• Title/Summary/Keyword: Indicator system

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The analysis for attributes of OUV of the capital of Shilla Kingdom (세계유산 신라왕경의 탁월한 보편적 가치 속성 분석)

  • KIM, Euiyeon
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.55 no.1
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    • pp.151-174
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    • 2022
  • According to the "Special Act on the Restoration and Maintenance of the Core Relics of the Shilla Kingdom" enacted in 2019, the Shilla Kingdom refers to the capital of Shilla and Unified Shilla period, and refers to Gyeongju, where the king lived, and the nearby area. Shilla Wanggyeong is a heritage registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000 under the name of Gyeongju Historic Site and belongs to Wolseong District, Hwangnyongsa District, and Daeneungwon District among the five districts registered as Gyeongju Historic Site. Unlike the Namsan and Sanseong districts, the Shilla Kingdom is a heritage consisting mostly of archaeological sites without physical substance. Gyeongju City sought to promote local tourism while providing more direct experiences to visitors by restoring the heritage that constitutes the Shilla Kingdom. Starting with the restoration of Woljeonggyo Bridge in 2005, the Shilla Wanggyeong restoration project began in earnest. Gyeongju City tried to restore the building site on the west side of Donggung Palace and Wolji after Woljeonggyo Bridge, but it was canceled due to opposition from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The World Heritage Committee opposed the restoration and recommended a heritage impact assessment for similar projects in the future. During the miscarriage impact assessment procedure, there is an OUV attribute analysis process of the heritage to be evaluated. This study intends to preemptively derive OUV attributes for the Silla Kingdom through literature and overseas case analysis. In the case of literature research, domestic and foreign research data related to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and World Heritage Management were examined, and in overseas cases, the architectural works of Krakow Historical District, Stonehenge and Abbury Geoseok Ruins in England, and Le Corbusier were analyzed. Through this, the outstanding universal value attributes of the Silla Kingdom were derived. This study is expected to be used as a reference in the process of restoration projects of other heritage constituting the Shilla Kingdom or construction plans in nearby areas in the future and serve as an indicator to improve the management system of the Shilla Kingdom more efficiently from the perspective of world heritage.

Spatial Distribution of Macrobenthic Communities on the Rocky Intertidal Zone of Specified Islands, Southern Coast of Korea (남해안 특정도서 암반조간대의 대형저서동물 군집의 공간분포)

  • Yang, Sehee;Yang, Hyosik;Lee, Changil;Seo, Chonghyun
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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    • v.28 no.6
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    • pp.853-865
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    • 2022
  • In this study, from August to October 2019, we conducted a survey of the spatial distribution and dominant species of macrobenthos on the rocky intertidal zones of 38 specified islands distributed along the southern coast of Korea. On the basis of observation made using 50 × 50 cm quadrats, we identified a total of 80 species, among which, Mollusca were the most abundant fauna, with 54 species that accounted for 67.4% of the total, followed by Crustacea with 15 species (18.7%). The recorded numbers of Cnidaria, Porifera, and Echinodermata species ranged from 1 to 6. In terms of the regional patterns of species richness, specified islands in Yeosu were found to be the most species rich, supporting 61 species, whereas islands in Hadong, Namhae, and Chujado were found to have a similar level of species richness, ranging from 42 to 46 species. Islands in Boseong and Goheung were home to the fewest species, with only 29 species being recorded. At the sampling station scale, we noted a considerable difference in faunal richness, ranging from 6 (St. 6) to 33 (St. 20) species. Among the recorded species, Echinolittorina radiata was identified as the dominant species on 15 specified islands, with the next most abundant species being Tetraclita japonica, considered an indicator species of climate change, which was recorded on 11 islands. In terms of frequency, E. radiata, found on 36 islands, was identified as the most frequently occurring species, followed by Reishia clavigera (30 islands), Mytilisepta virgata (29), Nerita japonica (28), Ligia. exotica (27), and Littorina brevicula (26). Of the 80 species identified, 9, 4, and 2 species of Mollusca, Crustacea, and Cnidaria, respectively, are classified as Marine fauna of accepted foreign export, whereas 50 are Red List species, 44 are species of Least Concern, 3 are Data Deficient species, and 1 species was not evaluated. However, during the survey, we found no Near Threatened or Not Applicable species. On the basis of the findings of this survey, it would appear that the abundance and richness of macrobenthic fauna inhabiting the rocky intertidal zones of specified islands along the southern coast of Korea differ according to different habitat conditions, particularly with respect to the duration of exposure and the extent and properties of the substrata. The findings of this study will provide baseline data for future monitoring and management of specified islands in Korea.

