• Title/Summary/Keyword: Partial Least Square Modelling

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Social Networking Site Usage, Social Capital and Entrepreneurial Intention: An Empirical Study from Saudi Arabia

  • HODA, Najmul;FALLATAH, Mahmoud
    • The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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    • v.9 no.5
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    • pp.421-429
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    • 2022
  • Entrepreneurship research has focused on several factors that might affect the intention of an individual to start an enterprise. Using principles from social network theory and the entrepreneurial intention model (EI), the current research intends to investigate how social capital is formed on Social Networking Sites (SNS) and how the resulting social capital influences entrepreneurial intention. Using an online survey, 151 valid responses were received from university students. Applying partial least square structural equation modeling, positive and significant relationship was found between the SNS usage and bonding and bridging social capital. Further, it was also found that online-bonding social capital does not impact any of the three antecedents of entrepreneurial intention. On the other hand, online-bridging social capital significantly influences personal attitudes and subjective norms. It was also found that both personal attitude and perceived behavioral control significantly relate to EI, while the subjective norms do not relate significantly to EI. The paper contributes to the literature on technology-based human behavior and entrepreneurship in emerging countries, opening some areas for future research, while also providing some managerial insights. It also should be beneficial to educational institutions in understanding how the use of SNS use by students may be optimized.

The Effects of Project Manager's Competencies on the Performance of NPD Project in Project Matrix Organization: Focused on the Institute of Technology of Company A (프로젝트 매트릭스 조직의 신제품개발 프로젝트에서 프로젝트 관리자의 역량이 성과에 미치는 영향 -A사 기술연구소를 중심으로-)

  • Yoon, In-Hwan;Kim, Joo-Hyun;Lee, Hee-Sang
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
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    • v.13 no.10
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    • pp.295-303
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    • 2015
  • This paper is empirically to examine the effects of project manager's competencies (intellectual, managerial, and emotional competencies) on the performance for planning and outcome of NPD (new product development) project in project matrix organization. To achieve this purpose, we employ a field survey of project managers in project matrix organization and PLS (partial least square) structural equation modelling to test hypotheses of our research model. The results show that intellectual competency positively affect both of performances for planning and for outcome, whereas managerial and emotional competencies have not significant effect on them. Our attempt is to provide theoretical implications to current studies related to project management and helps for practitioners to develop a program for selecting and training capable and promising project managers.

The Effects of E-WOM in Selecting the Mobile Application (모바일 어플리케이션 선택과정에서 전자적 구전의 효과)

  • Lee, Kook-Yong
    • The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.80-91
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    • 2017
  • The purpose of paper is to confirm the role of E-WOM(Electronic Worth of Mouth) in decision making of selecting the mobile application via smart-phone or tablet pc. Particularly i wished to confirm the effects of others' positive or negative reviews in purchasing(free downloading) mobile applications. To resolve these research questions, the secondary data or previous research were collected and arranged theoretically. From literature research, i made out the proposed model to explain the relationships between the variables, executed the operational definitions and 14 Hypotheses were established, collected the survey data of 228 mobile application users. Using the empirical test analysis, previous performances to confirm the construct validity and internal consistency and PLS(Partial Least Square) modelling method was executed. The test result showed that proposed relations of variables was empirically identified, therefore, i got the conclusion as followings; First, attributes of mobile application users' reviews have the effects positively to usefulness perception and expected performance. Second, it was significantly tested Usefulness of Online Review and Expected Performance. Second, Usefulness of Online Review, Source Credibility and Expected Performance have effect positively to Intention of Review Adoption.

