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Efficient and long-term stable triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) can be achieved by effectively protecting the excited organic triplet ensembles from photoinduced oxygen quenching, and discovery of a new material platform that promotes TTA-UC in ambient conditions is of paramount importance for practical applications. In this study, we present the first demonstration of an organic nonparaffin phase-change material (PCM) as an air-tolerant medium for TTA-UC with a unique solid-liquid phase transition in response to temperature variation. For the proposed concept, 2,4-hexadien-1-ol is used and extensively characterized with several key features, including good solvation capacity, mild melting point (30.5 °C), and exclusive antioxidant property, enabling a high-efficiency, low-threshold, and photostable TTA-UC system without energy-intensive degassing processes. In-depth characterization reveals that the triplet diffusion among the transient species, i.e.

Despite increasing use of triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) of low-energy visible light, the generation of ultraviolet (UV) photons by TTA remains challenging because of the difficulty in finding sensitizers and acceptors with suitable energy levels. Here, we report efficient, photostable visible-to-UV TTA-UC in an air-saturated solution using a new pair with suitable energy levels: a thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) molecule and pyrene. 4CzIPN, which has extremely small energy difference ΔEST (0.083 eV), was used as the TADF sensitizer to promote effective triplet energy transfer to the acceptor. When oleic acid was used as an effective singlet oxygen receptor in an air-saturated solution, the 4CzIPN/pyrene pair exhibited bright upconverted emission at 370–430 nm under 445 nm laser excitation, but no noticeable upconverted emission was observed when 4CzIPN was paired with previously reported UV-emitting acceptors [2,5-diphenyloxazole (PPO), p-terphenyl, and p-quaterphenyl]. TTA was confirmed by the quadratic dependence of the upconverted emission intensity on the 445 nm laser power density. The maximum quantum yield of the upconverted emission from the 4CzIPN/pyrene pair was 0.66%, which is considerable when compared with that of a previously reported visible-to-UV TTA-UC system with a biacetyl/PPO pair (0.58%).

Smoking cessation aids in restoring lung function. However, whether long-term cessation can fully restore lung function has not been studied thoroughly, especially in Asian countries. This study aimed to evaluate the association between smoking cessation status and obstructive spirometry pattern among Koreans aged 40–79 years. In total, 6,298 men and 8,088 women aged 40–79 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015–2019) were analyzed for smoking cessation status, including the duration after quitting. Current-smokers showed a higher likelihood of having an obstructive spirometry pattern than never-smokers among both men (odds ratio [OR]: 3.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.32–4.29) and women (OR: 2.60, 95% CI: 1.59–4.23). In men, the effect tended to decrease with longer duration after cessation, but male ex-smokers who had quit smoking ≥ 20 years ago still showed a higher likelihood of having an obstructive spirometry pattern than male never-smokers (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.05–1.89). In female ex-smokers, there was no significant association with the obstructive spirometry pattern, compared to that in female never-smokers. This study emphasizes the benefits of smoking cessation, possibility of long-lasting harm to lung function due to tobacco smoking, and importance of smoking prevention.

Smoking cessation aids in restoring lung function. However, whether long-term cessation can fully restore lung function has not been studied thoroughly, especially in Asian countries. This study aimed to evaluate the association between smoking cessation status and obstructive spirometry pattern among Koreans aged 40–79 years. In total, 6298 men and 8088 women aged 40–79 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015–2019) were analyzed for smoking cessation status, including the duration after quitting. Current-smokers showed a higher likelihood of having an obstructive spirometry pattern than never-smokers among both men (odds ratio [OR]: 3.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.32–4.29) and women (OR: 2.60, 95% CI: 1.59–4.23). In men, the effect tended to decrease with longer duration after cessation, but male ex-smokers who had quit smoking ≥ 20 years ago still showed a higher likelihood of having an obstructive spirometry pattern than male never-smokers (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.05–1.89). In female ex-smokers, there was no significant association with the obstructive spirometry pattern, compared to that in female never-smokers. This study emphasizes the benefits of smoking cessation, possibility of long-lasting harm to lung function due to tobacco smoking, and importance of smoking prevention.

