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The academic community generally believes that there are 39 finals in modern Chinese, including 10 monophthong vowels, 13 diphtong vowels, and 16 nasal vowels. The monophthong vowels are divided into seven dorsal vowels (a[A], o[o], e[ɤ], ê[ε], i[i], u[u], ü[y]) and 3 apical vowels (-i [ɿ], -i [ʅ], er [ɐɹ]). In the process of Chinese teaching, we found that there are some problems in Chinese vowels studied by scholars. Firstly, is there monophthong vowel ê[ε] in Chinese? ê[ε] does not combine with consonants, but only with four tones to form different syllables. In addition, the syllables formed by ê[ε] are also used only for the interjection “欸”, and these pronunciations have the same sound [ei]. Therefore, we believe that there is no monophonic vowel ê[ε] in the modern Chinese phonetic system. Secondly, is there monophthong vowel o[o] in Chinese? The o[o] of modern Chinese is not combined with initials. Only a few Zero initials are read o[o] vowels, these words are interjections, such as 喔, 噢, 嚄, 嚄, etc. They generally have another sounds. Therefore, we believe that there is no monophthong vowel o[o] in the modern Chinese phonetic system. Thirdly, is er a monophthong vowel? It appears changing tongue and lip when pronunciating er, so er is not a monophthong vowel. We think that its syllable value should be [ɐɹ]. [ɐɹ] is the combination of the central vowel [ɐ] and the approximant [ɹ]. Approximant [ɹ] makes us to pronunciate a central vowel [ɐ] followed by a rolling tongue action, but the active articulator of the pronunciation did not touch the passive articulator. Fourthly, ong is unrounded articulation or rounded articulation? We believe that the syllable value of ong is [uŋ], which is a combination of the nuclear vowel [u] and the coda [ŋ]. Therefore, ong[uŋ] is the rounded articulation, not the unrounded articulation. Fifthly, iong belongs to any kind of four articulations. The syllable value of iong should be recorded as [yŋ], which is a combination of the nuclear vowel [y] and the coda [ŋ]. Iong[yŋ] is the articulation with [y] as medial or main vowel.

本論文の目的は韓國人日本語學習者に日本語の音素/o/を關する發音させ、硏究者本人の聽覺的な觀點から分析ㆍ定型化することである。實驗對象の音素は日本語の/o/である。 硏究の分析結果、 語頭で、專攻者は非專攻者より發音器官を狹く使い、非專攻者は專攻者より發音器官の活用度がもっとも大きい事が分かる。 非語頭で, 專攻者は語順に關係なく日本語の/o/を[o]で發音し、非專攻者は專攻者より日本人の發音に近づいていることが分かるのである。 音聲資質別との分析結果、專攻と關係なく韓國人日本語學習者は日本人より多少幅廣く日本語の音素/o/を發音していることで分析される。 性別の分析については、男性は女性より發音の仕方が多樣であることが分かった。

본 연구의 목적은 디지털콘텐츠 산업과 블록체인 기술의 융합 생태계가 활성화 될 수 있도록 산업 이해관계자들이 상호 활용 가능한 ICO의 핵심요인과 관련된 선행연구를 정리하고, 요인별 중요도를 산출하는 데 있다. 이에 선행연구에서 도출된 핵심요인을 바탕으로 계층구조모델을 구조화하고 AHP 방법론을 활용하여 각 요인의 가중치를 도출하였다. 상위요인에서는 사업(0.422) > 기술(0.172) > 콘텐츠(0.144) > 인력(0.104) > 제도(0.099) > 토큰(0.059) 순으로 중요하게 나타났다. 하위요인에서는 가중치 내림차순으로 실현가능성(0.162) > 법률규제(0.071) > 시장성장성(0.063) 등으로 나타나 각각의 시사점을 기술하였다. 본 연구의 결과는 ICO 발기자뿐만 아니라 투자자 입장에서도 활용될 수 있을 것이며, 산업적 초기 단계에 속하는 블록체인 융합생태계의 학문적 토대를 제공할 수 있을 것이다.