The Effect of Consumers' Value Motives on the Perception of Blog Reviews Credibility: the Moderation Effect of Tie Strength (소비자의 가치 추구 동인이 블로그 리뷰의 신뢰성 지각에 미치는 영향: 유대강도에 따른 조절효과를 중심으로)

  • Chu, Wujin;Roh, Min Jung
    • Asia Marketing Journal
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.159-189
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    • 2012
  • What attracts consumers to bloggers' reviews? Consumers would be attracted both by the Bloggers' expertise (i.e., knowledge and experience) and by his/her unbiased manner of delivering information. Expertise and trustworthiness are both virtues of information sources, particularly when there is uncertainty in decision-making. Noting this point, we postulate that consumers' motives determine the relative weights they place on expertise and trustworthiness. In addition, our hypotheses assume that tie strength moderates consumers' expectation on bloggers' expertise and trustworthiness: with expectation on expertise enhanced for power-blog user-group (weak-ties), and an expectation on trustworthiness elevated for personal-blog user-group (strong-ties). Finally, we theorize that the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review is moderated by tie strength; the predictive power of credibility is more prominent for the personal-blog user-groups than for the power-blog user groups. To support these assumptions, we conducted a field survey with blog users, collecting retrospective self-report data. The "gourmet shop" was chosen as a target product category, and obtained data analyzed by structural equations modeling. Findings from these data provide empirical support for our theoretical predictions. First, we found that the purposive motive aimed at satisfying instrumental information needs increases reliance on bloggers' expertise, but interpersonal connectivity value for alleviating loneliness elevates reliance on bloggers' trustworthiness. Second, expertise-based credibility is more prominent for power-blog user-groups than for personal-blog user-groups. While strong ties attract consumers with trustworthiness based on close emotional bonds, weak ties gain consumers' attention with new, non-redundant information (Levin & Cross, 2004). Thus, when the existing knowledge system, used in strong ties, does not work as smoothly for addressing an impending problem, the weak-tie source can be utilized as a handy reference. Thus, we can anticipate that power bloggers secure credibility by virtue of their expertise while personal bloggers trade off on their trustworthiness. Our analysis demonstrates that power bloggers appeal more strongly to consumers than do personal bloggers in the area of expertise-based credibility. Finally, the effect of review credibility on willingness to accept a review is higher for the personal-blog user-group than for the power-blog user-group. Actually, the inference that review credibility is a potent predictor of assessing willingness to accept a review is grounded on the analogy that attitude is an effective indicator of purchase intention. However, if memory about established attitudes is blocked, the predictive power of attitude on purchase intention is considerably diminished. Likewise, the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review can be affected by certain moderators. Inspired by this analogy, we introduced tie strength as a possible moderator and demonstrated that tie strength moderated the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review. Previously, Levin and Cross (2004) showed that credibility mediates strong-ties through receipt of knowledge, but this credibility mediation is not observed for weak-ties, where a direct path to it is activated. Thus, the predictive power of credibility on behavioral intention - that is, willingness to accept a review - is expected to be higher for strong-ties.

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Consideration of the Usefulness of 18F-FET Brain PET/CT in Brain Tumor Diagnosis (뇌종양진단에 있어 18F-FET Brain PET/CT의 유용성에 대한 고찰)

