• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.895-902
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• 2014

Bacterial cellulose (BC) has played important role as new functional material for food industry and industrial products based on its unique properties. The interest in BC from static cultures has increased steadily in recent years because of its potential for use in medicine and cosmetics. In this study, we investigated culture condition for BC production by Acetobacter sp. F15 in static culture. The strain F15, which was isolated from decayed fruit, was selected on the basis of BC thickness. The optimal medium compositions for BC production were glucose 7%, soytone 12%, $K_2HPO_4$ 0.2%, $NaH_2PO_4{\cdot}_2H_2O$ 0.2%, lactic acid 0.05% and ethanol 0.3%, respectively. The strain F15 was able to produce BC at $26^{\circ}C-36^{\circ}C$ with a maximum at $32^{\circ}C$. BC production occurred at pH 4.5-8 with a maximum at pH 6.5. Under these conditions, a maximum BC thickness of 12.15 mm was achieved after 9 days of cultivation; this value was about 2.3-fold higher than the thickness in basic medium. Scanning electron micrographs showed that BC from the optimal medium was more compact than plant cellulose and was reticulated structure consisting of ultrafine cellulose fibrils. BC from the optimal medium was found to be of cellulose type I, the same as typical native cellulose.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1401-1411
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• 2019

Mycobacterial cell walls comprise thick and diverse lipids and glycolipids that act as a permeability barrier to antibiotics or other chemical agents. The use of OH radicals from a non-thermal plasma jet (NTPJ) for the inactivation of mycobacteria in aqueous solution was adopted as a novel approach. Addition of water vapor in a nitrogen plasma jet generated OH radicals, which converted to hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) that inactivated non-pathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis and pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. A stable plasma plume was obtained from a nitrogen plasma jet with 1.91 W of power, killing Escherichia coli and mycobacteria effectively, whereas addition of catalase decreased the effects of the former. Mycobacteria were more resistant than E. coli to NTPJ treatment. Plasma treatment enhanced intracellular ROS production and upregulation of genes related to ROS stress responses (thiolrelated oxidoreductases, such as SseA and DoxX, and ferric uptake regulator furA). Morphological changes of M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis H37Rv were observed after 5 min treatment with $N_2+H_2O$ plasma, but not of pre-incubated sample with catalase. This finding indicates that the bactericidal efficacy of NTPJ is related to the toxicity of OH and $H_2O_2$ radicals in cells. Therefore, our study suggests that NTPJ treatment may effectively control pulmonary infections caused by M. tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) such as M. avium or M. abscessus in water.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.17-22
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• 2017

Purpose - Clarifying one of the biggest public Hospital Costs and incomes according to patients' case mix. It leads to prepare financial information about pubic medical tariffs and hospital operational costs. Research design, data, and methodology - This study calculates the costs both, with and without taking into account capital costs. This holds for comparison of hoteling based on case mix in all medical procedures. The checklists were reviewed and filled by reviewing accounting documents of the hospital, warehouse exclusion list, and daily books of laundry and CSR. Data was analyzed descriptively by using Excel. Results - In both cases, the hospital is losing in terms of hoteling. Because the buildings and equipment are new, this loss is not tangible. However, this will be revealed when costs of reconstruction and replacement of equipment. The loss rate per day of hospitalization was 569318 Rials for Coronary Care Unit (CCU), 528171 Rials for Post Intensive Care Unit (Post ICU), 474570 Rials for ICU, 233183 Rials for Post CCU and 204803 for Surgical ward. Conclusions - Income of hoteling was lower than its costs. ANOVA showed a strong relationship between case mix and hospital costs as well as case mix and its income. This suggests that optimal case mix can minimize the costs and maximize income.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.5-15
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• 2018

Purpose - Nowadays customers have become empowered by information communication technologies. This state of customers has brought enormous pressure to bear on organizations, thus, organizations have to stay relevant, market-oriented and profitable. The insurance sector is one that is constantly challenged by its exposure to ICT and the associated need for e-services by myriad customers. With increasing competition in the health insurance environment, it is necessary for the sector to understand customer expectations and how they perceive the services offered. This study seeks to determine the role played by e-services in relation to customer satisfaction in health insurance industry in Botswana where a substantial investment has been made in the sector. Research design, data, and methodology - This study is conducted using two prominent medical aid schemes in Botswana namely BPOMAS and PULA. Subscribers of these medical schemes were the respondents whose views were sourced using both closed and open ended questionnaires. Systemic sampling technique was used to select the participants, while descriptive statistical techniques were mainly used to analyze socio-demographic data of the samples. Results - The results reveal that the level of usage of the medical insurance firm's website and email service is higher for PULA participants than for BPOMAS participants. Conclusions - The findings of this study have practical implications for managers who should understand customers' value perceptions regarding e-service quality in Botswana.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.4400-4419
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• 2021

In the 4th Industrial Revolution, the healthcare industry is undergoing a paradigm shift from post-care and management systems based on diagnosis and treatment to disease prevention and management based on personal precision medicine. To optimize medical services for individual patients, an open ecosystem for the healthcare industry that allows the exchange and utilization of personal health records (PHRs) is required. However, under the current system of hospital-centered data management, it is difficult to implement the linking and sharing of PHRs in practice. To address this problem, in this study, we present the design and implementation of a patient-centered PHR platform using blockchain technology. This platform achieved transparency and reliability in information management by eliminating the risk of leakage and tampering/altering personal information, which could occur when using a PHR. In addition, the patient-consent system was applied to a PHR; thus, the patient acted as the user with ownership. The proposed blockchain-based PHR platform enables the integration of personal medical information with scattered distribution across multiple hospitals, and allows patients to freely use their health records in their daily lives and emergencies. The proposed platform is expected to serve as a stepping stone for patient-centered healthcare data management and utilization.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2022

