• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.823-828
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• 2004

Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is surgery of the chest, abdomen, spine and pelvis, done with the aid of a viewing scope, and specially designed instruments. Benefits of minimally invasive surgery are less pain, less need for post-surgical pain medication, less scarring and less likelihood for incisional complications. Since the late 1980's, minimally invasive surgery has gained widespread acceptance because of the such advantages. However there are significant disadvantages which have, to date, limited the applications for these promising techniques. The reasons are limited degree-of-freedom, reduced dexterity and the lack of tactile feeling. To overcome such disadvantages many researchers have endeavored to develop robotic systems. Even though some robot aided systems achieved success and commercialized, there still remain many thing to be improved. In this paper, the robotic system which can mimic whole motions of a human arm by adding additional DOF is presented. The suggested design is expected to provide surgeons with improved dexterity during minimally invasive surgery.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 1997

This paper presents a new dynamic approach for assessing feasibility associated with the implementation of accident management strategies by the operators. This approach includes the combined use of both the concept of reliability physics and a dynamic event tree generation scheme. The reliability physics is based on the concept of a comparison between two competing variables, i.e., the requirement and the achievement parameter, while the dynamic event tree generation scheme on the continuous generation of the possible event sequences at every branch point up to the desired solution. This approach is applied to a cavity flooding strategy in a reference plant, which is to supply water into the reactor cavity using emergency fire systems in the station blackout sequence. The MAAP code and Latin Hypercube sampling technique are used to determine the uncertainty of the requirement parameter. It has been demonstrated that this combined methodology may contribute to assessing the success likelihood of the operator actions required during accidents and therefore to developing the accident management procedures.

• International Journal of Fuzzy Logic and Intelligent Systems
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.209-215
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• 2014

Sequence tagging is the task of predicting frame-wise labels for a given input sequence and has important applications to diverse domains. Conventional methods such as maximum likelihood (ML) learning matches global features in empirical and model distributions, rather than local features, which directly translates into frame-wise prediction errors. Recent probabilistic sequence models such as conditional random fields (CRFs) have achieved great success in a variety of situations. In this paper, we introduce a novel discriminative CRF learning algorithm to minimize local feature mismatches. Unlike overall data fitting originating from global feature matching in ML learning, our approach reduces the total error over all frames in a sequence. We also provide an efficient gradient-based learning method via gradient forward-backward recursion, which requires the same computational complexity as ML learning. For several real-world sequence tagging problems, we empirically demonstrate that the proposed learning algorithm achieves significantly more accurate prediction performance than standard estimators.

• Proceedings of the Technology Innovation Conference
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• 2005.02a
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• pp.42-56
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• 2005

Firms cooperating in R&D face a moral hazard problem, because with R&D effort not being observable each partner will focus on its own profit when choosing its effort level. This paper aims to explain the use of optimal license contract for R&D cooperation such as cross-licensing agreement. We argue that in the situations of asymmetric information, the optimal incentive scheme that can solve moral hazard problem is . a linear function of the likelihood ratio. Especially in the case of parallel research, each firm has an extra incentive for cooperative R&D effort, given by the license fee that considers the profit of the cooperating firm, which solely depends on his R&D success if the cooperating firm fails.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.505-510
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• 2013

In this paper, a method of estimating hand and elbow movements using electrocorticogram (ECoG) signals is proposed. Using multiple channels, surface electromyogram (EMG) signals and ECoG signals were obtained from patients simultaneously. The estimated movements were those to close and then open the hand and those to bend the elbow inward. The patients were encouraged to perform the movements in accordance with their free will instead of after being induced by external stimuli. Surface EMG signals were used to find movement time points, and ECoG signals were used to estimate the movements. To extract the characteristics of the individual movements, the ECoG signals were divided into a total of six bands (the entire band and the ${\delta}$, ${\Theta}$, ${\alpha}$, ${\beta}$, and ${\gamma}$ bands) to obtain the information entropy, and the maximum likelihood estimation method was used to estimate the movements. The results of the experiment showed the performance averaged 74% when the ECoG of the gamma band was used, which was higher than that when other bands were used, and higher estimation success rates were shown in the gamma band than in other bands. The time of the movements was divided into three time sections based on movement time points, and the "before" section, which included the readiness potential, was compared with the "onset" section. In the "before" section and the "onset" section, estimation success rates were 66% and 65%, respectively, and thus it was determined that the readiness potential could be used.

• Journal of Korean Society of societal Security
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.63-67
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• 2008