The suicide rate in Korea has been declining steadily after peaking in 2011. However, to date, time-series analyses of Korean suicide rate data have mainly addressed factors related to increases in suicide rates. This study analyzed one of the most important evidence-based public health strategies to decrease suicide, that is, preventive effects of restricting access to lethal means via a charcoal-selling procedure improvement campaign, using multivariate time series analysis. The results showed the campaign in Gyeonggi Province had a significant effect on decreasing the number of charcoal-burning suicides in this area. It is believed that the present study has important implications in terms of providing the first empirical evidence for the charcoal-selling procedure improvement campaign in Korea. Further repeated research is needed to evaluate the impact of the intervention when the more enough observational data become available.

The economic contributions made by immigrants in American history have been well documented; however, few empirical studies have provided information on how Mexican and Korean business owners in the U.S. could have different business ownership motives and goals that influence their business success. Using data from the National Minority Business Owners Surveys, this study explored the effect of ownership motives and family goals on business success and family life satisfaction among those two immigrant groups. The findings indicate that Mexican immigrant family business owners reported higher levels of family life satisfaction than the Korean counterparts, while most of the other ownership motives are quite similar. Implications of research findings are discussed along with future research agenda. JEL: L26 null The creation of the English-language version of these publications is financed in the framework of contract No. 607/P-DUN/2018 by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education committed to activities aimed at the promotion of education.

Purpose: Thrombosis of the portal vein, known as pylephlebitis, is a rare and fatal complication caused by intraperitoneal infections. The disease progression of superior mesenteric venous thrombosis (SMVT) is not severe. This study aimed to determine the clinical features, etiology, and prognosis of SMVT. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 41 patients with SMVT from March 2000 to February 2017. We obtained a list of 305 patients through the International Classification of Disease-9 code system and selected 41 patients with SMVT with computed tomography. Data from the medical records included patient demographics, comorbidities, review of system, laboratory results, clinical courses, and treatment modalities. Results: The causes of SMVT were found to be intraperitoneal inflammation in 27 patients (65.9%), malignancy in 7 patients (17.1%), and unknown in 7 patients (17.1%). Among the patients with intraperitoneal inflammation, 14 presented with appendicitis (51.9%), 7 with diverticulitis (25.9%), and 2 with ileus (7.4%). When comparing patients with and without small bowel resection, the differences in symptom duration, bowel enhancement and blood culture were significant (P=0.010, P=0.039, and P=0.028, respectively). Conclusion: SMVT, caused by intraperitoneal inflammation, unlike portal vein thrombosis including pylephlebitis, shows mild prognosis. In addition, rapid symptom progression and positive blood culture can be the prognostic factors related to extensive bowel resection. Use of appropriate antibiotics and understanding of disease progression can help improve the outcomes of patients with SMVT.

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the key components of Korean disaster psychiatric assistant teams (K-DPATs), to set up new mental health service providing system for the disaster victims. Methods We conducted an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) involving disaster mental health experts, using a pairwise comparison questionnaire to compare the relative importance of the key components of the Korean disaster mental health response system. In total, 41 experts completed the first online survey; of these, 36 completed the second survey. Ten experts participated in panel meetings and discussed the results of the survey and AHP process. Results It was agreed that K-DPATs should be independent of the existing mental health system (70.1%), funding for K-DPATs should be provided by the Ministry of Public Safety, and the system should be managed by the Ministry of Health (65.8%). Experts shared the view that K-DPAT leaders would be suitable key decision makers for all types of disaster, with the exception of those involving infectious diseases. Conclusion K-DPAT, a new model for disaster mental health response systems could improve the insufficiency of the current system, address problems such as fragmentation, and fulfill disaster victims' unmet need for early professional intervention.

Triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) has recently drawn widespread interest for its capacity to harvest low-energy photons and to broaden the absorption spectra of photonic devices, such as solar cells. Although conceptually promising, effective integration of TTA-UC materials into practical devices has been difficult due to the diffusive and anoxic conditions required in TTA-UC host media. Of the solid-state host materials investigated, rubbery polymers facilitate the highest TTA-UC efficiency. To date, however, their need for long-term oxygen protection has limited rubbery polymers to rigid film architectures that forfeit their intrinsic flexibility. This study introduces a new multilayer thin-film architecture, in which scalable solution processing techniques are employed to fabricate flexible, photostable, and efficient TTA-UC thin films containing layers of oxygen barrier and host polymers. This breakthrough material design marks a crucial advance toward TTA-UC integration within rigid and flexible devices alike. Moreover, it introduces new opportunities in unexplored applications such as anticounterfeiting. Soft lithography is incorporated into the film fabrication process to pattern TTA-UC host layers with a broad range of high-resolution microscale designs, and superimposing host layers with customized absorption, emission, and patterning ultimately produces proof-of-concept anticounterfeiting labels with advanced excitation-dependent photoluminescent security features.