This study aims to review previous research on the key elements of an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and establish their priorities in order to help relevant stakeholders build and invigorate an ecosystem that integrates blockchain technology with the digital content industry. To achieve this goal, we first structured the key elements identified from previous studies into a hierarchy model. We then assigned weighted values to each element using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology. Among the main elements, the priorities were identified as follows, from most important to least: Business (0.422) > Technology (0.172) > Contents (0.144) > Human Resources (0.104) > Institutions (0.099) > Token (0.059). With regard to the sub-elements, the weighted values were found to be as follows, in descending order: Probability (0.162) > Laws and Regulations (0.071) > Estimated Growth (0.063). The implications of the results are also described within the present study. The findings of this study will be of great value to ICO founders as well as investors and provide a much-needed academic basis for the burgeoning blockchain-integrated ecosystems and businesses.

In H.264/AVC, the first frame of a group of pictures (GOP) is encoded in intra mode which generates a large number of bits. The number of bits for the I-frame affects the qualities of the following frames of a GOP since they are encoded using the bits remaining among the bits allocated to the GOP. In addition, the first frame is used for the inter mode encoding of the following frames. Thus, the initial quantization parameter (QP) affects the following frames as well as the first frame. In this paper, an adaptive peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR)-based initial QP determination algorithm is presented. In the proposed algorithm, a novel linear model is established based on the observation of the relation between the initial QPs and PSNRs of frames. Using the linear model and PSNR results of the encoded GOPs, the proposed algorithm accurately estimates the optimal initial QP which maximizes the PSNR of the current GOP. It is shown by experimental results that the proposed algorithm predicts the optimal initial QP accurately and thus achieves better PSNR performance than that of the existing algorithm.

The effects of initial deflection and initial residual stress in steel plate on the out-of-plane deformation and residual stress due to welding are investigated from analysis results of thermal elastic-plastic FEM modeling with large deflection theory. Initial residual stress due to plate forming has very little effects on welding deformation and welding residual stress. For initial deflection, with concave profile (Type I), welding induced deformation has the same type as initial deflection and its magnitudes are small. When initial deflection is in the direction parallel to weld line (Type II), welding induced deformation has minor variations. When initial deflection is bended in the direction normal to weld line (Type III), welding deformation was largely generated along the width direction of the steel plate. On the other hand, the variation in type of initial deflection does not affect the residual stress and plastic strain.

Water vapor adsorption kinetics of Inonotus mushroom powders were investigated in temperature and water activity ranges of 20 to 40$^{\circ}C$ and 0.30 to 0.81, respectively. Initial water vapor adsorption rate of mushroom powders increased with increases in temperature and water activity. The temperature dependency of water activity followed the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. The net isosteric heat of sorption increased with an increase in water activity. Water vapor adsorption kinetics of the mushroom powders can be well described by a simple empirical model. Temperature dependency of the reaction rate constant followed the Arrhenius relationship. The activation energy ranged from 56.86 to 91.35 kJ/mol depending on water activity. Kinetic compensation relationship was observed between k$_o$ and E$_a$ with the isokinetic temperature of 790.27 K.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of initial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for patients newly diagnosed with lateral or medial epicondylitis, compared to local steroid injection.Method An analysis was conducted of twenty-two patients who were newly confirmed as lateral or medial epicondylitis through medical history and physical examination. The ESWT group (n=12) was treated once a week for 3 weeks using low energy (0.06-0.12 mJ/mm2, 2,000 shocks), while the local steroid injection group (n=10) was treated once with triamcinolone 10 mg mixed with 1% lidocaine solution. Nirschl score and 100 point score were assessed before and after the treatments of 1st, 2nd, 4th and 8th week. And Roles and Maudsley score was assessed one and eight weeks after the treatments.Results Both groups showed significant improvement in Nirschl score and 100 point score during the entire period. The local steroid injection group improved more in Nirschl score at the first week and in 100 point score at the first 2 weeks, compared to those of the ESWT group. But the proportion of excellent and good grades of Roles and Maudsley score in the ESWT group increased more than that of local steroid injection group by the final 8th week.Conclusion The ESWT group improved as much as the local steroid injection group as treatment for medial and lateral epicondylitis. Therefore, ESWT can be a useful treatment option in patients for whom local steroid injection is difficult.

Initial aiming azimuth measurement using a geomagnetic sensor is very common, but difficult to use, because the accuracy cannot be determined even in places where geomagnetic disturbance can be compensated. In this letter, we propose a novel algorithm that employs acceleration, gyroscope, and geomagnetic sensor data to determine the accuracy of the initial oriented azimuth. Decision accuracy is 75% for various experiment locations. In the case of a false alarm, it is necessary to move to another location and remeasure, and ultimately the decision accuracy could reach 100%.

