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An Analysis of the Landscape Cognitive Characteristics of 'Gugok Streams' in the First Half of the 18th Century Based on the Comparison of China's 『Wuyi-Gugok Painting』 (중국 『무이구곡도』 3폭(幅)의 비교 분석을 통해 본 18세기 무이산 구곡계(九曲溪)의 경물 인지특성)

  • Cheng, Zhao-Xia;Rho, Jae-Hyun;Jiang, Cheng
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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    • v.37 no.3
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    • pp.62-82
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    • 2019
  • Taking the three Wuyi-Gugok Drawings, 『A Picture Showing the Boundary Between Mountains and Rivers: A』, 『Landscape of the Jiuqu River in the Wuyi Mountain: B』 and 『Eighteen Sceneries of Wuyi Mountain: C』, which were produced in the mid-Qing Dynasty as the research objects and after investigating the names recorded in the paintings, this paper tries to analyze the scenic spots, scene types and images in the literature survey. Also, based on the number of Scenic type and the number of Scenic name in each Gok, landscape richness(LR) and landscape similarity(LS) of the Gugok scenic spots, the cognitive characteristics of the landscape in the 18th century were carefully observed. The results are as follows. Firstly, according to the description statistics of scenic spot types in Wuyi Mountain Chronicle, there were 41 descriptions of scenery names in the three paintings, among which rock, peak and stone accounted for the majority. According to the data, the number of rocks, peaks and stones in Wuyi-Gugok landscape accounted for more than half, which reflected the characteristics of geological landscape such as Danxia landform in Wuyi-Gugok landscape. Secondly, the landscape of Gugok Stream(九曲溪) was diverse and full of images. The 1st Gok Daewangbong(大王峰) and Manjeongbong(幔亭峰), the 2nd Gok Oknyeobong(玉女峰), the 3rd Gok Sojangbong(小藏峰), the 4th Gok Daejangbong(大藏峰), the 5th Gok Daeeunbyeong(大隱屛) and Muijeongsa(武夷精舍), the 6th Gok Seonjangbong(仙掌峰) and Cheonyubong(天游峰) all had outstanding landscape in each Gok. However, the landscape features of the 7th~9th Gok were relatively low. Thirdly, according to the landscape image survey of each Gok, the image formation of Gugok cultural landscape originates from the specificity of the myths and legends related to Wuyi Mountain, and the landscape is highly well-known. Due to the specificity, the landscape recognition was very high. In particular, the 1st Gok and the 5th Gok closely related to the Taoist culture based on Muigun, the Stone Carving culture and the Boat Tour culture related to neo-confucianism culture of Zhu Xi. Fourthly, according to the analysis results of landscape similarity of 41 landscape types shown in the figure, the similarity of A and C was very high. The morphological description and the relationship of distant and near performance was very similar. Therefore, it could be judged that this was obviously influenced by one painting. As a whole, the names of the scenes depicted in the three paintings were formed at least in the first half of 18th century through a long history of inheritance, accumulated myths and legends, and the names of the scenes. The order of the scenery names in three Drawings had some differences. But among the scenery names appearing in all three Drawings, there were 21 stones, 20 rocks and 17 peaks. Stones, rocks and peaks guided the landscape of Gugok Streams in Wuyi Mountain. Fifthly, Seonjodae(仙釣臺) in A and C was described in the 4th Gok, but what deserved attention was that it was known as the scenery name of the 3rd Gok in Korean. In addition, Seungjindong(升眞洞) in the 1st Gok and Seokdangsa(石堂寺) in the 7th Gok were not described in Drawings A, B and C. This is a special point that needs to be studied in the future.

