• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.9
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• pp.361-367
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• 2020

Background: Length of stay is a significant indicator of care effectiveness and hospital performance. Owing to the limited number of healthcare centers and facilities, it is important to optimize length of stay and associated factors. Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate factors associated with neonatal length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) using parametric and semiparametric models and compare model fitness according to Akaike information criterion (AIC) between 2016 and 2018. Methods: This retrospective cohort study reviewed 600 medical records of infants admitted to the NICU of Bandar Abbas Hospital. Samples were identified using census sampling. Factors associated with NICU length of stay were investigated based on semiparametric Cox model and 4 parametric models including Weibull, exponential, log-logistic, and log-normal to determine the best fitted model. The data analysis was conducted using R software. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The study findings suggest that breastfeeding, phototherapy, acute renal failure, presence of mechanical ventilation, and availability of central venous catheter were commonly identified as factors associated with NICU length of stay in all 5 models (P<0.05). Parametric models showed better fitness than the Cox model in this study. Conclusion: Breastfeeding and availability of central venous catheter had protective effects against length of stay, whereas phototherapy, acute renal failure, and mechanical ventilation increased length of stay in NICU. Therefore, the identification of factors associated with NICU length of stay can help establish effective interventions aimed at decreasing the length of stay among infants.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.45-52
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• 2016

The employment rate of a college has long been one of the most important elements in college survival strategies. Employment rates may not be key to colleges' survival in other countries, but they are fundamental to colleges in Korea as seen in the Korean government-led National Competency Standard (NCS), which has been underway since its introduction to colleges in Korea. Against this backdrop, if the engineering accreditation system can contribute to improving employment rate in this context, it can take root more quickly. The process conducive to improving employment rates can be classified as both direct and indirect methods. With dwindling school-age population having impacts on colleges and universities, the environment and the education directions of colleges have rapidly been shifting since the introduction of the NCS. Therefore, various survival strategies for colleges need to be developed. An indicator of employment rate of college graduates is among the most important things during this transition process. The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Koje College has consistently shown good records during the past 5 years by matching the accreditation schemes and employment strategies. The department will help put in place the engineering technology education accreditation system at the college through its various innovative and effective programs. To formulate a better employment strategy, it is needed to reflect and consolidate the engineering accreditation scheme into the existing employment policy of college. In short, this paper examines both the engineering accreditation scheme and the employment policy in ways that helps produce a coupling matrix structure. This study looks into the measures for improving employment rates by better adjusting the engineering education methods under the accreditation scheme.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.10 s.241
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• pp.1298-1306
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• 2005

In this paper, Part II, we realized the Serpentine Laminating Micromirer (SLM) which was proposed in the accompanying paper, Part I, by means of the injection molding process in mass production. In the SLM, the higher level of chaotic mixing can be achieved by combining two general chaotic mixing mechanisms of splitting/recombination and chaotic advection by the successive arrangement of 'F'-shape mixing units in two layers. Mold inserts for the injection molding process of the SLM were fabricated by SU-8 photolithography and nickel electroplating. The SLM was realized by injection molding of COC (cyclic olefin copolymer) with the fabricated mold inserts and thermal bonding of two injection molded COC substrates. To compare the mixing performance, a T-type micromixer was also fabricated. Mixing performances of micromixers were experimentally characterized in terms of an average mixing color intensity of a pH indicator, phenolphthalein. Experimental results show that the SLM has much better mixing performance than the I-type micromixer and chaotic mixing was successfully achieved from the SLM over the wide range of Reynolds number (Re). The chaotic micromixer, SLM proposed in this study, could be easily integrated in Micro-Total-Analysis- System , Lab-on-a-Chip and so on.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.171-176
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• 1998

The objective of this study was to re-evaluate ultrasound attenuation as an indicator of bone properties. Ultrasound attenuation(BUA), were measured in the three orthogonal directions of trabecular bone cubes, Measurements of bone mineral density(BMD) were made using quantitative computed tomography and apparent density by weighing bone specimens and measuring their volume. Ultrasonic modulus was calculated from the standard equation with apparent density and ultrasound velocity. Ultrasound attenuation at a frequency of 0.5 MHz and BUA were correlated with BMD and ultrasonic modulus in the anterior/posterior, medial/lateral, and superior/inferior directions. Analysis of correlations demonstrated that attenuation at 0.5 MHz was superior to BUA in describing both BMD and elastic modulus of trabecular bone. This result may be used to improve current ultrasound diagnostic techniques for assessing bone status.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.125-130
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• 2019

Sensitivity analysis is used to determine the effect of a change in a design parameter on the total system, and the calculated sensitivity is an important indicator of the improvement of a structure. In this study, we investigated the method of deriving and analyzing the sensitivity of design parameters by using finite element analysis and the method of improving a structure by using sensitivity analysis results. Design parameters for weight reduction design were selected using actual semiconductor inspection equipment that requires structural improvement, and the sensitivity to design parameters was calculated by using and finite difference method. We propose an improvement method that can reduce the weight while maintaining the transient response required by the equipment. By using the results of the sensitivity analysis through finite element analysis and finite difference method, we can create a structurally improved design that satisfies the desired stress or displacement by improving the design of the structure. Therefore, sensitivity analysis is applicable to various fields as well as semiconductor inspection equipment.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Geothermal and Hydrothermal Energy
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.39-52
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• 2023