Objective To confirm the relationship between initial trunk performance and functional outcomes according to gait ability, and whether initial trunk performance is of predictive value in terms of functional prognosis in patients with stroke. Methods We reviewed 135 patients who suffered from stroke. Trunk performance of the patients was evaluated using the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS). The patients were divided into 2 groups according to gait ability at initial stage of stroke. Correlation analyses were performed to assess relationship between initial TIS and functional outcomes. We also evaluated the relationship between initial TIS and the Korean version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) subitems. Finally, stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the predictive validity of initial TIS and its subscales with functional outcomes. Results For both groups, initial TIS was correlated with K-MBI and Functional Ambulation Categories at 4 weeks after stroke; however, the relationship did not remain stable at 6 months in ambulatory patients. All K-MBI subitems, which were associated with trunk movement, as well as others about basic skills was correlated with initial TIS. Finally, when of subscales TIS, dynamic sitting balance (TIS-D) was included in by stepwise multiple regression analyses, high proportion of the explained variance was represented. Conclusion The strong relationship between trunk performance and functional outcomes in patients with stroke emphasizes the importance of trunk rehabilitation. Indeed, an evaluation of a patient’s initial TIS after stroke, especially TIS-D, could be helpful in predicting patient’s functional prognosis.

Each language has acoustically and phonologically different stop consonant system. While English permits (phonemic) voice-voiceless distinction, Korean three types of voiceless stops differ in laryngeal activity. This experiment is to investigate how English speakers perceive non-native Korean consonant system, especially stops which have different feature categories from English. That is to identify if native speakers perceive non-native stop consonants according to phonological features or acoustic cue. Speech perception tasks-AX discrimination/ABX identification-are tested for this experiment. The information from the feature inventory proved not to be relevant in this study. On the contrary, the results lead us to conclude that acoustic properties concerning the VOT values rather than the native inventory feature is the crucial cue to perceive non-native stops. Different sensitivities of the VOT categories between English natives and Korean natives are empirically proved.

Deep drawing process is very useful in industrial field because of its efficiency. The deep drawing is affected by many process variables, such as blank shapes, profile radii of punch and die, formability of materials and so on. Especially, in order to obtain the optimal products in deep drawing process, blank shape is very important formability factor. In this paper, the finite element method is used to investigate the cup height of the square cup drawing process. In order to verify the prediction of FEM simulation of the product's height and forming load in the square cup drawing process, the experimental data are compared with the results of the current simulation. A finite element analysis is also utilized to acquire the designed profile of the drawn products, a reverse forming method for obtaining the initial blank's shape according to the forward square cup drawing simulation is proposed. The design of initial blank's shape is also certified to obtain the designed profile of drawn cups by experiment. The influences of the blank's shape on the height of product, the forming load, the maximum effective stress and the maximum effective strain are also examined.

We report a patient with clinical presentation of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) and paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) prior to the diagnosis of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). A sixty-year-old man suffered from subacute dizziness, ataxia, dysarthria, ptosis, and proximal weakness of limbs. A repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) test showed a decremental responses at low-frequency (LF) stimulation and an incremental responses at high-frequency (HF) stimulation, suggesting the pattern of LEMS. There was no evidence of a specific lesion on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), so we concluded his cerebellar ataxia, nystagmus and dysarthria were caused by PCD. We suspected that the PCD was coexistent with LEMS as a paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) associated with SCLC. Initial screening for cancer was negative; however, SCLC was detected through computed tomography of the thorax at four-months follow-up. Early recognition of PNS and repeated screening tests can lead to a timely diagnosis and earlier initiation of treatment of SCLC.

Subtle dysfphagia, which is increased post-swallowing remnants, is a frequent finding in the elderly with variousetiologies. These changes in swallowing are frequently overlooked by physicians. On the other hand, subtlechanges evident on a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) may suggest hidden disease. Therefore, cliniciansshould evaluate incidental dysphagia. Case 1: A 65-year-old man with no relevant medical history, presented withdysphagia and residual sensation during meals. VFSS showed moderate post-swallowing remnants in the vallecularfossa and pyriformis sinus. Further examination revealed prostate cancer with multiple bone metastases including theskull. Case 2: A 60-year-old man complained of residual sensation after swallowing, which started 2 months ago. He had a history of lung cancer. Pharyngeal residue was observed on VFSS. A brain metastasis was observed onMRI. Post-swallowing residue is often neglected or overlooked by clinicians who regard them as the features ofaging. The present cases show that mild dysphagia with increased post-swallowing remnants may be an initial presentationof a hidden malignancy with metastasis. Physicians should consider unexplained dysphagia or tongue atrophyas possible initial presentations of hidden malignancies.

