• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.117-127
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• 2014

Purpose: In order to provide a systematic and standardized treatment course for MVD patients, a critical pathway (CP) program was developed and the results of its long term application were analyzed. Methods: This was a methodological study. The CP was established and applied to 75 (step I) and 1,216 (step II). Another group of 56 with similar features was used as a control group. Results: The application of CP turned out to be useful in many regards: the rate of hearing loss was reduced from 1.8% to 0% (step I) and 0.5% (step II), and low cranial nerve palsy was reduced from 1.8% to 1.3% and 0.7%, respectively. The length of hospitalization decreased by 2.56 days (25.2%) for step I and 3.05 days (30.0%) for step II. Days of ICU stay were reduced by 7.9% and 1.8%. The total cost per patient was reduced by 14.8% (step I). The cost per day was increased by 13.7% and 52.4%. An increase in the patient satisfaction index was noted, as shown in the ICU information guide (p=.002). Conclusion: The development and application of CP was found to improve the quality of medical treatment and the efficacy of hospital management in MVD patients. Well organized and efficient system and multidisciplinary teamwork are the key component of the successful application of CP.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.73-99
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• 1997

This study was carried out by using questionnaires with 126 insurance societies from Sept. 30, 1995 to Oct. 18, 1995. The primary data collected bythe survey have been significantly supplemented by secondary data obtained from sources such as health insurance statistical year books and internal data in the Ministry of Health and Wolfare. Major findings were summarized as follows: Two financial coordinating programs have significantly improved financial status of regional health insurance societies: the catastrophic program for high cost medical care that was initiated in 1991 and the program for hospitalization cost of the aged in 1995. Another finding is that there existed ambiguity and inconsistency of equity index that had been used by stabilization programs and its side effects could not be ignored. Regression analyses were made to identify factors that affect financial transfers. Inde pendent variables in the regression include utilization frequency, dependancy ration, insurance contribution per insured and medical expense per insured. All these variables were statistically significant in the equations of applying distribution rate (distribution/contribution) and transfer rate (transfer/contribution) as dependent variables. Policy suggestions for the catastrophic program for high cost medical care are modifying the definition of catastrophic case and setting the maximum amount of subsidies for each society based on distribution rates. To solve the problems of the financial coordinating program for the aged, we could consider reimbursing more than 50% of the copayment incurred by the aged 65 or more and determining the maximum amount of outpatient copayment at 10,000 Won per day or per visit for the elderly. More fundamental improvement could be made by amending the Welfare Benefit Act to establish and expand medical and welfare facilities for the elderly.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartD
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• v.10D no.3
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• pp.427-438
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• 2003

In a data warehouse, users typically search for trends, patterns, or unusual data behaviors by issuing queries interactively. The OLAP range-sum query is widely used in finding trends and in discovering relationships among attributes in the data warehouse. In a recent environment of enterprises, data elements in a data cube are frequently changed. The problem is that the cost of updating a prefix sum cube is very high. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm which reduces the update cost significantly by an index structure called the Δ-tree. Also, we propose a hybrid method to provide either approximate or precise results to reduce the overall cost of queries. It is highly beneficial for various applications that need quick approximate answers rather than time consuming accurate ones, such as decision support systems. An extensive experiment shows that our method performs very efficiently on diverse dimensionalities, compared to other methods.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.31 no.1 s.256
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• pp.26-35
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• 2007

The vehicle of urban transit is a complex system that consists of various electric, electronic, and mechanical equipments, and the maintenance cost of this complex and large-scale system generally occupies sixty percent of the LCC (Life Cycle Cost). For reasonable establishing of maintenance strategies, safety security and cost limitation must be considered at the same time. The concept of system reliability has been introduced and optimized as the key of reasonable maintenance strategies. For optimization, three preceding studies were accomplished; standardizing a maintenance classification, constructing RBD (Reliability Block Diagram) of VVVF (Variable Voltage Variable Frequency) urban transit, and developing a web based reliability evaluation system. Historical maintenance data in terms of reliability index can be derived from the web based reliability evaluation system. In this paper, we propose applying inverse problem analysis method and hybrid neuro-genetic algorithm to system reliability optimization for using historical maintenance data in database of web based system. Feed-forward multi-layer neural networks trained by back propagation are used to find out the relationship between several component reliability (input) and system reliability (output) of structural system. The inverse problem can be formulated by using neural network. One of the neural network training algorithms, the back propagation algorithm, can attain stable and quick convergence during training process. Genetic algorithm is used to find the minimum square error.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2018

This paper compare the adaptive equalization performance of NM-MMA (Novel Mixed-MMA) algorithm which using the mixed const function by scaling factor values. The mixed cost function of NM-MMA composed of the appropriate weighted addition of gradient vector in the MMA and SE-MMA cost function, and updating the tap coefficient based on these function, it is possible to improve the convergence speed and MSE value of current algorithm. The computer simulation was performed in the same channel, step size, SNR environment by changing the scaling factor, and its performance were compared appling the equalizer output constellation, residual isi, MD, MSE, SER. As a result of computer simulation, the residual values of performance index were reduced in case of the scaling factor of MMA cost function was greater than the scaling factor of SE-MMA. and the convergence speed was improved in case of the scaling factor of SE-MMA was greater than the MMA.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.7
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• pp.349-360
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• 2020

