• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1913-1917
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• 2015

Background: Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is endemic in the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey. The present study was performed to identify risk factors for ESCC that specifically reflect the demography and nutritional habits of individuals living in this region. Materials and Methods: The following parameters were compared in 208 ESCC patients and 200 control individuals in the Eastern Anatolian region: age, sex, place of living, socioeconomic level, education level, smoking, alcohol intake, nutritional habits, and food preservation methods. Results: The mean age of ESCC patients was 56.2 years, and 87 (41.8%) were 65 years-old or older. The ratio of women to men in the patient group was 1.39/1. ESCC patients consumed significantly less fruit and yellow or green vegetables and more hot black tea, 'boiled yellow butter', and mouldy cheese than did control individuals. Residence in rural areas, smoking, and cooking food by burning animal manure were also significantly associated with ESCC. Conclusions: The consumption of boiled yellow butter and mouldy cheese, which are specific to the Eastern Anatolian region, and the use of animal manure for food preparation were identified as risk factors in this region. Further studies are required to potentially identify the carcinogenic substances that promote the development of ESCC in this region.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.983-990
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• 2011

Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) has been used to estimate potential long-term soil erosion in the fields. However, the USLE does not estimate sediment yield due to lack of module considering sediment delivery ratio (SDR) for watershed application. For that reason, the Sediment Assessment Tool for Effective Erosion Control (SATEEC) system was developed and applied to compute the sediment yield at watershed scale. However, the R factor of current SATEEC Ver. 2.1 was estimated based on 5-day antecedent rainfall, it is not related with fundamental concept of R factor. To compute R factor accurately, the energy of rainfall strikes should be considered. In this study, the R module in the SATEEC system was enhanced using formulas of Williams, Foster, Cooley, CREAMS which could consider the energy of rainfall strikes. The enhanced SATEEC system ver. 2.2 was applied to the Imha watershed and monthly sediment yield was estimated. As a result of this study, the $R^2$ and NSE values are 0.591 and 0.573 for calibration period, and 0.927 and 0.911 for validation period, respectively. The results demonstrate the enhanced SATEEC System estimates the sediment yield suitably, and it could be used to establish the detailed environmental policy standard using USLE input dataset at watershed scale.

• The Journal of Health Technology Assessment
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.100-105
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this research is to investigate regional variations of mastication difficulty rates in the elderly over 65 in 229 primary autonomous districts in Korea and explore relevant characteristics. For the research data, local community health survey conducted in 2015 and data from Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Health & Welfare, National Health Insurance Service and Statistics Korea were used. Methods: Frequency analysis was conducted for general characteristics and mastication difficulty rates of each region, and distribution of mastication difficulty rates was displayed for each town, city and province by mapping them. Extremal quotient (EQ), coefficient of variation (CV) values were calculated for regional variations, and logistic regression analysis was performed to reveal the relationship between each independent variable and mastication difficulty rates. Results: The average of standardized mastication difficulty rate was 46.78%, and regional variations were significant with EQ 3.46, CV 0.18. Characteristic factors that have significant effects on mastication difficulty rate included sex ratio, elderly population and the number of dentists per 10000 people. Conclusion: As a result, there were variations among mastication difficulty rates in 229 primary local governments across the country, and the distribution of health care resources by the characteristics of the local environment by region affected mastication difficulty rates. Accordingly, it is required to provide political supports to overcome regional inequality of oral health levels and develop cooperative system between local governments and local dentists.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.73-91
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• 2009

In this paper, we attempt to study the trend of regional disparity among Chinese provinces and examine the effects of globalization on the disparities adapting panel data approach. The panel data set utilized consists of the annual variables of 29 provinces during 18 years from 1990 to 2007. The trend of inter-provincial disparities in the 1990s with the expansive trend but the trend has started to decrease since 2000. The results of the China case study show clearly that the provincial international trade level and ratio variables perform on regional income disparities remarkably in all cases. It means that the large development of international trade do with increased among provincial disparity. While due to the large area in the provinces, there exist urban-rural disparities within provinces could be one of the main source of regional disparities. Therefore, along with western regions development policy various development policies against small cities are necessary for balanced regional economic growth in China.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.405-412
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• 2011

Increased Non-permeable areas which have resulted from civilization reduce the volume of groundwater infiltration that is one of the important factors causing water shortage during a dry season. Thus, seeking the efficient method to analyze the volume of groundwater in accurate should be needed to solve water shortage problems. In this study, two different watersheds were selected and precipitation, soil group, and land use were surveyed in a particular year in order to figure out the accuracy of estimated infiltration recharge ratio compared to Web-based Hydrograph Analysis Tool (WHAT). The volume of groundwater was estimated considering Antecedent soil Moisture Condition (AMC) and Curve Number (CN) using Long Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L-THIA) model. The results of this study showed that in the case of Kyoung-an watershed, the volume of both infiltration and baseflow seperated from WHAT was 46.99% in 2006 and 33.68% in 2007 each and in Do-am watershed the volume of both infiltration and baseflow was 33.48% in 2004 and 23.65% in 2005 respectively. L-THIA requires only simple data (i.e., land uses, soils, and precipitation) to simulate the accurate volume of groundwater. Therefore, with convenient way of L-THIA, researchers can manage watershed more effectively than doing it with other models. L-THIA has limitations that it neglects the contributions of snowfall to precipitation. So, to estimate more accurate assessment of the long term hydrological impacts including groundwater with L-THIA, further researches about snowfall data in winter should be considered.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2023