  • Kyu-Ho Yeon; Jae-Kwang Ryu
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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    • v.28 no.1
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    • pp.41-47
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    • 2024
  • Purpose: 18F-FET, a radiopharmaceutical based on a Tyrosine amino acid derivative using the Sodium-Potassium Pump-independent Transporter (System L) for non-invasive evaluation of primary, recurrent, and metastatic brain tumors, exhibits distinct characteristics. Unlike the widely absorbed 18F-FDG in both tumor and normal brain tissues, 18F-FET demonstrates specific uptake only in tumor tissue while almost negligible uptake in normal brain tissue. This study aims to compare and evaluate the usefulness of 18F-FDG and 18F-FET Brain PET/CT quantitative analysis in brain tumor diagnosis. Materials and Methods: In 46 patients diagnosed with brain gliomas (High Grade: 34, Low Grade: 12), Brain PET/CT scans were performed at 40 minutes after 18F-FDG injection and at 20 minutes (early) and 80 minutes (delay) after 18F-FET injection. SUVmax and SUVpeak of tumor areas corresponding to MRI images were measured in each scan, and the SUVmax-to-SUVpeak ratio, an indicator of tumor prognosis, was calculated. Differences in SUVmax, SUVpeak, and SUVmax-to-SUVpeak ratio between 18F-FDG and 18F-FET early/delay scans were statistically verified using SPSS (ver.28) package program. Results: SUVmax values were 3.72±1.36 for 18F-FDG, 4.59±1.55 for 18F-FET early, and 4.12±1.36 for 18F-FET delay scans. The highest SUVmax was observed in 18F-FET early scans, particularly in HG tumors (4.85±1.44), showing a slightly more significant difference (P<0.0001). SUVpeak values were 3.33±1.13 for 18F-FDG, 3.04±1.11 for 18F-FET early, and 2.80±0.96 for 18F-FET delay scans. The highest SUVpeak was in 18F-FDG scans, while the lowest was in 18F-FET delay scans, with a more significant difference in HG tumors (P<0.001). SUVmax-to-SUVpeak ratio values were 1.11±0.09 for 18F-FDG, 1.54±0.22 for 18F-FET early, and 1.48±0.17 for 18F-FET delay scans. This ratio was higher in 18F-FET scans for both HG and LG tumors (P<0.0001), but there was no statistically significant difference between 18F-FET early and delay scans. Conclusion: This study confirms the usefulness of early and delay scans in 18F-FET Brain PET/CT examinations, particularly demonstrating the changes in objective quantitative metrics such as SUVmax, SUVpeak, and introducing the SUVmax-to-SUVpeak ratio as a new evaluation metric based on the degree of tumor malignancy. This is expected to further contributions to the quantitative analysis of Brain PET/CT images.

Impact of Fish Farming on Macrobenthic Polychaete Communities (해상 가두리 양식이 저서 다모류군집에 미치는 영향)

  • Jung, Rae-Hong;Yoon, Sang-Pil;Kwon, Jung-No;Lee, Jae-Seong;Lee, Won-Chan;Koo, Jun-Ho;Kim, Youn-Jung;Oh, Hyun-Taik;Hong, Sok-Jin;Park, Sung-Eun
    • The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.159-169
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    • 2007
  • Excessive input of organic matters from fish cage farms to the coastal waters has been considered as one of the major factors disturbing their benthic ecosystem. Sediment samples were taken from around the two fish cage zones (A and B) in Tongyeong coast in June and August 2003, to evaluate the ecological impacts of fish cage farming activity on the macrobenthic polychaete communities. Polychaete accounted for $81{\sim}87%$ of the total macrofauna individuals from each of the sampling stations. The number of species, abundance, diversity and dominant species of polychaete were rapidly changed with the distance from the fish cages. Within 10 m from the fish cages, Capitella capitata, which is a bio-indicator for the highly enriched sediments, was a dominant species and the lowest diversity was recorded. In particular, the maximum density (${\sim}18,410\;ind.m^2$) of C. capitata was found at Farm A where fish cages were more densely established within a semi-enclosed bay system. The sampling zone between 10 m and 15 m showed a rapid decrease of C. capitata with a rapid increase of the numbers of species, implying that this zone may be an ecotone point from a highly to a slightly enriched area. In the sampling zone between 15 m and 60 m, a transitional zone, which represents slightly enriched condition before normal one, was observed with additional increase and maintenance of the number of species and density of polychaete. In addition, the potential bio-indicators of organic enrichment, such as Lumbrineris longifolia and Aphelochaeta monilaris were the predominant species in the sampling zone. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) ordination plots and k-dominance curves confirmed the above results on the gradual changes in the macrobenthic polychaete communities. Our findings suggest that the magnitude of impact of fish cage farming activity on polychaete communities is probably governed by a distance from fish cage, density of fish cage and geomorphological characteristics around fish cage farm.

