• Title/Summary/Keyword: Cost-effective

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Suggestion of Similarity-Based Representative Odor for Video Reality (영상실감을 위한 유사성 기반 대표냄새 사용의 제안)

  • Lee, Guk-Hee;Choi, Ji Hoon;Ahn, Chung Hyun;Li, Hyung-Chul O.;Kim, ShinWoo
    • Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.39-52
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    • 2014
  • Use of vision and audition for video reality has made much advancement. However use of olfaction, which is effective in inducing emotion, has not yet been realized due to technical limitations and lack of basic research. In particular it is difficult to fabricate many odors required for each different video. One way to resolve this is to discover clusters of odors of similar smell and to use representative odor for each cluster. This research explored clusters of odors based on pairwise similarity ratings. 300 diverse odors were first collected and sorted them into 11 categories. We selected 152 odors based on their frequency, preference, and concreteness. Participants rated similarity on 1,018 pairs of odors from selected odors and the results were analyzed using multi-dimensional scaling (MDS). Based on the idea that low odor concreteness would support valid use of representative odor, the MDS results are presented from low to high smell concreteness. First, flowers, plants, fruits, and vegetables was classified under the easy categories to use representative odor due to their low smell concreteness (Figure 1). Second, chemicals, personal cares, physiological odors, and ordinary places was classified under the careful categories of using it due to their intermediate concreteness (Figure 2). Finally, food ingredients, beverages, and foods was classified under the difficult categories to use it because of their high concreteness (Figure 3). The results of this research will contribute to reduction of cost and time in odor production and provision of realistic media service to customers at reasonable price.

Rectal Temperature Maintenance Using a Heat Exchanger of Cardioplegic System in Cardiopulmonary Bypass Model for Rats (쥐 심폐바이패스 모델에서 심정지액 주입용 열교환기를 이용한 직장체온 유지)

  • Choi Se-Hoon;Kim Hwa-Ryong;Paik In-Hyuck;Moon Hyun-Jong;Kim Won-Gon
    • Journal of Chest Surgery
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    • v.39 no.7 s.264
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    • pp.505-510
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    • 2006
  • Background: Small animal cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) model would be a valuable tool for investigating path-ophysiological and therapeutic strategies on bypass. The main advantages of a small animal model include the reduced cost and time, and the fact that it does not require a full scale operating environment. However the rat CPB models have a number of technical limitations. Effective maintenance and control of core temperature by a heat exchanger is among them. The purpose of this study is to confirm the effect of rectal temperature maintenance using a heat exchanger of cardioplegia system in cardiopulmonary bypass model for rats. Material and Method: The miniature circuit consisted of a reservoir, heat exchanger, membrane oxygenator, roller pump, and static priming volume was 40 cc, Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats (mean weight 530 gram) were divided into two groups, and heat exchanger (HE) group was subjected to CPB with HE from a cardioplegia system, and control group was subjected to CPB with warm water circulating around the reservoir. Partial CPB was conducted at a flow rate of 40 mg/kg/min for 20 min after venous cannulation (via the internal juglar vein) and arterial cannulation (via the femoral artery). Rectal temperature were measured after anesthetic induction, a ter cannulation, 5, 10, 15, 20 min after CPB. Arterial blood gas with hematocrit was also analysed, 5 and 15 min after CPB. Result: Rectal temperature change differed between the two groups (p<0.01). The temperatures of HE group were well maintained during CPB, whereas control group was under progressive hypothermia, Rectal temperature 20 min after CPB was $36.16{\pm}0.32^{\circ}C$ in the HE group and $34.22{\pm}0.36^{\circ}C$ in the control group. Conclusion: We confirmed the effect of rectal temperature maintenance using a heat exchanger of cardioplegia system in cardiopulmonary bypass model for rats. This model would be a valuable tool for further use in hypothermic CPB experiment in rats.

