• Information Systems Review
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.149-168
• /
• 2007

As the need for quantitative qualities of IT investment performance heightens, numerous research organizations are developing various measurement methods for the quantitative evaluation and its currency value conversion. Corporations utilizing these methods to evaluate IT investment performance are gradually increasing. However, working-level staff in the corporations that have introduced the quantitative evaluation can not assure if the evaluation sufficiently reflects the actual effect provided by IT since the results arising from the conversion of currency value can't be visibly confirmed. This study tries to identify whether the quantitative evaluation of IT investment performance can be explained in terms of the level of consumer satisfaction proven by the qualitative evaluation by analyzing the level of consumer satisfaction and quantitative evaluation of a case company and identifying the correlation between them. As the result of the case study, the following points have been concluded. Firstly, the currency value of IT effect correlates with the level of consumer satisfaction. Secondly, in order to come up with a rational currency value of IT effect, developing an indicator as well as managing data on currency conversion that will enable the internal system's efficiency to become more quantitative is essential. Thirdly, IT ROI is not appropriate to compare the performance between systems and is utilized as a measurement standard for each system's performance and efficiency. Lastly, quantitative evaluation is still inadequate in the evaluation of the system's strategic side, and consumer satisfaction can be utilized as a supplementary method.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.15 no.10
• /
• pp.1507-1516
• /
• 2002

Meat and bone meal is a valuable protein and mineral source in diets of production animals and contributes to the protein, energy and mineral component of diets. The aim of the present study was to more accurately characterise the apparent ileal amino acid digestibility of meat and bone meals produced in New Zealand and evaluate routine in vitro assays used in practise to measure meat and bone meal quality. A total of 94 commercial meat and bone meals from 25 New Zealand rendering plants over a two and a half year period were analysed for proximates, gross energy, gross amino acid content (incl. hydroxyproline, hydroxylysine and lanthionine), apparent ileal amino acid digestibility, pepsin nitrogen digestibility, protein solubility and bone content. The mean crude protein content of the 94 meat and bone meal samples was 56.8% with a range of >35% units and a coefficient of variation of 9.8%. The mean crude fat and ash content were 10.0 and 28.4% respectively. These latter components showed a large range (16 and 43%, respectively) with coefficients of variation above 22%. Amino acid digestibility between samples was highly variable with lysine and sulphur amino acids digestibility ranging between 45.8-89.0 and 38.2-85.5%, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficients are presented between crude protein content and individual gross amino acids, crude protein content and individual digestible amino acid content, and pepsin N digestibility and individual digestible amino acid content. There was a significant relationship between the digestible amino acid nitrogen content and the crude protein content while pepsin nitrogen digestibility was not correlated to ileal amino acid nitrogen digestibility (r=-0.06). Meat meals with a high protein content had relatively low hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine levels something that was attributed to the levels of collagen from bone. The data indicated that lanthionine (formed upon heat treatment of cysteine with a hydroprotein) is not a good indicator of the heat treatment employed to meat and bone meals. Step-wise multiple regression equations to predict the apparent digestible content of amino acids from rapid in vitro assays are presented. The most selected variables included ash and crude fat content. In general the equations derived for the essential amino acids had a higher degrees of fit (R2) compared to the non-essential amino acids. The R2 for the essential amino acids ranged from 0.43 for histidine and 0.68 for leucine. These equations provide a means of more rapidly estimating the apparent ileal digestible amino acid content (protein quality) of meat and bone meal using standard analyses.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2009

In 2008, baby formula containing melamine was found to be responsible for a large outbreak of renal failure in infants in China. A total of 294,000 infants were hospitalized, and at least 6 babies died due to ingestion of the tainted formula. Melamine contains high levels of nitrogen (>60%), which is used as an indicator of protein content. Therefore, high levels of melamine in infant formula were thought to be the result of deliberate contamination m an attempt to increase its apparent protein content. Following inspections by China's national inspection agency, assorted products from at least 22 dairy manufacturers across China were found to have varied levels of melamine (range: 0.096196.61 mg/kg). Melamine co-exposure with cyanuric acid can induce acute melamine-cyanurate crystal nephropathy, which can lead to renal failure at much lower doses than if either compound were ingested alone. However, currently, there are very few data on melamine analogues other than cyanuric acid. At an expert meeting of the WHO and FAO held to review toxicological aspects of melamine and cyanuric acid on December 14, 2008, a new tolerable daily intake (TDI) of melamine was established that could be applied to the entire population, including infants. Therefore, a risk assessment of the various theoretical melamine contamination levels in infant formula and selected representative foods (other than infant formula and sole-source nutrition products) is urgently needed for Korean babies and children up to 7 years of age. Although the undetectable level regulation for infant formula may be low enough to guarantee the safety of babies under the age of 1 year (including premature babies), the melamine standard of 2.5 ppm for foods other than baby formula could be insufficient to protect the 95th percentile population aged 1~2 years because of this demographic's high consumption of milk, yogurt, and soy milk (hazard index = 1.79). Because TDIs are chronic values intended to protect an individual over his/her lifetime, occasional modest ingestion in excess of the TDI is not likely to be a health concern. However, children aged 1~2 years may have renal systems that are comparatively more sensitive to the crystallization of melamine and its analogues. Therefore, governmental jurisdictions may need to practice more prudent management of food items that could raise the melamine exposure for this population.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.55-62
• /
• 2007

