• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.18-29
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• 2021

Purpose: Patients with hematologic malignancy (HM) typically have a high mortality rate when their condition deteriorates. The chronic progressive course of the disease makes it difficult to assess the effect of intervention on acute events. We investigated the effectiveness of a rapid response team (RRT) on in-hospital mortality in patients with HM. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients with HM who admitted to the medical intensive care unit between 2006 and 2015. Clinical outcomes before and after RRT implementation were evaluated. Results: A total of 228 patients in the pre-RRT period and 781 patients in the post-RRT period were included. The overall in-hospital mortality was 55.4%. Patients in the post-RRT period had improved survival; however, they required more vasopressor therapy, continuous renal replacement therapy, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Multivariate analysis revealed that in-hospital mortality was associated with RRT activation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.634; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.498-0.807; p < .001), neurological disease (HR, 2.007; 95% CI, 1.439-2.800; p < .001), sequential organ failure assessment score (HR, 1.085; 95% CI, 1.057-1.112; p < .001), need for continuous renal replacement therapy (HR, 1.608; 95% CI, 1.206-1.895; p< .001), mechanical ventilation (HR, 1.512; 95% CI, 1.206-1.895; p< .001), vasopressor (HR, 1.598; 95% CI, 1.105-2.311; p = .013), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (HR, 1.728; 95% CI, 1.105-2.311; p = .030). Conclusion: RRT activation may be associated with improved survival in patients with HM.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.442-454
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• 2021

The porous transport layer (PTL) is essential to effectively remove oxygen and hydrogen gas from the electrode surface at high current density operation conditions. In this study, the effect of PTL with different characteristics such as pore size, pore gradient, interfacial coating was investigated by multi-layered sintered mesh. A water electrolysis single cell of active area of the 34.56 cm² was constructed, and IV performance and impedance analysis were conducted in the range of 0 to 2.0 A/cm². It was confirmed that the multi-layered sintered mesh PTL, which have an average pore size of 25 to 57 ㎛ and a larger pore gradient, removed bubbles effectively and thus seemed to improve IV performance. Also, it was confirmed that the catalytic metals such as Ni, NiMo coating on the PTL reduced activation overpotential, but increased mass transport overpotential.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.69-88
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• 2022

Omni-channel enables businesses to provide a seamless customer experience by organically integrating data from multiple channels. Customers have increasingly used mobile applications to place orders and make payments in offline stores. In such context, this study investigated the effects of customer experiences on brand loyalty via offline and mobile channels. Additionally, it examined the role of habit in establishing brand loyalty in a daily service environment. This study confirmed the importance of functional, human, and mechanical cues on perceived value in the offline channel. Additionally, differences in the influence of customer experiences via offline and mobile channels on brand loyalty were examined at based on the age and gender. The research model was empirically validated using survey data collected from 365 customers who visit coffee chains via mobile applications. The analysis results found that both perceived value of offline stores and loyalty to mobile applications have a significant effect on brand loyalty. Habit plays another critical role in enhancing brand loyalty. The findings of this study help service providers better understanding of the formation mechanism of brand loyalty in the context of omni channel and will be able to develop more effective marketing and operations strategies.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.50 no.7
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• pp.507-514
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• 2022

The EO/IR targeting pod mounted on a fighter to acquire information about tactical targets is typically mounted and operated at the bottom of the aircraft fuselage. Since the aircraft equipped with such an external attachment has complexed aerodynamic and inertial characteristics compared to the aircraft flying without an external attachment, a method of system performance analyses is required to identify development risk factors in the early stages of development and reflect them in the design. In this study, a development plan was presented to provide the necessary modeling and simulation tools to develop a pod that can acquire measurement data stably in a highly maneuverable environment. The limiting operating conditions of the pods mounted on the highly maneuverable aircraft were derived, the aerodynamics and inertial loads of the mounted pods were analyzed according to the limiting operating conditions, and a flight data generation and transmission system were developed by simulating the mission of the aircraft equipped with the mounted pods.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2022

As a power transmission element, the timing belt is a toothed transmission belt that takes advantages of V-belts and gears. It has characteristics of non-slip and low noise. It is used as a power transmission device when transmitting power from a rotating shaft or linear motion in a mechanism. Rotation can be accurately transmitted through a belt pulley with grooves like a gear and a timing belt with grooves to precisely match with the belt pulley. In particular, in the mechanism in which the timing belt is used for the output shaft, the dynamic characteristics including the rigidity of the timing belt determine the transmission characteristics of the system, so its importance increases. In this paper, a stiffness reinforced belt that can be applied to a timing belt with a limited range of motion to increase its stiffness is proposed. To study the dynamic characteristics of the stiffness reinforced belt, the equation of motion for the stiffness reinforced belt was established, and a simulation model for the stiffness reinforced belt was created and analyzed. In order to confirm the analysis results of the motion equation and simulation model, a 1-axis rotation experimental equipment using a stiffness reinforcing belt was developed and the experiment was conducted. Through motion equations, simulation models, and experiment results, it was confirmed that the stiffness and dynamic characteristics of the timing belt could be improved by applying the proposed stiffness reinforcement belt.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2022