Purpose: Because insertion of a foreign body (FB) into the anus is considered a taboo practice, patients with a retained rectal FB may hesitate to obtain medical care, and attending surgeons may lack experience with removing these FBs. We performed this study to evaluate the clinical characteristics of Korean patients with a retained rectal FB and propose management guideline for such cases based on our experience.Methods: We retrospectively investigated 14 patients between January 2006 and December 2018. We assessed demographic features, mechanism of FB insertion, clinical course between diagnosis and management, and outcomes.Results: All patients were male (mean age, 43 years) and presented with low abdominal pain (n = 2), anal bleeding (n = 2), or concern about a retained rectal FB without symptoms (n = 10). FB insertion was most commonly associated with sexual gratification or anal eroticism (n = 11, 78.6%). All patients underwent general anesthesia for anal sphincter relaxation with the exception of 2 who underwent FB removal in the emergency department. FBs were retrieved transanally using a clamp (n = 2), myoma screw (n = 1), clamp application following abdominal wall compression (n = 2), or laparotomy followed by rectosigmoid colon milking (n = 2). Colotomy and primary repair were performed in four patients, and Hartmann operation was performed in one patient with fecal peritonitis. No morbidity or mortality was reported. All patients refused postextraction anorectal functional and anatomical evaluation and psychological counseling.Conclusion: Retained rectal FB is rare; however, colorectal surgeons should be aware of the various methods that can be used for FB retrieval and the therapeutic algorithm applicable in such cases.

A recyclable, aqueous phase functioning and biocompatible photon upconverting system is developed. Hollow mesoporous silica microcapsules (HMSMs) with ordered radial mesochannels were employed, for the first time, as vehicles for the post-encapsulation of oil phase triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC), with the capability of homogeneous suspension in water. In-depth characterization of such upconverting oil-laden HMSMs (UC-HMSMs) showed that the mesoporous silica shells reversibly stabilized the encapsulated UC oil in water to allow efficient upconverted emission, even under aerated conditions. In addition, the UC-HMSMs were found to actively bind to the surface of human mesenchymal stem cells without significant cytotoxicity and displayed upconverted bright blue emission under 640 nm excitation, indicating a potential of our new TTA-UC system in biophotonic applications. These findings reveal the great promise of UC-HMSMs to serve as ideal vehicles not only for ultralow-power in vivo imaging but also for stem cell labeling, to facilitate the tracking of tumor cells in animal models.

Purpose– It has previously been noted that channel relationships are more richly understood when viewed over time. Moreover, there is a lack of research on how two types of satisfaction (economic and social satisfaction) have differential effects on partner trust over time. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether (and if so how) these two types of satisfaction have differential effects on partner trust from the initial stage of channel relationship to the subsequent relationship period.Design/methodology/approach– Longitudinal data are used in an effort to understand the dynamic process of channel relationships over time.Findings– It is found that over time, the strength of the relationship between economic satisfaction and partner trust decreases, while the effect of social satisfaction on partner trust increases. Interestingly, the direct effect of perceived value on partner trust dramatically decreases from time point T to T + 1, indicating that these relationships exhibit significant temporal effects.Research limitations/implications– The most relevant theoretical implication is that social satisfaction has a desirable role of bridging the relationship between perceived value and partner trust at time points T and T + 1. Thus, social satisfaction is a key factor in sustaining a channel partnership over time even after initial perceived value has been enhanced via the route of economic satisfaction. The main limitation is that data were collected in South Korea – further validation would require data from multiple cultural contexts.Practical implications– Results provide important implications for channel members aiming to enhance trust with partners. In initial stages of a relationship, channel members should concentrate their marketing resources on enhancing economic satisfaction, as it plays a key role in enhancing trust. As channel relationships evolve, the role of social satisfaction between perceived value and partner trust becomes more important. Thus, in the latter stages of a relationship, it would be prudent to focus more on activities which enhance social satisfaction.Originality/value– To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is very little research focusing on temporal carryover effects. The authors thus contribute to the establishment and testing of temporal carryover effects of various business-to-business (B2B) relationship-related constructs, such as perceived value, economic and social satisfaction and partner trust.