Cardio-pulmonary Adaptation to Physical Training (운동훈련(運動訓練)에 대(對)한 심폐기능(心肺機能)의 적응(適應)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究))

  • Cho, Kang-Ha
    • The Korean Journal of Physiology
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.103-120
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    • 1967
  • As pointed out by many previous investigators, the cardio-pulmonary system of well trained athletes is so adapted that they can perform a given physical exercise more efficiently as compared to non-trained persons. However, the time course of the development of these cardio-pulmonary adaptations has not been extensively studied in the past. Although the development of these training effects is undoubtedly related to the magnitude of an exercise load which is repeatedly given, it would be practical if one could maintain a good physical fitness with a minimal daily exercise. Hence, the present investigation was undertaken to study the time course of the development of cardio-pulmonary adaptations while a group of non-athletes was subjected to a daily 6 to 10 minutes running exercise for a period of 4 weeks. Six healthy male medical students (22 to 24 years old) were randomly selected as experimental subjects, and were equally divided into two groups (A and B). Both groups were subjected to the same daily running exercise (approximately 1,000 kg-m). 6 days a week for 4 weeks, but the rate of exercise was such that the group A ran on treadmill with 8.6% grade for 10 min daily at a speed of 127 m/min while the group B ran for 6 min at a speed of 200 m/min. In order to assess the effects of these physical trainings on the cardio-pulmonary system, the minute volume, the $O_2$ consumption, the $CO_2$ output and the heart rate were determined weekly while the subject was engaged in a given running exercise on treadmill (8.6% grade and 127 m/min) for a period of 5 min. In addition, the arterial blood pressure, the cardiac output, the acid-base state of arterial blood and the gas composition of arterial blood were also determined every other week in 4 subjects (2 from each group) while they were engaged in exercise on a bicycle ergometer at a rate of approximately 900 kg m/min until exhaustion. The maximal work capacity was also determined by asking the subject to engage in exercise on treadmill and ergometer until exhaustion. For the measurement of minute volume, the expired gas was collected in a Douglas bag. The $O_2$ consumption and the $CO_2$ output were subsequently computed by analysing the expired gas with a Scholander micro gas analyzer. The heart rate was calculated from the R-R interval of ECG tracings recorded by an Offner RS Dynograph. A 19 gauge Cournand needle was inserted into a brachial artery, through which arterial blood samples were taken. A Statham $P_{23}AA$ pressure transducer and a PR-7 Research Recorder were used for recording instantaneous arterial pressure. The cardiac output was measured by indicator (Cardiogreen) dilution method. The results may be summarized as follows: (1) The maximal running time on treadmill increased linearly during the 4 week training period at the end of which it increased by 2.8 to 4.6 times. In general, an increase in the maximal running time was greater when the speed was fixed at a level at which the subject was trained. The mammal exercise time on bicycle ergometer also increased linearly during the training period. (2) In carrying out a given running exercise on treadmill (8.6%grade, 127 m/min), the following changes in cardio·pulmonary functions were observed during the training period: (a) The minute volume as well as the $O_2$ consumption during steady state exercise tended to decrease progressively and showed significant reductions after 3 weeks of training. (b) The $CO_2$ production during steady state exercise showed a significant reduction within 1 week of training. (c) The heart rate during steady state exercise tended to decrease progressively and showed a significant reduction after 2 weeks of training. The reduction of heart rate following a given exercise tended to become faster by training and showed a significant change after 3 weeks. Although the resting heart rate also tended to decrease by training, no significant change was observed. (3) In rallying out a given exercise (900 kg-m/min) on a bicycle ergometer, the following change in cardio-vascular functions were observed during the training period: (3) The systolic blood pressure during steady state exercise was not affected while the diastolic blood Pressure was significantly lowered after 4 weeks of training. The resting diastolic pressure was also significantly lowered by the end of 4 weeks. (b) The cardiac output and the stroke volume during steady state exercise increased maximally within 2 weeks of training. However, the resting cardiac output was not altered while the resting stroke volume tended to increase somewhat by training. (c) The total peripheral resistance during steady state exercise was greatly lowered within 2 weeks of training. The mean circulation time during exorcise was also considerably shortened while the left heart work output during exercise increased significantly within 2 weeks. However, these functions_at rest were not altered by training. (d) Although both pH, $P_{co2}\;and\;(HCO_3-)$ of arterial plasma decreased during exercise, the magnitude of reductions became less by training. On the other hand, the $O_2$ content of arterial blood decreased during exercise before training while it tended to increase slightly after training. There was no significant alteration in these values at rest. These results indicate that cardio-pulmonary adaptations to physical training can be acquired by subjecting non-athletes to brief daily exercise routine for certain period of time. Although the time of appearance of various adaptive phenomena is not identical, it may be stated that one has to engage in daily exercise routine for at least 2 weeks for the development of significant adaptive changes.

