• Computational Structural Engineering : An International Journal
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2001

This study is intended to propose a systematic approach for reliability-based assessment of life cycle cost (LCC) effectiveness and economic efficiency for cost-effective seismic upgrading of existing bridges. The LCC function is expressed as the sum of the upgrading cost and all the discounted life cycle damage costs, which is formulated as a function of the Park-Ang damage index and structural damage probability. The damage costs are expressed in terms of direct damage costs such as repair/replacement costs, human losses and property damage costs, and indirect damage costs such as road user costs and indirect regional economic losses. For dealing with a variety of uncertainties associated with earthquake loads and capacities, a simulation-based reliability approach is used. The SMART-DRAIN-2DX, which is a modified version of the well-known DRAIN-2DX, is extended by incor-porating LCC analysis based on the LCC function developed in the study. Economic efficiencies for optimal seismic upgradings of the continuous PC segmental bridges are assessed using the proposed LCC functions and benefit-cost ratio.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.51-59
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• 2019

The government is encouraging the notice of obligatory reclaimed asphalt as a result of the economic and social positioning of green growth to reduce the amount of waste resources and to solve natural resource problems by recycling continuously generated waste resources. However, it is necessary to develop application guideline for each application to apply reclaimed asphalt to the site because quality control of the reclaimed asphalt is difficult and the specifications are ambiguous as well. Therefore, in this study, the mix design, quality test, performance test, and finite element analysis about reclaimed Asphalt Pavement were conducted to develop application guideline for reclaimed hot asphalt. The mix design was carried out for the comparative general hot mix asphalt mixture, the reclaimed hot mix asphalt mixture using the additive, and the reclaimed hot mix asphalt mixture without the additive. Indirect tensile strength and tensile strength ratio tests were used to characterize the reclaimed hot mix asphalt mixture. Using the results of dynamic modulus test and FWD test for KPRP analysis and finite element analysis, the performance life was evaluated for general pavement and pavement using recycled aggregate. Finally, the life cycle cost analysis was used to compare and analyze the economics of reclaimed asphalt concrete pavement.

• KIEE International Transaction on Electrical Machinery and Energy Conversion Systems
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• v.2B no.3
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• pp.125-132
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• 2002

PMSMS (permanent magnet synchronous motors) are widely used in industrial applications and home appliances because of their high torque to inertia ratio, superior power density, and high efficiency. For high performance control, accurate informations about the rotor position is essential. Sensorless algorithms have lately been studied extensively due to the high cost of position sensors and their low reliability in harsh environments. A novel position sensorless speed control for PMSMs uses indirect flux estimation and is presented in this paper. Rotor position and angular velocity are estimated by the proposed indirect flux estimation. Linkage flux and magnetic field flux are calculated by the voltage equations and the measured phase current without any integration. Instead of linkage flux calculation with integral operation, indirect flux and differential magnetic field are used for the estimation of rotor position. A proper rejection technique fur current noise effect in the calculation of differential linkage flux is introduced. The proposed indirect flux detecting method is free from the integral rounding error and linkage flux drift problem, because differential linkage flux can be calculated without any integral operation. Furthermore, electrical parameters of the PMSM can be measured by the proposed TCM (time compression method) for soft starting and precise estimation of rotor position. The position estimator uses accurate electrical parameters that are obtained from the proposed TCM at starting strategy. In the operating region, a proper compensation method fur temperature effect can compensate fir the estimation error from the variation of electrical parameters. The proposed novel position sensorless speed control scheme is verified by the experimental results.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2011

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate patient satisfaction and indirect marketing effects (recommendation, hospital re-visit intention) and additionally to calculate the expected incomes by clinical nurse specialists (CNS). Methods: Sixty-six patients who had lower varicose vein removal surgery performed at two general hospitals from August 1 to November 30, 2008, were recruited. The effects were evaluated by degree of patient satisfaction, the number of personal recommendations given, rate of hospital re-visit intention, and indirect marketing effects. Indirect marketing effects were calculated as the total cost of surgery multiplied by the score of other variables. Results: The patient satisfaction score was 0.82 for CNS and 0.43 for general nurses (GN). The number of personal recommendations given was 2.5 for CNS and 1.1 for GN. The rate of hospital re-visit intention was 0.31 for CNS and 0.21 fot GN. The ratio of expected incomes between CNS and GN is 2.07 to 1. Conclusion: We found that when a CNS serves a patient, satisfaction, number of personal recommendations, hospital re-visit intention, and indirect marketing effects were higher than those of GN. These results show that CNS have dominant roles and functions and that the effects of CNS employment can be measured using economics parameters.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.484-494
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• 2000

Objective : To evaluate the relative benefits and the costs associated with the introduction of the new pharmaceutical provision called 'Mandatory Prescription System' which separates the role of physicians from that of pharmacists with respect to the prescription and dispensation of from the perspective of consumers (i.e., patients). Methods : The costs of the system were measured by considering both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs included additional payments for ambulatory care and dispensing fees that occurred under the new system. indirect costs consisted of transportation expenses and costs related to time spent for physician consultation, waiting for the prescriptions to be filled, and extra traveling. Benefits identified in this study were the reduction of drug misuse and overuse, and the overall decrease in drug consumption among the Korean population. Sensitivity analysis was peformed for the inclusion of benefits for outpatients of hospitals, price elasticity, and increased fees for established patients. Results : The net benefit was estimated to be about minus 1,862 billion won and the benefit-cost ratio was 0.478. This indicates that the costs of 'Mandatory Prescription' outweigh its benefits, relative to the previous system. The sensitivity analysis results for all the variables considered in this study consistently showed the benefit-cost ratio to be less than 1. Conclusion : The results of this study suggest that implementing Mandatory Prescription System in Korea might be inefficient from the consumer's perspective. The results of this study do not coincide with the results of previous studies, presumably because of the differences in study design and in which items of costs and benefits were considered.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.7
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• pp.849-858
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• 2015