With data from the 2003 and 2005 National Minority Business Owners Survey, we examined the extent to which minority business owners differ from nonminority business owners in their reported use of adjustment strategies, and the relationship between the use of adjustment strategies and perceived business success. The sample consisted of 193 African American, 200 Mexican American, 200 Korean American, and 210 white business owners. Mexican American and Korean American business owners reported higher levels of adjustment strategy use than African American and white business owners. The ordinary least squares show that reallocating family resources to meet business needs and reallocating business resources to meet family needs were negatively associated with perceived business success, whereas hiring paid help was positively associated with perceived business success.

PURPOSE: The management of central venous catheters (CVCs) and catheter thrombosis vary among centers, and the efficacy of the methods of management of catheter thrombosis in CVCs is rarely reported. We investigated the efficacy of bedside thrombolysis with urokinase for the management of catheter thrombosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data from patients who had undergone CVC insertion by a single surgeon in a single center between April 2012 and June 2014. We used a protocol for the management of CVCs and when catheter thrombosis was confirmed, 5,000 U urokinase was infused into the catheter. RESULTS: A total of 137 CVCs were inserted in 126 patients. The most common catheter-related complication was thrombosis (12, 8.8%) followed by infection (8, 5.8%). Nine of the 12 patients (75%) with catheter thrombosis were recanalized successfully with urokinase. The rate of CVC recanalization was higher in the peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) group (87.5%) than the chemoport group (50%). Reintervention for catheter-related thrombosis was needed in only 2.2% of patients when thrombolytic therapy using urokinase was applied. Age

Yttrium-doped ZrO2 thin-films were prepared on Si substrates via sol–gel synthesis at a low temperature of 700 °C. During sol–gel synthesis, yttrium can easily take the place of the zirconium in ZrO2, even at low ambient process temperatures. We were therefore able to successfully synthesize yttrium-doped zirconium oxide (Y-ZrO2) with a clean interface without the generation of zirconium silicate, which is formed at high temperatures (∼1000 °C). Doped yttrium can eliminate the interstitial oxygen contained in ZrO2 thin films as O2−1 states. The conduction band offset (CBO) is also increased via yttrium doping: from 1.69 eV for ZrO2 to 1.99 eV for Y-ZrO2 in the as-grown films, and from 1.27 eV for ZrO2 to 1.35 eV for Y-ZrO2 in the annealed films. The difference observed in the CBO of the as-grown films may be caused by interstitial oxygen, which is formed in the ZrO2 films, while the annealed films have oxygen vacancies. The reported data show that yttrium doping of ZrO2 induces the formation of a yttrium–oxygen vacancy pair, which can reduce the formation energy of oxygen vacancies. However, using the density-of-states analysis from the VASP code density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we confirm that the oxygen vacancy in the Y-ZrO2 did not generate defect states within the silicon band gap, whereas in the ZrO2 it did generate defect states within the silicon band gap. Using the conductance method, reductions in the interfacial trap charge densities of approximately 20% were observed near the mid-gap in Y-ZrO2, as compared with undoped ZrO2. Following the application of electrical stress, the reduction in interface states was found to be greater in the Y-ZrO2 film, which is consistent with the DFT calculation.

This study aimed to analyze the patterns of antipsychotic prescription to patients with schizophrenia in Korea. Using the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service-National Patients Sample (HIRA-NPS), which was a stratified sampling from the entire population under the Korean national health security system (2009), descriptive statistics for the patterns of the monopharmacy and polypharmacy, neuropsychiatric co-medications, and prescribed individual antipsychotic for patients with schizophrenia were performed. Comparisons of socioeconomic and clinical factors were performed among patients prescribed only with first- and second-generation antipsychotics. Of 126,961 patients with schizophrenia (age 18-80 yr), 13,369 were prescribed with antipsychotic monopharmacy and the rest 113,592 with polypharmacy. Two or more antipsychotics were prescribed to 31.34% of the patients. Antiparkinson medications (66.60%), anxiolytics (65.42%), mood stabilizers (36.74%), and antidepressants (25.90%) were co-medicated. Patients who were prescribed only with first-generation antipsychotics (n=26,254) were characterized by significantly older age, greater proportion of male, higher proportion of medicaid, higher total medical cost, lower self-payment cost, and higher co-medication rates of antiparkinson agents and anxiolytics than those who were prescribed only with second-generation antipsychotics (n=67,361). In this study, it has been reported substantial prescription rates of first-generation antipsychotics and antipsychotic polypharmacy and relatively small prescription rate of clozapine to patients with schizophrenia. Since this study has firstly presented the patterns of antipsychotic prescription to schizophrenic patients in Korean national population, the findings of this study can be compared with those of later investigations about this theme. Graphical Abstract