Authors are at the heart of academic publishing, but their voices are underrepresented in discussions about improving the academic publishing system. To understand the viewpoints of authors on various aspects of academic publishing and the challenges they face, we developed a large-scale survey entitled “Author perspectives on the academic publishing process” and made it available in December 2016. The survey has received 8,795 responses; this paper is based on the interim results drawn from 5,293 survey responses, and presents some interesting and thought-provoking trends that were observed in the authors’ responses, such as their interpretation of plagiarism and decisive factors in journal selection, as well as their thoughts on what needs to change in the publishing system for it to be more author-friendly. Some of the most important findings of the survey were: (1) the majority of the authors found manuscript preparation to be the most challenging task in the publication process, (2) the impact factor of a journal was reported to be the most important consideration for journal selection, (3) most authors found journal guidelines to be incomplete, (4) major gaps existed in author-journal communication, and (5) although awareness of ethics was high, awareness of good publication practice standards was low. Moreover, more than half of the participants indicated that among areas for improvement in the publishing system, they would like to see changes in the time it takes to publish a paper, the peer review process, and the fairness and objectivity of the publication process. These findings indicate the necessity of making the journal publication process more author-centered and smoothing the way for authors to get published.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise intensity and initial timing on functional recovery following sciatic nerve injury in rats. METHODS: Total of 80 Sprague-Dawley rats was used and randomly divided 6 groups. Under deep anesthesia, the sciatic nerve was nipped by adapted hemostatic tweezers for 30 seconds and the injured nerve was transparent under naked eyes. Acute exercise groups was applied treadmill after sciatic nerve crush injury during 5days with three type intensity. Late exercise groups was also applied treadmill during 5 days with three type intensity after 5 days break. Values of sciatic functional index were measured and analyzed in each group after exercise period. RESULTS: The sciatic functional index values between control groups 1, acute low-intensity group, acute middle-intensity group in acute phase showed statistical significant (p<.05). The sciatic functional index values between control groups 2, late low-intensity group, late middle-intensity group and late high-intensity in late phase showed statistical significant (p<.05). The comparison in acute and late phase, sciatic functional index values of each low-intensity group and each high-intensity group showed statistical significant (p<.05). CONCLUSION: Whether at acute or late phase, treadmill exercise as a therapy obtained beneficial effects of functional recovery and exercise training at low speed is more beneficial effects on the recovery of motor function in acute phase.

스피어 디코더의 초기 반지름 결정 문제는 비트 오율 (bit error rate)과 복잡도에 있어서 많은 영향을 미친다. 이런 초기 반지름은 채널의 통계적 특성을 고려함으로 설정되거나, MMSE 결정 값을 이용하여 설정할 수 있다. 채널의 통계적 특성을 이용한 방법은 초기 반지름이 송신 신호에 해당하는 격자점을 매우 높은 확률로 포함한다. MMSE 결정 값을 이용하는 방법은 먼저 수신 신호에서 MMSE 연 판정 부호(soft output information)을 얻은 후, 경 판정(hard decision)을 내린 다음, 수신 신호 공간에서 경 판정 부호에 해당하는 격자점을 찾는다. 그리고 수신 신호와 경 판정 부호에 해당하는 격자점 사이의 유클리디안 거리(Euclidean distance)를 초기 반지름으로 설정한다. 본 논문에서는 채널의 통계적 특성을 이용한 방법에 있어서 기존의 복잡한 수식에 비해 간단한 새로운 식을 유도하고, MMSE 결정값을 이용한 방법과 비교 연구 하였다. 비교를 위해 'Tightness'라는 새로운 측도를 이용하였다. 전산 실험 결과, 낮은 SNR 영역과 중간 정도의 SNR 영역에서는 MMSE를 이용한 방법의 더 많이 디코딩 복잡도 감소를 보였고, 높은 SNR 영역에서는 채널의 통계적 특성을 이용한 방법이 더 낮은 디코딩 복잡도를 보였다.

