• 대한임상검사과학회지
• /
• 제54권3호
• /
• pp.167-172
• /
• 2022

In clinical practice, the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a challenge. The goal of this study was to evaluate the reliability and impact of adenosine deaminase (ADA) enzyme testing as a biochemical marker in the continued management of suspected tuberculosis in a limited resource setting hospital. The retrospective data were collected from 2018 to 2021 and comprised the results of all ADA test assays done in the laboratory. All types of body fluids received for ADA testing were analyzed. Over the course of two years, 1461 samples for ADA assay testing were received. The average age of the study population was 56.69±11.7 years, with males accounting for the majority of the subjects (55.72%). Pleural fluid (N=817, 55.92%) was the most common type of sample received for the ADA assay. 114 (13.95%) of the 817 pleural fluid samples were found to be positive. A survey was conducted to obtain physician's response regarding reliability on ADA testing. 100% of them reported the supportive role of ADA levels in the workup of patients with suspected tuberculosis. In a limited resource setting, the ADA test, in conjunction with clinical and other laboratory findings, can help physicians to initiate early treatment in hospitals for the benefit of patients.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral Health
• /
• 제42권4호
• /
• pp.210-215
• /
• 2018

Objectives: The main objectives of this study were to verify the antibacterial activity of two essential oils, lavender and peppermint, against dental caries and to review their synergistic effect when used in combination. Our results provide basic data for the evaluation of the use of these two substances towards the prevention and cure of dental caries. Methods: The sample solutions of lavender and peppermint oils were prepared in three different concentrations (30%, 50%, and 70% (v/v)) by diluting them with third-distilled water and Tween 20. Streptococcus mutans was selected as the bacterial species for testing. The disk diffusion method was used to measure the antibacterial activity of the sample solutions. For generating growth curves and measuring the number of clusters of the bacterial, the liquid medium-dilution method was used; the absorbance of the medium was measured at 600 nm after 3, 6, 12 and 24 hours. Results: When the antibacterial activity of the oils was tested via the disk diffusion method, the activity improved with increasing concentrations of all the sample solutions of peppermint, lavender, and the blend, but there was no significant difference between them with respect to the type of oil. In the growth curves of S. mutans, growth inhibition was observed after 12 hours. The inhibitory effect of 30% lavender oil on growth was 64.9% and 80.1% after 12 and 24 hours of treatment, respectively whereas that of peppermint oil was 71.3% and 80.1% after 12 and 24 hours of treatment, respectively. The inhibitory effect of the blended oil was 71.9% and 81.0% after 12 and 24 hours of treatment, respectively. Conclusions: Further research is still required in order to determine the efficacy of lavender and peppermint oils, as well as other essential oils, for wider use in preventing dental caries.

• 치위생과학회지
• /
• 제18권1호
• /
• pp.42-49
• /
• 2018

The computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system was introduced to shorten the production time of all-ceramic restorations and the number of patient visits. Among these types of ceramic for dental CAD/CAM, they have been processed into inlay, onlay, and crown shapes using leucite-reinforced glass-ceramics to improve strength. The purpose of this study was to observe the mechanical properties and microstructure of leucite-reinforced glass-ceramics for dental CAD/CAM. Two types of leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic blocks (IPS Empress CAD, Rosetta BM) were prepared with diameter of 13 mm and thickness of 1 mm. Biaxial flexural testing was conducted using a piston-on-three-ball method at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. Weibull statistics were used for the analysis of biaxial flexural strength. Fracture toughness was obtained using an indentation fracture method. Specimens were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy to examine the microstructure of the leucite crystalline phase after acid etching with 0.5% hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution for 1 minute. The results of strength testing showed that IPS Empress CAD had a mean value of $158.1{\pm}8.6MPa$ and Rosetta BM of $172.3{\pm}8.3MPa$. The fracture toughness results showed that IPS Empress CAD had a mean value of $1.28{\pm}0.19MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$ and Rosetta BM of $1.38{\pm}0.12MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$. The Rosetta BM sample exhibited higher strength and fracture toughness. Moreover, the crystalline phase size and ratio were increased in the Rosetta BM sample. The above results are expected to elucidate the basic mechanical properties and crystal structure characteristics of IPS Empress CAD and Rosetta BM. Additionally, they will help develop leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic materials for CAD/CAM.

• The International Journal of Costume Culture
• /
• 제4권3호
• /
• pp.241-248
• /
• 2001

Re water resistance of shell fabrics intended for we in outdoor apparel was measured using three different standard test methods, ASTM D 751, hydrostatic resistance, procedure A(Mullen test -- with and without a fabric support) and Procedure B (Hydrostatic head test). A database of information on their water resistance performance was created. The data collected with different methods were correlated and the advantages and disadvantages of each method were compared. The Mullen test with a support appears to give higher and more favorable water resistance values on shell fabrics preventing fabric rupture during the test. The hydrostatic head test gave lower hydrostatic pressure values than those measured on the two Mullen tests. The Mullen test is recommended for testing the water resistance of fabrics that high a relatively high water resistance because the Mullen tester applies a wide range of pressure. The hydrostatic head test is recommended for testing the fabrics that have relatively low water resistance. The area of the fabric sample that is in contact with the water is smaller in the Mullen test, so higher pressure levels can be reached and more samples should probably be tested to get a representative value for each fabric types. Furthermore, the hydrostatic head test was deemed more repeatable than the Mullen tests in his study.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• 제9권1호
• /
• pp.399-408
• /
• 2022