Pressure Drop Predictions Using Multiple Regression Model in Pulse Jet Type Bag Filter Without Venturi (다중회귀모형을 이용한 벤츄리가 없는 충격기류식 여과집진장치 압력손실 예측)

  • Suh, Jeong-Min;Park, Jeong-Ho;Cho, Jae-Hwan;Jin, Kyung-Ho;Jung, Moon-Sub;Yi, Pyong-In;Hong, Sung-Chul;Sivakumar, S.;Choi, Kum-Chan
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
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    • v.23 no.12
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    • pp.2045-2056
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    • 2014
  • In this study, pressure drop was measured in the pulse jet bag filter without venturi on which 16 numbers of filter bags (Ø$140{\times}850{\ell}$) are installed according to operation condition(filtration velocity, inlet dust concentration, pulse pressure, and pulse interval) using coke dust from steel mill. The obtained 180 pressure drop test data were used to predict pressure drop with multiple regression model so that pressure drop data can be used for effective operation condition and as basic data for economical design. The prediction results showed that when filtration velocity was increased by 1%, pressure drop was increased by 2.2% which indicated that filtration velocity among operation condition was attributed on the pressure drop the most. Pressure was dropped by 1.53% when pulse pressure was increased by 1% which also confirmed that pulse pressure was the major factor affecting on the pressure drop next to filtration velocity. Meanwhile, pressure drops were found increased by 0.3% and 0.37%, respectively when inlet dust concentration and pulse interval were increased by 1% implying that the effects of inlet dust concentration and pulse interval were less as compared with those changes of filtration velocity and pulse pressure. Therefore, the larger effect on the pressure drop the pulse jet bag filter was found in the order of filtration velocity($V_f$), pulse pressure($P_p$), inlet dust concentration($C_i$), pulse interval($P_i$). Also, the prediction result of filtration velocity, inlet dust concentration, pulse pressure, and pulse interval which showed the largest effect on the pressure drop indicated that stable operation can be executed with filtration velocity less than 1.5 m/min and inlet dust concentration less than $4g/m^3$. However, it was regarded that pulse pressure and pulse interval need to be adjusted when inlet dust concentration is higher than $4g/m^3$. When filtration velocity and pulse pressure were examined, operation was possible regardless of changes in pulse pressure if filtration velocity was at 1.5 m/min. If filtration velocity was increased to 2 m/min. operation would be possible only when pulse pressure was set at higher than $5.8kgf/cm^2$. Also, the prediction result of pressure drop with filtration velocity and pulse interval showed that operation with pulse interval less than 50 sec. should be carried out under filtration velocity at 1.5 m/min. While, pulse interval should be set at lower than 11 sec. if filtration velocity was set at 2 m/min. Under the conditions of filtration velocity lower than 1 m/min and high pulse pressure higher than $7kgf/cm^2$, though pressure drop would be less, in this case, economic feasibility would be low due to increased in installation and operation cost since scale of dust collection equipment becomes larger and life of filtration bag becomes shortened due to high pulse pressure.

How to Reflect Sustainable Development, exemplified by the Equator Principles, in Overseas Investment (해외투자(海外投資)와 지속가능발전 원칙 - 프로젝트 파이낸스의 적도원칙(赤道原則)을 중심으로 -)