This study analyzes the energy performance of a elderly care center building and the applicability of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system through simulation approach. For this purpose, a building information modeling (BIM) program and an energy performance calculation program were used. The impact of the mechanical ventilation system on the energy requirements of the heating and cooling system and the indoor environment was also analyzed, focusing on the change in indoor carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration, which is a representative indicator of the indoor environment (air quality). The simulation results showed that the target building exceeds Level 7 in terms of simulated primary energy consumption or actual energy consumption. In addition, it was analyzed that the target building could not maintain the indoor CO₂ concentration below the standard concentration by natural ventilation through window opening alone. Combining the GSHP system with the mechanical ventilation system (Case B and Case C) can further reduce the overall energy consumption by reducing the amount of outdoor air introduced by opening windows. The cost savings compared to the baseline case are estimated to be 67.3% for Case A, 63.7% for Case B, 65.5% for Case C, and 42.5% for Case D. It is necessary to analyze the impact of various renewable energy technologies and passive ones on the energy performance and indoor environment of elderly care centers.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.563-570
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• 2018

Ballast layer has an important role in vertical stiffness and stability of railway track. In most of the Middle East countries and some of the Asian ones, significant parts of railway lines pass through desert areas where the track (particularly ballast layer) is contaminated with sands. Despite considerable number of derailments reported in the sand contaminated tracks, there is a lack of sufficient studies on the influences of sand contamination on the ballast vertical stiffness as the main indicator of track stability. Addressing this limitation, the effects of sand contamination on the mechanical behavior of ballast were experimentally investigated. For this purpose, laboratory tests (plate load test) on ballast samples with different levels of sand contamination were carried out. The results obtained were analyzed leading to derive mathematical expressions for the strain modulus ($E_V$) as a function of the ballast level of contamination. The $E_V$ was used as an index for evaluation of the load-deformation characteristics and bearing capacity of track substructure. The critical limit of sand contamination, after which the $E_V$ of the ballast reduces drastically, was obtained. It was shown that the obtained research results improve the current track maintenance approach by providing key guides for the optimization of ballast maintenance planning (the timing of ballast cleaning or renewal).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.147.1-147
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• 2003

Freesia, a member of the Iridaceae family, has fragant, tubular shaped flowers and is very popular ornamental plants in the world. Diseased freesia plants showing systemic leaf streak mosaic symptoms were collected from a cultivated farm in Kyonggi province, Korea in 2003, and its causal agents were investigated. Two viruses, Cucumber mosaic virus (Fr-CMV) and a potyvirus, were identified from the leaf tissues of the diseased freesia based on sequence analysis and host range tests. CMV-Fr could infect systemically on Chenopodium quinoa, C. amaranticolor, N. glutinosa, and N. benthamiana, and this biological property is distinguishable from ordinary strains of CMV. A filamentous potyvirus-shaped virus could not infect general indicator plants by mechanical inoculation. Single RT-PCR products was successfully amplified with a set of degenerate primers specific to the Potyvirus genus and total nucleic acids from the infected tissues, and was cloned into the pGEMT-Easy vector. Nucleotide sequences confirmed it belongs to the Potyvirus genus with either a new species or an isolate of Freesia mosaic virus (no information is available for the FrMV). This is the first report of FrMV in Korea and more characterizations of the two viruses are in progress.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.30-35
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• 2015

This study analyzed the variations in the performance and operation of a 200 kW class micro gas turbine according to performance degradation of compressor and turbine. An in-house code, developed by the present authors and presented in the first part of these series of papers, were used for the analysis. The degradation of compressor and turbine were simulated by modifications in the their performance maps: mass flow rate, pressure ratio and efficiency were decreased from the reference values. Firstly, the variations in the operating conditions (air flow rate, pressure ratio) were predicted for the full load condition. Then, the same analysis were performed for a wide partial load operating range. The change in engine's performance (power output and efficiency) due to the component degradation was predicted. In addition, the change in the compressor surge margin, which is an important indicator for safe engine operation, was evaluated.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.899-903
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• 2004

A limit switch box is used for a indicator of a valve actuator. This device indicates an opening and closing of a valve or throttle in a valve actuator. In ship, equipments are required safe and robust because of a rough environment and a specific condition during a voyage. However, the limit switch box is used in an indoor environment generally. Thus, a new limit switch box must be developed which can be used at an outdoor environment. This study designed the limit switch box. The housing of the limit switch box was made by an aluminium die cast method with surface painting after anodizing or chromate coating. In order to evaluate the endurance of the housing, the endurance tests against salt water have been conducted. Experiment results showed that the proposed device provides a reliable performance against salt water.