A Conceptual Framework to Study the Effectiveness of Interface Management in Construction Projects

  • KEERTHANAA, K.;SHANMUGAPRIYA, S.
    • Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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    • v.9 no.3
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    • pp.1-21
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    • 2019
  • The management of mega construction projects which incorporate a large number of stakeholders, technologies, data, work culture etc., is cumbersome. The experts in the construction arena advocate that interface management serves as a precise tool in resolving these conflict points due to the intricate nature of the construction projects. Interface management is a current trending management practice in the construction industry which is also a beneficiary to mega/fast track projects in enhancing the project performance. The main objective of this study is to validate a model for assessing the relationships among interface management, IT applications, project performance & project benefits. The mediating effect of interface management in relationship between project performance & interfacial factors was also investigated. The research model was validated using PLS-SEM (Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling) approach. Data were collected from clients, contractors, consultants in large scale projects through questionnaire survey and smart-PLS software was used to analyse the conceptual model. The research model comprises eleven hypothesis and the significance of these hypothesis were tested using T- statistics values. The research implies that people/participants factor is greatly influenced by interface management with the path coefficient of 0.608 and also enhancement of project's schedule performance due to the interface management is strongly appealing (Path coefficient = 0.711). The results also reveal IT application is significantly associated with interface management practice (Path coefficient =0.723) and also the effect of IT application on project performance (schedule, cost, quality & safety) is successfully mediated through interface management practice. The practical application of this validated model was done through case study. The case study aims at measuring the impact of interface management on interfacial factors and role of interface management in improving the project performance in the construction organisations.

Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Sustainability Performance: Mediating Role of Enterprise Risk Management

  • FAKIR, A.N.M. Asaduzzaman;JUSOH, Ruzita
    • The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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    • v.7 no.6
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    • pp.351-363
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    • 2020
  • The objective of this paper is to explore how board gender diversity affects corporate sustainability performance. Therefore, this paper examines the direct association between board gender diversity with corporate sustainability performance and the mediation effect of enterprise risk management (ERM) on this association. The study employed a cross-sectional survey method. Data were collected from annual reports, websites, and through the questionnaires that were distributed to Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of all the listed companies of Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh. The partial least square technique of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was employed for data analysis. The result did not find support for the direct association between board gender diversity and sustainability performance in Bangladesh context. This implies that contextual factors, such as, male-dominant board, appointment of female directors based on family ties, lack of education and expertise etc. may discount gender diversity direct influence on sustainability performance. However, the study finds strong support for the mediating role of ERM use within the corporate structure. Further analysis of indirect effect suggests that ERM use mediates the relationship of board gender diversity and sustainability performance in full. This implies that in the Bangladesh context effective use of ERM is highly recommended.

A Study of Piping Leadtime Forecast in Offshore Plant’s Outfittings Procurement Management (해양플랜트 의장품 조달관리를 위한 배관 공정 리드타임 예측 모델에 관한 연구)

  • Ham, Dong Kyun;Back, Myung Gi;Park, Jung Goo;Woo, Jong Hun
    • Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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    • v.53 no.1
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    • pp.29-36
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    • 2016
  • In shipbuilding and offshore plant construction, pipe-stools of various types are installed. Moreover, these are many quantities but they must be installed in a successive manner. Due to these characteristics the pipe-stool installation processes easily tends to cause the schedule delays in the overall production processes. In order to reduce delay, the goal of this study is to predicts production’s lead time before manufacturing. Through this predictions it’s expected to reduce total production’s lead time by improving it's process. First of all, we made MLR(Multiple Linear Regression) and PLSR(Partial Least Square Regression) model to predict pipe-spool's lead time and then compared predictability of MLR and PLSR model. If a explanatory variable is added, it will be possible to predict results precisely.

Validating the Entrepreneurial Intention Model on the University Students in Saudi Arabia

