• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.33-49
• /
• 2014

Environmental concern has been an important issue for a few decades, and the extent of consumer demand for eco-friendly consumption has been increased. This study seeks to investigate consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for eco-friendly cosmetics. This study evaluates how much more a consumer is willing to pay for eco-friendly cosmetics and examines significant factors influencing consumers' WTP for eco-friendly cosmetics. Consumers' WTP is measured using four different ecofriendly cosmetics: low-priced skin care cosmetics, low-priced makeup cosmetics, high-priced skin care cosmetics, and high-priced makeup cosmetics. This study uses the contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate consumer's WTP for eco-friendly cosmetics. Survey questions were designed using both dichotomous choice and payment card method of CVM. Through face to face interviews and on-line surveys, the data were collected from women between 20 and 49 years old residing in Seoul and Kyeonggi area, Korea, in May 2010. A total of 226 questionnaires (132 from interviews and 94 from on-line) were included for the analytical sample in this study. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, T-test and Log-Logit analysis. The findings are as follows: First, the WTP measured by dichotomous choice method was estimated using the Log-Logit analysis. The results showed that the estimated WTP for low-priced skin care cosmetics was 19,152 won, which was 27.7% higher than the reference price, 15,000 won. For low-priced makeup cosmetics, the estimated WTP was 18,524 won, and its green premium was 21.0%. The estimated WTP for high-priced skin care cosmetics was 59,128 won, which was 18.3% higher than the reference price, 50,000 won. For high-priced makeup cosmetics was 57,666 won, and its green premium was 15.3%. Second, the WTP measure by payment card method was estimated using descriptive analysis. The results showed that the respondents were willing to pay 17,955 won for low-priced skin care cosmetics, which was 19.7% higher than the reference price, 15,000 won and 17,595 won for low-priced makeup cosmetics, which was 17.3% higher than the reference price. For high-priced skin care cosmetics, the average WTP was 56,950 won which was 13.9% higher than the reference price, 50,000 won. For high-priced makeup cosmetics, the average WTP was 55,650 won, which was 11.3% higher than the reference price. Overall, the WTP was higher in order of low-priced skin care, low-priced makeup, high-priced skin care, and high-priced makeup. It means that consumers decide degree of premium based on the price and the attributes of eco-friendly products. Third, the findings showed that age, monthly income, and having children or not were statistically significant factors that influenced consumers' willingness to pay for eco-friendly cosmetics. Other explanatory variables such as education, marital status, job, purchase experience of eco-friendly products, and environmental concerns did not show any statistical significance. The major contribution of this study is the investigation of the value of green attributes of the products by using CVM. Unlike most previous researches, this research used two methods of CVM, the dichotomous choice and the payment card, so it enhanced the reliability of research. According to this study, consumers showed price sensitivity when they pay green premium. These findings can be used as useful information to establish marketing strategies for green cosmetics.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.257-270
• /
• 2023

The paddy environment is classified as a wetland and occupies a very large proportion of the freshwater environment. It is also ecologically important as a habitat and spawning ground for many aquatic insects and amphibian larvae. However, due to climate change and indiscriminate spraying of pesticides, the rice field ecosystem is continuously threatened. In order to restore ecologically damaged rice paddies in the future, information on organisms living in the rice paddy ecosystem, which can serve as a restoration standard, is needed. The eDNA metabarcoding analysis method is a very effective means of accumulating information on many organisms living in the rice field ecosystem because it can indirectly identify the existence of taxa that are no longer found in the target ecosystem due to different adult life periods or metamorphosis. In this study, genes of four species of frogs and nine species of aquatic insects were also discovered, and some taxa were directly discovered in the field. A large number of taxa have been discovered only by DNA searches, and traditional survey methods have only been able to identify very limited taxa. This eDNA-based paddy field biosearch is expected to be very useful in the investigation of biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems due to its strong analytical resolution.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.101-107
• /
• 2024

Demand for submarine cable is increasing due to advances in submarine power transmission technology and submarine cable manufacturing technology. Submarine cable use various types of protective equipment to prevent problems such as high maintenance costs in the event of cable damage and power outages during maintenance periods. Among them, flexible protection tube is a representative protective equipment to protect cables and respond to external forces such as waves and current. The flexible protection tube is made of polyurethane 85A hyperelastic material, so the calculation of mechanical behavior is carried out using mechanical properties based on experimental results. In this study, a study was conducted to determine the bending performance and tensile performance of flexible protection tube through analytical methods. The physical properties obtained through the multiaxial tensile test of polyurethane 85A were used for the analysis. Bending and tensile performance were determined for the maximum bending moment standard of 15 kN·m and the tensile load standard of 50 kN. As a result, it was confirmed that when the maximum bending moment of 15 kN·m of the flexible protection tube occurred, the bending performance of the MBR was secured at 13 m and when a tensile load of 50 kN, it was applied the maximum vertical displacement was 968 mm, confirming that the tensile performance was secured.