  • Park, Whon-Il
    • THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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    • v.31
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    • pp.27-56
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    • 2006
  • Today's financial institutions usually take environmental issues seriously into consideration as they could not evade lender liability in an increasing number of cases. On the international scene, a brand-new concept of the "Equator Principles" in the New Millenium has driven more and more international banks to adopt these Principles in project financing. Sustainable development has been a key word in understanding new trends of the governments, financial institutions, corporations and civic groups in the 21st century. The Equator Principles are a set of voluntary environmental and social guidelines for sustainable finance. These Principles commit bank officers to avoid financial support to projects that fail to meet these guidelines. The Principles were conceived in 2002 on an initiative of the International Finance Corporation(IFC), and launched in June 2003. Since then, dozens of major banks, accounting for up to 80 percent of project loan market, have adopted the Principles. Accordingly, the Principles have become the de facto standard for all banks and investors on how to deal with potential social and environmental issues of projects to be financed. Compliance with the Equator Principles facilitates for endorsing banks to participate in the syndicated loan and help them to manage the risks associated with large-scale projects. The Equator Principles call for financial institutions to provide loans to projects under the following circumstances: - The risk of the project is categorized in accordance with internal guidelines based upon the environmental and social screening criteria of the IFC. - For Category A and B projects, borrowers or sponsors are required to conduct a Social and Environmental Assessment, the preparation of which must meet certain requirements and satisfactorily address key social and environmental issues. - The Social and Environmental Assessment report should address baseline social and environmental conditions, requirements under host country laws and regulations, sustainable development, and, as appropriate, IFC's Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines, etc. - Based on the Social and Environmental Assessment, Equator banks then make agreements with borrowers on how they mitigate, monitor and manage the risks through a Social and Environmental Management System. Compliance with the plan is included in the covenant clause of loan agreements. If the borrower doesn't comply with the agreed terms, the bank will take corrective actions. The Equator Principles are not a mere declaration of cautious banks but a full commitment of lenders. A violation of the Principles in the process of project financing, which led to an unexpected damage to the affected community, would not give rise to any specific legal remedies other than ordinary lawsuits. So it is more effective for banks to ensure consistent implementation of the Principles and to have them take responsible measures to solve social and environmental issues. Public interests have recently mounted up with respect to environmental issues on the occasion of the Supreme Court's decision (2006Du330) on the fiercely debated reclamation project at Saemangeum. The majority Justices said that the expected environmental damages like probable pollution of water and soil were not believed so serious and that the Administration should continue to implement the project seeking ways to make it more environment friendly. In this case, though the Category A Saemangeum Project was carried out by a government agency, the Supreme Court behaved itself as a signal giver to approve or stop the environment-related project like an Equator bank in project financing. At present, there is no Equator bank in Korea in contrast to three big banks in Japan. Also Korean contractors, which are aggressively bidding for Category A-type projects in South East Asia and Mideast, might find themselves in a disadvantageous position because they are generally ignorant of the environmental assessment associated with project financing. In this regard, Korean banks and overseas project contractors should care for the revised Equator Principles and the latest developments in project financing more seriously. It's because its scope has expanded to the capital cost of US$10 million or more across all industry sectors regardless of developing countries or not. It should be noted that, for a Korean bank, being an Equator bank is more or less burdensome in a short-term period, but it must be conducive to minimizing risks and building up good reputation in the long run.

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Eco-friendly Control of Whiteflies by Two-Fluid Fogging System with Natural Substances in Greenhouses (이류체 포그시스템 및 천연물을 이용한 친환경적 가루이 방제)

  • Kim, Sung-Eun;Lee, Sang-Don;Lee, Moon-Haeng;Kim, Young-Shik
    • Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.114-119
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    • 2012
  • We have conducted 4 experiments to develop the most environmental and effective use of the two-fluid fog system to prevent and exterminate whiteflies in tomato cultivation. In particular, these experiments used Vitamini tomatoes grown in stand-alone greenhouses at Buyeo Tomato Experiment Station as subjects. Each experiment utilized the fog system in a different way. The first experiment provided the control group, which was subject to the two-fluid fog system without additional humidity control. In the second experiment, the two-fluid fog system controlled the humidity level to be above 70%. The third and the fourth experiment utilized natural substances, which were 1.5 mg/L of Neem Oil and 2 mg/L of Oleic acid respectively, without additional humidity control. From the first experiment, we could observe that a simple use of the two-fluid fog system decreased the density of whiteflies in the greenhouses. This impact of the fog system on whiteflies was greater in the second experiment. By comparing the first and the second experiment, we concluded that whiteflies are more effectively prevented by maintaining a higher humidity level via the fog system's smaller water droplets that float in the air for longer time than the standard fog system in rather dry condition. In the third and the fourth experiments, the extermination level was 78% and 76.4% respectively, comparing only 53% in the first experiment without the humidity control. Therefore, using the natural substances in addition to the humidity control increases the extermination effectiveness. Considering the similar results from the 3rd and the 4th experiments, Oleic acid has a greater appeal for its lower price. Using the two-fluid fog system to both control the humidity on a daily basis and spray the substances for occasional extermination would reduce labor cost and increase production in an environmental way.