Effects of Soy Protein Concentrate and Age on Plasma Lipids and Phospholipid Fatty Acid Patterns in Female Rats (콩 단백 성분 및 연령이 암컷 흰쥐의 혈장 지질 농도와 인지질 지방산 패턴에 미치는 영향)

  • 정은정;김수연;김지영;안지영;박정화;차명화;이양자
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.32 no.2
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    • pp.269-277
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    • 2003
  • Effects of soy protein concentrate (SPC) containing isoflavone and casein diets on plasma phospholipid (PLs)-fatty acid patterns were investigated in 7-& 40- wk old female rats. Diets containing 16% SPC (soy/young:SY, soy/old: SO) and casein (casein/young : CY, casein/ old: CO) supplemented with 0.5% cholesterol were fed for 4 wks. Fatty acid compositions of plasma PLs were determined by TLC and GLC. Compared to the dietary protein effects, age effects on serum lipids were more profound. The levels of total cholesterol (Chol.), triglyceride, HDL-Chol., (LDL+VLDL)-Chol. and atherogenic index (AI) were higher in older groups (OC & OS) than younger groups (YC &. YS). Soy groups had higher Ell)L-Chol. level and lower (LDL+ VLDL)-Chol. and AI, compared with casein groups. The compositions of C22:0, Cl8:1 $\omega$9 and sum of MUFA in plasma PLs were significantly higher in casein group (CY & CO) than soy group (SY & SO), but those of sum of SFA were higher in soy group. The compositions of C22:0, Cl8:1 $\omega$9, C22:1, Cl8:3$\omega$3 and C22:4$\omega$6 were higher and those of C22:6$\omega$3, sum of $\omega$3, Cl8: 2$\omega$6 C20:4$\omega$6, sum of $\omega$6 and sum of PUFA were lower in plasma PLs of younger rats. The average P/S and $\omega$3/$\omega$6 ratio in older group was higher. The $\Delta$-7 desaturation index (16:0⇒16:1$\omega$7) and $\Delta$-9 desaturation index (18:0⇒18:1$\omega$9) were lower in soy group than casein group, while $\Delta$-6 and $\Delta$-5 desaturation index were not affected by dietary protein. The $\Delta$-4 desaturation index (22:4$\omega$6⇒22:5$\omega$6) were higher and elongation index (20:4$\omega$6⇒22:4$\omega$6) were lower in older group. The ratio of the products of $\omega$3 fatty acid series (Cl8:3) was significantly higher in older group, which indicated that age affected the plasma PUFA metabolism. On the other hand, older rats had higher serum cholesterol level compared with younger rats. Taken together, these changes in fatty acid composition might cause minimal changes in tile membrane fluidity induced by the increase serum cholesterol level.

Comparison of Food Supply Status of Korean(Chosun) and Taiwan Prisoners under the Period of Japanese Rule with That of French and German Prisoners in 1920~1930′s (일제하(1920~30연대) 조선과 대만 그리고 프랑스와 독일 수형인의 식품공급상황 비교)

  • 허채옥
    • Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.267-283
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    • 2003
  • This study reviewed the prisoners' dietary lift status under the world panics and Japanese food shortage based on the data of the 1920~1930's prisons' main dish supplies in Chosun, Shinchu boys' prison in Taiwan, Franue correction center in France and Moabit detention house in Germany. 1. The status of main dish food supply of Chosun prisons in 1920~1930's was as follows: 1) Meals were provided with 12 rates depending on the working activities. There were big differences in energy supply between 1$^{st}$ rate of 6045.0 ㎉ in the Mockpo prison and 12$^{th}$ rate of 1855.8 ㎉ in the Masan prison in accordance with the grain supply ratio and the diet rates. 2) The average ratio of energy provided with protein, fat and carbohydrate(PFC ratio) was 20.0: 20.2: 59.8. The supplies of protein and fat were relatively high because main dish was mostly composed of soybean. The soybean was used in 20 ~60% of main dish in prisons except Gaesung. 3) It was estimated that PFC ratio(8.3: 8.1 : 83.6) in Gaesung boys' prison was not appropriate for growing boys because the soybean supply was low. 2. The overall comparison of nutrition supply of prisons in Chosun, Taiwan, France and Germany was as follows: 1) The daily supplies of energy in Keongsung prison was 3966.5 ㎉, of which the PFC ratio was 18.9: 16.6: 64.5. This showed that the PFC ratio seemed to be balanced, even though the total amount of energy is too high and the ratios of protein and fat were somewhat high and somewhat low, respectively. 2) The main dish of the Taiwan boys' prison was provided with 6 rates and the side dish in the from of weekly cycle menu. The energy intakes from 1$^{st}$ rate of 2862.9 ㎉ to 6$^{th}$ rate of 1388.9 ㎉ were not quite enough for growing boys. It was estimated that the amounts of protein and fat taken were small but the quality was not that bad because animal protein such as protein small fish and fried tofu were supplied. 3) In the French Frenue correction center and the German Moabit detention house, the daily total amounts of energy were 2771.3 ㎉ and 2678.7 ㎉, respectively, which was estimated as appropriate compared with standard energy amount of 3000 ㎉ at that time and the current energy RDA of 2500 ㎉ for adult. The ratio of PFC was 16.2: 12.0: 71.8 in Frenue correction center and 12.4: 14.3: 73.3 in Moabit detention house, which showed that the amount of fat was slightly lacked. From this study, it was suggested that the prisons in Chosun and Taiwan under the Japanese rule and European prisons after the world panic were making an efforts to supply prisoners the appropriate amount of energy. The only question remains is that this data may be from only the food supply plan not from the data the prisoners took in real.eal.

