• Title/Summary/Keyword: benefit function

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A Design and Analysis of Micro-payment System for Internet Commerce (인터넷 상거래를 위한 소액대금결제 시스템의 설계 및 성능평가)

  • Sung, Won;Kim, Eui-Jung;Park, Jong-Won
    • Journal of the Korea Computer Industry Society
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    • v.4 no.4
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    • pp.533-546
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    • 2003
  • for the low information goods which will be traded through Internet is impossible to manage with previously existed payment system. The reason is that it's not economic because the management cost is bigger than the benefit of the information goods trade. Therefore, recently, there have been micropaymentresearches such as "Milicent", "PayWord", "MicroMint", and "iKP", etc. Though these methods don't have any problem with the low cost of the mechanism and the satisfaction of adequate security, they have big problem with the use of the unnecessary account and the aggregation of payment bill. The PayHash system which has been developed in this study simplifies the system's mechanism with "one-way hash function" which is used in generation, payment, and verification of the bill. And the system removed the generation and use of unnecessary account by making one customer have one account. The system solve the problem of the payment aggregation by using the last payment hash value and its index. And the system improves its performance by reducing the use of "digital signature" drastically, as well. As the result of this study, the PayHash system made it possible for the participants of the Internet Commerce to trade the lowest cost goods through efficient maintenance.o trade the lowest cost goods through efficient maintenance.

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Interleukin-7 Enhances the in Vivo Anti-tumor Activity of Tumor-reactive CD8+ T cells with Induction of IFN-gamma in a Murine Breast Cancer Model

  • Yuan, Chun-Hui;Yang, Xue-Qin;Zhu, Cheng-Liang;Liu, Shao-Ping;Wang, Bi-Cheng;Wang, Fu-Bing
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.265-271
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    • 2014
  • Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a potent anti-apoptotic cytokine that enhances immune effector cell functions and is essential for lymphocyte survival. While it known to induce differentiation and proliferation in some haematological malignancies, including certain types of leukaemias and lymphomas, little is known about its role in solid tumours, including breast cancer. In the current study, we investigated whether IL-7 could enhance the in vivo antitumor activity of tumor-reactive $CD8^+$ T cells with induction of IFN-${\gamma}$ in a murine breast cancer model. Human IL-7 cDNA was constructed into the eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3.1, and then the recombinational pcDNA3.1-IL-7 was intratumorally injected in the TM40D BALB/C mouse graft model. Serum and intracellular IFN-${\gamma}$ levels were measured by ELISA and flow cytometry, respectively. $CD8^+$ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity was analyzed using the MTT method. Our results showed that IL-7 administration significantly inhibited tumor growth from day 15 after direct intratumoral injection of pcDNA3.1-IL-7. The anti-tumor effect correlated with a marked increase in the level of IFN-${\gamma}$ and breast cancer cells-specific CTL cytotoxicity. In vitro cytotoxicity assays showed that IL-7-treatment could augment cytolytic activity of $CD8^+$ T cells from tumor bearing mice, while anti-IFN-${\gamma}$ blocked the function of $CD8^+$ T cells, suggesting that IFN-${\gamma}$ mediated the cytolytic activity of $CD8^+$ T cells. Furthermore, in vivo neutralization of $CD8^+$ T lymphocytes by CD8 antibodies reversed the antitumor benefit of IL-7. Thus, we demonstrated that IL-7 exerts anti-tumor activity mainly through activating $CD8^+$ T cells and stimulating them to secrete IFN-${\gamma}$ in a murine breast tumor model. Based on these results, our study points to a potential novel way to treat breast cancer and may have important implications for clinical immunotherapy.