Background: Despite the various activities of the regional public hospitals, discussions are being made as to whether or not to continue due to the issue of financial deficit. Therefore, the main factors affecting the fiscal deficit were analyzed with 10-year data. Methods: This study is a panel analysis that analyzed the characteristics of 34 regional public hospitals and influencing factors on medical benefits for 10 years from 2010 to 2019. First, we analyze the determinants of medically vulnerable areas set by the government, analyze the trend of medical profit per 100 beds and medical profit rate from 2010 to 2019, and identify the factors that affect them. Results: Differences in medical profit per 100 beds and medical profit-to-medical profit rate were caused by market share representing regional characteristics, and both indicators improved as the number of outpatients increased. The important influencing variables are the number of doctors and nurses, and both indicators improve when there are specialists, but medical benefits decrease as the number of doctors increases when judged by the number of people per 100 beds. In addition, the number of nurses per 100 beds does not contribute to medical profit and has a negative effect on the medical profit ratio. Conclusion: As only regional characteristics were taken into account for medically vulnerable areas, operational characteristics need to be considered. The greatest impact on the finances of local medical centers is the proper staffing of doctors and nurses, and their efficient arrangement is the most important factor in financial stability.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.45-68
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• 2014

This research addressed improvement directions and problems of regional science and technology(S&T) policies in Daegu and Gyungbuk regions in terms of 'Creative Economy' which was a new paradigm of Park Gunhye Government. Creative Economy stressed the construction of an ecosystem in regional research and development activities, and thus it was deeply associated with building a regional innovation system(RIS). There were several problems to strengthen RIS with regional S&T policies of the regions as follows: limits in meeting regional needs due to excessive attraction of central government's projects into regions; the high ratio of programs for future basic research potentials; the lack of programs assessing and coordinating the policies; and the lack of experiences and expenditure of research institutes and firm supporting organizations. Due to these problems, the role of the policies in building RIS did not seem to be effective. Therefore, the policies need to be improved through the following measures: the expansion of regional own policies focusing regional needs; the enhancement of policy coordination by shifting to systematic approach; the expansion of soft supporting programs for constructing innovation systems; and the enhancement of stability and ability of research institutes and firm supporting organizations.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.288-302
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• 2013

This paper aims to compare and analyze the undergraduate geography curriculums of Korean and American universities. is rarely offered as an undergraduate geography subject in both Korean and American universities. This may be due to the fact that the four fields of geography(human geography field, physical geography field, regional geography field, and other geography field) are not easily able to be integrated and taught as an independent geography subject. The ratio of the subject number of human geography field(39.4%) is greater than that of physical geography field(24.5%) at the geography departments of Korean universities, but the ratio of the subject number of physical geography field(32.8%) is a little more greater than that of human geography field(29.4%) at the geography departments of American universities. The ratio of the subject number of regional geography fields at the geography department of American universities(18.1%) is greater than that of Korean universities(13.8%), so more stress seems to be laid on the field of regional geography in American universities than in Korean universities. Although the geography curriculums of Korean universities seems to follow generally those of American universities, this paper reveals that there is also differences between the geography curriculums of Korean and American universities in terms of their emphasis on four fields of geography. The differences could be explained by the historical context of the geography departments of Korean universities during the last half a century.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.421-433
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• 2009

The impervious ratio was frequently employed as a fundamental attribute will be used as a proxy of the total environmental burden in the urban area since it may contribute as much or more on a cumulative basis to the overall environmental condition. This research proposes a comparative evaluation framework in a more objective and Quantitative way for an impervious ratio in the university campus, using the Google Earth. Two university campuses (Kyungpook National University: KNU, Hong Kong University: HKUJ were selected as survey objectives in order to evaluate the potential of Google Earth in monitoring impervious conditions in the campus. The 61cm resolution of Quickbird data combined with digital map realistically identified the major type of impervious surface such as road, building and parking lots in the study area by large scale spatial precision. The impervious zones with persistently high road density and parking space were specifically identified over the KNU campus while the HKC campus was intensively covered by tree, resulting in almost twice (31%). as compared to KNU (18.4%), The methods of characterizing impervious surface used in this study are easily replicable using data that are primarily publicly available, and therefore the collection of impervious coverage data via Google Earth is, therefore, proposed as a practical alternative.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.3-14
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the distribution characteristics of the agency-managed shared housings in Seoul and draw the possible implications from it. The needed data for the study was obtained from an on-line shared housing portal service which provides housing information from various shared housing management agencies. By mapping out the locations and other related data into a GIS(Geographic Information System) program, this study shows that shared housings in Seoul can be sorted into four large clusters. Each cluster has a different ratio of housing types and room capacities reflecting each regional circumstance and common causes. Women-only shared housing takes up 79% of the overall shared housing ratio and, while multi-family housing type has the most count, the apartment type has a noticeably high ratio in women-only housing compared to the apartment type ratio among the other gender-specific housings. Given the high crime rate against the single-person household of young adult women, the reason for the popularity of shared-apartment housing among young women can be deduced. However, the potential tenants' practical choices and their concern for safety are not the only causes that drive the current shared housing market. The young adults in their 20's and 30's choose to live in popular places where they can engage social activities. A new tier of shared housing market has also appeared in places where young adults could not have afforded if they lived alone. Choosing where we live is no longer about just meeting the requirements for a house based on what she/he needs but also about satisfying the preferences for a living based on what she/he desires. This paper indicates that although there is an undeniable premise that 'sharing a house' revolves around the realm of housing welfare and is not a typical topic for the upper-income households, the way we live and how we choose our place to live is shifting.