Recently, research to classify human activity using imagery has been actively conducted for the purpose of crime prevention and facility safety in public places and facilities. In order to improve the performance of human activity classification, most studies have applied deep learning based-transfer learning. However, despite the increase in the number of backbone network models that are the basis of deep learning as well as the diversification of architectures, research on finding a backbone network model suitable for the purpose of operation is insufficient due to the atmosphere of using a certain model. Thus, this study applies the transfer learning into recently developed deep learning backborn network models to build an intelligent system that classifies human activity using imagery. For this, 12 types of active and high-contact human activities based on sports, not basic human behaviors, were determined and 7,200 images were collected. After 20 epochs of transfer learning were equally applied to five backbone network models, we quantitatively analyzed them to find the best backbone network model for human activity classification in terms of learning process and resultant performance. As a result, XceptionNet model demonstrated 0.99 and 0.91 in training and validation accuracy, 0.96 and 0.91 in Top 2 accuracy and average precision, 1,566 sec in train process time and 260.4MB in model memory size. It was confirmed that the performance of XceptionNet was higher than that of other models.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.9-21
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• 2022

In this study, a novel antiviral coating method for the air filtration system of subway station was investigated. Using dry aerosol coating process, we developed a high-performance antiviral air filter with spark discharger and carbon brush type ionizer. Silver nanoparticles were produced by a spark discharge generation system with ion injection system and were used as antiviral agents coated onto a medium grade air filter. The pressure drop, filtration efficiency, and antiviral ability of the filter against aerosolized MS2 virus particles as a surrogate of SARS-CoV-2 virus were tested with dust contamination. Dust contamination caused the increase of the filtration efficiency and pressure drop, while the antiviral agents (in this study, silver nanoparticles) coating did not have any significant effect on the filtration efficiency and pressure drop. Using these properties, we suggested a novel method to maximize the antiviral performance of the antiviral air filter that was contaminated by dust particles. Moreover theoretical analysis of antiviral ability with dust contamination and re-coated antiviral agents was carried out using a mathematical model to calculate the time-dependent antiviral effect of the filter under actual conditions of subway station. Our model can be used to apply on antiviral air filtration system of subway station for prevention of pandemic diffusion, and predict the life cycle of an antiviral filter.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.561-577
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• 2021

The compacted bentonite buffer in a geological repository for high-level radioactive waste disposal is saturated due to groundwater inflow. Saturation of the bentonite buffer results in bentonite swelling and bentonite penetration into the rock discontinuities present around the disposal hole. The penetrated bentonite is exposed to groundwater flow and can be eroded out of the repository, resulting in bentonite mass loss which can affect the physical integrity of the engineered barrier system. Hence, the evaluation of buffer-rock interactions and coupled behavior due to groundwater inflow and bentonite penetration is necessary to ensure long-term disposal safety. In this study, the effects of the bentonite penetration and swelling on the physical properties of jointed rock mass were evaluated using the quasi-static resonant column test. Jointed rock specimens with bentonite penetration were manufactured using Gyeongju bentonite and hollow cylindrical granite rock discs obtained from the KAERI underground research tunnel. The effects of vertical stress and saturation were assessed using the P-wave and S-wave velocities for intact rock, jointed rock and jointed rock with bentonite penetration specimens. The joint normal and joint shear stiffnesses of each joint condition were inferred from the wave velocity results assuming an equivalent continuum. The joint normal and joint shear stiffnesses obtained from this study can be used as input factors for future numerical analysis on the performance evaluation of geological waste disposal considering rock discontinuities.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.400-414
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• 2021

Under high-level radioactive waste repository conditions, bentonite as an engineered barrier material undergoes thermal, hydrological, mechanical, and chemical processes. We report the applications of X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) imaging technique on the characterization and analysis of bentonite over the past decade to provide a reference of the utilization of this technique and the recent research trends. This overview of the X-ray CT technique applications includes the characterization of the bentonite either in pellets or powder form. X-ray imaging has provided a means to extract grain information at the microscale and identify crack networks responsible for the pellets' heterogeneity. Regarding samples of pellets-powder mixtures under hydration, X-ray CT allowed the identification and monitoring of heterogeneous zones throughout the test. Some results showed how zones with pellets only swell faster compared to others composed of pellets and powder. Moreover, the behavior of fissures between grains and bentonite matrix was observed to change under drying and hydrating conditions, tending to close during the former and open during the latter. The development of specializing software has allowed obtaining strain fields from a sequence of images. In more recent works, X-ray CT technique has served to estimate the dry density, water content, and particle displacement at different testing times. Also, when temperature was added to the hydration process of a sample, CT technology offered a way to observe localized and global density changes over time.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.537-548
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• 2022

It is important to design the pavement thickness considering heavy-duty traffic loads, which can cause excessive stress and strain in the pavement. Port-rear roads and industrial roads have many problems due to early stress in pavement because these have a higher ratio of heavy loads than general roads such as national roads and expressways. Internationally, composite pavement has been widely applied in pavement designs in heavy-duty areas. Composite pavement is established as an economic pavement type that can increase the design life by nearly double compared to that of existing pavement while also decreasing maintenance and user costs. This study suggests a thickness design method for composite pavement using roller-compacted concrete as a base material to ensure long-term serviceability in heavy-duty areas such as port-rear roads and industrial roads. A three-dimensional finite element analysis was conducted to investigate the mechanical behavior and the long-term pavement performance ultimately to suggest a thickness design method that considers changes in the material properties of the roller-compacted concrete (RCC) base layer. In addition, this study presents a user-friendly catalog design method for RCC-base composite pavement considering the concept of linear damage accumulation for each container trailer depending on the season.