• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.371-391
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• 2014

A long-drawn out debate in the field of technology is whether it is value-neutral or value-laden. While some have argued that this debate has been resolved given the increasingly accepted view that technology is socially constructed, this is still not reflected in mainstream research which still assumes that technology is neutral. What is clear is that both views tend to be linked to studies that primarily focus on explicit forms of technology such as technological designs and their usage. These studies, though significant, may be limited in terms of an underemphasis on the process by which these technologies emerge, a process that requires decision-making activities made by different stakeholders and thus involves value judgments. In order to understand the extent of value-neutrality or value-ladenness of technologies, therefore, it is important to examine not only the final outcomes but also the process involved in technological development (including the artifacts created and used). In this study, we explored how values may be embedded in a specific IT application, and in cases of conflict of values, how they are prioritized. We did this in the context of applications development through an examination of the stages ranging from requirements analysis to coding to testing and deployment.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.479-484
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• 2020

This work performed to analyses the impact of hooked end steel fibres on the mechanical properties of high performance concrete. The mechanical properties considered incorporate compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength. Taking in to thought parameters, such as, volume fraction of fibres, fibre aspect ratio and grade of concrete, a logical strategy called Taguchi technique was utilized to discover the ideal blend of factors. L9 Orthogonal Array (OA) of Taguchi network comprising of three variables and three dimensions is utilized in this work. The evaluations of concrete considered were M60, M80 and M100. M60 contained 15% of metakaolin as bond swap though for M80 it was 5% of metakaolin and for M100 it was 10% metakaolin and 10% of silica smolder. The volume portion of fiber was fluctuated by 0.5%; 1% and 1.5% and the viewpoints proportions considered were 50, 60 and 80. The test outcomes demonstrate that incorporation of steel fibres enhance significantly the the strength characteristics of concrete, predominantly the splitting tensile strength and flexural strength. In light of relapse investigation of the test information scientific models were produced for compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength of the steel fibre-reinforced high performance concrete.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.67-90
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• 2017

The interdisciplinary research area of small scale energy harvesting has attracted tremendous interests in the past decades, with a goal of ultimately realizing self-powered electronic systems. Among the various available ambient energy sources which can be converted into electricity, wind energy is a most promising and ubiquitous source in both outdoor and indoor environments. Significant research outcomes have been produced on small scale wind energy harvesting in the literature, mostly based on piezoelectric conversion. Especially, modeling methods of wind energy harvesting techniques plays a greatly important role in accurate performance evaluations as well as efficient parameter optimizations. The purpose of this paper is to present a guideline on the modeling methods of small-scale wind energy harvesters. The mechanisms and characteristics of different types of aeroelastic instabilities are presented first, including the vortex-induced vibration, galloping, flutter, wake galloping and turbulence-induced vibration. Next, the modeling methods are reviewed in detail, which are classified into three categories: the mathematical modeling method, the equivalent circuit modeling method, and the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. This paper aims to provide useful guidance to researchers from various disciplines when they want to develop and model a multi-way coupled wind piezoelectric energy harvester.

• International Neurourology Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.228-236
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• 2018

Neuromodulation was introduced for patients with poor outcomes from the existing traditional treatment approaches. It is well-established as an alternative, novel treatment option for voiding dysfunction. The current system of neuromodulation uses an open-loop system that only delivers continuous stimulation without considering the patient's state changes. Though the conventional open-loop system has shown positive clinical results, it can cause problems such as decreased efficacy over time due to neural habituation, higher risk of tissue damage, and lower battery life. Therefore, there is a need for a closed-loop system to overcome the disadvantages of existing systems. The closed-loop neuromodulation includes a system to monitor and stimulate micturition reflex pathways from the lower urinary tract, as well as the central nervous system. In this paper, we reviewed the current technological status to measure biomarker for closed-loop neuromodulation systems for voiding dysfunction.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.146-173
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• 2014

Extant studies have explained that firm's innovations including technological product and process innovations contribute to its competitive advantage and growth, thereby supporting competitiveness and growth of industry. These studies, however, have focused mainly on the role and effect of technological change that is primarily measured by the patent numbers and R&D intensity. Aside from these traditional streams, there has been growing interest on the impact by various dimensions of innovation including non-technological innovations. Apart from the discussions on the dimensions and scope of innovation, stages or processes of innovation also have been studied. Extant studies on innovation process model, however, has limited its interests in the structure of the transformation of knowledge. This study have established a comprehensive model embracing operational and financial performance to investigate the causal paths between innovation and firm performance. Using multi-level generalized linear model with path analysis, this study have found results as follows: First, the processes from innovative activities to innovation output and outcomes including operational and financial performance at firm level were verified. Secondly, the influence of innovation decreases gradually as the distance away from the direct outputs of the innovation increase in the direction of financial outcomes. Third, the effect of innovation on the sales growth rate is higher for small businesses than for medium-sized businesses. The effect of innovation on the profit rate, however, is significant only for medium-sized businesses. For large businesses, innovation has no positive significant impact on any financial performance at all. Fourth, Fourth, the appropriability of innovation has positive impacts on innovative performance, patent applications, and operational performance.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.277-285
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• 2020

Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major health problem worldwide. Especially, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), which is defined as TB that shows resistance to both isoniazid and rifampicin, is a barrier in the treatment of TB. Globally, approximately 3.4% of new TB patients and 20% of the patients with a history of previous treatment for TB were diagnosed with MDR-TB. The treatment of MDR-TB requires medications for a long duration (up to 20-24 months) with less effective and toxic second-line drugs and has unfavorable outcomes. However, treatment outcomes are expected to improve due to the introduction of a new agent (bedaquiline), repurposed drugs (linezolid, clofazimine, and cycloserine), and technological advancement in rapid drug sensitivity testing. The World Health Organization (WHO) released a rapid communication in 2018, followed by consolidated guidelines for the treatment of MDR-TB in 2019 based on clinical trials and an individual patient data meta-analysis. In these guidelines, the WHO suggested reclassification of second-line anti-TB drugs and recommended oral treatment regimens that included the new and repurposed agents. The aims of this article are to review the treatment strategies of MDR-TB based on the 2019 WHO guidelines regarding the management of MDR-TB and the diagnostic techniques for detecting resistance, including phenotypic and molecular drug sensitivity tests.

• Current Industrial and Technological Trends in Aerospace
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.12-22
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• 2009

In this paper, the outcomes of the International Astronautical Congress(IAC) 2009 are discussed. The 60th IAC, held in Daejeon this October, attracted more than 4,000 international experts and students from 72 countries, marking it as one of the most successful IAC congress to be held. South Korea, by hosting the congress, gained an opportunity to present its space capabilities and to improve its image as an emerging space power to the global space community as well as to expand the basis for future international cooperations in space. The country also took this opportunity to nurture its future workforce and to carry out a public outreach program.

• STI Policy Review
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.17-39
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• 2016

Despite the importance of university-industry collaboration, issues pertaining to the characteristics of collaborating firms, their modes of interaction, and the relationship between these modes and outcomes are not well-researched. The impact of country's development on these issues is also unclear. This case study examines Japan and Thailand-respectively representing developed and developing countries-and features the following key findings: 1) the characteristics of firms affect modes, with large Japanese firms being more collaborative with universities, whereas Thai SMEs significantly collaborate more with universities; 2) the relationship between modes in Thai firms is stronger than those of Japanese firms because in Thailand, perhaps due to weak technological capacity, R&D collaboration is conducted alongside university consultancy services; and 3) in Japan, R&D and human resource development collaboration lead to product innovation, whereas different outcomes are expected from different modes in Thailand. Apparently, trivial informal collaborations do have significant impact on innovation.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.8
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• pp.237-244
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• 2017

During the last 10 years, there have been major technological achievements in pediatric interventional cardiology. In addition, there have been several advances in cardiac imaging, especially in 3-dimensional imaging of echocardiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and cineangiography. Therefore, more types of congenital heart diseases can be treated in the cardiac catheter laboratory today than ever before. Furthermore, lesions previously considered resistant to interventional therapies can now be managed with high success rates. The hybrid approach has enabled the overcoming of limitations inherent to percutaneous access, expanding the application of endovascular therapies as adjunct to surgical interventions to improve patient outcomes and minimize invasiveness. Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation has become a successful alternative therapy. However, most of the current recommendations about pediatric cardiac interventions (including class I recommendations) refer to off-label use of devices, because it is difficult to study the safety and efficacy of catheterization and transcatheter therapy in pediatric cardiac patients. This difficulty arises from the challenge of identifying a control population and the relatively small number of pediatric patients with congenital heart disease. Nevertheless, the pediatric interventional cardiology community has continued to develop less invasive solutions for congenital heart defects to minimize the need for open heart surgery and optimize overall outcomes. In this review, various interventional procedures in patients with congenital heart disease are explored.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.277-292
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• 2023

Low-rise structures are generally immersed within the roughness layer of the atmospheric boundary layer flows and represent the largest class of the structures for which wind loads for design are being obtained from the wind standards codes of distinct nations. For low-rise buildings, wind loads are one of the decisive loads when designing a roof. For the case of cylindrical roof structures, the information related to wind pressure coefficient is limited to a single span only. In contrast, for multi-span roofs, the information is not available. In this research, the numerical simulation has been done using ANSYS CFX to determine wind pressure distribution on the roof of low-rise cylindrical structures arranged in rectangular plan with variable spacing in accordance with building width (B=0.2 m) i.e., zero, 0.5B, B, 1.5B and 2B subjected to different wind incidence angles varying from 0° to 90° having the interval of 15°. The wind pressure (P) and pressure coefficients (C_pe) are varying with respect to wind incidence angle and variable spacing. The results of present numerical investigation or wind induced pressure are presented in the form of pressure contours generated by Ansys CFD Post for isolated as well as variable spacing model of cylindrical roofs. It was noted that the effect of wind shielding was reducing on the roofs by increasing spacing between the buildings. The variation pf Coefficient of wind pressure (C_pe) for all the roofs have been presented individually in the form of graphs with respect to angle of attacks of wind (AoA) and variable spacing. The critical outcomes of the present study will be so much beneficial to structural design engineers during the analysis and designing of low-rise buildings with cylindrical roofs in an isolated as well as group formation.