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Dopamine Transporter Density of the Basal Ganglia Assessed with I-123 IPT SPECT in Methamphetamine Abusers (Methamphetamine 남용자에서 I-123 IPT를 이용한 기저신경절 도파민운반체 밀도의 평가)

  • Lee, Joo-Ryung;Ahn, Byeong-Cheol;Kewn, Do-Hun;Sung, Young-Ok;Seo, Ji-Hyoung;Bae, Jin-Ho;Jeong, Shin-Young;Lee, Sang-Woo;Yoo, Jeong-Soo;Lee, Jae-Tae;Chi, Dae-Yoon;Lee, Kyu-Bo
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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    • v.39 no.6
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    • pp.481-488
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    • 2005
  • Purpose: Functional imaging of dopamine transporter (DAT) defines integrity of the dopaminergic system, and DAT is the target site of drugs of abuse such as cocaine and methamphetamine. Functional imaging the DAT may be a sensitive and selective indicator of neurotoxic change by the drug. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the clinical implications of qualitative/quantitative analyses of dopamine transporter imaging in methamphetamine abusers. Materials and Methods: Six detoxified methamphetamine abusers (abuser group) and 4 volunteers (control group) were enrolled in this study. Brain MRI was performed in all of abuser group. Abuser group underwent psychiatric and depression assessment using brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS) and Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD), respectively. All of the subjects underwent I-123 IPT SPECT (IPT SPECT). IPT SPECT image was analysed with visual qualitative method and quantitative method using basal ganglia dopamine transporter (DAT) specific/non-specific binding ratio (SBR). Comparison of DAT SBR between abuser and control groups was performed. We also performed correlation tests between psychiatric and depression assessment results and DAT SBR in abuser group. Results: All of abuser group showed normal MRI finding, but had residual psychiatric and depressive symptoms, and psychiatric and depressive symptom scores were exactly correlated (r=1.0, p=0.005) each other. Five of them showed abnormal finding on qualitative visual I-123 IPT SPECT Abuser group had lower basal ganglia DAT SBR than that of control ($2.38{\pm}0.20\;vs\;3.04{\pm}0.27$, p=0.000). Psychiatric and depressive symptoms were negatively well correlated with basal ganglia DAT SBR (r=-0.908, p=0.012, r=-0.924, p=0.009). Conclusion: These results suggest that dopamine transporter imaging using I-123 IPT SPECT may be used to evaluate dopaminergic system of the basal ganglia and the clinical status in methamphetamine abusers.

A Thermal Time-Driven Dormancy Index as a Complementary Criterion for Grape Vine Freeze Risk Evaluation (포도 동해위험 판정기준으로서 온도시간 기반의 휴면심도 이용)

  • Kwon, Eun-Young;Jung, Jea-Eun;Chung, U-Ran;Lee, Seung-Jong;Song, Gi-Cheol;Choi, Dong-Geun;Yun, Jin-I.
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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    • v.8 no.1
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    • pp.1-9
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    • 2006
  • Regardless of the recent observed warmer winters in Korea, more freeze injuries and associated economic losses are reported in fruit industry than ever before. Existing freeze-frost forecasting systems employ only daily minimum temperature for judging the potential damage on dormant flowering buds but cannot accommodate potential biological responses such as short-term acclimation of plants to severe weather episodes as well as annual variation in climate. We introduce 'dormancy depth', in addition to daily minimum temperature, as a complementary criterion for judging the potential damage of freezing temperatures on dormant flowering buds of grape vines. Dormancy depth can be estimated by a phonology model driven by daily maximum and minimum temperature and is expected to make a reasonable proxy for physiological tolerance of buds to low temperature. Dormancy depth at a selected site was estimated for a climatological normal year by this model, and we found a close similarity in time course change pattern between the estimated dormancy depth and the known cold tolerance of fruit trees. Inter-annual and spatial variation in dormancy depth were identified by this method, showing the feasibility of using dormancy depth as a proxy indicator for tolerance to low temperature during the winter season. The model was applied to 10 vineyards which were recently damaged by a cold spell, and a temperature-dormancy depth-freeze injury relationship was formulated into an exponential-saturation model which can be used for judging freeze risk under a given set of temperature and dormancy depth. Based on this model and the expected lowest temperature with a 10-year recurrence interval, a freeze risk probability map was produced for Hwaseong County, Korea. The results seemed to explain why the vineyards in the warmer part of Hwaseong County have been hit by more freeBe damage than those in the cooler part of the county. A dormancy depth-minimum temperature dual engine freeze warning system was designed for vineyards in major production counties in Korea by combining the site-specific dormancy depth and minimum temperature forecasts with the freeze risk model. In this system, daily accumulation of thermal time since last fall leads to the dormancy state (depth) for today. The regional minimum temperature forecast for tomorrow by the Korea Meteorological Administration is converted to the site specific forecast at a 30m resolution. These data are input to the freeze risk model and the percent damage probability is calculated for each grid cell and mapped for the entire county. Similar approaches may be used to develop freeze warning systems for other deciduous fruit trees.

