• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2605-2610
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• 2016

The International Myeloma Working Group considers the serum free light chain (SFLC) assay to be an adjunct to traditional tests. Apart from the FLC ratio, the absolute values of individual free light chains also are gaining importance as they appear to be more relevant in certain clinical settings. Automated assays are available for their determination. As laboratories put new test systems into use catering to different disease populations, they are required by accreditation and certification bodies to verify or establish performance specifications, including reference intervals (RIs) representative of their population. Our aim was to establish local RIs for SFLC in a multicentre representative healthy population using a robust method. There was no significant relationship between SFLC levels and age, gender and creatinine levels. The 95% RI for ${\kappa}SFLC$ was 4.81 to 33.86mg/L, for ${\lambda}$ SFLC was 5.19 to 23.67mg/L and for ${\kappa}/{\lambda}SFLC$ was 0.36 to 2.33, significantly higher than the values given by the manufacturer. The ${\kappa}/{\lambda}$ SFLC ratio at 2.23, covering 100% of the data, showed 72% sensitivity (95% CI=39.0 - 94.0), 100% specificity (95% CI=71.5 - 100.0), 100% PPV (95% CI=21.5 - 100.0), 95% NPV (95% CI=75.4 - 99.9), and 79% accuracy (95% CI=56.0 - 93.0). In the patient group, kit RI for ${\kappa}/{\lambda}$ SFLC ratio classified 45.5% (n=5) as positive vs 9.1% (n=1) positive by the study RI, while the kit RI for kappa FLC classified 90.9% (n=10) as positive vs 54.5% (n=6), indicating increased probability of false positive test results with the kit RI when applied to our patient population. Appropriate and specific reference intervals and criteria values result in fewer false-positive and false-negative results which means fewer wrong or missed diagnoses.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.105-113
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• 2015

The main challenge in pharyngoesophageal reconstruction is the restoration of swallow and speech functions. The aim of this paper is to review the reconstructive options and associated complications for patients with head and neck cancer. A literature review was performed for pharynoesophagus reconstruction after ablative surgery of head and neck cancer for studies published between January 1980 to July 2015 and listed in the PubMed database. Search queries were made using a combination of 'esophagus' and 'free flap', 'microsurgical', or 'free tissue transfer'. The search query resulted in 123 studies, of which 33 studies were full text publications that met inclusion criteria. Further review into the reference of these 33 studies resulted in 15 additional studies to be included. The pharyngoesophagus reconstruction should be individualized for each patient and clinical context. Fasciocutaneous free flap and pedicled flap are effective for partial phayngoesophageal defect. Fasciocutaneous free flap and jejunal free flap are effective for circumferential defect. Pedicled flaps remain a safe option in the context of high surgical risk patients, presence of fistula. Among free flaps, anterolateral thigh free flap and jejunal free flap were associated with superior outcomes, when compared with radial forearm free flap. Speech function is reported to be better for the fasciocutaneous free flap than for the jejunal free flap.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 1987

Gravity measurements at sea are considered to be made on the geoid. The free-air anomalies are then determined by subtracting the theoretical gravity values predicted on a reference ellipsoid from the observed values. The gravity effect due to the height difference between the geoid and reference ellipsoid and the mass between them is known as the 'indirect effect'. The result of applying the indirect effect to surface ship derived gravity anomalies in the North Atlantic Ocean demonstrates the importance of its inclusion for regional stuedies involving mantle processes.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.5 no.7
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• pp.862-867
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• 1999

In general, the realization of high performance brushless permanent magnet motors which are widely used in servo drive is focused on the linear control for ripple-free torque. This is also the main problem that should be solved in all AC motors including induction motor to achieve high performance control, and recent papers deal with this problem. In this paper, the novel optimal excitation scheme of brushless permanent magnet motor producing loss-minimized ripple-free torque based on the d-q-0 reference frame is presented including 3 phase unbalanced condition. The optimized phase current waveforms that are obtained by the proposed method can be a reference values and the motor winding currents are forced to track it by delta modulation technique. As a results, it can be shown that the proposed work can minimize the torque ripple by the optimal excitation current for brushless permanent magnet motor with any arbitrary phase back EMF waveform. Simulation and experimental results prove the validity and practical applications of the proposed control scheme.

• Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.159-178
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• 2003

Electronic reference service was defined as reference service designed for remote users and identified by a specific link from a library' website. This study examined whether academic libraries deliver web-based electronic reference services to remote users. Particularly, four types of electronic bulletin board services, free bulletin board, FAQ, Q＆A and reference question-response service were measured in terms of 8 types of questions and 12 contents of questions. The result showed that there was few differences among 4 services. Guidelines for effective use of electronic bulletin board services in academic libraries were suggested: standardization of service names, easy access to menu services, definition of each menu, search function for contents and standard web forms.

• IE interfaces
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.290-299
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• 2012

Keystroke dynamics refers to a way of typing a string of characters. Since one has his/her own typing behavior, one's keystroke dynamics can be used as a distinctive biometric feature for user authentication. In this paper, two authentication algorithms based on keystroke dynamics of long and free texts are proposed. The first is the K-S score, which is based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and the second is the 'R-A' measure, which combines 'R' and 'A' measures proposed by Gunetti and Picardi (2005). In order to verify the authentication performance of the proposed algorithms, we collected more than 3,000 key latencies from 34 subjects in Korean and 35 subjects in English. Compared with three benchmark algorithms, we found that the K-S score was outstanding when the reference and test key latencies were not sufficient, while the 'R-A' measure was the best when enough reference and test key latencies were provided.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.391-406
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• 2008

This study attempts to develop a real-time debonding monitoring system for carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthened structures by continuously inspecting the bonding condition between the CFRP layer and the host structure. The uniqueness of this study is in developing a new concept and theoretical framework of nondestructive testing (NDT), in which debonding is detected without relying on previously-obtained baseline data. The proposed reference-free damage diagnosis is achieved based on the concept of time reversal acoustics (TRA). In TRA, an input signal at an excitation point can be reconstructed if the response signal measured at another point is reemitted to the original excitation point after being reversed in the time domain. Examining the deviation of the reconstructed signal from the known initial input signal allows instantaneous identification of damage without requiring a baseline signal representing the undamaged state for comparison. The concept of TRA has been extended to guided wave propagations within the CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams to improve the detectibility of local debonding. Monotonic and fatigue load tests of large-scale CFRP-strengthened RC beams are conducted to demonstrate the potential of the proposed reference-free debonding monitoring system. Comparisons with an electro-mechanical impedance method and an inferred imaging technique are provided as well.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.34-41
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• 2010

• Bulletin of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 1980

Herein the flow past a submerged circular cylinder with a free surface is mapped onto a reference plane, in which the free surface is transformed to a straight line and the cylinder to a certain shape. A global mapping function between two planes is sought in a manner that linear free-surface elevation is generated in the physical plane. Hereby the Froude mumber $F_h$, based on the submergence depth h', is assumed to be of order 0(1) and the ratio a'/h'(a'=cylinder radius) of order o(1). Wave thus obtained are slightly different in magnitude and phase from usual linear solution. The resulting free wave starts advanced ahead compared to the classical result and its amount depends on Froude number. Based on the present concept wave forces are calculated. In this type of approach the body boundary condition gives more influence on wave resistance than that by the free surface in the speed range $F_h>1$.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2003

General drug prices involve three stages: shipment stage, wholesaler stage and retail stage. Policies on drug price differ from country to country. Shipment stage prices are tightly regulated in countries like France and Netherlands. They are free in only a minority of advanced countries, even if these include some major players such as the US, Germany and, in a very limited sense, Japan. The situation in the UK is very complex with a semi-free system, where drug companies are free to set their own prices but cannot exceed a predetermined profit ceiling. Mark-up at both wholesaler and retail stages is formally admitted in most countries observed. Apart from the general drug prices, reimbursement price of insured drugs has been major policy concerns. Most countries reviewed in this study has exerted some control over reimbursement prices, but differ both in the way how and in the extent to which prices are admitted or fixed. Price fixing has been used in France and Japan. Some countries have transformed their system over time, particularly to move to reference pricing in the last decade. This mechanism has empowered the customer, and improved price competition on the market. Referring to the drug price policies in the advanced countries, this study makes some suggestions for the redirection of Korean price policy for reimbursement drug in health insurance as follows: to match appropriate policy tools to each policy goal; to maximize market mechanism through effective reimbursement price fixing which admits mark-ups in wholesaler and retail prices; to introduce reference pricing system in order to redirect patient's demand with a financial incentive to choose the best-priced drugs and to save the finance of health insurance; and to strengthen surveillance and monitoring mechanism in the drug market.