• Journal of Applied Reliability
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.135-144
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• 2008

The economic life for three types of military wheeled vehicles with load capacities of 1/4, $1{\cdot}1/4$, and $2{\cdot}1/2$ tones has been evaluated on the basis of the equivalent acquisition and operating costs. The economic life of wheeled vehicles were calculated from 12 to 18 years by using the annual equivalent cost method. The equivalent cost was decided at the lowest point of the total amount of equivalent acquisition cost and operating cost. The operating cost were collected from the field data. The evaluated economic life can be very useful for deciding the total life cycle of these three types of military vehicles. The annual equivalent cost method may be also applied to other military equipments such as communication electronics, weapon systems, and other type of vehicles.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.21-30
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• 2017

This study investigated the total annual direct cost of cerebrovascular disease patients. For this study, 265 respondents who answered that they used more than one emergency, inpatient, and outpatient services for cerebrovascular disease during the year of 2012 among Korean medical panel investigators in 2012 were included. In general, patients with cerebrovascular disease responded to cerebrovascular disease among Korean medical panel respondents in 2012. Percentage of respondents using inpatient and outpatient services. Total direct cost was calculated. According to the results of the study, the per capita annual medical expenditure per person is about 561,934 won, 669,557 won for men and 448,696 won for women. In the case of health insurance subscribers, the per capita self burden due to cerebrovascular disease averaged 634,459 won and the medical benefit recipients 160,236 won. The average total direct cost of 265 people with cerebrovascular disease is about 162,165,690, 193,223,955 won for men and 129,486,685 for women. The total direct cost per person due to cerebrovascular disease was 183,095,125 won and the medical benefit recipient was 46,241,705 won. According to household income, the highest rate of 672,268 won in the third income group of the household income, and 108,970,650 won in the fifth income group, the lowest total direct cost of the patients with cerebrovascular disease.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.438-444
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• 1992

We analysed 7,180 annual cases of surgical treatment performed by Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery of 6 major institutes in Seoul Korea, All cases were applied to 101 of 140 coded items applicable to the field of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, in the book of "Standard Price List for Medical Service" which was notified by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, and of them, applied field specific items were 70 of 93 applicables. The most frequently applied items were those associated to ECC[extracorporeal circulation] 1,510 cases, and then item of closed thoracostomy 751 cases was next. Except the items associated to ECC, the coded item of the highest "Total cost[fee x total applied numbers]" was mitral valve replacement 182,356,570 won[534,770 won x 341 cases]. 140 items were arranged in "Total cost" order, and then categorized into 5 groups. Medical insurance fees of each group were modified by different grades without changes in sum of total fees. Fees of Group 1, the highest group in "Total cost" were pulled up, on the other hand, Group 4, the lowest group, were pulled down, Group 5, composed of overlapping items with other fields, were not changed. The result of adjustment by grouping showed 21.2% increment effect[535,749,105 won] in real income. And we found that new coded items for modern high technological procedures should be added to "Standard Price List for Medical Service “Standard Price List for Medical Service".

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine productivity and cost of tree-length harvesting using cable yarding system in a larch (Larix leptolepis) clear-cutting stand located in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do. We used tree-length harvesting method using cable yarding system with a tower yarder HAM300. The productivity was $17.6m^3/hr$ for felling, $12.4m^3/hr$ for delimbing, $4.2m^3/hr$ for yarding, and $8.1m^3/hr$ for processing. The total cost of the harvesting system was $48,381won/m^3$, which was majorly composed of yarding operation cost, at $40,169won/m^3$ (79.3%), while felling had the lowest cost at $1,154won/m^3$ (4.1%). Major factors affecting felling and processing productivity was tree volume and the number and thickness of branches for delimbing productivity. In addition, we suggest that training and education for machine operators were critical to improve yarding productivity.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2016