  • HODA, Najmul;AHMAD, Naim;AHMAD, Mobin;KINSARA, Abdullah;MUSHTAQ, Afnan T.;HAKEEM, Mohammad;AL-HAKAMI, Mwafaq
    • The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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    • v.7 no.11
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    • pp.469-477
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    • 2020
  • The main objective of this paper is to examine the applicability of Linan and Chen's entrepreneurial intention model (EIM) in predicting the entrepreneurial intention. EIM is an adaptation of the Theory of Planned Behavior that focuses on entrepreneurial intention and hypothesizing slightly different patterns of relationship with regards to subjective norms. The model also includes human capital and demographic factors. Snowball sampling method was used to collect data using the entrepreneurial intention questionnaire (EIQ) through several social media platforms. The survey indicates that the overall entrepreneurial intention of Saudi students is high (mean = 5.41). Eight out of the seventeen hypothesized relationships were found to be significant. Among the demographic variables, gender-personal attitude was significant whereas self employment experience and years of business education were found to be significantly related with perceived behavioral control. The statistical analysis using partial least square structural equation modelling validated the model. All the three antecedents of entrepreneurial intention were significantly related with entrepreneurial intention. The results of this study will help policy makers to get deep understanding into the phenomenon of entrepreneurship among Saudi university students and thereby develop a conducive environment. This study also validates the entrepreneurial intention model in a different cultural context.

Identification of Foreign Objects in Soybeans Using Near-infrared Spectroscopy (근적외선 분광법을 이용한 콩과 이물질의 판별)

  • Lim, Jong-Guk;Kang, Sukwon;Lee, Kangjin;Mo, Changyeon;Son, Jaeyong
    • Food Engineering Progress
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    • v.15 no.2
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    • pp.136-142
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    • 2011
  • The objective of this research was to classify intact soybeans and foreign objects using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Intact soybeans and foreign objects were scanned using a NIR spectrometer equipped with scanning monochromator. NIR spectra of intact soybeans and foreign objects in the wavelength range from 900 to 1800 nm were collected. The classification of intact soybeans and foreign objects were conducted by using partial least-square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) multivariate methods. Various types of data pretreatments were tested to develop the classification models. Intact soybeans and foreign objects were successfully classified by the PLS-DA prediction model with mean normalization pretreatment. These results showed the potential of NIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis as a method for classifying intact soybeans and foreign objects.

The Effects of Brand Attachment, Brand Name, and Brand Image Congruence on Brand Attitude, WOM and Revisit Intentions in the Restaurant Sector (브랜드 애착, 브랜드 네임, 브랜드 이미지 일치성이 태도, 구전 및 재방문의도에 미치는 영향)

  • KIM, Eun-Jung
    • The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.53-66
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    • 2022
  • Purpose: How to build the attitude on brand is very important, because it affects the positive word of mouth and revisit intention. Brand attachment, brand name, and image congruence play important role on consumer behavior in terms of reinforcing consumers' perception of food service companies and differentiating them from competing brands. Following the planned behavior theory, this paper examines the effect of linking brand attitude to word-of-mouth and revisit intentions in the restaurant sector. Research design, data, and methodology: This paper examines the structural relationship among brand attachment, brand name, image congruence, brand attitude, WOM, and revisit intention. In order to test the purposes of this study, research model and hypotheses were developed. The questionnaire items were modified and used according to the content of this study based on previous studies. All constructs were measured by multiple items tested and developed in the previous research. The study is based on the quantitative method and considered 519 questionnaires fulfilled by customers of restaurants. The data were explored employing the partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Frequency analysis was conducted to identify the general characteristics of the survey subjects. To measure the reliability and validity of the measurement tools, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. Structural model analysis was conducted to verify the research model. Result: The findings demonstrate that brand attachment and brand name had positive effects on attitude while image congruence did not have. Also, attitude had positive effect on WOM and revisit intention. Conclusions: This study expands the literature about WOM and revisit intentions. This study expands prior research in a similar field to which the theory of planned behavior (TPB) is applied, and reveals that brand attachment, brand name, and brand image congruence play an important role in developing brand attitude that affect revisit intention and WOM. And provide guidelines on how to enhance competitiveness in the restaurant sector based on understanding of linking brand attitude to customer loyalty and repeat business. By putting into practice these suggestions in the restaurant industry, brands can easily build up their attitude and boost a positive WOM and the intention to revisit.