Analysis of HBeAg and HBV DNA Detection in Hepatitis B Patients Treated with Antiviral Therapy (항 바이러스 치료중인 B형 간염환자에서 HBeAg 및 HBV DNA 검출에 관한 분석)

  • Cheon, Jun Hong;Chae, Hong Ju;Park, Mi Sun;Lim, Soo Yeon;Yoo, Seon Hee;Lee, Sun Ho
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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    • v.23 no.1
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    • pp.35-39
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    • 2019
  • Purpose Hepatitis B virus (hepatitis B virus, HBV) infection is a worldwide major public health problem and it is known as a major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. And serologic tests of hepatitis B virus is essential for diagnosing and treating these diseases. In addition, with the development of molecular diagnostics, the detection of HBV DNA in serum diagnoses HBV infection and is recognized as an important indicator for the antiviral agent treatment response assessment. We performed HBeAg assay using Immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) and Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA) in hepatitis B patients treated with antiviral agents. The detection rate of HBV DNA in serum was measured and compared by RT-PCR (Real Time - Polymerase Chain Reaction) method Materials and Methods HBeAg serum examination and HBV DNA quantification test were conducted on 270 hepatitis B patients undergoing anti-virus treatment after diagnosis of hepatitis B virus infection. Two serologic tests (IRMA, CMIA) with different detection principles were applied for the HBeAg serum test. Serum HBV DNA was quantitatively measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using the Abbott m2000 System. Results The detection rate of HBeAg was 24.1% (65/270) for IRMA and 82.2% (222/270) for CMIA. Detection rate of serum HBV DNA by real-time RT-PCR is 29.3% (79/270). The measured amount of serum HBV DNA concentration is $4.8{\times}10^7{\pm}1.9{\times}10^8IU/mL$($mean{\pm}SD$). The minimum value is 16IU/mL, the maximum value is $1.0{\times}10^9IU/mL$, and the reference value for quantitative detection limit is 15IU/mL. The detection rates and concentrations of HBV DNA by group according to the results of HBeAg serological (IRMA, CMIA)tests were as follows. 1) Group I (IRMA negative, CMIA positive, N = 169), HBV DNA detection rate of 17.7% (30/169), $6.8{\times}10^5{\pm}1.9{\times}10^6IU/mL$ 2) Group II (IRMA positive, CMIA positive, N = 53), HBV DNA detection rate 62.3% (33/53), $1.1{\times}10^8{\pm}2.8{\times}10^8IU/mL$ 3) Group III (IRMA negative, CMIA negative, N = 36), HBV DNA detection rate 36.1% (13/36), $3.0{\times}10^5{\pm}1.1{\times}10^6IU/mL$ 4) Group IV(IRMA positive, CMIA negative, N = 12), HBV DNA detection rate 25% (3/12), $1.3{\times}10^3{\pm}1.1{\times}10^3IU/mL$ Conclusion HBeAg detection rate according to the serological test showed a large difference. This difference is considered for a number of reasons such as characteristics of the Ab used for assay kit and epitope, HBV of genotype. Detection rate and the concentration of the group-specific HBV DNA classified serologic results confirmed the high detection rate and the concentration in Group II (IRMA-positive, CMIA positive, N = 53).

