine-oxaliplatin combination (n = 19) were included in this analysis. Targeted exome sequencing was performed using Foundation Medicine T7 assay or in-house OncoPanel AMC. Germline or somatic mutations in ATM, ATR, BAP1, BARD1, BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, CHEK2, FAM175A, GEN1, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, MRE11A, NBN, PALB2, PMS2, RAD50, RAD51, RAD51C, RAD51D, and XRCC2 were classified as DDR gene mutations. Data regarding baseline characteristics and treatment outcomes were retrospectively obtained from medical records. Results: The median age was 62 years (range, 25-78), with male comprising 64.8% (n = 57). By primary tumor site, 21 patients with GBC (23.9%), 44 with ICC (50.0%) and 23 with ECC (26.1%) were included. Most patients received palliative chemotherapy for their initially metastatic (50.0%) or recurred (44.3%) disease; the rest 5.7% had locally advanced disease. The median PFS and OS of overall patients were 7.1 and 16.1 months, respectively with median follow-up duration of 20.2 months. DDR gene mutations were found in 63.5% of patients. BRCA2 (18.2%) was most frequently mutated, followed by ATM (13.6%), and ATR (8.0%). DDR gene mutations were significantly associated with prolonged PFS (presence vs. absence; median, 6.9 vs. 5.7 months; P = 0.013) and OS (median, 21.0 vs. 13.3 months, P = 0.009). The impact of DDR gene mutations remained significant in multivariate analyses for PFS that included other prognostic factors (hazard ratio, 0.51; P = 0.009), but not for OS. Conclusions: The presence of DDR gene mutations might be a promising predictive biomarker for response to platinum-based chemotherapies in advanced BTC. Future investigation using novel agents targeting DDR gene alteration in BTC are warranted.

4082 Background: For patients with advanced BTC, standard chemotherapy has limited benefit and no molecular targeted agents have been approved. Pembrolizumab is an anti PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor which has shown modest activity for advanced BTC patients in prior single-arm phase I/II studies. Considering the heterogeneity of BTC, more data are needed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of pembrolizumab in unresectable or metastatic BTC. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 39 patients with PD-L1 positive BTC who received pembrolizumab in Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea were included (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT03695952). PD-L1 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry and PD-L1 positive tumors were defined as the expression of PD-L1 in ≥ 1% of tumor cells. Pembrolizumab was given at a fixed dose of 200 mg intravenously, every 3 weeks. Results: The median age was 61 years old (range, 41-76) and 22 (56.4%) patients were male. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) was the most common type (n = 18, 46.2%), followed by gallbladder cancer (n = 12, 30.8%) and extrahepatic CCA (n = 9, 23.1%). Most of the patients had distant metastasis (n = 37, 94.9%). Pembrolizumab was administered as 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th or greater line chemotherapy in 18 (46.2%), 16 (41.0%) and 5 (12.8%) patients, respectively, and median 2 cycles (range 1-10) of pembrolizumab were given. In 36 patients whose response was assessable, partial response (PR) and stable disease were achieved in 4 (11.1%) and 13 (36.1%), respectively. In 19 (52.8%) patients, progressive disease was the best response. In patients with PR, the median time to response was 2.1 months (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.4 – 3.9). With a median follow-up duration of 4.4 months (95% CI, 2.4 – 6.4), median progression-free survival and overall survival was 1.5 months (95% CI, 0.4 – 2.6) and 4.3 months (95% CI, 2.6 – 6.1), respectively. No grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) were reported and grade 1/2 fatigue (n = 4, 10.3%) was the most common AE. Conclusions: In PD-L1 positive BTC, pembrolizumab showed modest efficacy with 11.1% of response rates although our patients were heavily pretreated. Considering the limited therapeutic options and poor survival for these patients, further evaluation of immunotherapy including biomarker analysis is needed.

The clinical benefit and potential risks of conversion surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) have not been fully investigated in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC) and locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer (LAPC). Therefore, this has been evaluated in a retrospective, prospective cohort-based analysis. Between October 2005 and April 2017, 135 patients (65 with BRPC and 70 with LAPC) received conversion surgery after NACT. Exploratory analysis to assess clinical outcomes in comparison with patients who underwent upfront surgery in the same time period (n = 359) was also conducted. NACT with gemcitabine-based regimens (including gemcitabine monotherapy, gemcitabine-capecitabine combination, and gemcitabine-erlotinib combination) was used in 69 patients (51%) and FOLFIRINOX in 66 patients (49%). The median overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) from the time of surgery was 25.4 months (95% CI, 18.6&ndash, 32.2 months) and 9.0 months (95% CI, 6.8&ndash, 11.2 months), respectively. The median OS and progression-free survival from the initiation of NACT was 29.7 months (95% CI, 22.5&ndash, 36.8 months) and 13.4 months (95% CI, 12.5&ndash, 14.4 months), respectively. In the exploratory analysis, conversion surgery after NACT was associated with a better median OS and DFS than upfront surgery (vs. 17.1 months, 95% CI, 15.5&ndash, 18.7 months, p = 0.001 and vs. 7.1 months, 95% CI, 6.4&ndash, 7.8 months, p = 0.005, respectively). There was no difference in length of hospital stay between the two groups, and conversion surgery after NACT showed a significantly lower incidence of postoperative complications than upfront surgery (38% vs. 27%, p = 0.03). Conversion surgery after NACT is a feasible and effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of patients with BRPC and LAPC. Further clinical trials investigating optimal therapeutic strategies for BRPC and LAPC are warranted.

312 Background: Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has been widely investigated, the magnitude of the clinical benefit and the potential risk of NACT followed by surgery compared with upfront surgery remains unclear for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). Methods: This retrospective, prospective cohort-based analysis included 135 patients who underwent NACT followed by surgery and 359 patients who received upfront surgery for LAPC between October 2005 and April 2017. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) from surgery were compared between the two groups. Results: There were no significant differences in gender (male, 53% vs 56%) and age (median 60 vs 61 years) between the NACT followed by surgery group and upfront surgery group. As NACT, gemcitabine-based regimens and FOLFIRINOX were used in 69 (51%) and 66 (49%) patients, respectively. The NACT followed by surgery group showed significantly less advanced T stage (T3–4, 93% vs 99%, p = 0.001) and N stage (N+, 49% vs 71%, p < 0.001) than the upfront surgery group. NACT followed by surgery was significantly associated with better OS (median, 25.4 [18.6–32.2] vs 17.1 [15.5–18.7] months, p = 0.001) and DFS (median, 9.0 [95% CI, 6.8–11.2] vs 7.1 [6.4–7.8] months, p = 0.005) than upfront surgery. These results were consistent in the multivariate analysis for OS (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.73 [95% CI, 0.56–0.96], p = 0.02) and DFS (aHR, 0.72 [95% CI, 0.56–0.93], p = 0.01). There was no difference in length of hospital stay (median 13 vs 17 days, p = 0.14) for surgery between the two groups, and the NACT followed by surgery group showed a significantly lower incidence of postoperative complication than the upfront surgery group (38% vs 27%, p = 0.03). Conclusions: The present study revealed that NACT followed by surgery may provide survival benefit compared with upfront surgery in LAPC without causing significant safety issues.