Treatment and Attachment Characteristics of Biofilm of Phanerochaete chrysosporium PSBL-1 in Wastewater (Phanerochaete chrysosporium PSBL-1 생물막을 이용한 오.폐수 처리 및 부착특성)

  • Lee, Soon-Young;Kang, Ki-Cheol;Won, Chan-Hee
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.271-277
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    • 2008
  • The biofilm of white-rot fungi fully exposed in atmosphere are that operation is easy, management cost and energy waste is low. To develop biofilm of white-rot fungi fully exposed in atmosphere, basic test are as follows. To select most effective microoganism species, investigated treatment characteristics of wastewater containing non-biodegradable material for three species of white-rot fungi(Phanerochaete chrysosporium PSBL-1, Phanerochaete chrysosporium KCTC 6147, Trametes sp. KFCC 10941) and activated sludge. And then investigated attached and detached biomass of selected white-rot fungi species on HBC ring surface. Among the three strains tested, P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 and P. chrysosporium KCTC 6147 showed higher efficiency for organics removal than Trametes sp. KFCC 10941, and P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 showed higher efficiency for nitrogen removal than P. chrysosporium KCTC 6147 and Trametes sp. KFCC 10941. Respectively, 51$\sim$59.8%, 57.5$\sim$60.3% of NBDCOD was removed for P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 and P. chrysosporium 6147 in pH 3.5$\sim$5.5. TN removal efficiency showed 39.3$\sim$85.3%, 3.4$\sim$7.6% for P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 and P. chrysosporium 6147 in pH 4.5$\sim$11.5 respectively. Considered that white-rot fungi remove organism and nitrogen simultaneously, the microorganism selected white-rot fungi P. chrysosporium PSBL-1. White-rot fungi P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 attached on HBC ring surface 4,538 mg/L, 4,546 mg/L, 4,531 mg/L after 5 minutes, 4,575 mg/L, 4,573 mg/L, 4,568 mg/L after 10 minutes from initial MLSS 4,600 mg/L in pH 4, 7 and 10 respectively. Also detached biomass is negligible from right after attachment to 10 day in pH 4, 7 and 10.

A Comparison of Discriminating Powers Between 14 Microsatellite markers and 60 SNP Markers Applicable to the Cattle Identification Test (소 동일성 검사에 적용 가능한 14 Microsatellite marker와 60 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism marker 간의 판별 효율성 비교)

  • Lim, Hyun-Tae;Seo, Bo-Yeong;Jung, Eun-Ji;Yoo, Chae-Kyoung;Yoon, Du-Hak;Jeon, Jin-Tae
    • Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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    • v.51 no.5
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    • pp.353-360
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    • 2009
  • When 14 microsatellite (MS) markers were applied in the identifying test for 480 Hanwoo, the discriminating power was estimated as $3.43{\times}10^{-27}$ based on the assumption of a random mating group (PI). This rate is 1,000 times higher than that of 60 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. On the other hand, the power of the 60 SNP markers was estimated as $4.69{\times}10^{-20}$ and $8.02{\times}10^{-12}$ on the assumption of a half-sib mating group ($PI_{half-sibs}$) and a full-sib mating group ($PI_{sibs}$), respectively. These powers were 10 times and 10,000 times higher than those of the 14 MS markers. The results indicated that the total number of alleles (MS vs SNP = 146 vs 120) acted as a key factor for the discriminating power in a random mating population, and the total number of markers (MS vs SNP = 14 vs 60) was a dominant influence on the power in half-sib and full-sib populations. In the Hanwoo population, in which it was assumed that the entire population is the enormous half-sib group formed by the absolute genetic contribution of a few nuclear bulls, there will be only a 10 times difference in the discriminating power between the 14 MS markers and the 60 SNP makers. However, the probability of not excluding a candidate parent pair from the parentage of an arbitrary offspring, given that only the genotype of the offspring ($PNE_{pp}$) was 1,000 times higher as shown by the 14 MS markers than that by the 60 SNP markers. The strong points of SNP makers are the stability of the variation (low mutation rate) and automation of high-throughput genotyping. In order to apply these merits for the practical and constant Hanwoo identity test, research and development are required to set a cost-effective platform and produce a homemade apparatus for SNP genotyping.