Impact of postoperative duration of Aspirin use on longevity of bioprosthetic pulmonary valve in patients who underwent congenital heart disease repair

  • Hwang, Tae-Woong;Kim, Sung-Ook;Lee, Sang-Yun;Kim, Seong-Ho;Choi, Eun-Young;Jang, So-Ick;Park, Su-Jin;Kwon, Hye-Won;Lim, Hyo-Bin;Lee, Chang-Ha;Choi, Eun-Seok
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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    • v.59 no.11
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    • pp.446-450
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    • 2016
  • Purpose: Generally, aspirin is used as a protective agent against thrombogenic phenomenon after pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) using a bioprosthetic valve. However, the appropriate duration of aspirin use is unclear. We analyzed the impact of postoperative duration of aspirin use on the longevity of bioprosthetic pulmonary valves in patients who underwent repair for congenital heart diseases. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 137 patients who underwent PVR using a bioprosthetic valve between January 2000 and December 2003. Among these patients, 89 were included in our study and divided into groups I (${\leq}12$ months) and II (>12 months) according to duration of aspirin use. We analyzed echocardiographic data from 9 to 11 years after PVR. Pulmonary vale stenosis and regurgitation were classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Results: The 89 patients consisted of 53 males and 36 females. Their mean age was $14.3{\pm}8.9$ years (range, 2.6-48 years) and body weight was $37.6{\pm}14.7kg$ (range, 14-72 kg). The postoperative duration of aspirin use was $7.3{\pm}2.9$ months in group I and $32.8{\pm}28.4$ months in group II. However, no significant difference in sex ratio, age, body weight, type of bioprosthetic valve, and number of early redo-PVRs. In the comparison of echocardiographic data about 10 years later, no significant difference in pulmonary valve function was found. The overall freedom rate from redo-PVR at 10 years showed no significant difference (P=0.498). Conclusion: Our results indicated no benefit from long-term aspirin medication (>6 months) in patients who underwent PVR with a bioprosthetic valve.

The Adoption of New Service-Deliverly Channel under the Multi-channel Usage (다채널 이용 상황에서 신규 서비스채널의 수용에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Hyun-Cheol;Han, Jang-Hui;Choi, Ji-Ho
    • Journal of Distribution Research
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.23-49
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    • 2007
  • Recently, mobile marketing is becoming one of the major topics of interest to the marketing discipline. Emerging from rapid developments in mobile technology, it has created opportunities for new and innovative mobile services. Also, it is enabling to conduct always-on connections that consumers can interact anytime and anywhere. Especially, mobile devices place themselves to the core means of mobile-commerce which to execute a function as a distribution channel in mobile environments. Although the adoption researches about innovative services or technologies had executed in marketing areas over the past decades, most researches just expanded or modified existing theories and explanation models. There has been little study on the comprehensive and systematic review of adoption process. Therefore, it deserves to be considered prior usage experiences of the existing channels(CL) and attractiveness of the new channel(CLalt) based on social exchange theory. In order to address this void, this study unifies components of perceived attributes in the each dimensions (ie. benefit, cost, and risk dimensions) and explores prior usage experiences of the existing channels on adoption intention in electronic financial service channels through developing comprehensive model and employing empirical test for the hierarchy of effects model. Based on these empirical results, this study suggests managerial implications for new channel management in electronic financial service areas by focusing on the prior usage experiences of the existing objects on adoption intention and perceived attributes of ubiquitous-based mobile service channel.

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The study on DC-link Film Capacitor in 3 Phase Inverter System for the Consideration of Frequency Response (3상 인버터 시스템에서 주파수 특성을 고려한 필름 콘덴서의 DC-link 적용 방법에 관한 연구)