This study set the pyroprocess facility at an engineering scale as a cost object, and presented the cost consumed during the unit processes of the pyroprocess. For the cost calculation, the activity based costing (ABC) method was used instead of the engineering cost estimation method, which calculates the cost based on the conceptual design of the pyroprocess facility. The calculation results demonstrate that the pyroprocess facility's unit process cost is $194/kgHM for pretreatment, $298/kgHM for electrochemical reduction, $226/kgHM for electrorefining, and $299/kgHM for electrowinning. An analysis demonstrated that the share of each unit process cost among the total pyroprocess cost is as follows: 19% for pretreatment, 29% for electrochemical reduction, 22% for electrorefining, and 30% for electrowinning. The total unit cost of the pyroprocess was calculated at $1,017/kgHM. In the end, electrochemical reduction and the electrowinning process took up most of the cost, and the individual costs for these two processes was found to be similar. This is because significant raw material cost is required for the electrochemical reduction process, which uses platinum as an anode electrode. In addition, significant raw material costs are required, such as for $Li_3PO_4$, which is used a lot during the salt purification process.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.18-26
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate the cost of dental implant using the bottom-up approach with the current data from dental clinics. Materials and methods: In this study, direct and indirect costs required for each treatment were calculated using the bottom-up approach. In the bottom-up costing, the average monthly total cost of dental clinic includes labor and material costs, administrative expenses, medical malpractice costs, and opportunity costs of invested capital. For the dental implant cost components, those include direct costs (labor costs, laboratory costs, material costs, depreciation or other operating costs), indirect costs (administrative costs), and the opportunity costs of investment for dental clinic. Results: Dental implant costs of metal crown, porcelain crown and over-denture were 1,449,000 won, 1,583,000 won, and 2,471,000 won respectively. The proportion of cost components was as follows. The labor cost were 50%, and material, administrative and other cost were 33%, 15% and 2%, respectively. For direct, indirect and investment cost, the ratio were 83%, 15% and 2%, respectively. Conclusion: The labor costs were evaluated to comprise largest proportion (about 50%, 730,000 won). Dental implant cost using Bottom-up costing was 1,450,000 won for metal crown and 1,580,000 won for porcelain crown.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Industrial Safety Conference
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• 1998.05a
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• pp.265-270
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• 1998

As the goal of enterprises is to pursuit benefits, the goal of safety management is not only preventing accidents but also promoting benefits and productivity. However, enterprises have failed to realize the necessity of safety management, partly because they didn't grasp any appropriate evidences advocating effectiveness of safety management. This study aimed to survey construction-site engineers' consciousness on safety management contributing to cost reduction, construction period and quality enhancement. The result of this study showed that constriction-site engineers recognized the ratio of direct cost to Indirect cost as 1:2. The proportion of repliers who thought that safety management is contributable to cost reduction was 35％, to construction period was 20％, and to quality enhancement was 48％. The construction sites with excellent safety accomplisments also had good work and selling amounts.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.13-25
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• 2022

Purpose : This study compared the cost-effectiveness ratio of physical therapy in health centers and home physical therapy, two physical therapy methods for home-bound stroke patients, and clarified the economic validity regarding the effect of home physical therapy. Methods : To measure and compare the cost and effectiveness of the two physical therapy methods for stroke patients, subjects were recruited based on in-hospital and home physical therapy. Among the entire data collected, 82 and 90 participants were selected for in-hospital and home physical therapy, respectively. To measure costs, regarding both in-hospital and home physical therapy, direct cost and indirect cost for patients, family, medical institutes, and the government were measured. In addition, activities of daily living were measured in both methods to measure their effectiveness. Through collected data, the cost-effectiveness and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were analyzed. Results : Based on the analysis of cost-effectiveness, home physical therapy showed lower cost-effectiveness than in-hospital physical therapy. Furthermore, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio also showed a difference, which implied home physical therapy could have high effectiveness compared to cost. Conclusion : Based on these results, home physical therapy could be considered as an alternativeto other methods of physical therapy, for home-bound stroke patients. In addition, the result of thisstudy contribute by providing evidence that home physical therapy offers economic benefits and canbe more effective in treating home-bound patients when policy decisions are made to establish a home physical therapy system.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.1761-1766
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• 2012

Background: The appropriate interval between negative colonoscopy screenings is uncertain, but the numbers of advanced neoplasms 10 years after a negative result are generally low. We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of colorectal neoplasm screening and management based on repeat screening colonoscopy every 10 years or single colonoscopy, compared with no screening in the general population. Methods and materials: A state-transition Markov model simulated 100,000 individuals aged 50-80 years accepting repeat screening colonoscopy every 10 years or single colonoscopy, offered to every subject. Colorectal adenomas found during colonoscopy were removed by polypectomy, and the subjects were followed with surveillance every three years. For subjects with a normal result, colonoscopy was resumed within ten years in the repeat screening strategy. In single screening strategy, screening process was terminated. Direct costs such as screening tests, cancer treatment and costs of complications were included. Indirect costs were excluded from the model. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the different screening strategies. Results: Assuming a first-time compliance rate of 90%, repeat screening colonoscopy and single colonoscopy can reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer by 65.8% and 67.2% respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for single colonoscopy (49 Renminbi Yuan [RMB]) was much lower than that for repeat screening colonoscopy (474 RMB). Single colonoscopy was a more cost-effective strategy, which was not sensitive to the compliance rate of colonoscopy and the cost of advanced colorectal cancer. Conclusion: Single colonoscopy is suggested to be the more cost-effective strategy for screening and management of colorectal neoplasms and may be recommended in China clinical practice.