The study aims to empirically examine the determinants of bank margins from Pakistan, an emerging South Asian economy. To elucidate the importance of the Pakistani banking sector, secondary data has been used, which was extracted from the annual accounts of twenty-four Pakistani scheduled commercial banks (20 conventional, four full-fledged Islamic) over a sample period of 2006 to 2017. The factors identified in the dealership model and the subsequent empirical developments in the dealership model categorized as bank-specific, diversification, regulatory, and industry concentration are analyzed by applying the most-common linear dynamic panel-data estimator, the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator, developed by Arellano and Bond (1991). The findings reveal that, among the bank-specific variables, funding cost, credit risk, managerial efficiency, market share, and operating cost are significant predictors of bank margins. For diversification variables employed in the study, both variables including net non-interest income and asset diversity are as well significant predictors of bank margins. It is also found that the market concentration variable proxied by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) is significantly predicting bank margins. Subsequently, one of the regulatory variables, the opportunity cost of holding reserves, and one bank-specific variable, the degree of risk aversion, are insignificant in the model.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.481-486
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• 1993

A computeized least-cost formulation program was applied to process emulsion-type sausages. The input data in formulation were utilized with the database which had been established in the previous study. The formulation results may provide Korean meat processors with actual examples. Meat-grade system made these examples more useful. The results of manufacturing test were as follows. The actual cohesiveness from manufactured sausages didn't correspond to the predicted values, but increased as the predicted values increased. These gabs caused by the different processing conditions between the model system and the actual processing. Hardness as well as cohesiveness could be used as the desirable index of a sausage texture. Comparing the cohesiveness and hardness of commercial frankfurters with those of test sausages, bind value constraint of $0.16{\sim}0.17$ in this test formula can be utilized for an actual formulation.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.879-890
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• 2017

The US Pavement Design method (AASHTO) and HDM-4, a road pavement maintenance decision system, are not suitable for domestic pavement design, construction and maintenance. KPRP(Korea Pavement Research Program) has been developed to reflect Korea's environmental conditions and vehicle characteristics, thereby, extending pavement life. The main objective of this study is to select the best alternative through Life Cycle Cost $CO_2$ (LCCC) calculations among three representative maintenance strategies using KPRP design software since the environment cost resulting from the extended pavement life will also differ. The analysis of this study illustrates that cumulative carbon emissions for 40 years in alternative 2 (Cutting and Overlaying at Year 30) is the lowest option among them, and the basic cost of $CO_2$ emission by various road maintenance and repair work can be used for suggesting an optimal maintenance strategy for highway agency.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.981-987
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• 2016

We present a cost-effective dual polarization quadrature phase-shift coherent receiver module using a silica planar lightwave circuit (PLC) hybrid assembly. Two polarization beam splitters and two $90^{\circ}$ optical hybrids are monolithically integrated in one silica PLC chip with an index contrast of $2%-{\Delta}$. Two four-channel spot-size converter integrated waveguide-photodetector (PD) arrays are bonded on PD carriers for transverse-electric/transverse-magnetic polarization, and butt-coupled to a polished facet of the PLC using a simple chip-to-chip bonding method. Instead of a ceramic sub-mount, a low-cost printed circuit board is applied in the module. A stepped CuW block is used to dissipate the heat generated from trans-impedance amplifiers and to vertically align RF transmission lines. The fabricated coherent receiver shows a 3-dB bandwidth of 26 GHz and a common mode rejection ratio of 16 dB at 22 GHz for a local oscillator optical input. A bit error rate of $8.3{\times}10^{-11}$ is achieved at a 112-Gbps back-to-back transmission with off-line digital signal processing.

• Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.398-406
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• 2018

Background: Hypoalbuminemia (serum albumin < 3.5 g/dL) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, costs associated with hypoalbuminemia remain unknown. This study investigated the effect of serum albumin on direct treatment costs, length of stay (LOS), and readmissions for primary and revision THA and TKA patients. Methods: All adult patients at a single institution undergoing primary or revision THA or TKA between January 2014 and December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were stratified by preoperative serum albumin level. The primary outcome was total direct costs at index hospitalization. Secondary outcomes included LOS and readmission within 30 days. Multivariable regressions were utilized to adjust for demographics and comorbidities. Results: Of 3,785 patients, 114 (3.0%) had hypoalbuminemia. After adjustment, hypoalbuminemia was associated with a 16.2% increase in costs (${\beta}=0.162$; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.112 to 0.213; p < 0.001), representing an average cost increase of $3,383 (95% CI, $2,281 to $4,485) relative to costs for serum albumin > 4.5 g/dL. The increased total costs were significantly higher in revision ($4,322, p = 0.034) than in primary ($3,446, p < 0.001) procedures. In adjusted regression, each 1.0 g/dL increase in serum albumin yielded a 6.6% reduction in costs (${\beta}=-0.066$; 95% CI, -0.090 to -0.042]; p < 0.001), for average savings of $1,282 (95% CI, $759 to $1,806) per unit albumin. Adjusted regressions demonstrated that a 1-point increase in serum albumin reduced readmissions by 53% (odds ratio, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.31-0.73; p = 0.001) and LOS by 0.6 days (${\beta}=-0.60$; 95% CI, -0.76 to -0.44; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Hypoalbuminemia is associated with increased total direct costs, LOS, and readmissions following primary and revision THA and TKA. Future efforts to predict and address total costs should take into consideration the patient's preoperative serum albumin levels.