• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.47 no.5
• /
• pp.419-427
• /
• 2020

Background This study evaluated the Blossom system, an innovative self-filling, rate-controlled, pressure-responsive saline tissue expander (TE) system. We investigated the feasibility of utilizing this technology to facilitate implant-based and combined flap with implant-based breast reconstruction in comparison to conventional tissue expansion. Methods In this prospective, single-center, single-surgeon pilot study, participants underwent either implant-based breast reconstruction or a combination of autologous flap and implantbased breast reconstruction. Outcome measures included time to full expansion, complications, total expansion volume, and pain scores. Results Fourteen patients (TEs; n=22), were included in this study. The mean time to full expansion was 13.4 days (standard error of the mean [SEM], 1.3 days) in the combination group and 11.7 days (SEM, 1.4 days) in the implant group (P=0.78). The overall major complication rate was 4.5% (n=1). No statistically significant differences were found in the complication rate between the combination group and the implant group. The maximum patient-reported pain scores during the expansion process were low, but were significantly higher in the combination group (mean, 2.00±0.09) than in the implant group (mean, 0.29±0.25; P=0.005). Conclusions The reported average duration for conventional subcutaneous TE expansion is 79.4 days, but this pilot study using the Blossom system achieved an average expansion duration of less than 14 days in both groups. The Blossom system may accommodate single-stage breast reconstruction. The overall complication rate of this study was 4.5%, which is promising compared to the reported complication rates of two-stage breast reconstruction with TEs (20%-45%).

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.704-714
• /
• 2023

This study explores how avatar customization influences the continuous intention to use the metaverse, mediated by self-expansion. The moderating effects of self-efficacy between avatar customization and self-expansion are also explored. Data were collected through an online survey using consumer panels. Participants were Zepeto users aged 18 or older who had used the platform within the previous six months. They were asked to recall a recent shopping experience of exploring the virtual fashion store via Zepeto. A total of 196 valid responses from participants were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 for descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, and PROCESS procedure, and AMOS 23.0 for confirmatory factor analysis. Results demonstrate that avatar customization increases continuous intention to use the metaverse; this effect is mediated by self-expansion. The moderated mediation effect of self-efficacy in the indirect path was significant and mediated by self-expansion. Specifically, the interplay effect of avatar customization and self-efficacy on self-expansion was statistically significant. For participants with high self-efficacy, avatar customization increases self-expansion, and it mediates the relationship between avatar customization and the continuous intention to use the metaverse. Findings contribute to expanding the literature on metaverse usage by testing the impact of avatar customization on self-expansion.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.44-51
• /
• 2016

This paper presents the characteristics of the energy absorption in an expansion tube type impact absorber that is applied to a high weight drop tester and the use of a response surface methodology to predict the impact energy absorption. In order to identify the characteristics of the energy absorption, a set of finite element analysis was conducted with Abaqus Explicit. Moreover, the ISCD-II sampling method and a first order polynomial were used to build a response surface. As a result, we demonstrated that the impact energy could be controlled by four main design variables, namely an expansion pipe's thickness, inner radius, pressing die's expansion angle and expansion ratio. Additionally, we observed the relationship between the four main design variables and the impact energy absorbing time, displacement, and maximum impact force.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.505-511
• /
• 2021

This study aims to investigate the effects of e-purchasing on increasing transparency, expanding market access, and the efficiency of the government procurement process. This study also investigates how transparency of the procurement process, improved market access and the efficiency of the procurement process in e-purchasing will decrease the level of fraudulent government procurement in Indonesia. The questionnaires were distributed to the Procurement Service Units (ULP) of Local Governments through email. There are currently 542 ULPs in Indonesia based on the data of the Government Procurement Policy Institute (LKPP). However, only 520 ULPs had their email addresses traced, 120 ULP returned the questionnaires and the response rate is lower than it was expected. The data research was analyzed by a structural equation model (SEM) by using WarpPLS 7.0. The results reveal that the e-purchasing effect on the transparency, the expansion of market access, and the efficiency of the government procurement process. The other findings show the negative effect between efficiency in government procurement and fraud in government procurement. The findings of this study suggest that efficiency in the process of government procurement will minimize fraud in government procurement. However, transparency in government procurement and the expansion of market access was not sufficient to minimize fraud in government procurement.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.35-40
• /
• 2003

Cold expansion method is an effective process to retard the crack initiation at a hole and to improve fatigue life by developing the compressive residual stress around the hole. Several researches have been treated for the crack propagating toward a hole around which the residual stress by cold expansion exists. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the fatigue characteristics under the residual stress by cold expansion. Fatigue tests are performed for the plate with a central hole to which cold expansion has been applied, and the effects of the residual stress on the fatigue life are evaluated. Also the fatigue crack growth tests are conducted for the CT specimen in which the residual stress by cold expansion has been generated. The change of fatigue crack growth characteristics by the residual stress is investigated and the effects of cold expansion ratio are evaluated.