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THE EFFECTS OF THE PLATELET-DERIVED GROWTH FACTOR-BB ON THE PERIODONTAL TISSUE REGENERATION OF THE FURCATION INVOLVEMENT OF DOGS (혈소판유래성장인자-BB가 성견 치근이개부병변의 조직재생에 미치는 효과)

  • Cho, Moo-Hyun;Park, Kwang-Beom;Park, Joon-Bong
    • Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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    • v.23 no.3
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    • pp.535-563
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    • 1993
  • New techniques for regenerating the destructed periodontal tissue have been studied for many years. Current acceptable methods of promoting periodontal regeneration alre basis of removal of diseased soft tissue, root treatment, guided tissue regeneration, graft materials, biological mediators. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is one of polypeptide growth factor. PDGF have been reported as a biological mediator which regulate activities of wound healing progress including cell proliferation, migration, and metabolism. The purposes of this study is to evaluate the possibility of using the PDGF as a regeneration promoting agent for furcation involvement defect. Eight adult mongrel dogs were used in this experiment. The dogs were anesthetized with Pentobarbital Sodium (25-30 mg/kg of body weight, Tokyo chemical Co., Japan) and conventional periodontal prophylaxis were performed with ultrasonic scaler. With intrasulcular and crestal incision, mucoperiosteal flap was elevated. Following decortication with 1/2 high speed round bur, degree III furcation defect was made on mandibular second(P2) and fourth(P4) premolar. For the basic treatment of root surface, fully saturated citric acid was applied on the exposed root surface for 3 minutes. On the right P4 20ug of human recombinant PDGF-BB dissolved in acetic acid was applied with polypropylene autopipette. On the left P2 and right P2 PDGF-BB was applied after insertion of ${\beta}-Tricalcium$ phosphate(TCP) and collagen (Collatape) respectively. Left mandibular P4 was used as control. Systemic antibiotics (Penicillin-G benzathine and penicillin-G procaine, 1 ml per 10-25 1bs body weight) were administrated intramuscular for 2 weeks after surgery. Irrigation with 0.1% Chlorhexidine Gluconate around operated sites was performed during the whole experimental period except one day immediate after surgery. Soft diets were fed through the whole experiment period. After 2, 4, 8, 12 weeks, the animals were sacrificed by perfusion technique. Tissue block was excised including the tooth and prepared for light microscope with H-E staining. At 2 weeks after surgery, therer were rapid osteogenesis phenomenon on the defected area of the PDGF only treated group and early trabeculation pattern was made with new osteoid tissue produced by activated osteoblast. Bone formation was almost completed to the fornix of furcation by 8 weeks after surgery. New cementum fromation was observed from 2 weeks after surgery, and the thickness was increased until 8 weeks with typical Sharpey’s fibers reembedded into new bone and cementum. In both PDGF-BB with TCP group and PDGF-BB with Collagen group, regeneration process including new bone and new cementum formation and the group especially in the early weeks. It might be thought that the migration of actively proliferating cells was prohibited by the graft materials. In conclusion, platelet-derived growth factor can promote rapid osteogenesis during early stage of periodontal tissue regeneration.