Background: To prepare for future work stoppages in the medical industry, this study aimed to identify the effects of healthcare worker strikes on the mortality rate of patients visiting the emergency department (ED) at six training hospitals in Daegu, South Korea. Methods: We used a retrospective, cross-sectional, multicenter design to analyze the medical records of patients who visited six training hospitals in Daegu (August 21-September 8, 2020). For comparison, control period 1 was set as the same period in the previous year (August 21-September 8, 2019) and control period 2 was set as July 1-19, 2020. Patient characteristics including age, sex, and time of ED visit were investigated along with mode of arrival, length of ED stay, and in-hospital mortality. The experimental and control groups were compared using t-tests, and Mann-Whitney U-test, chi-square test, and Fisher exact tests, as appropriate. Univariate logistic regression was performed to identify significant factors, followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: During the study period, 31,357 patients visited the ED, of which 7,749 belonged to the experimental group. Control periods 1 and 2 included 13,100 and 10,243 patients, respectively. No significant in-hospital mortality differences were found between strike periods; however, the results showed statistically significant differences in the length of ED stay. Conclusion: The ED resident strike did not influence the mortality rate of patients who visited the EDs of six training hospitals in Daegu. Furthermore, the number of patients admitted and the length of ED stay decreased during the strike period.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.13-26
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• 2007

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the association between health risk factors and mortality in Juam cohort. Methods: The subjects were 1,447 males and 1,889 females who had been followed up for 68.5 months to 1 January 2001. Whether they were alive or not was confirmed by the mortality data of the National Statistical Office. A total of 289 persons among them died during the follow-up period. The Cox's proportional hazard regression model was used for survival analysis. Results: Age, type of medical insurance, self cognitive health level, habit of alcohol drinking, smoking, exercise and BMI level were included in Cox's proportional hazard model by gender. The hazard ratio of age was 1.07(95% CI: 1.05-1.10) in men, 1.09(95% CI: 1.06-1.12) in women. The hazard ratio of medical aid(lower socioeconomic state) was 1.43(95% CI 1.02-2.19) in women. The hazard ratios of current alcohol drinking and current smoking were respectively 1.69(95% CI: 1.01-2.98), 1.52(95% CI: 1.02-2.28) in women. The hazard ratio of underweight was 1.56(95% CI 1.08-2.47) in men. The hazard ratios of underweight, normoweight, overweight, and obesity were respectively 1.63(95% CI: 1.02-2.67), 1.0(referent), 0.62(95% CI: 0.32-1.63), 1.27(95% CI: 0.65-3.06), which supported the U-shaped relationship between body mass index and mortality among the men over 65. Conclusions: The health risk factors increasing mortality were age, underweight in male, age, lower socioeconomic state, current alcohol drinking, current smoking in female. To evaluate long-term association between health risk factors and mortality, further studies need to be carried out.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.272-278
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• 2015

This paper analyzed interference impact between wireless headset and Wireless Fidelity which get a high possibility of simultaneously operating in the Industry Science Medical(ISM) bands. Analysis methods of Minimum Coupling Loss(MCL) and Monte Carlo(MC) were applied by using the characters and parameters referenced to Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers(IEEE) 802.11b. The protection distance between interferer (WiFi transmitter) and victim (Wireless headset receiver) was calculated through the MCL. The protection distance was obtained for the case of single interferer, and the maximum allowable number of multiple interferers was computed according to the cell radius of a victim system to meet 5 % below of interference probability by using a statistical analysis based on the MC method. The analysis results are expected to be used as a guideline to coexist the wireless headset and low power devices in the ISM band.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2011

In this study, we evaluated the bioactivities of methanol extract and its solvent fractions of Sonchus asper (L.) Hill. The EtOAc fraction of S. asper exhibited more strong antioxidant activity than other extracts as evidenced by the strongest 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity with a $EC_{50}$ value at $33.55\;{\mu}g/mL$ and reducing power, the total polyphenol (180.71 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid contents (145.86 mg QE/g) of S. asper extract were higher than other extracts. The EtOAc fraction of the S. asper also showed 47.38% mushroom tyrosinase inhibition activity, 56.22% ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition and 46.58% ${\alpha}$-amylase inhibition ratio at 1 mg/mL. Both methylene chloride and EtOAc fractions of methanol extract of S. asper effectively reduced of the 86.34% and 62.03% angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) activity at 2 mg/mL, respectively. These findings suggest that the EtOAc fraction of the S. asper could be a potential antioxidant in food additive, medicinal, and industry product.

• Journal of Service Research and Studies
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2011

Data mining that can not be extracted with a simple query in the form of "useful" means to find information in large databases from the existing and unknown knowledge. It is based on this insight about the data can be defined as a gain. In this paper, we use the Internet to find useful patterns on the Web or saved data to the target Web site, which is to analyze the characteristics of users. A general statistical information on Internet users to the data by applying a relevance analysis, Internet use affect the amount of time to analyze the characteristics of Internet users. Only through experiments extracting data from the association rules, producing optimal results apply for the data pre-processing and algorithm for mining the Web to Internet users. characteristics were analyzed.