• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.sup3
• /
• pp.311-316
• /
• 2016

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer mortality in Iran. Social determinants of health are among the key factors affecting the pathogenesis of diseases. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the social determinants of breast cancer survival time with parametric and semi-parametric regression models. It was conducted on male and female patients diagnosed with breast cancer presenting to the Cancer Research Center of Shohada-E-Tajrish Hospital from 2006 to 2010. The Cox proportional hazard model and parametric models including the Weibull, log normal and log-logistic models were applied to determine the social determinants of survival time of breast cancer patients. The Akaike information criterion (AIC) was used to assess the best fit. Statistical analysis was performed with STATA (version 11) software. This study was performed on 797 breast cancer patients, aged 25-93 years with a mean age of 54.7 (${\pm}11.9$) years. In both semi-parametric and parametric models, the three-year survival was related to level of education and municipal district of residence (P<0.05). The AIC suggested that log normal distribution was the best fit for the three-year survival time of breast cancer patients. Social determinants of health such as level of education and municipal district of residence affect the survival of breast cancer cases. Future studies must focus on the effect of childhood social class on the survival times of cancers, which have hitherto only been paid limited attention.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.7 no.9
• /
• pp.697-706
• /
• 2020

The relationship between education and work is of the greatest concern to individuals and society because they are the key drivers of growth and development. In the context of Industry 4.0, labor and educators are facing the challenges of big changes in the workplace. How to prepare undergraduate students for the world of employment has become the most important mission of higher education providers. This paper explored the competency gap in the labor market in Vietnam from the perspective of employees who have been dissatisfied with the current status. First, a qualitative method with the Delphi technique was applied to confirm this consensus in an employees' competency model. Then, the satisfaction level for each competency criterion was explored by applying the advance quantitative method, namely, best non-fuzzy performance approach. Lifelong learning was ranked first, followed by creativity and innovation, foreign languages, expertise and digitalization, adaptability, and finally, organizing and managing ability. Critical thinking and problem-solving were perceived to have the biggest gap. The order of competency satisfaction is useful in explaining the mismatch between education quality and labor market demand. The findings provide valuable guidelines for education managers who seek to bridge the competency gap and improve education quality.

• Korean Membrane Journal
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.1-18
• /
• 2005

The permeate flux decline due to membrane fouling can be addressed using a variety of theoretical stand-points. Judicious selection of an appropriate theory is a key toward successful prediction of the permeate flux. The essential criterion f3r such a decision appears to be a detailed characterization of the feed solution and membrane properties. Modem theories are capable of accurately predicting several properties of colloidal systems that are important in membrane separation processes from fundamental information pertaining to the particle size, charge, and solution ionic strength. Based on such information, it is relatively straight-forward to determine the properties of the concentrated colloidal dispersion in a polarized layer or the cake layer properties. Incorporation of such information in the framework of the standard theories of membrane filtration, namely, the convective diffusion equation coupled with an appropriate permeate transport model, can lead to reasonably accurate prediction of the permeate flux due to colloidal fouling. The schematic of the essential approach has been delineated in Figure 5. The modern approaches based on appropriate cell models appear to predict the permeate flux behavior in crossflow membrane filtration processes quite accurately without invoking novel theoretical descriptions of particle back transport mechanisms or depending on adjust-able parameters. Such agreements have been observed for a wide range of particle size ranging from small proteins like BSA (diameter ${\~}$6 nm) to latex suspensions (diameter ${\~}1\;{\mu}m$). There we, however, several areas that need further exploration. Some of these include: 1) A clear mechanistic description of the cake formation mechanisms that clearly identifies the disorder to order transition point in different colloidal systems. 2) Determining the structure of a cake layer based on the interparticle and hydrodynamic interactions instead of assuming a fixed geometrical structure on the basis of cell models. 3) Performing well controlled experiments where the cake deposition mechanism can be observed for small colloidal particles (< $1\;{\mu}m$). 4) A clear mechanistic description of the critical operating conditions (for instance, critical pressure) which can minimize the propensity of colloidal membrane fluting. 5) Developing theoretical approaches to account for polydisperse systems that can render the models capable of handing realistic feed solutions typically encountered in diverse applications of membrane filtration.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.130-138
• /
• 2011

In the construction industry, there is a growing demand for new programs incorporating IT applications. In construction, initiatives calling for changes ensuring the improvement of productivity, quality and safety, and for the strengthening of global competitiveness, have contributed to the increased need for exploring new markets. Moreover, the government's supportive policies have helped develop profit models. Meanwhile, the industry and the government have supported the efforts for identifying and disseminating successful case studies - as part of the strategy for evaluating and promoting the developed programs. However, the criteria for identifying/evaluating successful cases remain vague, and the viewpoints of participants differ depending on their disciplines. These discrepancies could lead to inconsistent results. Thus, it is imperative that a criterion be provided, upon which to judge the success or failure of implementation cases and to disseminate role models. It is also imperative that a direction of improvement be proposed. This study was conducted to propose the criteria for and process of evaluating the success of construction-IT convergence to help promote the construction industry incorporating IT applications. To that end, success factors for and the significance of IT-incorporated construction were identified.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.52-56
• /
• 2013

