• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.79-85
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• 2007

Demand forecasting methods for a consumer product such as TV or refrigerator are widely known. However, sales forecast for a brand new product cannot be estimated using conventional forecasting methods. This study proposes a five-step procedure in forecasting a newly developed product. Step one defines functions in a High Touch product in order to estimate relative attraction of the product to consumer group. In step two, for a comparison purpose, a compatible product that is successfully penetrated into market is selected. Step three breaks a target population into many segments based on demography. Step four calculates relative attraction between the High Touch product and the compatible product. Finally, market penetration rate of the High Touch product is estimated using a bell-shaped diffusion curve of the compatible product. The process offers a method to estimate potential demand and growth pattern of the new High Touch product.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.305-316
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• 1991

Growth hadit and demograph in a mature population of polygonatum and polygonatum humile in kanghwa island were studied for two growing seasons. Shoots of two species emerged early spring from the growing apices of the underdground rhizomes which had persisted for up to 1~5 year.after flowering, the ramets produced two rhizome buds at the shoot base. Bacause of the apical dominance in the rhizome system, a new rhizome was developed from only one bud, an actual bud,and the other latent buds were suppressed sothat remained dormant. The latent dud produced a new rhizome only when the actual dud was severed by the herbivores or by the physical obstacles. Therefore, the ramet number is not increased by the new rhizome from the latent bud. however, new ramets dould sometimes grow from latent buds which had been produced more than a year ago. Production of these ramets was main means increasing the ramet numbew and widening the potential zone of exploitation. Changes in size class of each ramet were noyiceable after a tear in small size-classes. Small ramets replaced themselves with larger-sized ramet, while large ramets with similar-sized or smallar-sized ramets. ramet numbers were average 0.82and 1.14 times of those fromthe previous year inp. involucratum and p. humile, though there was between-site variation. Almost all the ramets in the quadrats were alive during the growing season. when the entire rhizome systems were excavater next spring, there were many rhizomesegments without shoots, especially in p. involucratum. therefore, the drcrease of ramet number in p. involucratum in probably due to the climatic factors of winter.

• East Asian mathematical journal
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.317-330
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• 2018

We develop a mathematical model for the obesity dynamics to investigate the long term obesity trend with the consideration of psychological and social factors due to the increasing prevalence of obesity around the world. Many mathematical models for obesity dynamics adopted the modeling idea of infectious disease and treated overweight and obese people infectious and spreading obesity to normal weight. However, this modeling idea is not proper in obesity modeling because obesity is not an infectious disease. In fact, weight gain and loss are related to social interactions among different weight groups not only in the direction from overweight/obese to normal weight but also the other way around. Thus, we consider these aspects in our model and implement personal weight gain feature, a psychological factor such as body image dissatisfaction, and social interactions such as positive support on weight loss and negative criticism on weight status from various weight groups. We show that the equilibrium point with no normal weight population will be unstable and that an equilibrium point with positive normal weight population should have all other components positive. We conduct computer simulations on Korean demography data with our model and demonstrate the long term obesity trend of Korean male as an example of the use of our model.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.129-136
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• 2021