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are suitable to provide employment with lower investment in densely populated countries like Bangladesh. A stochastic frontier model is used to evaluate performance of SME Banking of the commercial banks in Bangladesh. Input (Total Deposit, Cost of Fund and Salary Expenditure) and output (Finance to SME) data are collected on 45 banks which are dealt with SME for 13 quarters from $1^{st}$quarter of 2010 to $2^{nd}$quarter of 2013. Average performance of the SME banking is 0.716 in Bangladesh. That is, banks have opportunity to increase 30% performance in SME banking from the same inputs. Bangladesh Development Bank has lowest performance (0.540) while Eastern bank has the highest performance (0.753). Highest (0.743) and lowest (0.662) performance is observed during the second quarter of 2013 and fourth quarter of 2010 respectively. Inefficient Bank might be benefited by following the rules of efficient banks.

• Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.30-37
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• 2000

Wet porous media representing agronomic soil that contains variable water content with variable electrolyte concentration was measured to study the shape of the curves of the electric double layer capacitance versus frequency (from 10 KHz to 10 MHz. This was done in an attempt to find the lowest practical operating frequency for developing low cost dielectric constant soil moisture probes. Cellulose sponge was used as the porous media. A high frequency electronic bridge circuit was developed for measuring the equivalent network parallel resistance and capacitance of porous media. It appears that the effects of the electric double layer component of the total parallel network capacitance essentially disappear at operating frequencies greater than approximately 25 MHz at low electrolyte concentrations but are still important at 50 MHz at higher concentrations. At these frequencies, the double layer capacitance masks the diffusion region capacitance where true water content capacitance values reside. The general shape of the curve of volumetric water content versus porous media dielectric constant is presented, with an empirical equation representing data for this type of curve. It was concluded that the lowest frequency where dielectric constant values which represent true water content information will most likely be found is between 30 and 50 MHz at low electrolyte concentrations but may be above 50 MHz when the total electrolyte concentration is near the upper level required for most mesophyte plant nutrition.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5143-5147
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• 2014

Cervical cancer screening in Malaysia is by opportunistic Pap smear which contributes to the low uptake rate. To overcome this, a pilot project called the SIPPS program (translated as information system of Pap smear program) had been introduced whereby women aged 20-65 years old are invited for Pap smear and receive recall to repeat the test. This study aimed at determining which recall method is most cost-effective in getting women to repeat Pap smear. A randomised control trial was conducted where one thousand women were recalled for repeat smear either by registered letter, phone messages, phone call or the usual postal letter. The total cost applied for cost-effectiveness analysis includes the cost of sending letter for first invitation, cost of the recall method and cost of two Pap smears. Cost-effective analysis (CEA) of Pap smear uptake by each recall method was then performed. The uptake of Pap smear by postal letter, registered letters, SMS and phone calls were 18.8%, 20.0%, 21.6% and 34.4%, respectively (p<0.05). The CER for the recall method was lowest by phone call compared to other interventions; RM 69.18 (SD RM 0.14) compared to RM 106.53 (SD RM 0.13), RM 134.02 (SD RM 0.15) and RM 136.38 (SD RM 0.11) for SMS, registered letter and letter, respectively. ICER showed that it is most cost saving if the usual method of recall by postal letter be changed to recall by phone call. The possibility of letter as a recall for repeat Pap smear to reach the women is higher compared to sending SMS or making phone call. However, getting women to do repeat Pap smear is better with phone call which allows direct communication. Despite the high cost of the phone call as a recall method for repeat Pap smear, it is the most cost-effective method compared to others.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.255-259
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• 1998