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M-mode Ultrasound Assessment of Diaphragmatic Excursions in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease : Relation to Pulmonary Function Test and Mouth Pressure (만성폐쇄성 폐질환 환자에서 M-mode 초음파로 측정한 횡격막 운동)

  • Lim, Sung-Chul;Jang, Il-Gweon;Park, Hyeong-Kwan;Hwang, Jun-Hwa;Kang, Yu-Ho;Kim, Young-Chul;Park, Kyung-Ok
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.45 no.4
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    • pp.736-745
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    • 1998
  • Background: Respiratory muscle interaction is further profoundly affected by a number of pathologic conditions. Hyperinflation may be particularly severe in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) patients, in whom the functional residual capacity(FRC) often exceeds predicted total lung capacity(TLC). Hyperinflation reduces the diaphragmatic effectiveness as a pressure generator and reduces diaphragmatic contribution to chest wall motion. Ultrasonography has recently been shown to be a sensitive and reproducible method of assessing diaphragmatic excursion. This study was performed to evaluate how differences of diaphragmatic excursion measured by ultrasonography associate with normal subjects and COPD patients. Methods: We measured diaphragmatic excursions with ultrasonography on 28 healthy subjects(l6 medical students, 12 age-matched control) and 17 COPD patients. Ultrasonographic measurements were performed during tidal breathing and maximal respiratory efforts approximating vital capacity breathing using Aloka KEC-620 with 3.5 MHz transducer. Measurements were taken in the supine posture. The ultrasonographic probe was positioned transversely in the midclavicular line below the right subcostal margin. After detecting the right hemidiaphragm in the B-mode the ultrasound beam was then positioned so that it was approximately parallel to the movement of middle or posterior third of right diaphragm. Recordings in the M-mode at this position were made throughout the test. Measurements of diaphragmatic excursion on M-mode tracing were calculated by the average gap in 3 times-respiration cycle. Pulmonary function test(SensorMedics 2800), maximal inspiratory(PImax) and expiratory mouth pressure(PEmax, Vitalopower KH-101, Chest) were measured in the seated posture. Results: During the tidal breathing, diaphragmatic excursions were recorded $1.5{\pm}0.5cm$, $1.7{\pm}0.5cm$ and $1.5{\pm}0.6cm$ in medical students, age-matched control group and COPD patients, respectively. Diaphragm excursions during maximal respiratory efforts were significantly decreased in COPD patients ($3.7{\pm}1.3cm$) when compared with medical students, age-matched control group($6.7{\pm}1.3cm$, $5.8{\pm}1.2cm$, p< 0.05}. During maximal respiratory efforts in control subjects, diaphragm excursions were correlated with $FEV_1$, FEVl/FVC, PEF, PIF, and height. In COPD patients, diaphragm excursions during maximal respiratory efforts were correlated with PEmax(maximal expiratory pressure), age, and %FVC. In multiple regression analysis, the combination of PEmax and age was an independent marker of diaphragm excursions during maximal respiratory efforts with COPD patients. Conclusion: COPD subjects had smaller diaphragmatic excursions during maximal respiratory efforts than control subjects. During maximal respiratory efforts in COPD patients, diaphragm excursions were well correlated with PEmax. These results suggest that diaphragm excursions during maximal respiratory efforts with COPD patients may be valuable at predicting the pulmonary function.