• Knowledge Management Research
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.177-191
• /
• 2024

This study aims to analyze policy changes over time by conducting a textual analysis of the basic plan for activating convergence research and development. By examining the basic plan for convergence research development, this study looks into changes in convergence research policies and suggests future directions, thereby exploring strategic approaches that can contribute to the advancement of science and technology and societal development in our country. In particular, it sought to understand the policy changes proposed by the basic plan by identifying the relevance and trends of topics over time. Various analytical methods such as TF-IDF analysis, topic modeling (LDA), and network (CONCOR) analysis were used to identify the key topics of each period and grasp the trends in policy changes. The analysis revealed clustering of topics by period and changes in topics, providing directions for the convergence research ecosystem and addressing pressing issues. The results of this study are expected to provide important insights to various stakeholders such as governments, businesses, academia, and research institutions, offering new insights into the changes in policies proposed by previous basic plans from a macroscopic perspective.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.98-106
• /
• 2024

Due to advancements in construction technology and analytical tools, an increasing number of cable-stayed bridges have been designed and constructed in recent years. A cable is a structural element that primarily transmits the main load of a cable-stayed bridge and plays the most crucial role in reflecting the overall condition of the entire bridge system. In this study, a vision-based method was applied to estimate the tension of the stay cables located at a long distance. To measure the response of a cable using a vision-based method, it is necessary to install feature points or targets on the cable. However, depending on the location of the point to be measured, there may be no feature points in the cable, and there may also be limitations in installing the target on the cable. Hence, it is necessary to find a way to measure cable response that overcomes the limitations of existing vision-based methods. This study proposes a method for measuring cable responses by utilizing the characteristics of cable shape. The proposed method involved extracting the cable shape from the acquired image and determining the center of the extracted cable shape to measure the cable response. The extracted natural frequencies of the vibration mode were obtained using the measured responses, and the tension was estimated by applying them to the vibration method. To verify the reliability of the vision-based method, cable images were obtained from the Hwatae Bridge in service under ambient vibration conditions. The reliability of the method proposed in this study was confirmed by applying it to the vibration method using a vision-based approach, resulting in estimated tensions with an error of less than 1% compared to tensions estimated using an accelerometer.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.62 no.2
• /
• pp.147-152
• /
• 2024

Most medical sensors are disposable products. In order to reduce inspection and diagnosis costs, it is more important to develop the inexpensive electrode materials. We fabricated the CuO NPs/PANI/E-PGE as an electrode material for disposable electrochemical sensors and applied it to a non-enzymatic glucose sensor. For surface activation of PGE, pretreatment was performed using chemical and electrochemical methods, respectively. Electrochemical properties according to the pretreatment method were analyzed through chronoamperometry (CA), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance (EIS). From these analytical results, the electrochemically pretreated PGE (E-PGE) was finally adopted. The non-enzymatic glucose sensor based on CuO NPs/PANI/E-PGE shows sensitivity of 239.18 mA/mM×cm² (in a linear range of 0.282~2.112 mM) and 36.99 mA/mM×cm² (3.75423~50 mM), detection limit of 17.6 μM and good selectivity. Based on the results of this study, it was confirmed that the modified PGE is a high-performance electrode material. Therefore, these electrodes can be applied to a variety of disposable sensors.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.37 no.8
• /
• pp.1398-1407
• /
• 2024

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine internal structure spectral profile of by-products from coffee processing that were affected by added-microorganism fermentation duration in relation to truly absorbed feed nutrient supply in ruminant system. Methods: The by-products from coffee processing were fermented using commercial fermentation product, consisting of various microorganisms: for 0 (control), 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. In this study, carbohydrate-related spectral profiles of coffee by-products were correlated with their chemical and nutritional properties (chemical composition, total digestible nutrient, bioenergy values, carbohydrate sub-fractions and predicted degradation and digestion parameters as well as milk value of feed). The vibrational spectra of coffee by-products samples after fermentation for 0 (control), 7, 14, 21, and 28 days were determined using a JASCO FT/IR-4200 spectroscopy coupled with accessory of attenuated total reflectance (ATR). The molecular spectral analyses with univariate approach were conducted with the OMNIC 7.3 software. Results: Molecular spectral analysis parameters in fermented and non-fermented by-products from coffee processing included structural carbohydrate, cellulosic compounds, non-structural carbohydrates, lignin compound, CH-bending, structural carbohydrate peak1, structural carbohydrate peak2, structural carbohydrate peak3, hemicellulosic compound, non-structural carbohydrate peak1, non-structural carbohydrate peak2, non-structural carbohydrate peak3. The study results show that added-microorganism fermentation induced chemical and nutritional changes of coffee by-products including carbohydrate chemical composition profiles, bioenergy value, feed milk value, carbohydrate subfractions, estimated degradable and undegradable fractions in the rumen, and intestinal digested nutrient supply in ruminant system. Conclusion: In conclusion, carbohydrate nutrition value changes by added-microorganism fermentation duration were in an agreement with the change of their spectral profile in the coffee by-products. The studies show that the vibrational ATR-FT/IR spectroscopic technique could be applied as a rapid analytical tool to evaluate fermented by-products and connect with truly digestible carbohydrate supply in ruminant system.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.209-220
• /
• 2024