Field Tests for Assessing the Bioremediation Feasibility of a Trichloroethylene-Contaminated Aquifer (관측정 자연표류 실험을 통한 트리클로로에틸렌(Trichloroethylene) 오염 지하수의 생물학적 복원 타당성 연구)

  • Kim Young;Kim Jin-Wook;Ha Chul-Yoon;Kim Nam-Hee;Hong Kwang-Pyo;Kwon Soo-Yul;Ahn Young-Ho;Ha Joon-Su;Park Hoo-Won
    • Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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    • v.10 no.3
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    • pp.38-45
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    • 2005
  • The feasibility of stimulating in situ aerobic cometabolic activity of indigenous microorganisms was investigated in a trichloroethylene (TCE)-contaminated aquifer. A series of single-well natural drift tests (SWNDTs) was conducted by injecting site groundwater amended with a bromide tracer and combinations of toluene, oxygen, nitrate, ethylene and TCE into an existing monitoring well and by sampling the same well over time. Three field tests, Push-pull Transport Test, Drift Biostimulation Test, and Drift Surrogate Activity Test, were performed in sequence. Initial rate of toluene degradation was much faster than the rate of bromide dilution resulting from natural groundwater drift, indicating stimulation of indigenous toluene-oxidizing microorganisms. Transformation of ethylene, a surrogate probing overall activity of TCE transformation, was also observed, and its transformation results in the production of ethylene oxide, suggesting that some tolueneoxidizing microorganisms stimulated may express a orthomonooxygenase enzyme. Also in situ transformation of TCE was confirmed by greater retardation of TCE than bromide after the stimulation of toluene-oxidizing microorganisms. These results indicate that, in this environment, toluene and oxygen additions stimulated the growth and aerobic cometabolic activity of indigenous microorganisms expressing orthomonooxygenase enzymes. The simple, low-cost field test method presented in this study provides an effective method for conducting rapid field assessments and pilot testing of aerobic cometabolism, which has previously hindered application of this technology to groundwater remediation.

The change of validity of blood zinc protoporphyrin test by different cut-off level in lead workers (연취급 근로자들의 혈중 ZPP 농도 선별기준에 따른 정확도의 변화)

  • Kim, Yong-Bae;Ahn, Hyun-Cheol;HwangBo, Young;Lee, Gap-Soo;Lee, Sung-Soo;Ahn, Kyu-Dong;Lee, Byung-Kook
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.30 no.4 s.59
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    • pp.741-751
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    • 1997
  • Measurement of blood lead (PbB) and blood zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) are most common biological indices to identify the individual at risk for excess or the health sequences by lead exposure. Because PbB is known most important and reliable index of lead exposure, PbB is often regarded as a gold standard to detect lead exposure. But in Korea PbB is a secondary test item of detailed health check-up with positive finding of screening test in most occasion. Our lead standard requires all lead workers to take annual heath-check twice a year for investigation of their health effect due to lead exposure. Blood ZPP is one of most important index to detect high lead absorption in lead workers as a screening test. Measurement of blood ZPP is known ,well to correlate with PbB in steady state of exposure in most lead workers and is often used as a primary screening test to detect high lead absorption of lead workers with the advantage of simplicity, easiness, portability and low cost. The current cut-off criteria of blood ZPP for further detailed health check-up is $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ which is supposed to match the level of $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ of PbB according to our standard. Authors tried to investigate the validity of current criteria of cut-off level $(100{\mu}g/d\ell)$ of blood ZPP and possible another better cut-off level of it to detect the lead workers whose PbB level over $40{\mu}g/d\ell$. The subjects in our study were 212 male workers in three small scale storage battery industries. Blood ZPP, PbB and hemoglobin (Hb) were selected as the indices of lead exposure. The results were as follows. 1. The mean of blood ZPP, PbB and Hb in lead workers were $79.5{\pm}46.7{\mu}g/d\ell,\;38.7{\pm}15.1{\mu}g/d\ell,\;and\;14.8{\pm}1.2g/d\ell$, respectively. There were significant differences in blood ZPP, PbB and Hb by industry (P<0.01). 2. The percents of lead workers whose blood ZPP were above $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ in the group of work duration below 1, 1-4, 5-9 and above 10 years were 8.6%, 17.2%, 47.6%, and 50.0%, respectively. The percents of lead workers whose PbB were above $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ in those were 31.4%, 40.4%, 71.4%, and 86.4%, respectively. 3. The percents of lead workers whose PbB were below $40{\mu}g/d\ell$, $40-59{\mu}g/d\ell$ and above $60{\mu}g/d\ell$ were 54.7%, 34.9% and 10.4%, respectively. Those of lead workers whose blood ZPP were below $100{\mu}g/d\ell$, $100-149{\mu}g/d\ell$ and above $150{\mu}g/d\ell$ were 79.2%, 13.7% and 7.1%, respectively. 4. Simple linear regression of PbB on blood ZPP was statistically significant (P<0.01) and as PbB was $40{\mu}g/d\ell$, blood ZPP was $82.1{\mu}g/d\ell$. 5. While the highest sensitivity and specificity of blood ZPP test to detect lead workers with PbB eve. $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ were observed in the cut-off level of $50{\mu}g/d\ell$ and $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ of blood ZPP, respectively, the highest validity (sensitivity+specificity) of blood ZPP to detect lead workers with PbB over $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ was observed in the cut-off level of around $70{\mu}g/d\ell$ of blood ZPP. But even with optimal cut-off level of around $70{\mu}g/d\ell$ of blood ZPP, still 25.0% of false negative and 20.7% false positive lead workers were found. As the result of this study, it was suggested that reconsideration of current blood ZPP cut-off of our lead standard from $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ to somewhat lower level such as around $70{\mu}g/d\ell$ and the inclusion of PbB measurement as a primary screening test for lead workers was highly recommended for the effective prevention of lead workers.