Sensory Information Processing

  • Yoshimoto, Chiyoshi
    • Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.1-8
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    • 1985
  • The wall shear stress in the vicinity of end-to end anastomoses under steady flow conditions was measured using a flush-mounted hot-film anemometer(FMHFA) probe. The experimental measurements were in good agreement with numerical results except in flow with low Reynolds numbers. The wall shear stress increased proximal to the anastomosis in flow from the Penrose tubing (simulating an artery) to the PTFE: graft. In flow from the PTFE graft to the Penrose tubing, low wall shear stress was observed distal to the anastomosis. Abnormal distributions of wall shear stress in the vicinity of the anastomosis, resulting from the compliance mismatch between the graft and the host artery, might be an important factor of ANFH formation and the graft failure. The present study suggests a correlation between regions of the low wall shear stress and the development of anastomotic neointimal fibrous hyperplasia(ANPH) in end-to-end anastomoses. 30523 T00401030523 ^x Air pressure decay(APD) rate and ultrafiltration rate(UFR) tests were performed on new and saline rinsed dialyzers as well as those roused in patients several times. C-DAK 4000 (Cordis Dow) and CF IS-11 (Baxter Travenol) reused dialyzers obtained from the dialysis clinic were used in the present study. The new dialyzers exhibited a relatively flat APD, whereas saline rinsed and reused dialyzers showed considerable amount of decay. C-DAH dialyzers had a larger APD(11.70$\pm$1.32mmHg/min)compared to CF dialyzers(4.32$\pm$0.55mmHg/min)(p<0.05). However, there was no observable difference in the UFR between the two dialyzers. Neither APD nor UFR showed any significant increase with an increasing number of reuses for up to more than 20reuses. A substantial number of failures observed in APD(larger than 20mmHe/min)on the reused dialyzers(2 out of 40 CP and S out 26 C-DAK) were attributed to the Possible damage on the fibers. The CF 15-11 HFDs which failed APD test did not show changes in the UFR compared to normal dialyzers indicating that APD is a more sensitive test than UFR test to evaluate the integrity of the fibers. 30527 T00401030527 ^x For quantitative measurement of reflected light from a clinical diagnostic strip, a prototype old reflectance photometer was designed. The strip loader and cassette were made to obtain more accurate reflectance parameters. The strip was illuminated at 45˚c through optical fiber and the intensity of reflected light was determined at rectanguLat angle using a photodiode. The kubelka-munk coefficient and reflection optical density were determined ar four different wavelengths(500, 550, 570 and 610nm) for blood glucose strip. For higher concentration than 300mg/41 about glucose, a saturation state of abforbance was observed at 500, 550 and 570nm. The correlation between glucose concentration and parameters was the best at 610nm. 30535 T00401030535 ^x Radiation-induced fibrosarcoma tumors were grown on the flanks of C3H mice. The mice were divided into two groups. One group was injected with Photofrin II, intravenously (2.5mg/kg body weight). The other group received no Photofrin II. Mice from both groups were irradialed for approximately 15 minutes at 100, 300, or 500 mW/cm2 with the argon (488nm/514.5 nm), dye(628nm) and gold vapor (pulsed 628 nm) laser light. A photosensitizer behaved as an added absorber. Under our experimental conditions, the presence of Photolfrin II increased surface temperature by at least 40% and the temperature rise due to 300 mW/cm2 irradiation exceeded values for hyperthermia. Light and temperature distributions with depth were estimated by a computer model. The model demonstrated the influence of wavelength on the thermal process and proved to be a valuable tool to investigate internal temperature rise. 30536 T00401030536 ^x We investigated the structural geometry of thirty-eight Korean femurs. The purpose of this study is to identify major geometrical differences between Korean femurs 3nd others that we believe belong to Caucasians so that we would be able to get insights into the femoral component design that fits Asians including Koreans. We utilized computerized tomography (CT) images of femurs extracted from cadavers. The CT images were transformed into bitmap data by using a film scanner, and then analyzed by using a commercially available software called Image v.1.0 and a Macintosh IIci computer.The resulting data were compared with already published data. The major results show that the geometry of the Korean femurs is significantly different from that of Caucasians: (1) the anteversion angle and the canal flare index are greater by the amount of approximately 8˚ and 0.5, respectively, (2) the shape of the isthmus cross section is more round, and (3) the distance between the teaser trochanter and the proximal border of the isthmus is shelter by about 15 mm. The results suggested that the femoral component suitable for Asians should be different from the currently-used components designed and manufactured mostly by European or American companies. 