Objectives: This study examined demographic factors hampering access to healthcare at hospitals and suggests policy approaches to improve healthcare management in Thailand. Methods: The data for the study were drawn from a health and welfare survey conducted by the National Statistical Office of Thailand in 2017. The population-based health and welfare survey was systematically carried out by skilled interviewers, who polled 21 519 384 individuals. The independent variables related to demographic data (age, sex, religion, marital status, education, occupation, and area of residence), chronic diseases, and health insurance coverage. The dependent variable was the degree of access to healthcare. Multiple logistic regression analysis was subsequently performed on the variables found to be significant in the univariate analysis. Results: Only 2.5% of the population did not visit a hospital when necessary for outpatient-department treatment, hospitalization, or the provision of oral care. The primary reasons people gave for not availing themselves of the services offered by government hospitals when they were ill were-in descending order of frequency-insufficient time to seek care, long hospital queues, travel inconvenience, a lack of hospital beds, unavailability of a dentist, not having someone to accompany them, and being unable to pay for the transportation costs. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that failure to access the health services provided at hospitals was associated with demographic, educational, occupational, health welfare, and geographic factors. Conclusions: Accessibility depends not only on health and welfare benefit coverage, but also on socioeconomic factors and the degree of convenience associated with visiting a hospital.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.1887-1893
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to detail characteristics of mammary Paget's disease (PD) representing the whole population in China. A total of 4211 female breast cancer inpatients at seven tertiary hospitals from seven representative geographical regions of China were collected randomly during 1999 to 2008. Data for demography, risk factors, diagnostic imaging test, physical examination and pathologic characters were surveyed and biomarker status was tested by immunohistochemistry. The differences of demography and risk factors between PD with breast cancer and other lesions were compared using Chi-square test or t-test, with attention to physical examination and pathological characters. The percentage of PD was 1.6% (68/4211) in all breast cancers. The mean age at diagnosis was 48.1, and 63.2% (43/68) patients were premenopausal. There is no difference in demography and risk factors between PD with breast cancer and other breast cancer (P > 0.05). The main pattern of PD in physical exam and pathologic pattern were patients presenting with a palpable mass in breast (65/68, 95.6%) and PD with underlying invasive cancer (82.4%, 56/68) respectively. The rate of multifocal disease was 7.4% (5/68). PD with invasive breast cancer showed larger tumor size, more multifocal disease, lower ER and PR expression and higher HER2 overexpression than those in other invasive breast cancer (P < 0.05). These results suggested that PD in China is a concomitant disease of breast cancer, and that PD with underlying invasive cancer has more multiple foci and more aggressive behavior compared with other breast invasive cancer. We address the urgent needs for establishing diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines for mammary PD in China.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.18-28
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• 2017

Objectives: Low birth weight (LBW) is a major public health concern, especially in developing countries, and is frequently related to child morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to identify key determinants that influence the prevalence of LBW in selected developing countries. Methods: Secondary data analysis was conducted using 10 recent Demography and Health Surveys from developing countries based on the availability of the required information for the years 2010 to 2013. Associations of demographic, socioeconomic, community-based, and individual factors of the mother with LBW in infants were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: The overall prevalence of LBW in the study countries was 15.9% (range, 9.0 to 35.1%). The following factors were shown to have a significant association with the risk of having an LBW infant in developing countries: maternal age of 35 to 49 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 3.1; p<0.01), inadequate antenatal care (ANC) (aOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.8; p<0.01), illiteracy (aOR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.7; p<0.001), delayed conception (aOR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.4 to 2.5; p<0.001), low body mass index (aOR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.1; p<0.001) and being in the poorest socioeconomic stratum (aOR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.8; p<0.001). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that delayed conception, advanced maternal age, and inadequate ANC visits had independent effects on the prevalence of LBW. Strategies should be implemented based on these findings with the goal of developing policy options for improving the overall maternal health status in developing countries.

• ALGAE
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2022

Genetic diversity and distribution patterns of marine macroalgae are increasingly being documented in Southeast Asia. These studies show that there can be significant levels of genetic diversity and isolation between populations on either side of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Bostrychia tenellla is a common filamentous red seaweed in the region and the entity is represented by at least two cryptic species. Despite being highly diverse and widespread, genetic variation and population structure of this species complex remains understudied, especially around the Thai-Malay Peninsula. We analyzed genetic diversity and inferred the phylogeographic pattern of specimens identified as B. tenella using the plastid RuBisCo spacer from samples from the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Our genetic analysis confirmed the occurrence of the two cryptic B. tenella species (B and C) along both coasts. Cryptic species B was more common in the area and displayed higher genetic diversity than species C. Historical demographic analyses indicated a stable population for species B, but more recent population expansion for species C. Our analyses also revealed that both cryptic species from the Andaman Sea possessed higher genetic diversity than those of the Gulf of Thailand. We also detected moderate to high levels of gene flow and weak phylogeographic structure of cryptic species B between the two coasts. In contrast, phylogeographic analysis showed genetic differences between populations of both cryptic species within the Andaman Sea. Overall, these results suggest that cryptic B. tenella species around Thai-Malay Peninsula may have undergone different demography histories, and their patterns of genetic diversity and phylogeography were likely caused by geological history and regional sea surface current circulation in the area.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.637-653
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• 2018