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Clinical Course of Usual Interstitial Pneumonia (통상성 간질성 폐섬유증의 임상경과)

  • Park, Joo-Hun;Kitaichi, M.;Yum, Ho-Kee;Shim, Tae-Sun;Lim, Chae-Man;Koh, Youn-Suck;Lee, Sang-Do;Kim, Woo-Sung;Kim, Won-Dong;Kim, Dong-Soon
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.49 no.5
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    • pp.601-613
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    • 2000
  • Background : Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal progressive fibrous disease of the lung of unknown etiology. Recently it has been classified into several distinct entities on the basis of pathologic and clinical characteristics, ie : usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP), acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP), bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia (BOOP), and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP). IPF is now applied only for UIP, which has the worst prognosis. The previous reports of 3-5 year median survival appears to be overoptimistic because other types with better prognosis like NSIP or BOOP might have been included. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the clinical course and the prognostic factors of UIP as diagnosed by surgical lung biopsy. Methods : The subjects were 72 UIP patients (age $58.2{\pm}11.6$ years, M : F=45 : 27, median follow up period : 18.1 months (0.7-103.6) diagnosed by surgical lung biopsy at the Asan Medical Center (68 patients) and the Paik Hospital in Seoul (4 patients). Clinical scores (level of dyspnea : 1-20 points), radiologic score (honeycombing : HC score 0-5 points, ground glass : GG score 0-5 points), and physiologic scores (FVC : 1-12 points, $FEV_1$ : 0-3 points, TLC : 0-10 points, $D_{LCO)$ : 0-5 points, $AaDO_2$ : 0-10 points) were summed into a total CRP score. Results : 1) The one year survival rate was 78.3%, while the rate for three year survival was 58.1%, and the median survival period was 42.5months. 2) Short term (1 year) prognosis : The patients who died within one year of diagnosis (14 patients) had the higher initial total CRP score ($28.6{\pm}8.3$ vs. $16.6{\pm}9.7$) than those who lived longer than one year (46 patients). The difference in the total CRP score was attributed to the symptom score ($8.4{\pm}2.1$ vs. $5.7{\pm}3.9$) and the physiologic score ($15.7{\pm}7.1$ vs. $6.7{\pm}5.7$) including FVC, $D_{LCO)$ and $AaDO_2$. 3) Long-term (3year) prognosis : The total CRP score ($12.2{\pm}6.7$ vs. $28.7{\pm}7.9$ : including symptom score, FVC, $D_{LCO)$ and $AaDO_2$) at the time of diagnosis were also different for the long-term survivors and those who lived less than 3 years. 4) Cox regression analysis showed $D_{LCO)$ (${\geq}$60%) (Hazard ratio : 4.56, 95% CI : 2.30-16.04) was the independent prognostic factors of UIP (P<0.05). Conclusion : These results suggest that $D_{LCO)$ at the time of diagnosis seem to be a prognostic markers of biopsy-proven UIP.

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Study for Diagnostic Efficacy of Minibronchoalveolar Lavage in the Detection of Etiologic Agents of Ventilator-associated Pneumonia in Patients Receiving Antibiotics (항생제를 사용하고 있었던 인공호흡기 연관 폐렴환자에서의 원인균 발견을 위한 소량 기관지폐포세척술의 진단적 효용성에 관한 연구)