This paper proposes a defective pixel detection algorithm and its hardware structure for CCD/CMOS image sensor. In previous algorithms, the characteristics of image have not been considered. Also, some algorithms need quite a time to detect defective pixels. In order to make up for those disadvantages, the proposed defective pixel detection method detects defective pixels efficiently by considering the edges in the image and verifies them using several frames while checking scene-changes. Whenever scene-change is occurred, potentially defective pixels are checked and confirmed whether it is defective or not. Test results showed that the correct detection rate in a frame was increased 6% and the defective pixel verification time was decreased 60%. The proposed algorithm was implemented with verilog HDL. The edge indicator in color interpolation block was reused. Total logic gate count was 5.4k using 0.25um CMOS standard cell library.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.23 no.10
• /
• pp.1319-1324
• /
• 2010

The objectives of this study were to compare the effectiveness of different indicators of mammary inflammation in buffalo and to evaluate the association of the indicators with buffalo milk yield, composition, and rennet coagulation properties. This study was carried out at four buffalo farms in central Italy using a total of 50 lactating buffalo. Milk from each buffalo was tested at the beginning, middle, and end of lactation. To evaluate the relationship between mastitis markers and milk components, three classes were defined for each of the following markers: total somatic cell count (TSCC), differential somatic cell count (DSCC), and bacteriological results The regression coefficient for the reference method and the alternative method of determining TSCC was 0.81, indicating that the method routinely used to analyze buffalo milk consistently underestimated actual TSCC. The milk samples positive for udder-specific bacteria also had higher TSCC values than the samples that were negative for bacteria ($872{\times}10^3$/ml vs. $191{\times}10^3$/ml). In samples that were positive for udder-specific bacteria, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) made up greater than 50% of the cells. Moreover, only 1% of the samples in the lowest TSCC class were positive for bacteria. The correlation between TSCC and PMN was stronger (0.70), and PMN values in buffalo milk increased significantly when the TSCC class changed from low (38%) to medium and high (56% and 64%). Milk yield was negatively related to TSCC. Significant changes in lactose (4.87%, 4.80% and 4.64%) and chloride content (0.650 mg/ml, 0.862 mg/ml and 0.882 mg/ml) were also observed with increasing TSCC values. Higher TSCC was associated with impaired rennet coagulation properties: the clotting time increased, while the curd firming time ($p{\leq}0.05$) and firmness decreased. We concluded that in buffalo as in dairy cows, TSCC is a valid indicator of udder inflammation; we also confirmed that a value of $ 200{\times}10^3 cells/ml should be used as the threshold value for early identification of an animal affected by subclinical mastitis. In addition to its association with significantly decreased milk yield, a TSCC value above this threshold value was associated with changes in milk composition and coagulating properties.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.12
• /
• pp.1683-1689
• /
• 2001

The levels of urea nitrogen both in blood (BUN) and milk (MUN), and milk protein (MP) reflect protein and energy intake in dairy herd feeding. Blood and milk constituents may be changes rhythmically and influence by different sampling time within a day and after feeding. Trials were conducted using five dietary treatments in both lactating and dry cows to study the effects of sampling time on concentrations of BUN, MUN and whole blood ammonia nitrogen (BAN) in practical dairy cow feeding in Taiwan. The conventional feed ingredients and forages including corn silage, alfalfa hay, timothy or pangola hay and corn grain were used as major source of the diet to follow practical dairy cow feeding. Five different diets were varying in amounts (low=L; standard=S; high=H) of crude protein (P) and energy (E) according to the NRC (1989). The energy to protein ratios in kcal/kg for the PSES, PLES, PHES, PSEH and PSEL were 10.82, 12.54, 9.41, 12.53 and 9.13 in lactating cows, and 11.38, 13.33, 9.78, 13.28 and 9.74 in dry cows, respectively. Results showed that after feeding at 9:30, BUN reached peak at 13:30 and was significantly higher than those to that sampled at 14:30 to 18:30 (p<0.05) in dry cows. Therefore the best blood sampling time for urea nitrogen assay in dry cows is 4 hours after morning feeding. In lactating cows, BUN of 13:30 was significantly higher than those of 8:30 to 11:30 (p<0.05), but there were no significant difference between the BUN values of other sampling time. Hence the suitable blood sampling time for BUN value in lactating cows was located on 3 to 8 hours after morning feeding, but the best time was 4 hours after morning feeding. MUN content is significantly higher in the afternoon collected bulk milk than the fore-strip morning milk (p<0.05), therefore the best sampling time for MUN is from afternoon collected bulk milk. Diurnal BAN changed without traceable rhythmic pattern and was negatively correlated to the BUN (r = -0.78). It is suggested that BAN may not be a good indicator for monitoring dairy cow feeding.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.44 no.12
• /
• pp.975-990
• /
• 2011