  • Park, Hyun-Soo
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.117-122
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    • 2018
  • A large-capacity three-phase system air conditioner recently includes an inverter circuit to reduce power consumption. The inverter circuit uses a DC voltage that comes from DC-link power capacitor with the function of rectifying, which means AC voltage to DC voltage using a diode. An electrolytic capacitor is generally used to satisfy the voltage ripple and current ripple conditions of a DC-link power capacitor used for rectifying. Reducing the capacitance of the capacitor decreases the size, weight, and cost of the circuit. This paper proposes an algorithm to reduce the input ripple current by combining the minimum point estimation phase locked loop (PLL) phase control and the average voltage d axis current control technique. When this algorithm was used, the input ripple current decreased by almost 90%. The current ripple of the DC-link capacitor decreased due to the decrease in input ripple current. The capacitor capacity can be reduced but the electrolytic capacitor has a heat generation problem and life-time limitations because of its large equivalent series resistance (ESR). This paper proposes a method to select a film capacitor considering the current ripple at DC-link stage instead of an electrolytic capacitor. The capacitance was selected considering the voltage limitation, RMS (Root Mean Square) current capacity, and RMS current frequency analysis. A $1680{\mu}F$ electrolytic capacitor can be reduced to a $20{\mu}F$ film capacitor, which has the benefit of size, weight and cost. These results were verified by motor operation.

Underwriting Method of Worksite Marketing Product (Worksite Marketing 상품과 언더라이팅 기법)

  • Kim, Cheong-Nyun;Chung, Sung-Wan
    • The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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    • v.24
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    • pp.97-117
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    • 2005
  • Internally Korean insurance market is that whole life products' growth are becoming slowdown that's why new insurance products have appeared on the market in consideration of consumer's needs recently. Externally domestic insurance market competitions has drifted from insurance industry to whole financial industry since bankasurance started. Life insurance companies should open up a new market to survive from severe competitions. Worksite marketing can be an alternative. An insurer make arrangements with an employer about an insurance terms which an insurer offers in Worksite marketing. Then eligible individuals enroll in the plans at their own discretion and pay 100 percent of the premium for coverage through payroll deductions. An employer doesn't need to pay extra money for additional benefit but can raise employee's loyalty and satisfaction of company through worksite marketing. An employee can be covered at discounted premium rate and less strict underwriting guidelines to an insurer compared to individual insurance. In developed countries specially U.S insurance market, Worksite marketing is getting very popular and growing rapidly due to the advantages. Worksite marketing has both individual insurance characters and group insurance characters. Individual insurance characters are that employees enroll in the plans at their own discretion and pay 100 percent of the premium for coverage. Group insurance characters are that actively at work and participation etc. An insurer have to reflect these two characters on Worksite marketing when an insurance company work out a plan for developing products and underwriting guidelines. When an insurer devise worksite products, one should consider participation level which means percentage of eligible employees participating. Participation is related to anti-selection. As we know underwriting is essential for every kind of insurance, especially underwriting plays major role in worksite marketing. We can see that in the below. Firstly, it has a function in calculation of premium rate. When calculate premium rate for worksite products underwriters have to estimate expected participation level and risk factors. So underwriters and acturies keep in close contact with each other. Secondly, underwriting methods are important. When an insurer underwrite worksite products, there are three kinds of underwriting methods. These are Simplified issue underwriting, Full underwriting and Guaranteed issue underwriting. Simplified issue underwriting typically requires no medical examination, but usually requires supplying satisfactory answers to one or several health and/or lifestyle questions. Full underwriting requires a complete medical history questionnaire that may further require an exam. Guaranteed issue underwriting means that coverage is issued without the employee having to provide evidence of insurability. When insurer set the GI limit are usually based on the type of industry, number of eligible employees, the average amount of coverage and participation level. In addition to insurer should have a clear definition of eligible employee on the insurance provision and application form. It will minimize possibility of trouble claims and anti-selection. An insurer also establish preexisting condition exclusion and special guidelines for late entrants. When an insurer introduce Worksite marketing to Korean insurance market, an insurer has to examine market research to analyze potential market and strategy of sales most of all. Also an insurer should review real situation of the U.S, England and Japanese market etc. There are a lot of new technologies about worksite marketing process that an insurer should learn. When an insurer consider many things which we explained it can be a real alternative.