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Impact of Net-Based Customer Service on Firm Profits and Consumer Welfare (기업의 온라인 고객 서비스가 기업의 수익 및 고객의 후생에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Eun-Jin;Lee, Byung-Tae
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.123-137
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    • 2007
  • The advent of the Internet and related Web technologies has created an easily accessible link between a firm and its customers, and has provided opportunities to a firm to use information technology to support supplementary after-sale services associated with a product or service. It has been widely recognized that supplementary services are an important source of customer value and of competitive advantage as the characteristics of the product itself. Many of these supplementary services are information-based and need not be co-located with the product, so more and more companies are delivering these services electronically. Net-based customer service, which is defined as an Internet-based computerized information system that delivers services to a customer, therefore, is the core infrastructure for supplementary service provision. The importance of net-based customer service in delivering supplementary after-sale services associated with product has been well documented. The strategic advantages of well-implemented net-based customer service are enhanced customer loyalty and higher lock-in of customers, and a resulting reduction in competition and the consequent increase in profits. However, not all customers utilize such net-based customer service. The digital divide is the phenomenon in our society that captures the observation that not all customers have equal access to computers. Socioeconomic factors such as race, gender, and education level are strongly related to Internet accessibility and ability to use. This is due to the differences in the ability to bear the cost of a computer, and the differences in self-efficacy in the use of a technology, among other reasons. This concept, applied to e-commerce, has been called the "e-commerce divide." High Internet penetration is not eradicating the digital divide and e-commerce divide as one would hope. Besides, to accommodate personalized support, a customer must often provide personal information to the firm. This personal information includes not only name and address, but also preferences information and perhaps valuation information. However, many recent studies show that consumers may not be willing to share information about themselves due to concerns about privacy online. Due to the e-commerce divide, and due to privacy and security concerns of the customer for sharing personal information with firms, limited numbers of customers adopt net-based customer service. The limited level of customer adoption of net-based customer service affects the firm profits and the customers' welfare. We use a game-theoretic model in which we model the net-based customer service system as a mechanism to enhance customers' loyalty. We model a market entry scenario where a firm (the incumbent) uses the net-based customer service system in inducing loyalty in its customer base. The firm sells one product through the traditional retailing channels and at a price set for these channels. Another firm (the entrant) enters the market, and having observed the price of the incumbent firm (and after deducing the loyalty levels in the customer base), chooses its price. The profits of the firms and the surplus of the two customers segments (the segment that utilizes net-based customer service and the segment that does not) are analyzed in the Stackelberg leader-follower model of competition between the firms. We find that an increase in adoption of net-based customer service by the customer base is not always desirable for firms. With low effectiveness in enhancing customer loyalty, firms prefer a high level of customer adoption of net-based customer service, because an increase in adoption rate decreases competition and increases profits. A firm in an industry where net-based customer service is highly effective loyalty mechanism, on the other hand, prefers a low level of adoption by customers.