Background Measuring grip and pinch strength is an important part of hand injury evaluation. Currently, there are no standardized values of normal grip and pinch strength among the Korean population, and lack of such data prevents objective evaluation of post-surgical recovery in strength. This study was designed to establish the normal values of grip and pinch strength among the healthy Korean population and to identify any dependent variables affecting grip and pinch strength. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out. The inclusion criterion was being a healthy Korean person without a previous history of hand trauma. The grip strength was measured using a Jamar dynamometer. Pulp and key pinch strength were measured with a hydraulic pinch gauge. Intra-individual and inter-individual variations in these variables were analyzed in a standardized statistical manner. Results There were a total of 336 healthy participants between 13 and 77 years of age. As would be expected in any given population, the mean grip and pinch strength was greater in the right hand than the left. Male participants (137) showed mean strengths greater than female participants (199) when adjusted for age. Among the male participants, anthropometric variables correlated positively with grip strength, but no such correlations were identifiable in female participants in a statistically significant way. Conclusions Objective measurements of hand strength are an important component of hand injury evaluation, and population-specific normative data are essential for clinical and research purposes. This study reports updated normative hand strengths of the South Korean population in the 21st century.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.29-42
• /
• 2007

The 'Program outcomes and assessment' is an important criterion evaluating of engineering education in accreditation of engineering education. ABEEK prescribes program outcomes which are the basic capabilities in the application of the fundamental knowledge and practical tools of the engineering field. Also ABEEK asks to prove that all programs are constructed a proper educational curriculum and are satisfied program outcomes and CQI. Therefore program outcomes must satisfy both two key points. First, as a quality control aspect, engineering programs must prove that graduates of accredited programs can perform twelve capabilities. Second, as a continuous quality improvement aspect, accredited programs have to upgrade a level of engineering educational quality. Consequently the purpose of study is to introduce a new model for CQI and QC systems, implementing strategies as an actualizing of program outcomes.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.42-49
• /
• 2008

Though the 'Program Educational Objectives' is the first and important criterion in ABEEK's engineering education accreditation, exact meaning and implementation methods have not been understood well. It was often confused with 'Program Outcomes' and its implementation and evaluation methods do not reflected well on the concepts of "outcomes based and demand driven education". A new implementation model for 'Program Educational Objectives' has been developed using step by step application. The model explains the meaning of every step (phase), and key constituents in each phase. The specialization and CQI of the program could be satisfied by applying the model properly.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.556-562
• /
• 2008

We divided the downstream of South-Han River into three water zones, such as river zone, transition zone and lacustrine zone depending on the flow rate, and elucidated the major effect factors on the growth of phytoplankton and the sources of organic matters in each water zone. The difference of chlorophyll-a concentration which represents the standing crop of phytoplankton was statistically significant among the water zones. From the results of bivariate correlation analysis between chlorophyll-a concentration and water quality parameters in each water zone, the outflow of Chungju dam and hydraulic retention time of Lake Paldang which are directly related with the flow rate seemed to have obvious impact on phytoplankton growth in the downstream of South-Han River. The concentration of nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen exceeded the criterion of eutrophication and did not showed significant relationship with chlorophyll-a concentration. There were strong correlations between $BOD_5$ and chlorophyll-a concentrations in transition and lacustrine zone showing autochthonous production of phytoplankton was dominant source of organic matters in these zones especially in dry seasons. The results of this study show that the control of abundance of phytoplankton is the key target for reduction of the organic pollution in the downstream of South-Han River.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.283-300
• /
• 2009

The characteristic response of a structure to blast load may be divided into two distinctive phases, namely the direct blast response during which the shock wave effect and localized damage take place, and the post-blast phase whereby progressive collapse may occur. A reliable post-blast analysis depends on a sound understanding of the direct blast effect. Because of the complex loading environment and the stress wave effects, the analysis on the direct effect often necessitates a high fidelity numerical model with coupled fluid (air) and solid subdomains. In such a modelling framework, an appropriate representation of the blast load and the high nonlinearity of the material response is a key to a reliable outcome. This paper presents a series of calibration study on these two important modelling considerations in a coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian framework using a hydrocode. The calibration of the simulated blast load is carried out for both free air and internal explosions. The simulation of the extreme dynamic response of concrete components is achieved using an advanced concrete damage model in conjunction with an element erosion scheme. Validation simulations are conducted for two representative scenarios; one involves a concrete slab under internal blast, and the other with a RC column under air blast, with a particular focus on the simulation sensitivity to the mesh size and the erosion criterion.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.25-37
• /
• 2014

The volcanic type of geothermal water is linked intimately to active or potentially active volcanoes and takes place near the plate boundaries. In contrast to the volcanic type, the geothermal water in Korea has a non-volcanic origin. Korea's geothermal water is classified into the residual magma (RM) type and deep groundwater (DG) type according to the criterion of $35^{\circ}C$. This study reviewed the relationship between the physical and chemical features of the 281 geothermal water sources in South Korea in terms of the specific capacity, water temperature, and chemical compositions of two different basements (igneous rock and metamorphic rock) as well as the geological structures. According to the spatial relationship between the geothermal holes and geological faults, the length of the major fault is considered a key parameter determining the movement to a deeper place and the temperature of geothermal water. A negligible relationship between the specific capacity (Q/s) and temperature was found for both the RM type and DG type with the greater specific capacities of the RM- and DG-igneous types than the RM- and DG-metamorphic types. No relationship was observed between Q/s and the chemical constituents ($K^+$, $Na^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, $Cl^-$, $SO_4{^{2-}}$, $HCO_3{^-}$, and $SiO_2$) in the DG-igneous and DG-metamorphic types. Furthermore, weak relationship between temperature and chemical constituents was found for both the RM type and DG type.