This study focuses on assessing the security ri sk or the terrorism in chemical process industries. This research modifies conventional method for assessing the terrorism risk. The risk assessment method is developed and it is implemented as software to analyze the possibility of terrorism and sabotage. This program includes five steps; asset characterization, threat assessment, vulnerability analysis, risk assessment and new countermeasures. It is a systematic, risk based approach in which risk is a function of the severity of consequences of an undesired event, the likelihood of adversary attack, and the likelihood of adversary success in causing the undesired event. The reliability of the program is verified using a dock zone case. The case dock zone includes a storage farm, a manufacturing plant, an electrical supply utility, a hydrotreater unit, many containers, and administration buildings. This study represents chemical terrorism response technology, the prevention plan, and new countermeasure to mitigate by using risk assessment methods in the chemical industry and public sector. This study suggests an effective approach to the chemical terrorism response management.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.53-67
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to identify the quality of landslide susceptibility in a landslide-prone area (Jinbu-myeon, Gangwon-do, South Korea) by spatial prediction modeling approach and compare the results obtained. For this goal, a landslide inventory map was prepared mainly based on past historical information and aerial photographs analysis (Daum Map, 2008), as well as some field observation. Altogether, 550 landslides were counted at the whole study area. Among them, 182 landslides are debris flow and each group of landslides was constructed in the inventory map separately. Then, the landslide inventory was randomly selected through Excel; 50% landslide was used for model analysis and the remaining 50% was used for validation purpose. Total 12 contributing factors, such as slope, aspect, curvature, topographic wetness index (TWI), elevation, forest type, forest timber diameter, forest crown density, geology, landuse, soil depth, and soil drainage were used in the analysis. Moreover, to find out the co-relation between landslide causative factors and incidents landslide, pixels were divided into several classes and frequency ratio for individual class was extracted. Eventually, six landslide susceptibility maps were constructed using the Bayesian Predictive Discriminant (BPD), Empirical Likelihood Ratio (ELR), and Linear Regression Method (LRM) models based on different category dada. Finally, in the cross validation process, landslide susceptibility map was plotted with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calculated the area under the curve (AUC) and tried to extract success rate curve. The result showed that Bayesian, likelihood and linear models were of 85.52%, 85.23%, and 83.49% accuracy respectively for total data. Subsequently, in the category of debris flow landslide, results are little better compare with total data and its contained 86.33%, 85.53% and 84.17% accuracy. It means all three models were reasonable methods for landslide susceptibility analysis. The models have proved to produce reliable predictions for regional spatial planning or land-use planning.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.20-24
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Malnutrition has multiple impacts on surgical success, postoperative complications, duration of hospital stay, and costs, particularly for cancer patients. There are various nutrition risk screening tools available for clinical use. Herein, we aim to determine the most appropriate nutritional risk screening system for esophageal cancer (EC) patients in China. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In total, 138 EC patients were enrolled in this study and evaluated by experienced nurses using three different nutritional screening tools, the Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 tool (NRS2002), the Patient-generated Subjective Globe Assessment (PG-SGA), and the Nutrition Risk Index (NRI).We compared sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and Youden index generated by each of the three screening tools. Finally, cut-off points for all three tools were re-defined to optimize and validate the best nutritional risk screening tool for assessing EC patients. RESULTS: Our data suggested that all three screening tools were 100% sensitive for EC patients, while the specificities were 44.4%, 2.96%, and 59.26% for NRS 2002, PG-SGA, and NRI, respectively. NRI had a higher positive likelihood ratio as well as a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve compared to those of NRS 2002 and PG-SGA; although, all three tools had null negative likelihood ratios. After adjusting the cut-off points, the specificity and accuracy for all tools were significantly improved, however, the NRI remained the most appropriate nutritional risk screening system for EC patients. CONCLUSIONS: The NRI is the most suitable (highest sensitivity and accuracy) nutritional risk screening tool for EC patients. The performance of the NRI can be significantly improved if the cut-off point is modified according to the results obtained using MedCalc software.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.148-153
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• 2016

Tooth transposition is a disorder in which a permanent tooth develops and erupts in the normal position of another permanent tooth. Fusion and gemination are developmental disturbances presenting as the union of teeth. This article reports the nonsurgical retreatment of a very rare case of fused teeth with transposition. A patient was referred for endodontic treatment of her maxillary left first molar in the position of the first premolar, which was adjacent to it on the distobuccal side. Orthopantomography and periapical radiography showed two crowns sharing the same root, with a root canal treatment and an associated periapical lesion. Tooth fusion with transposition of a maxillary molar and a premolar was diagnosed. Nonsurgical endodontic retreatment was performed. At four yr follow-up, the tooth was asymptomatic and the radiolucency around the apical region had decreased, showing the success of our intervention. The diagnosis and treatment of fused teeth require special attention. The canal system should be carefully explored to obtain a full understanding of the anatomy, allowing it to be fully cleaned and obturated. Thermoplastic techniques were useful in obtaining hermetic obturation. A correct anatomical evaluation improves the set of treatment options under consideration, leading to a higher likelihood of esthetically and functionally successful treatment.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.7-21
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• 2021

Purpose: Modern globalization and Western markets saturation has catalyzed the growth of culinary globalization into developing countries. The question was whether fast food consumers in frontier markets of Sub-Saharan Africa (Zimbabwe), either upholds national gastronomic tendencies in terms of consumer ethnocentrism and buy local or they adopt global fast food brands. Demographic consumer profiles were also analyzed as antecedents of consumer ethnocentrism. Research design, data and methodology: A sample size of 400 fast food-adult consumers was surveyed in the City of Harare. Data was captured on SPSS and Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS). Hypothesis testing was done using sample t test (H₁), logistic regression (H₂) and multiple regression (H₃, ₄, ₅) analysis. Results: Consumer ethnocentrism in Zimbabwe was marginally above average and no statistically significant relationship between the levels of consumer ethnocentrism and adoption of foreign fast food brands was noted. Age had an inverse relationship; income had a positive association whilst gender had no statistical significance with consumer ethnocentrism. Conclusions: Despite the Zimbabwean consumers being marginally ethnocentric, international restaurateurs should invest in the Zimbabwean fast food market since their nature of being foreign has got an exotic appeal to the Zimbabwean consumers thereby enhancing their likelihood of success.