  • Moon, Doo-Seop;Lim, Chae-Man;Pai, Chik-Hyun;Kim, Mi-Na;Chin, Jae-Yong;Shim, Tae-Sun;Lee, Sang-Do;Kim, Woo-Sung;Kim, Dong-Soon;Kim, Won-Dong;Koh, Youn-Suck
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.47 no.3
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    • pp.321-330
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    • 1999
  • Background : Early diagnosis and proper antibiotic treatment are very important in the management of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) because of its high mortality. Bronchoscopy with a protected specimen brush (PSB) has been considered the standard method to isolate the causative organisms of VAP. However, this method burdens consumer economically to purchase a PSB. Another useful method for the diagnosis of VAP is quantitative cultures of aspirated specimens through bronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), for which the infusion of more than 120 m1 of saline has been recommended for adequate sampling of a pulmonary segment. However, occasionally it leads to deterioration of the patient's condition. We studied the diagnostic efficacy of minibronchoalveolar lavage (miniBAL), which retrieves only 25 ml of BAL fluid, in the isolation of causative organisms of VAP. Methods: We included 38 consecutive patients (41 cases) suspected of having VAP on the basis of clinical evidence, who had received antibiotics before the bronchoscopy. The two diagnostic techniques of PSB and miniBAL, which were performed one after another at the same pulmonary segment, 'were compared prospectively. The cut-off values for quantitative cultures to define causative bacteria of VAP were more than $10^3$ colony-forming units (cfu)/ml for PSB and more than $10^4$ cfu/ml for BAL. Results: The amount of instilled normal saline required to retrieve 25 ml of BAL fluid was $93{\pm}32 ml$ (mean${\pm}$SD). The detection rate of causative agents was 46.3% (19/41) with PSB and 43.9% (18/41) with miniBAL. The concordance rate of PSB and miniBAL in the bacterial culture was 85.4% (35/41). Although arterial blood oxygen saturation dropped significantly (p<0.05) during ($92{\pm}10%$) and 10 min after ($95{\pm}3%$) miniBAL compared with the baseline ($97{\pm}3%$), all except 3 cases were within normal ranges. The significantly elevated heart rate during ($l25{\pm}24$/min, p<0.05) miniBAL compared with the baseline ($1l1{\pm}22$/min) recovered again in 10 min after ($111{\pm}26$/min) miniBAL. Transient hypotension was developed during the procedure in two cases. The procedure was stopped in one case due to atrial flutter. Conclusion: MiniBAL is a safe and effective technique to detect the causative organisms of VAP.

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Studies on a Plan for Afforestation at Tong-ri Beach Resort(II) -Analyses of Crown Amounts and Soil Properties in the Disaster-damage Prevention Forests of Pinus thunbergii PARL., the Valuation on Soil Properties for Planting and Planning for Afforestation- (통리(桶里) 해수욕장(海水浴場) 녹지대(綠地帶) 조성(造成)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究)(II) -곰솔 해안방재림(海岸防災林)의 수관량(樹冠量) 및 토양분석(土壤分析), 식재기반평가(植栽基盤評價) 및 녹지대계획(綠地帶計劃)-)

  • Cho, Hi Doo
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.77 no.3
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    • pp.303-314
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    • 1988
  • Tong-ri beach has not enough vegetation to be enjoyed by the sea bathers and to be satisfied with preventing the disaster-damages, but mixed forest near the beach can work its funtions and the old forest of Pirus thunbergii $P_{ARL}$. near the beach do a Little. Therefore it is very urgent to plant more trees near the beach for bathers and disaster-damage prevention. This study was carried out for planning an afforestation, with reporting upon the crown amounts and soil properties of disaster-damage prevention forests of P. thunbergii $P_{ARL}$. planted on the coast sand dunes in 1970 and 1976, and with reporting upon the valuation on soil properties of the lands near the beach in order to set the afforestation site. The results are as follows : 1. In disaster-damage prevention forests, crown surface area and crown volume became increasingly greater in proportion to the height. To D.B.H., crown volume also became increasingly greater in proportion, but crown surface area was directly proportional. 2. In comparison to sail characteristics of sand dune, those of the forests were in large quantity in OM, T-N and avail. $SiO_2$, and almost in the same in avail. $P_2O_5$, but in small quantity in exchangeable canons : K, Ca, Mg and Na. 3. EC, Cl and pH were in small value in the forest soils, but CEC was in large value in those soils. 4. Above facts showed that the forests fulfill their functions for preventing disaster-damages and improve their soil properties. 5. The forests have naturally been thinned up to 34% in 17 years and 39% in 11 years, and one can easily pass through the forest(planted in 1970), because of its sufficient clear-length(2.71m) and its space to pass. 6. A plan for afforestation was oracle nut after judging several sites by the evaluation on the soil properties and considering the best relaxation and the prevention of the various disaster-damages upon which were reported in the last issue. 7. Afforestation should be kept for maintaining its appropriate density for best relaxation and disaster-damage prevention.