This study was designed to evaluate the economic analysis of channel catfish production in 1998 based on fish value and total feed cost. Catfish received higher protein feeds with lesser amount based on the dietary protein levels, but received the constant total protein input for all treatments. Weight gain per pond for treatment 1 $(28\%\;protein,\;100\%\;of\;satiation)$ was higher (P<0.10) than for treatment 3 $(36\%\;protein,\;77.8\%\;of\;satiation)$, but not significantly higher than for treatment 2 $(32\%\;protein,\;87.5\%\;of\;satiation)$ at constant DE. At constant DE/P (treatments 4, 2 and 5), weight gain per pond for treatment 5 $(36\%\;protein,\;77.8\%\;of\;satiation)$ was lower (P<0.10) than for treatment 2, but not significantly lower than for treatment 4 $(28\%\;protein,\;100\%\;of\;satiation)$. At constant DE, feed conversion slightly improved as dietary protein level increased from $28\%\;to\;32\%$ and feed allowance decreased by $12.5\%$, but did not improve further as dietary protein level increased from $28\%\;to\;36\%$ and feed allowance decreased by $22.2\%$. At constant DE/P, feed conversion improved as dietary protein level increased from $28\%\;to\;32\%$ increased and feed allowance decreased by $12.5\%$, but did not improve as dietary protein level increased from $28\%\;to\;36\%$ and feed allowance decreased by $22.2\%$ Total feed cost for treatment 1 was slightly, but not significantly higher than for treatments 2 and 3 at constant DE. At constant DE/P, total feed cost for treatment 5 was higher (P<0.05) than for treatment 2, but not significantly higher than for treatment 4. Total value of fish ($ /ha) produced for treatment 1 was highest and lowest was for treatment 5. Return above feed cost was highest for treatment 1 and nearly the same as treatment 2. Return over feed cost for treatments 3 and 4 were slightly lower than for treatments 1 and 2. Economic analysis showed that feeding fish the diet containing $28\%$ protein and 3.08 kcal/g DE to satiation and the diet containing $32\%$ protein and 3.08 kcal/g DE to $87.5\%$ of satiation produced the highest profit to farmer.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.253-268
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• 2009

This study aims to develop a cost-based high-performance concrete (HPC) mix optimization system based on an integrated approach using artificial neural networks (ANNs) and genetic algorithms (GA). ANNs are used to predict the three main properties of HPC, namely workability, strength and durability, which are used to evaluate fitness and constraint violations in the GA process. Multilayer back-propagation neural networks are trained using the results obtained from experiments and previous research. The correlation between concrete components and its properties is established. GA is employed to arrive at an optimal mix proportion of HPC by minimizing its total cost. A system prototype, called High Performance Concrete Mix-Design System using Genetic Algorithm and Neural Networks (HPCGANN), was developed in MATLAB. The architecture of the proposed system consists of three main parts: 1) User interface; 2) ANNs prediction models software; and 3) GA engine software. The validation of the proposed system is carried out by comparing the results obtained from the system with the trial batches. The results indicate that the proposed system can be used to enable the design of HPC mix which corresponds to its required performance. Furthermore, the proposed system takes into account the influence of the fluctuating unit price of materials in order to achieve the lowest cost of concrete, which cannot be easily obtained by traditional methods or trial-and-error techniques.

• Food Quality and Culture
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.58-61
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to develop an effective cost control model for university foodservice operations by analyzing student satisfaction, as well as foodservice income statements for operational characteristics. The specific objectives were to examine the satisfaction of students for various foodservice quality dimensions, to determine the financial activities performed in foodservice operations by operational type, to examine their income statement data, and lastly, to compare the student satisfaction for foodservice quality with the financial data of the income statements. A total of 545 students from one university answered a satisfaction survey. The one-year income statements of three union foodservices (self-operated, small-scale contracted, and large-scale contracted) at the same university were analyzed. The results showed that the self-operated union foodservice had lower student satisfaction scores and higher food and labor cost ratios. The small-scale contract management foodservice data indicated the highest student satisfaction scores and the lowest food and labor cost ratios. The large-scale contract management foodservice data showed medium scores when comparing the three union foodservice operations. Overall, by comparing the satisfaction scores and operational profits, the small-scale union foodservices showed the highest satisfaction scores and profit.