In this study, to develop an assessment method for spatio-temporal riverbed changes, a 1-dimensional model (HEC-RAS) and a 2-dimensional model (CCHE2D) were built and applied. As for the analysis of a riverbed's long-term change in a real stream, three new assessment methods were developed, which are called the "Sediment section cumulative curve", "Sediment section moment", and "Sediment probability distribution function." These methods were used to assess the characteristics of riverbed changes using a consistent valuation standard and to understand changes in quantities intuitively. From the results of this study, sediment characteristics of cross sections can be detected effectively by applying the "Sediment section cumulative curve" method to determine whether there is any sedimentation or erosion in total emission. The amount of sedimentation or erosion occurring in the right or left banks, which divided by center column, could be presented as one criterion by applying the "Sediment section moment" method. This approach could be utilized as an indicator for sediment predictions. Spatio-temporal sediment variables can be presented quantitatively by determining the mean and uncertain boundaries through the "Sediment probability distribution function", and finally, the results can be illustrated for each cross section to provide intuitive recognition.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.217-234
• /
• 2009

This study characterized groundwater quality and the influence of agrochemicals in a part of Ilgwang-Myeon agricultural area in Gijang-Gun, Busan Metropolitan City, using factor analyses. From the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd analyses of groundwater samples, the mean concentrations of $Ca^{2+}$, $Na^+$, $Mg^{2+}$, $K^+$, $Zn^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, $Fe^{2+}$, $Al^{3+}$, $NO_3\;^-$, $Cl^-$, $SO_4\;^{2-}$, $F^-$, and $SiO_2$ were higher in the 2nd analysis than the other analyses. Pesticide carbofuran and herbicide alachlor were detected at the wells more than a half of all the wells in the 2nd analysis but not in the 4th analysis. This fact may be explained by that a higher precipitation induced higher infiltration rate of contaminants into groundwater during the 2nd survey. According to R- and Q-mode factor analyses, and chemical composition, inorganic constituents excepting $SiO_2$, $HC0_3\;^-$-, and $F^-$ may be influenced by anthropogenic sources (manures, synthetic fertilizers, and domestic wastes), seawater as well as water-mineral interaction. A typical indicator of groundwater contamination, nitrate, exceeds around 4-5 times over the Korean standard for drinking water. Additionally, the influence of seawater diminishes from the seaside to inland.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.117-122
• /
• 2009

Objectives : We tried to evaluate the agreement of the Charlson comorbidity index values(CCI) obtained from different sources(medical records and National Health Insurance claims data) for gastric cancer patients. We also attempted to assess the prognostic value of these data for predicting 1-year mortality and length of the hospital stay(length of stay). Methods : Medical records of 284 gastric cancer patients were reviewed, and their National Health Insurance claims data and death certificates were also investigated. To evaluate agreement, the kappa coefficient was tested. Multiple logistic regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were performed to evaluate and compare the prognostic power for predicting 1 year mortality and length of stay. Results : The CCI values for each comorbid condition obtained from 2 different data sources appeared to poorly agree(kappa: 0.00-0.59). It was appeared that the CCI values based on both sources were not valid prognostic indicators of 1-year mortality. Only medical record-based CCI was a valid prognostic indicator of length of stay, even after adjustment of covariables($\beta$ = 0.112, 95% CI = [0.017-1.267]). Conclusions : There was a discrepancy between the data sources with regard to the value of CCI both for the prognostic power and its direction. Therefore, assuming that medical records are the gold standard for the source for CCI measurement, claims data is not an appropriate source for determining the CCI, at least for gastric cancer.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.235-241
• /
• 2017

Purpose: The Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) is a widely used prognostic tool in patients with advanced cancer. This study examines the association between changes in PPS score and survival in patients with advanced cancer. Methods: We identified a cohort of 606 inpatients who died at a Korean university hospital's hospice/palliative care center. For each patient, the PPS score was measured twice according to a standard procedure: 1) upon admission, and 2) three days after admission (D3). "Change on D3" was defined as a difference between initial PPS and PPS on D3. We used a Cox regression modeling approach to explore the association between this score change and survival. Results: The changes in scores were associated with survival. A score change of >30% yielded a hazard ratio for death of 2.66 (95% CI 2.19~3.22), compared to a score change of ${\leq}30%$. PPS of ${\leq}30$ on D3 also independently predicted survival, with a hazard ratio of 1.67 (95% CI 1.38~2.02) compared to PPS of >30. Conclusion: A change of over 30% in PPS appears to predict survival in hospitalized patients with terminal cancer, even after adjustment for confounders. Changes in PPS may be a more sensitive indicator of impending death than a single PPS measured on the day of admission in terminal cancer patients. Further prospective study is needed to examine this important finding in other populations.