Cavier is graded as Beluga, Osetra, and Sevruga based on the species of sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis). In this study, we developed an analytical method for determining the grade of black caviar using DNA barcodes and KASP markers. To identify the sturgeon species, ten black caviar samples were collected, and a reference DNA barcode library was developed using five genes (namely, 16S ribosomal RNA, cytochrome b, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, cytochrome c oxidase subunit II, and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 genes). To develop the KASP markers, we selected 11 markers that could distinguish between the five grades of black caviar. As a result, specific markers for each of the targeted caviars were clustered into FAM-positive sections. DNA barcoding and the KASP assay revealed that one Beluga, six Osetra, and three Sevruga were identified among the ten caviar samples. Moreover, we found that the sturgeon species were mislabeled in two products. Here, we aimed to develop a KASP assay based on SNP that allows rapid and easy identification of caviar grade. These methods are expected to contribute to preventing the distribution of illegal products.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.62-72
• /
• 1986

At present, the definition and chemical analysis method of available soil phosphorus for plants have not been standardized because of the complexity of crop and soil characteristics in Korea and many analysis methods have been suggested with different extraction conditions. Suitable analytical method of available soil P should be established by the trial of various methods based on crop nutrition and soil conditions. To establish the most suitable analysis method of available soiIP, a pot experiment with young maize was conducted over 44 different upland soils collected over the land of Korea. The amount of uptaken P by the plant was determined by ten different chemical methods for the available soil P. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Total phosphorus content in the sample soils ranged ranged $533{\sim}4917\;ppm$, and showed significant positive correlation with the content of organic matter. 2. The P content was relatively low in the acid sulfate soil and very high in the volcanic ash soil although both types of soil contained high level of orgic matter. 3. The amount of extractable P determined by ten different methods were varied more or less, and the ratios of the extractable P to the total soil P were in the range of $1{\sim}48%$. 4. The relative values to the amount of extractable soil P by different methods were in the order of $H_2O(5\;min.)\;1.0\;<\;H_2O(60min.)\;2.27\;<\;NH_4HCO_3\;5.57\;<\;NaHCO_3\;7.42\;<\;Double\;lactate\;9.71\;<\;Bray\;No.1\;12.53\;<\;Lancaster\;17.63\;<\;Nelson\;25.96\;<\;AcOH\;27.6\;<\;CAL-method\;50.27$ 5. The amount of extractable P determined by all of applied methods was very low in acid sulfate soil, volcanic ash soil and coarse textured soil. 6. Soil pH and total soil P generally showed significant positive correlation with the chemically extracted P, and soil organic matter was negatively correlated with the determined by Nelson-and CAL-method. Olsen method which showed significant correlation with exchangeable calcium seemed to be recommendable for calcareous soils. 7. Total amount of uptaken P by Young maize through continuos twice cropping was 4.05% of total soil P in average, and the uptake in the second cropping was twice as much as that of the first cropping. 8. Three determination methods, i.e. Soltanpour-, Double lactate and Bray No. 1-method seemed to be more suitable than Lancaster method which is widely practiced at present in Korea. However, further study should be carried out with other crops and soils to most adequate chemical method for determination of available soil P.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.15-24
• /
• 2013

Purpose: In Asan Medical Center, Two parallel opposite beams are employed for total body irradiation. Patients are required to be in supine position where two arms are attached to mid axillary line. Normally, physical compensators are required to compensate the large dose difference for different parts of body due to the different thicknesses compared to the umbilicus separation. There was the maximum dose difference up to 30% in lung and chest wall compared to the prescription dose. In order to resolve the dose discrepancy occurring on different body regions, the feasibility of using Fieid-in-Field Technique is investigated in this study. Materials and Methods: CT scan was performed to The RANDO Phantom with fabricated two arms and sent to Eclipse treatment planning system (version 10.0, Varian, USA). Conventional plan with physical lead compensator and new plan using Field-in-Field Technique were established on TPS. AAA (Anisotropic Analytical Algorithm) dose calculation algorithm was employed for two parallel opposite beams attenuation. Results: The dose difference between two methods was compared with the prescription dose. The dose distribution of chest and anterior chest wall uncovered by patient arms was 114~124% for physical lead compensator while Field-in-Field Technique gave 106~107% of the dose distribution. In-vivo dosimetry result using TLD showed that the dose distribution to the same region was 110~117% for conventional physical compensator and 104~107% for Field-in-Field Technique. Conclusion: In this study, the feasibility of using FIF technique has been investigated with fabricated arms attached Rando phantom. The dose difference was up to 17% due to the attached arms. It is shown that the dose homogeneity is within ${\pm}10%$ with the CT based 3-dimensional 4 step FIF technique. The in-vivo dosimetry result using TLD was showed that 95~107% dose distribution compared to prescription dose. It is considered that CT based 3-dimensional Field-in-Field Technique for the total body irradiation gives much homogeneous dose distribution for different body parts than the conventional physical compensator method and might be useful to evaluate the dose on each part of patient body.