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A Study on the Distributive Equity of Neighborhood Urban Park in Seoul Viewed from Green Welfare (녹색복지 관점에서 서울시 생활권 도시공원의 분배적 형평성 분석)

  • Kim, Yong-Gook
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.42 no.3
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    • pp.76-89
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    • 2014
  • The functions of urban park including health related benefit and climate adaptation and mitigation are expanding. However, in-depth research and discourse on the equitable distribution of expanded park function has been limited so far. Following research suggests Green Welfare concept to reflect distributive equity and multifunctionality in the process of urban park policy development and execution. This study developed park welfare indices to analyze disparities of neighborhood urban park(NUP) distribution viewed from green welfare by literature review. The findings analyzed through the Correlation Analysis and Cluster Analysis by SPSS 18.0. The results of the study are as follows. First, green welfare is defined as "to receive equitable benefits and participate in the delivery process of green services which are promoting health and securing safety from climate change risks for every citizen by life cycle regardless of socioeconomic status". Second, NUP per person in Seoul indicate meaningful differences by socioeconomic and environmental status of Seoul administrative districts. Park welfare indices correlated to NUP per person were shown population density(negative), percentage of individuals $aged{\geq}65$(positive), percentage of self-reliance of local finance(positive), flood and air pollution vulnerability by climate change(negative). Third, the cluster analysis identifies three significant clusters that indicate differences of park welfare level. Thus, it was found that NUP in Seoul from a green welfare perspective was provided disproportionately. Future urban park policy in Seoul was required equitable distribution of multifunctionality of park beyond quantitative expansion, and priority consideration should be given to park service consumer.

A Study on the Protection of Trial Subjects in Clinical Trials of Investigational New Drug (의약품 임상시험에서 피험자 보호)

  • We, Kye Chan
    • The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.79-113
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    • 2012
  • This study focuses on the protection of trial subjects, who participate in clinical trials for new drug. It takes long time to develop new drugs and the clinical trials are required. Usually, pharmaceutical company, which develop new drug, request a research institution(usually, hospital) to investigate the examination of security and side effects of new drug. The institution recruit trial subject to participate in the trials. The contract for clinical research of investigational new drug is concluded between the pharmaceutical company and the institution. This thesis studies the legal regulations for protection of participants of clinical research for new drug. In this respect the first matter of this study is to seek which relation between pharmaceutical firm and participants of clinical trials. Especially, there is a question which the trial subject is entitled to demand the pharmaceutical company which requested clinical trials the institution to supply the investigational new drug, after the contract for clinical trials had terminated or cancelled. This study take into account the liability of the pharmaceutical company to trial subject. Secondly, it is researched the roles and authority of Institutional Review Board(IRB). IRB is Research Ethics Committee of the institution, in which clinical trials for new drug are conducted. According to the rule of Korea good clinical practice(KGCP), IRB is the mandatory organization which is authorized to approve, secure approval or disapprove the clinical trials for investigational new drug in the institution. The important roles are the review of ethical perspective of trial research and the protection of trial subject. Thirdly, this paper focuses if the participants are to be paid for the participation for clinical research. This is ethical aspect of clinical trials. It is resonable that the participant is reimbursed for expenditure such as travels, and other expenses incurred in participation in trials. It is not allowed that the benefit of clinical trials is paid to trial subject. The payment should not function as financial inducements for participations of trials. Finally, the voluntary consent of the trial subject is required. The institution ought to inform the subject, who would like to participate in trials, and it ought to received informed consent in writing for subject. In this regard, it is matter that trial subject has ability of consent. It is principle that the subject as severely psychogeriatric patient has not ability of consent. However, it is required that not only healthy people but also patients are allowed to take part in clinical trials of new drug, in order to confirm which the investigation new drug is secure. Therefore there are cases, in which the legal representative of subject consent the participation of the trials. In addition, it is very important that the regulations concerning clinical trials of new drug is to be systematically well-modified. The approach of legal and political approach is needed to achieve this purpose.