30537 T00401030537 ^x It is well known that nonlinear propagation characteristics of the wave in the tissue may give very useful information for the medical diagnoisis. In this paper, a new method to detect nonlinear propagation characteristics of the internal vibration in the tissue for the low frequency mechanical vibration by using bispectral analysis is proposed. In the method, low frequency vibration of f0( = 100Hz) is applied on the surface of the object, and the waveform of the internal vibration x (t) is measured from Doppler frequency modulation of silmultaneously transmitted probing ultrasonic waves. Then, the bispectra of the signal x (t) at the frequencies (f0, f0) and (f0, 2f0) are calculated to estimate the nonlinear propagation characteristics as their magnitude ratio, w here since bispectrum is free from the gaussian additive noise we can get the value with high S/N. Basic experimental system is constructed by using 3.0 MHz probing ultrasonic waves and the several experiments are carried out for some phantoms. Results show the superiority of the proposed method to the conventional method using power spectrum and also its usefulness for the tissue characterization. 30541 T00401030541 ^x This paper describes the implementation of a computerized radial pulse diagnosis by aids of a clinical expert. On this base, we composed of the radial pulse diagnosis system in korean traditional medicine. The system composed of a radial pulse wave detection system and a radial pulse diagnosis system. With a detection system, we detected Inyoung and Cheongu radial pulse wave and processed it. Then, we have got the characteristic parameters of radial pulse wave and also quantified that according to the method of Inyoung-Cheongu Comparison Radial Pulse Diagnosis. We defined the jugement standard of radial pulse diagnosis system and then we confirmed the possibility for realization of automatic radial pulse diagnosis in korean traditional medicine. 30545 T00401030545 ^x Microspheres are expected to be applied to biomedical areas such as solid-phase immunoassays, drug delivery systems, immunomagnetic cell separation. To synthesize microspheres for biomedical application, "two stage shot growth method" was developed. The uniformity ratio of synthesized microspheres was always smaller than 1.05. And the surface charge density (or the number of ionizable functional groups) of the microspheres synthesized by "two stage shot growth method" was 6~13 times higher than that of the microspheres synthesized by conventional seeded batch copolymerization. As a previous step for biomedical application, adsorption experiments of bovine albumin on microspheres were carried out under various conditions. The maximum adsorbed amount was obtained in the neighborhood of pH 4.5. Isoelectric point of bovine albumin is pH 5.0, so experimental result shows that it shifted to acid area. The adsorption isotherm was obtained, the plateau region was always reached at 2.Og/L (bulk concentration of bovine albumin).The effect of the kind and the amount of surface functional group was also examined. 30575 T00401030575 ^x A medical image workstation was developed using multimedia technique. The system based on PC-486DX was designed to acquire medical images produced by medical imaging instruments and related audio information, that is, doctors' reporting results. Input information was processed and analyzed, then the results were presented in the form of graph and animation. All the informations of the system were hierarchically related with the image as the apex. Processing and analysis algorithms were implemented so that the diagnostic accuracy could be improved. The diagnosed information can be transferred for patient diagnosis through LAN(local area network). 30592 T00401030592 ^x In the conventional infrared imaging system, complex infrared lens systems are usually used for directing collimated narrow infrared beams into the high speed 2-dimensional optic scanner. In this paper, a simple reflective infrared optic system with a 2-dimensional optic scanner is proposed for the realization of medical infrared thermography system. It has been experimentally proven that the intfrared thermography system composed of the proposed optic system has the temperature resolution of 0.1˚c under the spatial resolution of lmrad, the image matrix size of 256 X 240, and tile imaging time of 4 seconds. 