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Electronic Word-of-Mouth in B2C Virtual Communities: An Empirical Study from CTrip.com (B2C허의사구중적전자구비(B2C虚拟社区中的电子口碑): 관우휴정려유망적실증연구(关于携程旅游网的实证研究))

  • Li, Guoxin;Elliot, Statia;Choi, Chris
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.262-268
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    • 2010
  • Virtual communities (VCs) have developed rapidly, with more and more people participating in them to exchange information and opinions. A virtual community is a group of people who may or may not meet one another face to face, and who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks. A business-to-consumer virtual community (B2CVC) is a commercial group that creates a trustworthy environment intended to motivate consumers to be more willing to buy from an online store. B2CVCs create a social atmosphere through information contribution such as recommendations, reviews, and ratings of buyers and sellers. Although the importance of B2CVCs has been recognized, few studies have been conducted to examine members' word-of-mouth behavior within these communities. This study proposes a model of involvement, statistics, trust, "stickiness," and word-of-mouth in a B2CVC and explores the relationships among these elements based on empirical data. The objectives are threefold: (i) to empirically test a B2CVC model that integrates measures of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors; (ii) to better understand the nature of these relationships, specifically through word-of-mouth as a measure of revenue generation; and (iii) to better understand the role of stickiness of B2CVC in CRM marketing. The model incorporates three key elements concerning community members: (i) their beliefs, measured in terms of their involvement assessment; (ii) their attitudes, measured in terms of their satisfaction and trust; and, (iii) their behavior, measured in terms of site stickiness and their word-of-mouth. Involvement is considered the motivation for consumers to participate in a virtual community. For B2CVC members, information searching and posting have been proposed as the main purpose for their involvement. Satisfaction has been reviewed as an important indicator of a member's overall community evaluation, and conceptualized by different levels of member interactions with their VC. The formation and expansion of a VC depends on the willingness of members to share information and services. Researchers have found that trust is a core component facilitating the anonymous interaction in VCs and e-commerce, and therefore trust-building in VCs has been a common research topic. It is clear that the success of a B2CVC depends on the stickiness of its members to enhance purchasing potential. Opinions communicated and information exchanged between members may represent a type of written word-of-mouth. Therefore, word-of-mouth is one of the primary factors driving the diffusion of B2CVCs across the Internet. Figure 1 presents the research model and hypotheses. The model was tested through the implementation of an online survey of CTrip Travel VC members. A total of 243 collected questionnaires was reduced to 204 usable questionnaires through an empirical process of data cleaning. The study's hypotheses examined the extent to which involvement, satisfaction, and trust influence B2CVC stickiness and members' word-of-mouth. Structural Equation Modeling tested the hypotheses in the analysis, and the structural model fit indices were within accepted thresholds: ${\chi}^2^$/df was 2.76, NFI was .904, IFI was .931, CFI was .930, and RMSEA was .017. Results indicated that involvement has a significant influence on satisfaction (p<0.001, ${\beta}$=0.809). The proportion of variance in satisfaction explained by members' involvement was over half (adjusted $R^2$=0.654), reflecting a strong association. The effect of involvement on trust was also statistically significant (p<0.001, ${\beta}$=0.751), with 57 percent of the variance in trust explained by involvement (adjusted $R^2$=0.563). When the construct "stickiness" was treated as a dependent variable, the proportion of variance explained by the variables of trust and satisfaction was relatively low (adjusted $R^2$=0.331). Satisfaction did have a significant influence on stickiness, with ${\beta}$=0.514. However, unexpectedly, the influence of trust was not even significant (p=0.231, t=1.197), rejecting that proposed hypothesis. The importance of stickiness in the model was more significant because of its effect on e-WOM with ${\beta}$=0.920 (p<0.001). Here, the measures of Stickiness explain over eighty of the variance in e-WOM (Adjusted $R^2$=0.846). Overall, the results of the study supported the hypothesized relationships between members' involvement in a B2CVC and their satisfaction with and trust of it. However, trust, as a traditional measure in behavioral models, has no significant influence on stickiness in the B2CVC environment. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on B2CVCs, specifically addressing gaps in the academic research by integrating measures of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in one model. The results provide additional insights to behavioral factors in a B2CVC environment, helping to sort out relationships between traditional measures and relatively new measures. For practitioners, the identification of factors, such as member involvement, that strongly influence B2CVC member satisfaction can help focus technological resources in key areas. Global e-marketers can develop marketing strategies directly targeting B2CVC members. In the global tourism business, they can target Chinese members of a B2CVC by providing special discounts for active community members or developing early adopter programs to encourage stickiness in the community. Future studies are called for, and more sophisticated modeling, to expand the measurement of B2CVC member behavior and to conduct experiments across industries, communities, and cultures.