This study investigated the association between in-school students’ part-time work and 1-year suicide attempts in Korea. The authors analyzed Korean Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance data (2008), which included 75 238 samples that represent Korean middle and high school students. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between part-time work and suicide attempt during the past 1 year, controlled by sociodemographic, school-related, lifestyle, and psychological factors. Among high school students, there was no association between part-time work and suicide attempts. However, part-time work was associated with suicide attempts significantly among middle school students (odds ratio = 1.59; 95% confidence interval = 1.37-1.83). Despite the limitation that details of the part-time work were not included in this study, it was found that middle school students’ part-time work may increase suicide attempts, and the circumstances of Korean adolescents’ employment, especially that of younger adolescents, would need to be reconsidered to prevent their suicide attempts.

The effect of the deposition temperature (200, 250, and 300 °C) on the electrical properties of the atomic-layer-deposited [atomic layer deposition (ALD)] HfO2 films on InP was studied. A significant grain growth as well as an increase in the accumulation capacitance occurred by increasing the ALD temperature from 200 to 250 °C. However, a further increase to 300 °C degraded the electrical properties as verified by various electrical characterizations, including an accumulation capacitance lowering, a near-interface defect (trap) formation, and an increase in the electrical stress-induced new trap generation, due to a significant In out-diffusion to the HfO2 film side.

Background Korea has experienced diverse kind of disasters these days. Among them the 2015 middle eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak imposed great psychological stress on almost all Korean citizens. Following the MERS outbreak, government is reviewing overall infectious disease management system and prioritizing the establishment of mental health service systems for infectious disease. This study makes suggestions for implementing disaster-related mental health service systems by analyzing the example of Gyeonggi Province, which proactively intervened with residents’ psychological problems caused by the large-scale outbreak of an infectious disease. Case description Mental health service system for MERS victims had the following two parts: a mental health service for people who had been placed in quarantine and a service provided to families of patients who had died or recovered patients. The government of Gyeonggi province, public health centers, regional and local Community Mental Health Centers and the National Center for Crisis Mental Health Management participated in this service system. Among 1221 Gyeonggi people placed in quarantine and who experienced psychological and emotional difficulties, 350 required continuing services; 124 of this group received continuing services. That is, 35 % of people who required psychological intervention received contact from service providers and received the required services. Conclusions This study reflects a proactive monitoring system for thousands of people placed under quarantine for the first time in Korea. It is significant that the service utilization rate by a proactive manner, that is the professionals administering it actively approached and contacted people with problems rather than passively providing information was much higher than other general mental health situation in Korea. The core value of public mental health services is adequate public accessibility; it is therefore essential for governments to strengthen their professional competence and establish effective systems. These criteria should also be applied to psychological problems caused by disastrous infectious disease outbreaks.

In the B2B research literature both perceived value from a relationship with a partner and satisfaction from the relationship over time have been viewed as playing important roles in improving loyalty intentions (Johnson et al. 2006), behavioral intentions (Mittal et al. 1999, 2001), and trust (Friman et al. 2002; Selnes 1998; Ulaga and Eggert 2006). Since extant research predominantly provides a cross-sectional understanding of customer satisfaction (e.g., Geyskens and Steenkamp 2000; Johnson et al. 2006), the present study aims to bolster this literature by investigating customer satisfaction from a longitudinal perspective.

The microstructural and electrical properties of solution-deposited GdCeO x dielectric thin films with different mixing ratios were studied. The Ce incorporation enhanced the degree of crystallization and the refractive index of the Gd 2 O 3 film, reduced the hysteresis and increased the dielectric constant. According to reflective electron energy loss spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses, the bandgap of the GdCeO x film gradually decreased with increasing Ce/(Gd + Ce) atomic ratio, which was primarily affected by the reduction of the valence band offset.

In this study, we synthesized ZnO nanowires using Au catalytic particles formed on a ZnO seed layer. We modulated the microstructure of the ZnO seed layer by changing the sputtering power to investigate how the underlying ZnO film microstructure affects the distribution of ZnO nanowires. Examining the samples after each of the three key steps of the growth process (ZnO seed layer deposition, Au catalytic particle formation, and nanowire growth) using various characterization methods such as scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction helped us illuminate the profound impacts of the grain size of the seed layer on the nanowire density.