30593 T00401030593 ^x In this paper, MIIS (Medical Image Information System) has been designed and implemented using INGRES RDBMS, which is based on a client/server architecture. The implemented system allows users to register and retrieve patient information, medical images and diagnostic reports. It also provides the function to display these information on workstation windows simultaneously by using the designed menu-driven graphic user interface. The medical image compression/decompression techniques are implemented and integrated into the medical image database system for the efficient data storage and the fast access through the network. 30594 T00401030594 ^x In this paper, computerized BEAM was implemented for the space domain analysis of EEG. Trans-formation from temporal summation to two-dimensional mappings is formed by 4 nearest point inter-polaton method. Methods of representation of BEAM are two. One is dot density method which classify brain electrical potential 9 levels by dot density of gray levels and the other is colour method which classify brain electrical 12 levels by red-green colours. In this BEAM, instantaneous change and average energy distribution over any arbitrary time interval of brain electrical activity could be observed and analyzed easily. In the frequency domain, the distribution of energy spectrum of a special band can easily be distinguished normality and abnormality. 30608 T00401030608 ^x Laboratory information system (LIS) is a key tool to manage laboratory data in clinical pathology. Our department has developed an information system for routine hematology using down-sized computer system. We have used an IBM 486 compatible PC with 16MB main memory, 210 MB hard disk drive, 9 RS-232C port and 24 pin dot printer. The operating system and database management system were SCO UNIX and SCO foxbase, respectively. For program development, we used Xbase language provided by SCO foxbase. The C language was used for interface purpose. To make the system use friendly, pull-down menu was used. The system connected to our hospital information system via application program interface (API), so the information related to patient and request details is automatically transmitted to our computer. Our system interfaced with fwd complete blood count analyzers(Sysmex NE-8000 and Coulter STKS) for unidirectional data tansmission from analyzer to computer. The authors suggests that this system based on down-sized computer could provide a progressive approach to total LIS based on local area network, and the implemented system could serve as a model for other hospital's LIS for routine hematology. 30609 T00401030609 ^x To develop an artificial bone substitute that is gradually degraded and replaced by the regenerated natural bone, the authors designed a composite that is consisted of calcium phosphate and collagen. To use as the structural matrix of the composite, collagen was purified from human umbilical cord. The obtained collagen was treated by pepsin to remove telopeptides, and finally, the immune-free atelocollagen was produced: The cross linked atelocollagen was highly resistant to the collagenase induced collagenolysis. The cross linked collagen demonstrated an improved tensile strength. 30618 T00401030618 ^x This paper is a study on the design of adptive filter for QRS complex detection. We propose a simple adaptive algorithm to increase capability of noise cancelation in QRS complex detection with two stage adaptive filter. At the first stage, background noise is removed and at the next stage, only spectrum of QRS complex components is passed. Two adaptive filters can afford to keep track of the changes of both noise and QRS complex. Each adaptive filter consists of prediction error filter and FIR filter The impulse response of FIR filter uses coefficients of prediction error filter. The detection rates for 105 and 108 of MIT/BIH data base were 99.3% and 97.4% respectively. 30619 T00401030619 ^x To develop an artificial bone substitute that is gradually degraded and replaced by the regenerated natural bone, the authors designed and produced a composite that is consisted of calcium phosphate and collagen. Human umbilical cord origin pepsin treated type I atelocollagen was used as the structural matrix, by which sintered or non-sintered carbonate apatite was encapsulated to form an inorganic-organic composite. With cross linking atelocollagen by UV ray irradiation, the resistance to both compressive and tensile strength was increased. Collagen degradation by the collagenase induced collagenolysis was also decreased. 