• New & Renewable Energy
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.18-27
• /
• 2011

Management flexibility to adapt its future actions in response to altered future market conditions can expand the value of an investment opportunity by improving its upside potential without the change in the downside losses. Module manufacturers in solar industry continuously have to decide how much and when its production capacity should be expanded with regards to the demand in the global markets. Either over- or under-investment can cause sunk and/or opportunity costs to the module manufacturers. Option of exercising the additional investments only on favorable opportunities can increase total value of the investment. This paper analyzes the case which shows that the expansion of production capacity with more expandibility can have more value than the rigid plan of capacity expansion. The expansion option value is equivalent to KRW 38.286 billion, thus switching the negative NPV of the initial investment opportunity into the positive value. High volatility and the high growth in the cashflows as the major business features of the renewable energy provide condition where real options can play the crucial role in increasing the investment value as well as in determining the size and timing of capacity expansion in the course of capital budgeting process.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.53 no.5
• /
• pp.867-880
• /
• 2015

Mechanical fastening is still one of the main methods used for joining components. Different techniques have been applied to reduce the effect of stress concentration of notches like fastener holes. In this work we evaluate the feasibility of combining laser shock peening (LSP) and cold expansion to improve fatigue crack initiation and propagation of open hole specimens made of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy. LSP is a new and competitive technique for strengthening metals, and like cold expansion, induces a compressive residual stress field that improves fatigue, wear and corrosion resistance. For LSP treatment, a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with infrared radiation was used. Residual stress distribution as a function of depth was determined by the contour method. Compact tension specimens with a hole at the notch tip were subjected to LSP process and cold expansion and then tested under cyclic loading with R=0.1 generating fatigue cracks on the hole surface. Fatigue crack initiation and growth is analyzed and associated with the residual stress distribution generated by both treatments. It is observed that both methods are complementary; cold expansion increases fatigue crack initiation life, while LSP reduces fatigue crack growth rate.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.6-23
• /
• 2018

Digital Science's Dimensions is envisaged as a next-generation research and discovery platform for more efficient access to cross-referenced scholarly publications, grants, patents, and clinical trials. As a new addition to the growing open citation resources, it offers opportunities that may benefit a wide variety of stakeholders of scientific publications, from researchers and policy makers to the general public. In this article, we explore and demonstrate some of the practical potentials in terms of cascading citation expansions. Given a set of publications, the cascading citation expansion process can be iteratively applied to a set of articles so as to extend the coverage to more and more relevant articles through citation links. Although the conceptual origin can be traced back to Garfield's citation indexing, it has been largely limited, until recently, to the few who have unrestricted access to a citation database that is large enough to sustain such iterative expansions. Building on the open application program interface of Dimensions, we integrate cascading citation expansion functions in CiteSpace and demonstrate how one may benefit from these new capabilities. In conclusion, cascading citation expansion has the potential to improve our understanding of the structure and dynamics of scientific knowledge.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.17-25
• /
• 2016

In this paper, the feasibility study on a gerotor type expander as a power converting device in a small scale power generation ORC system was made by performance analysis of the gerotor expander. Design of a 1kW-class gerotor expander was carried out and its performance was numerically simulated. For a R134a Rankine system with about 20 kW solar heat source, the gerotor expander efficiency was calculated to be 35~75% for the operating conditions of $Te=80{\sim}100^{\circ}C$ and $Tc=30{\sim}60^{\circ}C$. Maximum expander efficiency was obtained at an expansion ratio somewhat higher than the design expansion ratio due to pre-expansion during suction process inside the outer and inner rotor mate. If the operating expansion ratio is not far from the design expansion ratio, the gerotor expander performance can be well compared to that of a scroll type.

• Journal of Semiconductor Engineering
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.136-141
• /
• 2021

This paper analyzes the tree expansion for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) detection in the viewpoint of hardware implementation. The tree expansion is to calculate path metrics of child nodes performed in every visit to a node while traversing the detection tree. Accordingly, the tree-expansion unit (TEU), which is responsible for such a task, has been an essential component in a MIMO detector. Despite the paramount importance, the analyses on the TEUs in the literature are not thorough enough. Accordingly, we further investigate the hardware complexity of the TEUs to suggest a guideline for selection. In this paper, we focus on a pair of major ways to implement the TEU: 1) a full parallel realization; 2) a transformation of the formulae followed by common subexpression elimination (CSE). For a logical comparison, the numbers of multipliers and adders are first enumerated. To evaluate them in a more practical manner, the TEUs are implemented in a 65-nm CMOS process, and their propagation delays, gate counts, and power consumptions were measured explicitly. Considering the target specification of a MIMO system and the implementation results comprehensively, one can choose which architecture to adopt in realizing a detector.