To improve drawback of existing modulation method, in this paper, we propose the channel forecastmethod using adaptive modulation which can improve throughput of channel. This method adaptively changes modulation method to the change of channel environments. In proposed method, channel's characteristics are measured in realtime to determine code rate to the changes of demanded channel's bit error rate. If bit error rate is increased, this method reduce code rate to maintain maximum throughput. We analysis performance of proposed method by Matlab. Key Words : QPSK, Auto repeat request, Forward error correction 이 논문은 2010년도 안동대학교 학술연구조성비에 의하여 연구되었음 * 교신저자 : 조대제(djcho@andong.ac.kr)접수일 10년 12월 07일 수정일 (1차 11년 01월 17일, 2차 11년 01월 28일) 게재확정일 11년 02월 10일 1. 서론 통신망과의 직접 접속에서 벗어나고자 하는 욕구에 따라 무선이동통신은 비약적으로 발전하였다. 무선이동통신은 신호화, 변조, 복조의 과정을 필수적으로 거치게 되며, 이러한 과정이 디지털 시스템의 기본 처리 과정이라 할 수 있다. 하지만 기존의 이동통신시스템에서는 QPSK라는 변조방식을 주로 사용하다 보니 전파 환경이 열악한 환경에서는 에러율이 높아지는 현상이 많이 발생하게 된다 . 또한 전파 환경이 나쁜 환경에서 처리율을 높이기 위해서 전력을 높여서 전송하다보니 전력 낭비가 심하다.본 논문에서는 채널의 환경이 변함에 따라 적응적으로 변조방식을 변화시킴으로써 채널의 처리율을 향상시킬 수 있는 적응변조 방식을 사용한 채널 예측 방법을 제안한다. 본 논문에서 제안한 방식은 요구되는 채널의 비트 에러율(BER)에 따라 부호율을 결정하기 위해 채널 특성을 실시간으로 측정하여 채널의 비트 에러율이 증가하면 부호율을 감소시켜 최대 처리율을 유지하도록 하고, 수신감도를 높이기 위해 에러정정부호(FEC: Forward Error Correction)방식[1]을 사용하는 하이브리드 ARQ(Auto Repeat Request) 방식[2]을 이용한다.본 연구는 다음의 순서대로 작성되었다. 우선 2장에서 적응 변조 방식의 필요성에 대하여 설명하고 , 3장에서는 본 연구에서 제안한 적응 변조 방식을 사용한 채널 예측 방법에 대한 성능을 분석하였고, 4장에서 결론을 맺는다.

In this paper, we propose a novel ML decoding scheme based on the combination of depth- and breadth-first search methods on a partitioned tree for multiple input multiple output systems. The proposed scheme first partitions the searching tree into several stages, each of which is then searched by a depth- or breadth-first search method, possibly exploiting the advantages of both the depth- and breadth-first search methods in an organized way. Numerical results indicate that, when the depth- and breadth-first search algorithms are adopted appropriately, the proposed scheme exhibits substantially lower computational complexity than conventional ML decoders while maintaining the ML bit error performance.

The techniques and the products which use various video compression codec are come out from army or civil field. In existing high-end PC environment, process of the video compression codec does not become a problem, but in embedded system environments which limited system resources, because the system load due to the high-resolution images compressed by high-density, issues of performance and utilization are highlighted. This paper proposes the DirectShow Filter interfaces which are a hardware method in order to solve the problem existing software algorithms for image compression performance and peripheral interfaces.

Education has been shown to have myriad effects on people, from increasing their incomes to changing their views of the world. In the area of entrepreneurship, education creates opportunities and increases the rate of entrepreneurial activity. This study explores educationʼs effects on the immigrant entrepreneurship development processes and outcomes in the context of Korean-Americans by comparing a national sample of Korean-Americans with differing amounts of education. The sample is part of the National Minority Business Owners Surveys (NMBOS) carried out by the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College between 2003 and 2005. The authors hypothesize that high-education Korean-Americans will have larger and more successful businesses, have more varying types of businesses, and follow differing paths to business formation. In addition, the authors hypothesize that motivations, goals, and attitudes toward their businesses, families, and their lives generally will be different. Among other things, confidence and level of satisfaction with their business will be higher for the high-education group. The study finds that while the low- and high-education groups vary in their types of businesses, the paths followed into those businesses, and the size of their businesses, they are very similar as to their attitudes, motivations, and family interactions. Implications for future research are discussed.