30620 T00401030620 ^x We have developed a monoleaflet polymer valve as an inexpensive and viable alternative, especially for short-term use in the ventricular assist device or total artificial heart. The frame and leaflet of the polymer valve were made from polyurethane, To evaluate the hemodynamic performance of the polymer valve a comparative study of flow dynamics past a polymer valve and a St. Jude Medical prosthetic valve under physiological pulsatile flow conditions in vitro was made. Comparisons between the valves were made on the transvalvular pressure drop, regurgitation volume and maximum valve opening area. The polymer valve showed smaller regurgitation volume and transvalvular pressure drop compared to the mechanical valve at higher heart rate. The results showed that the functional characteristics of the polymer valve compared favorably with those of the mechanical valve at higher heart rate. 30621 T00401030621 ^x Explosive evaporative removal process of biological tissue by absorption of a CW laser has been simulated by using gelatin and a multimode Nd:YAG laser. Because the point of maximun temperature of laser-irradiated gelatin exists below the surface due to surface cooling, evaporation at the boiling temperature is made explosively from below the surface. The important parameters of this process are the conduction loss to laser power absorption (defined as the conduction-to-laser power parameter, Nk), the convection heat transfer at the surface to conduction loss (defined as Bi), dimensionless extinction coefficient (defined as Br.), and dimensionless irradiation time (defined as Fo). Dependence of Fo on Nk and Bi has been observed by experiment, and the results have been compared with the numerical results obtained by solving a 2-dimensional conduction equation. Fo and explosion depth (from the surface to the point of maximun temperature) are increased when Nk and Bi are increased.To find out the minimum laser power for explosive evaporative removal process, steady state analysis has been also made. The limit of Nk to induce evaporative removal, which is proportional to the inverse of the laser power, has been obtained. 30622 T00401030622 ^x N1 and N2 gross neural action potentials were measured from the round window of the guinea pig cochlea at the onset of the acoustic stimuli. N1-N2 audiograms were made by means of regulating stimulant intensities in order to produce constant N1-N2 potentials as criteria for different input tone pip frequencies. The lowest threshold was measured with an input tone pip I5 dB SPL in intensity and 12 KHz in frequency when the animal was in normal physiological condition. The procedure of experimental measurements is explained in detail. This experimental approach is very useful for the investigation of the Cochlear function. Both noN1inear and active functions of the Cochlea can be monitored by N1-N2 audiograms. 30623 T00401030623 ^x In electrical impedance tomography(EIT), we use boundary current and voltage measurements toprovide the information about the cross-sectional distribution of electrical impedance or resistivity. One of the major problems in EIT has been the inaccessibility of internal voltage or current data in finding the internal impedance values. We propose a new image reconstruction method using internal current density data measured by NMR. We obtained a two-dimensional current density distribution within a phantom by processing the real and imaginary MR images from a 4.77 NMR machine. We implemented a resistivity mage reconstruction algorithm using the finite element method and sensitivity matrix. We presented computer simulation results of the mage reconstruction algorithm and furture direction of the research. 30624 T00401030624 ^x A new method of digital image analysis technique for discrimination of cancer cell was presented in this paper. The object image was the Thyroid eland cells image that was diagnosed as normal and abnormal (two types of abnormal: follicular neoplastic cell, and papillary neoplastic cell), respectively. By using the proposed region segmentation algorithm, the cells were segmented into nucleus. The 16 feature parameters were used to calculate the features of each nucleus. A9 a consequence of using dominant feature parameters method proposed in this paper, discrimination rate of 91.11% was obtained for Thyroid Gland cells. 30625 T00401030625 ^x An electrical stimulator was designed to induce locomotion for paraplegic patients caused by central nervous system injury. Optimal stimulus parameters, which can minimize muscle fatigue and can achieve effective muscle contraction were determined in slow and fast muscles in Sprague-Dawley rats. Stimulus patterns of our stimulator were designed to simulate electromyographic activity monitored during locomotion of normal subjects. Muscle types of the lower extremity were classified according to their mechanical property of contraction, which are slow muscle (msoleus m.) and fast muscle (medial gastrocneminus m., rectus femoris m., vastus lateralis m.). Optimal parameters of electrical stimulation for slow muscles were 20 Hz, 0.2 ms square pulse. For fast muscle, 40 Hz, 0.3 ms square pulse was optimal to produce repeated contraction. Higher stimulus intensity was required when synergistic muscles were stimulated simultaneously than when they were stimulated individually. Electrical stimulation for each muscle was designed to generate bipedal locomotion, so that individual muscles alternate contraction and relaxation to simulate stance and swing phases. Portable electrical stimulator with 16 channels built in microprocessor was constructed and applied to paraplegic patients due to lumbar cord injury. The electrical stimulator restored partially gait function in paraplegic patients. 