Scale and Scope Economies and Prospect for the Korea's Banking Industry (우리나라 은행산업(銀行産業)의 효율성분석(效率性分析)과 제도개선방안(制度改善方案))

  • Jwa, Sung-hee
    • KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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    • v.14 no.2
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    • pp.109-153
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    • 1992
  • This paper estimates a translog cost function for the Korea's banking industry and derives various implications on the prospect for the Korean banking structure in the future based on the estimated efficiency indicators for the banking sector. The Korean banking industry is permitted to operate trust business to the full extent and the security business to a limited extent, while it is formally subjected to the strict, specialized banking system. Security underwriting and investment businesses are allowed in a very limited extent only for stocks and bonds of maturity longer than three year and only up to 100 percent of the bank paid-in capital. Until the end of 1991, the ceiling was only up to 25 percent of the total balance of the demand deposits. However, they are prohibited from the security brokerage business. While the in-house integration of security businesses with the traditional business of deposit and commercial lending is restrictively regulated as such, Korean banks can enter the security business by establishing subsidiaries in the industry. This paper, therefore, estimates the efficiency indicators as well as the cost functions, identifying the in-house integrated trust business and security investment business as important banking activities, for various cases where both the production and the intermediation function approaches in modelling the financial intermediaries are separately applied, and the banking businesses of deposit, lending and security investment as one group and the trust businesses as another group are separately and integrally analyzed. The estimation results of the efficiency indicators for various cases are summarized in Table 1 and Table 2. First, security businesses exhibit economies of scale but also economies of scope with traditional banking activities, which implies that in-house integration of the banking and security businesses may not be a nonoptimal banking structure. Therefore, this result further implies that the transformation of Korea's banking system from the current, specialized system to the universal banking system will not impede the improvement of the banking industry's efficiency. Second, the lending businesses turn out to be subjected to diseconomies of scale, while exhibiting unclear evidence for economies of scope. In sum, it implies potential efficiency gain of the continued in-house integration of the lending activity. Third, the continued integration of the trust businesses seems to contribute to improving the efficiency of the banking businesses, since the trust businesses exhibit economies of scope. Fourth, deposit services and fee-based activities, such as foreign exchange and credit card businesses, exhibit economies of scale but constant returns to scope, which implies, the possibility of separating those businesses from other banking and trust activities. The recent trend of the credit card business being operated separately from other banking activities by an independent identity in Korea as well as in the global banking market seems to be consistent with this finding. Then, how can the possibility of separating deposit services from the remaining activities be interpreted? If one insists a strict definition of commercial banking that is confined to deposit and commercial lending activities, separating the deposit service will suggest a resolution or a disappearance of banking, itself. Recently, however, there has been a suggestion that separating banks' deposit and lending activities by allowing a depository institution which specialize in deposit taking and investing deposit fund only in the safest securities such as government securities to administer the deposit activity will alleviate the risk of a bank run. This method, in turn, will help improve the safety of the payment system (Robert E. Litan, What should Banks Do? Washington, D.C., The Brookings Institution, 1987). In this context, the possibility of separating the deposit activity will imply that a new type of depository institution will arise naturally without contradicting the efficiency of the banking businesses, as the size of the banking market grows in the future. Moreover, it is also interesting to see additional evidences confirming this statement that deposit taking and security business are cost complementarity but deposit taking and lending businesses are cost substitute (see Table 2 for cost complementarity relationship in Korea's banking industry). Finally, it has been observed that the Korea's banking industry is lacking in the characteristics of natural monopoly. Therefore, it may not be optimal to encourage the merger and acquisition in the banking industry only for the purpose of improving the efficiency.

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