ObjectiveaaThe role of community mental health centers (CMHCs) in Korea is quite different than that of these centers in Western countries due to nation-specific health care system characteristics. For example, CMHCs of Korea are expected to provide services for serious mental illness in addition to other services in response to community needs, such as internet addiction of adolescents. Consequently, it is important to determine service priorities of CMHCs and to define standard service performances in order to maximize their effectiveness with limited resources. The present study aimed to generate expert consensus on service priorities and to identify standard service performances of CMHCs in South Korea. MethodsaaForty-five mental health professionals participated as experts in a Delphi survey. We made a survey questionnaire based on Korean and international data and guidelines of some countries such as the UK and Australia. Experts answered the first and second round questionnaires and their answers were analyzed using frequency analysis. ResultsaaFor the question about future directions of CMHCs, twenty-two experts (49%) answered that the growth of services for serious mental illness should be preferred to other areas. The service for chronic mental illness was thought to be the most important service area (27.1%) and, early psychosis (10.5%) is included, the services for serious mental illness should be regarded as the most important service area of Korean CMHCs. It is followed by child and adolescent services (13.2%) and mental health promotion services (10.8%). The relative importance of service performances on each service domain were given by answers of experts. ConclusionaaCMHCs in Korea should focus their priority on the management of serious mental illness. Service standardization by the relative importance of service performances on each service domain is needed.

In this study, we seek to understand the key differences between the entrepreneurial experience for Mexican immigrant and US-born Mexican entrepreneurs. We focus on differences in motivation for start-up, reliance on ethnic enclaves and business management practices. Using data from the 2005 National Minority Business Owner Survey, our sample consisted of 156 Mexican American entrepreneurs (55 immigrants and 101 US-born). Results suggest that even within a particular minority group, there are key distinctions between immigrant and US-born entrepreneurs. For example, US-born Mexican entrepreneurs are more motivated by the individualistic financial benefits of being an entrepreneur, while Mexican immigrant entrepreneurs are more motivated by serving society and their co-ethnic community. Implications are discussed.

Micro-computed tomography (CT) is a important tool for longitudinal imaging of tumor development. The detection and monitoring of tumors in the liver in live animals using micro-CT is challenging. We evaluated the feasibility of high-resolution micro-CT enhanced with a hepatocyte-selective contrast agent for detecting liver metastases in a live murine model.Hepatic metastases were induced in 10 BALB/C mice. Two mice each were randomly selected on days 3, 5, 7, 10, and 13 after CT26 colon adenocarcinoma cells were injected into the portal vein; micro-CT imaging was performed at 10 minutes and 4 hours after intravenous administration of a hepatocyte-selective contrast agent at a dose of 0.4 mL/mouse. The attenuation values of the normal liver and the tumors were obtained. The number of metastases was counted and their sizes were measured on the micro-CT images. Gross or histopathologic evaluation was performed for correlating the liver tumors with the micro-CT images.A total of 74 separate tumor sites larger than 300 microm in diameter were detected on pathologic examination of the mice that were sacrificed 7 days after cell injection. On micro-CT, 66 of 74 tumors were detected (83.8%). The smallest tumor detected on micro-CT was 300 microm. There were eight false-negative readings on micro-CT. The sizes of the individual liver metastases measured by micro-CT and on the excised specimen were highly correlated (P.001). The correlation between the CT scan measurement and the actual measurement was r = 0.8354 (P.0001).High-resolution micro-CT enhanced with a hepatocyte-selective contrast agent can be a promising tool for detecting liver metastases in a live murine model.

We here review and critique prior research on minority entrepreneurship, paying particular attention to the contributions and limitations of deployed sampling techniques and research methodologies. As based on this review, we then introduce the 2003 and 2005 National Minority Business Owner Surveys—a comprehensive and primary data collection effort that used varied methodologies to secure in-depth information about random national samples of African American, Korean American, and Mexican American populations as well as a comparison sample of nonminority business owners. We present the initial business ownership profiles developed with these recent data, in part, as a benchmark of the U.S. entrepreneurial experience, and compare the profiles with those presented in prior research. These profiles document similarities and differences across the four groups and provide an empirical foundation for understanding the origin of those similarities and differences. No longer can we ignore the in-depth study of minority businesses and their owning families nor can we simply assume that all businesses are the same, regardless of minority status or ethnicity.