30626 T00401030626 ^x Two-Dimensional modelling of the Cochlear biomechanics is presented in this paper. The Laplace partial differential equation which represents the fluid mechanics of the Cochlea has been transformed into two-dimensional electrical transmission line. The procedure of this transformation is explained in detail. The comparison between one and two dimensional models is also presented. This electrical modelling of the basilar membrane (BM) is clearly useful for the next approach to the further. Development of active elements which are essential in the producing of the sharp tuning of the BM. This paper shows that two-dimension model is qualitatively better than one-dimensional model both in amplitude and phase responses of the BM displacement. The present model is only for frequency response. However because the model is electrical, the two-dimensional transmission line model can be extended to time response without any difficult. 30627 T00401030627 ^x A method has been proposed for the fully automatic detection of left ventricular endocardial boundary in 2D short axis echocardiogram using geometric model. The procedure has the following three distinct stages. First, the initial center is estimated by the initial center estimation algorithm which is applied to decimated image. Second, the center estimation algorithm is applied to original image and then best-fit elliptic model estimation is processed. Third, best-fit boundary is detected by the cost function which is based on the best-fit elliptic model. The proposed method shows effective result without manual intervention by a human operator. 30628 T00401030628 ^x The intelligent trajectory control method that controls moving direction and average velocity for a prosthetic arm is proposed by pattern recognition and force estimations using EMG signals. Also, we propose the real time trajectory planning method which generates continuous accelleration paths using 3 stage linear filters to minimize the impact to human body induced by arm motions and to reduce the muscle fatigue. We use combination of MLP and fuzzy filter for pattern recognition to estimate the direction of a muscle and Hogan's method for the force estimation. EMG signals are acquired by using a amputation simulator and 2 dimensional joystick motion. The simulation results of proposed prosthetic arm control system using the EMf signals show that the arm is effectively followed the desired trajectory depended on estimated force and direction of muscle movements. 30638 T00401030638 ^x A new neural network architecture for the recognition of patterns from images is proposed, which is partially based on the results of physiological studies. The proposed network is composed of multi-layers and the nerve cells in each layer are connected by spatial filters which approximate receptive fields in optic nerve fields. In the proposed method, patterns recognition for complicated images is carried out using global features as well as local features such as lines and end-points. A new generating method of matched filers representing global features is proposed in this network. 30659 T00401030659 ^x An implementation scheme of the magnetic nerve stimulator using a switching mode power supply is proposed. By using a switching mode power supply rather than a conventional linear power supply for charging high voltage capacitors, the weight and size of the magnetic nerve stimulator can be considerably reduced. Maximum output voltage of the developed magnetic nerve stimulator using the switching mode power supply is 3, 000 volts and switching time is about 100 msec. Experimental results or human nerve stimulations using the developed stimulator are presented. 30768 T00401030768 ^x In this paper, we describe the design methodology and specifications of the developed module-based bedside monitors for patient monitoring. The bedside monitor consists of a main unit and module cases with various parameter modules. The main unit includes a 12.1" TFT color LCD, a main CPU board, and peripherals such as a module controller, Ethernet LAN card, video card, rotate/push button controller, etc. The main unit can connect at maximum three module cases each of which can accommodate up to 7 parameter modules. They include the modules for electrocardiograph, respiration, invasive blood pressure, noninvasive blood pressure, temperature, and SpO2 with Plethysmograph.SpO2 with Plethysmograph.

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