The Effect of Customer Satisfaction on Corporate Credit Ratings (고객만족이 기업의 신용평가에 미치는 영향)

  • Jeon, In-soo;Chun, Myung-hoon;Yu, Jung-su
    • Asia Marketing Journal
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.1-24
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    • 2012
  • Nowadays, customer satisfaction has been one of company's major objectives, and the index to measure and communicate customer satisfaction has been generally accepted among business practices. The major issues of CSI(customer satisfaction index) are three questions, as follows: (a)what level of customer satisfaction is tolerable, (b)whether customer satisfaction and company performance has positive causality, and (c)what to do to improve customer satisfaction. Among these, the second issue is recently attracting academic research in several perspectives. On this study, the second issue will be addressed. Many researchers including Anderson have regarded customer satisfaction as core competencies, such as brand equity, customer equity. They want to verify following causality "customer satisfaction → market performance(market share, sales growth rate) → financial performance(operating margin, profitability) → corporate value performance(stock price, credit ratings)" based on the process model of marketing performance. On the other hand, Insoo Jeon and Aeju Jeong(2009) verified sequential causality based on the process model by the domestic data. According to the rejection of several hypotheses, they suggested the balance model of marketing performance as an alternative. The objective of this study, based on the existing process model, is to examine the causal relationship between customer satisfaction and corporate value performance. Anderson and Mansi(2009) proved the relationship between ACSI(American Customer Satisfaction Index) and credit ratings using 2,574 samples from 1994 to 2004 on the assumption that credit rating could be an indicator of a corporate value performance. The similar study(Sangwoon Yoon, 2010) was processed in Korean data, but it didn't confirm the relationship between KCSI(Korean CSI) and credit ratings, unlike the results of Anderson and Mansi(2009). The summary of these studies is in the Table 1. Two studies analyzing the relationship between customer satisfaction and credit ratings weren't consistent results. So, in this study we are to test the conflicting results of the relationship between customer satisfaction and credit ratings based on the research model considering Korean credit ratings. To prove the hypothesis, we suggest the research model as follows. Two important features of this model are the inclusion of important variables in the existing Korean credit rating system and government support. To control their influences on credit ratings, we included three important variables of Korean credit rating system and government support, in case of financial institutions including banks. ROA, ER, TA, these three variables are chosen among various kinds of financial indicators since they are the most frequent variables in many previous studies. The results of the research model are relatively favorable : R2, F-value and p-value is .631, 233.15 and .000 respectively. Thus, the explanatory power of the research model as a whole is good and the model is statistically significant. The research model has good explanatory power, the regression coefficients of the KCSI is .096 as positive(+) and t-value and p-value is 2.220 and .0135 respectively. As a results, we can say the hypothesis is supported. Meanwhile, all other explanatory variables including ROA, ER, log(TA), GS_DV are identified as significant and each variables has a positive(+) relationship with CRS. In particular, the t-value of log(TA) is 23.557 and log(TA) as an explanatory variables of the corporate credit ratings shows very high level of statistical significance. Considering interrelationship between financial indicators such as ROA, ER which include total asset in their formula, we can expect multicollinearity problem. But indicators like VIF and tolerance limits that shows whether multicollinearity exists or not, say that there is no statistically significant multicollinearity in all the explanatory variables. KCSI, the main subject of this study, is a statistically significant level even though the standardized regression coefficients and t-value of KCSI is .055 and 2.220 respectively and a relatively low level among explanatory variables. Considering that we chose other explanatory variables based on the level of explanatory power out of many indicators in the previous studies, KCSI is validated as one of the most significant explanatory variables for credit rating score. And this result can provide new insights on the determinants of credit ratings. However, KCSI has relatively lower impact than main financial indicators like log(TA), ER. Therefore, KCSI is one of the determinants of credit ratings, but don't have an exceedingly significant influence. In addition, this study found that customer satisfaction had more meaningful impact on corporations of small asset size than those of big asset size, and on service companies than manufacturers. The findings of this study is consistent with Anderson and Mansi(2009), but different from Sangwoon Yoon(2010). Although research model of this study is a bit different from Anderson and Mansi(2009), we can conclude that customer satisfaction has a significant influence on company's credit ratings either Korea or the United State. In addition, this paper found that customer satisfaction had more meaningful impact on corporations of small asset size than those of big asset size and on service companies than manufacturers. Until now there are a few of researches about the relationship between customer satisfaction and various business performance, some of which were supported, some weren't. The contribution of this study is that credit rating is applied as a corporate value performance in addition to stock price. It is somewhat important, because credit ratings determine the cost of debt. But so far it doesn't get attention of marketing researches. Based on this study, we can say that customer satisfaction is partially related to all indicators of corporate business performances. Practical meanings for customer satisfaction department are that it needs to actively invest in the customer satisfaction, because active investment also contributes to higher credit ratings and other business performances. A suggestion for credit evaluators is that they need to design new credit rating model which reflect qualitative customer satisfaction as well as existing variables like ROA, ER, TA.

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