This paper aims to evaluate the effects of Critical work factors on Work Motivation and Job Satisfaction of young Vietnamese employees. The four most essential work aspects were consisting of the Work environment, Employee empowerment, Salary, and Promotion opportunities. To empirically evaluate the proposed research model, the authors assemble data through conducting questionnaire interviews with young employees working in Vietnamese firms. A sample of 216 respondents was constructed using the PLS-SEM program to highlight the testing of thirteen hypotheses. The testing results indicate that four Critical work factors positively impact the job motivation of young employees, especially two factors as Salary and Promotion opportunities. Surprisingly, the hypothesis regarding the positive direct relationship between Promotion opportunities and Job satisfaction is not supported. Meanwhile, the rest influence factors have a significant connection with the Vietnamese worker's job satisfaction. The mediation role of Work motivation was also tested by examining the indirect positive relationship between four Critical work factors and Job satisfaction. This paper is the first study that focuses on young employees; hence, these research findings provide Vietnamese human resource managers some suggestions for reference, which can be considered the dynamic factors on the young Vietnamese employees.

• Journal of Computing Science and Engineering
• /
• 제7권2호
• /
• pp.99-111
• /
• 2013

Approximating a divergence between two probability distributions from their samples is a fundamental challenge in statistics, information theory, and machine learning. A divergence approximator can be used for various purposes, such as two-sample homogeneity testing, change-point detection, and class-balance estimation. Furthermore, an approximator of a divergence between the joint distribution and the product of marginals can be used for independence testing, which has a wide range of applications, including feature selection and extraction, clustering, object matching, independent component analysis, and causal direction estimation. In this paper, we review recent advances in divergence approximation. Our emphasis is that directly approximating the divergence without estimating probability distributions is more sensible than a naive two-step approach of first estimating probability distributions and then approximating the divergence. Furthermore, despite the overwhelming popularity of the Kullback-Leibler divergence as a divergence measure, we argue that alternatives such as the Pearson divergence, the relative Pearson divergence, and the $L^2$-distance are more useful in practice because of their computationally efficient approximability, high numerical stability, and superior robustness against outliers.

• 비파괴검사학회지
• /
• 제27권6호
• /
• pp.531-540
• /
• 2007

While determination of the solid propellant burning rates by ultrasound, it has been reported that the frequent data scatters were caused by two major factors; 1) variation in the acoustical properties, and 2) non-linear burning of a solid propellant sample under investigation. This work is carried out for the purpose of investigating the effect of non-linear burning of solid propellant samples. Specifically, we propose an ultrasonic measurement model that can predict the reflections from solid propellant surfaces with non-linear burning by the combination of two ingredients; 1) a pulse-echo ultrasonic measurement model for a planar, circular reflector imbedded in the second medium in an immersion set-up, and 2) an efficient model of non-linear burning surfaces with a number of small, planar circles. Then, we demonstrate the capability of the proposed measurement model by simulation of the surface echo signals from four different burning surfaces that have been generated by the combination of two factors; the base shape (flat or paraboloidal) and the surface roughness (perfectly smooth or randomly rough). From the simulation presented here, we can confirm the fact that the non-linear burning of the propellant can cause the waveform change of the burning surface echo and the corresponding spectrum variation.

• 응용통계연구
• /
• 제18권2호
• /
• pp.253-269
• /
• 2005

회귀모형의 기본가정은 추정된 계수들이 표본 내의 모든 관측값에 대해 일정하다는 것이다. 그러나 자료의 구조적 변화로 인해 모형의 추정계수 중 최소한 일부는 상이한 부분집합으로 전체 표본을 분할해야 하는 경우가 현실적으로는 흔히 존재한다. 본 연구에서는 두 회귀모형 계수들간의 동일성을 검정하는 방법을 확대${\cdot}$일반화하여 자료의 분할시점을 탐색하는 검정절차와 결합시킨 후 이를 최근 가장 큰 사회적 문제가 되고 있는 실업률의 구조변화 발생 여부와 시점을 판별하는 실증분석에 적용시켜 보았다.

• 응용통계연구
• /
• 제19권3호
• /
• pp.461-479
• /
• 2006

본 논문에서는 이원오차성분을 갖는 패널회귀모형에서 모형식별을 위하여 LM 검정통계량을 유도하고 검정통계량의 연산을 위하여 인공회귀방법(Double-Length Artificial Regression, DLR)을 이용한다. 모의 실험 결과, 소표본의 경 우에는 Outer-Product Gradient(OPG)에 근거한 LM 검정통계량은 유위수준이 과대기각하는 경향을 보인 반면 DLR에 근거한 LM 검정통계량은 명목유의수준을 잘 유지하고 검정력도 높게 나타났다.

• Journal of Computing Science and Engineering
• /
• 제10권4호
• /
• pp.118-127
• /
• 2016

An improved sample balanced genetic algorithm and Extreme Learning Machine (iSBGA-ELM) was designed for accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) and identification of biomarkers associated with AD in this paper. The proposed AD diagnosis approach uses a set of magnetic resonance imaging scans in Open Access Series of Imaging Studies (OASIS) public database to build an efficient AD classifier. The approach contains two steps: "voxels selection" based on an iSBGA and "AD classification" based on the ELM. In the first step, the proposed iSBGA searches for a robust subset of voxels with promising properties for further AD diagnosis. The robust subset of voxels chosen by iSBGA is then used to build an AD classifier based on the ELM. A robust subset of voxels keeps a high generalization performance of AD classification in various scenarios and highlights the importance of the chosen voxels for AD research. The AD classifier with maximum classification accuracy is created using an optimal subset of robust voxels. It represents the final AD diagnosis approach. Experiments with the proposed iSBGA-ELM using OASIS data set showed an average testing accuracy of 87%. Experiments clearly indicated the proposed iSBGA-ELM was efficient for AD diagnosis. It showed improvements over existing techniques.