The initial radius of sphere decoder has great effect on the bit error rate performance and computational complexity. Until now, it has been determined either by considering the statistical property of channel or by using of MMSE solution. The initial radius obtained by using statistical property of channel includes the lattice point corresponding to the transmit signal vector with very high probability. The method using MMSE solution first calculates out the MMSE solution of the received signal, then maps the hard decision of this solution into the received signal space, and finally the distance between the mapped point and the received signal is selected as the initial radius of the sphere decoding. In this paper, we derive a simple equation for initial radius selection which uses statistical property of channel and compare it with the method using MMSE solution. To compare two methods we define new metric 'Tightness'. Through the simulation, we observe that in low and moderate SNR region, the method using MMSE solution provides more complexity reduction for decoding while in high SNR region, the method using channel statistics is better.

In wireless cellular networks, previous researches on admission control policies and resource allocation algorithm considered the QoS (Quality of Service) in terms of CDP (Call Dropping Probability) and CBP (Call Blocking Probability). However, since the QoS was considered only within a predetermined cell capacity, the results indicated a serious overload problem of systems not guaranteeing both CDP and CBP constraints, especially in the hotspot cell. That is why a close interrelationship between CDP, CBP and cell capacity exists. Thus, it is indispensable to consider optimal cell capacity guaranteeing multiple QoS (CDP and CBP) at the time of initial cell planning for networks deployment. In this paper, we will suggest a distributed determination scheme of optimal cell capacity guaranteeing both CDP and CBP from a long-term perspective for initial cell planning. The cell-provisioning scheme is performed by using both the two-dimensional continuous-time Markov chain and an iterative method called the Gauss-Seidel method. Finally, numerical and simulation results will demonstrate that our scheme successfully determines an optimal cell capacity guaranteeing both CDP and CBP constraints for initial cell planning.

Cyberbullying has been an emerging issue in recent years where research has revealed that users generally spend an increasing amount of time in social networks and forums to keep connected with each other. However, issue arises when cyberbullies are able to reach their victims through these social media platforms. There are different types of cyberbullying and like traditional bullying; it causes victims to feel overly selfconscious, increases their tendency to self-harm and generally affects their mental state negatively. Such situations occur due to security issues such as user anonymity and the lack of content restrictions in some social networks or web forums. In this paper, we highlight the existing solutions, which are Intrusion Prevention System and Intrusion Detection System from a number of researchers. However, even with such solutions, cyberbullying acts still occurs at an alarming rate. As such, we proposed an alternative solution that aims to prevent cyberbullying activities at a younger age, e.g., young children. The application would provide an alternative method to preventing cyberbullying activities among the younger generations in the future.

Abstract Purpose: Opinions for stability of carboplatin in chloride containing solutions is controversial. This study was conducted to evaluate the stability of carboplatin in normal saline that was representative chloride containing solutions used for dilution of chemotherapeutic agents. Whether initial dilution concentration and storage time were effect factors on carboplatin decreasing rate were also assessed. Methods Dilutions of carboplatin 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 mg /ml were prepared in normal saline. Aliquots of each solution were transferred to glass containers for storage at room temperature for 24hours. Samples of each solution were analyzed for carboplatin concentration decreasing rate initially and at 10, 12, 24 hours after preparation by high performance liquid chromatography. We compared the decreasing rate of each samples according to initial dilution concentration and storage time. For all these measures, multiple comparisons between samples were made with repeated measured ANOVA. Results Carboplatin was compatible with normal saline. During experimental period carboplatin decreasing rate was under 5% and this value was accepted as stable by Korean regulatory standard. When carboplatin decreasing rate of each samples were compared within same initial dilution concentration, the value increased proportion to storage time (p=0.0001). Compared decreasing rate at same sampling time, the more carboplatin was diluted, the more main ingredients decreased (P=0.0001). Conclusions Carboplatin was compatible with normal saline at room temperature for 24 hours. The more carboplatin was diluted and the longer left in room temperature, the more decreasing rate increased. Initial dilution concentration and storage time were effect factors on carboplatin stability after dilution.

Foreground estimation in object segmentation has been an important issue for last few decades. In this paper we propose a GrabCut based automatic foreground estimation method using block clustering. GrabCut is one of popular algorithms for image segmentation in 2D image. However GrabCut is semi-automatic algorithm. So it requires the user input a rough boundary for foreground and background. Typically, the user draws a rectangle around the object of interest manually. The goal of proposed method is to generate an initial rectangle automatically. In order to create initial rectangle, we use Gabor filter and Saliency map and then we use 4 features (amount of area, variance, amount of class with boundary area, amount of class with saliency map) to categorize foreground and background. From the experimental results, our proposed algorithm can achieve satisfactory accuracy in object segmentation without any prior information by the user.