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Comparison of Safety Level between Driver's Ages by Threshold Zone Luminance Level of Vehicular Traffic Tunnel (터널 경계부 휘도수준에 따른 운전자 연령대별 안전수준 비교)

  • Cho, Won Bum;Jeong, Jun Hwa;Kim, Do Gyeong;Park, Won Il
    • International Journal of Highway Engineering
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.129-142
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    • 2015
  • PURPOSES : The purpose of this study is to suggest a basis for setting appropriate safety goals specifically related to the threshold zone luminance in a vehicular traffic tunnel. METHODS : In the test, drivers were divided into two groups. One group consisted of all drivers (average drivers) group with an age ratio of drivers holding domestic driver's license and driver group by age to produce threshold zone luminance in the tunnel. The threshold zone luminance produced as a result was used to analyze how it affects the safety level of each driver group and provide a basis for setting an appropriate safety criterion that can be used to determine threshold zone luminance. We used test equipment, test conditions, and ananalysis of threshold zone luminance identical to that reported by ChoandJung(2014) but the values of adaptation luminance in our analys is were expanded to range from100 to $10,000cd/m^2$. RESULTS : Adaptation luminance and threshold zone luminance are found to be related by a quadratic function. The threshold zone luminance needed by older drivers to ensure a certain safety level is significantly higher than that for drivers of other age brackets when adaptation luminance increases. 56% of older drivers are at an increased risk of an accident at the same luminance for which the safety level of average drivers is 75%. The safety level that can be achieved for older drivers increases to above 60% when threshold zone luminance level is set with the goal of attaining a safety level of more than 85% for average drivers. The safety level that can be attained for average drivers is above 90% when the threshold zone luminance is high enough to ensure over 75% in the safety level of older drivers. Results of this study are applicable to highways and others whose designed speed is 100 km/h. CONCLUSIONS : Threshold zone luminance determined on the basis of drivers having average visual ability is of limited value as a performance standard for ensuring the safety of older drivers. Hence, safety level for older drivers should be considered separately from safety levels for drivers with an average ability to avoid risk. Upward adjustment of older drivers' safety level in the process of determining appropriate threshold zone luminance in a vehicular traffic tunnel may bring both tangible and intangible benefit as a result of reducing accidents. However, there is an associated dollar cost arising from installing and operating lights. As a result, the economic impact of these trade-offs should also be considered.

The Study on Wound Healing in Rabbit Skins by Low-intensity Laser Irradiation (저강도 레이저 조사에 의한 가토 피부의 상처 치유에 관한 연구)

  • 김식현;전진석
    • Biomedical Science Letters
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.119-129
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    • 2000
  • The skin is an organ that has many important roles, including protection against infection, regulation of temperature and fluid loss, and sensory function. Injury to the skin, wound repair normally involves: (1) balanced activity of inflammation, (2) the re-epithelial phase and (3) the matrix formation of remodeling phase. Thus, skin wound healing is a finely controlled biological process involving a series of complex cellular interactions. Laser therapy is being implemented with increasing frequency in medicine. Low intensity laser is one that is capable of producing an energy density so low that any biologic alterations are the result of direct irradiation effect, not thermal events. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of low intensity laser therapy on skin wound healing in rabbits. A total of 10 male rabbits (New Zealand White Rabbit), age 8 weeks were used. Skin wound were surgically created dorso-lateral on the flank of 10 rabbits (2$\times$2 cm/damage areas). The experimental animals were treated with 5Hz (830 nm wave length) low-intensity laser (MILTA-01 Model) daily for 10 min (1.6 J/$cm^2$) for 12 days. Control animals were sham treated with the laser head. Laser irradiation animals showed a complete remodeling of the epithelial layer, a positive repair of connective tissues, and enhanced the wound closure rate over time as compared to the control animals. Especially, laser irradiation groups improved fibroblast activity, cellular content, granulation tissue formation, and collagen deposition which is resulted in improving the tensile strength of the wound. These findings suggest that laser photostimulation could accelerate healing of open wound in rabbits, and may be benefit in the treatment of open wound, including decubitis ulcers.

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