Rapid aging of the population affects population structure and population aging. Consequently, developed countries have focused on population aging as a major issue in regards to pension sustainability finances as well as health and the elderly welfare system. Mortality projections that result from population structure changes and population aging are increasingly important. This paper compares six mortality models using KOSTAT's life table from 1970 to 2016. The models are rooted in the Lee-Carter (LC) model (Lee and Carter, Journal of the American Statistical Association, 87, 659-671, 1992) and have been modified and improved on the assumptions of the LC model. We examined the improvement process and the check assumption by models in order to find a suitable mortality model for Korea. Korea shows rapid aging and declined mortality rate by age; therefore, it is desirable to estimate and predict mortality from LL&LC-ER models by combining LC-ER, LL, and LC-ER models that reflect the phenomena and modify age-specific mortality patterns without major changes in expected life expectancy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.719-722
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• 2016

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a serious health problem in Thailand, particularly in northeastern and northern regions, but epidemiological studies are scarce and the spatial distribution of CCA remains to be determined. A database for the population at risk is required for monitoring, surveillance and organization of home health care. This study aim was to geo-visually display the distribution of CCA in northeast Thailand, using a geographic information system and Google Earth. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 9 sub-districts and 133 villages in Chum Phuang district, Nakhon Ratchasima province during June and October 2015. Data on demography, and the population at risk for CCA were combined with the points of villages, sub-district boundaries, district boundaries, and points of hospitals in districts, then fed into a geographical information system. After the conversion, all of the data were imported into Google Earth for geo-visualization. Results: A total of 11,960 from 83,096 population were included in this study. Females and male were 52.5%, and 47.8%, the age group 41-50 years old 33.3%. Individual risk for CCA was identifed and classified by using the Korat CCA verbal screening test as low (92.8%), followed by high risk (6.74%), and no (0.49%), respectively. Gender ($X^2$-test=1143.63, p-value= 0.001), age group ($X^2$-test==211.36, p-value=0.0001), and sub-district ($X^2$-test=1471.858, p-value=0.0001) were significantly associated with CCA risk. Spatial distribution of the population at risk for CCA in Chum Phuang district was viewed with Google Earth. Geo-visual display followed Layer 1: District, Layer 2: Sub-district, Layer 3: Number of low risk in village, Layer 4: Number of high risk in village, and Layer 5: Hospital in Chum Phuang District and their related catchment areas. Conclusions: We present the first risk geo-visual display of CCA in this rural community, which is important for spatial targeting of control efforts. Risk appears to be strongly associated with gender, age group, and sub-district. Therefor, spatial distribution is suitable for the use in the further monitoring, surveillance, and home health care for CCA.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5153-5155
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• 2013

Background: Because of the gender disparity in the incidence of thyroid cancer, this study aimed to determine the association between reproductive factors and thyroid cancer. Methods: A total of 10,767 eligible women from the Khon Kaen Cohort, recruited and interviewed between 1990 and 2001, were followed up until 2011. The data were linked to the Khon Kaen Population-Based Cancer Registry to detect thyroid cancer cases. Results: There was 17 thyroid cancer cases detected, an incidence of 11.2 per 100,000 person-years, of which 70.6 % were papillary tumors. The incidence was apparently greater among those with an early age of menarche, nulligravida women, and oral contraceptive users. Conlusions: There was a trend for thyroid cancer to develop in relation to longer estrogen exposure. This evidence is inconclusive but warrants further investigation.