• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.925-931
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• 2002

Gibbs sampling algorithms were implemented to the multi-trait threshold animal models with any combinations of multiple binary, ordered categorical, and linear traits and investigate the amount of bias on these models with two kinds of parameterization and algorithms for generating underlying liabilities. Statistical models which included additive genetic and residual effects as random and contemporary group effects as fixed were considered on the models using simulated data. The fully conditional posterior means of heritabilities and genetic (residual) correlations were calculated from 1,000 samples retained every 10th samples after 15,000 samples discarded as "burn-in" period. Under the models considered, several combinations of three traits with binary, multiple ordered categories, and continuous were analyzed. Five replicates were carried out. Estimates for heritabilities and genetic (residual) correlations as the posterior means were unbiased when underlying liabilities for a categorical trait were generated given by underlying liabilities of the other traits and threshold estimates were rescaled. Otherwise, when parameterizing threshold of zero and residual variance of one for binary traits, heritability estimates were inflated 7-10% upward. Genetic correlation estimates were biased upward if positively correlated and downward if negatively correlated when underling liabilities were generated without accounting for correlated traits on prior information. Residual correlation estimates were, consequently, much biased downward if positively correlated and upward if negatively correlated in that case. The more categorical trait had categories, the better mixing rate was shown.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.379-394
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• 2000

As an in-vessel retention (IVR) design concept in coping with a severe accident in the nuclear power plant during which time a considerable amount of core material may melt, external cooling of the reactor vessel has been suggested to protect the lower head from overheating due to relocated material from the core. The efficiency of the ex-vessel management may be estimated by the thermal margin defined as the ratio of the critical heat flux (CHF）to the actual heat flux from the reactor vessel. Principal factors affecting the thermal margin calculation are the amount of heat to be transferred downward from the molten pool, variation of heat flux with the angular position, and the amount of removable heat by external cooling In this paper a thorough literature survey is made and relevant models and correlations are critically reviewed and applied in terms of their capabilities and uncertainties in estimating the thermal margin to potential failure of the vessel on account of the CHF Results of the thermal margin calculation are statistically treated and the associated uncertainties are quantitatively evaluated to shed light on the issues requiring further attention and study in the near term. Our results indicated a higher thermal margin at the bottom than at the top of the vessel accounting for the natural convection within the hemispherical molten debris pool in the lower plenum. The information obtained from this study will serve as the backbone in identifying the maximum heat removal capability and limitations of the IVR technology called the Cerium Attack Syndrome Immunization Structures (COASISO) being developed for next generation reactors.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.53-65
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• 1998

This study was designed to examine the decision-making and family life satisfaction of the urban middle-aged housewives from the ecological perspective. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ecological enviornment variables(ie, natural physical-biological environment·social-cultural environment·human-built environment) and their dicision-making on their family life satisfaction. Also, it is to provide some fundamental information that helps to elevate the family life satisfaction of the unban middle-aged housewives. The subjects of this study were 305 housewives living in Seoul and Inchon area, whose age was from 40 to 59. The significant results were as follows: 1) Their decision-making was affected by the following variables in the order of health condition, fate-control orientation, husband’s support, monthly family income and the perception of the adequacy of household income. 2) The ecological environment variables which had an influence on family life satisfaction were the perception of the adequacy of household income, husband’s support, fate-control orientation, health condition and educational level. 3) From the regression analysis, the model was found to be highly significant, accounting for 44% of the variance. Thus, husband’s support was the strongest predictor variable.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.5625-5629
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• 2013

Occurrence of breast cancer is related to genetic as well as cultural, environmental and life-style factors. Variations in diversity of these factors among different ethnic groups and geographical areas emphasize the immense need for studies in all racial-ethnic populations. The incidence of breast cancer in Pakistan is highest in Asians after Jews in Israel and 2.5 times higher than that in neighboring countries like Iran and India, accounting for 34.6% of female cancers. The Pakistani population is deficient in information regarding breast cancer etiology and epidemiology, but efforts done so far had suggested consanguinity as a major risk factor for frequent mutations leading to breast cancer and has also shed light on genetic origins in different ethnic groups within Pakistan. World-wide research efforts on different ethnicities have enhanced our understanding of genetic predisposition to breast cancer but despite these discoveries, 75% of the familial risk of breast cancer remains unexplained, highlighting the fact that the majority of breast cancer susceptibility genes remain unidentified. For this purpose Pakistani population provides a strong genetic pool to elucidate the genetic etiology of breast cancer because of cousin marriages. In this review, we describe the known breast cancer predisposition factors found in the local Pakistani population and the epidemiological research work done to emphasize the importance of exploring factors/variants contributing to breast cance, in order to prevent, cure and decrease its incidence in our country.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.43-46
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• 2016

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women around the world. Information on the incidence and mortality of breast cancer is essential for planning health measures. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and mortality of breast cancer in the world using age-specific incidence and mortality rates for the year 2012 acquired from the global cancer project (GLOBOCAN 2012) as well as data about incidence and mortality of the cancer based on national reports. It was estimated that 1,671,149 new cases of breast cancer were identified and 521,907 cases of deaths due to breast cancer occurred in the world in 2012. According to GLOBOCAN, it is the most common cancer in women, accounting for 25.1% of all cancers. Breast cancer incidence in developed countries is higher, while relative mortality is greatest in less developed countries. Education of women is suggested in all countries for early detection and treatment. Plans for the control and prevention of this cancer must be a high priority for health policy makers; also, it is necessary to increase awareness of risk factors and early detection in less developed countries.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.115-126
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• 2009

Objective: By assessing the quality of methodology and synthesis of results of RCTs (Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials) with herbal acupuncture (pharmacopuncture), we hope to help with administrating herbal acupuncture therapy in clinic and conducting RCT with herbal acupuncture. Methods: Reports of RCT conducted in Korea published in medical journals until February 2009 were collected. We surveyed elementary information of RCTs, evaluated randomization, double-blinding, allocation concealment and put together the results of RCTs by seven clinical topics. Results: 38 RCTs with herbal acupuncture were selected, then adequate methods for randomization and allocation concealment were found in 39% and 5% of studies. Complete double-blinding and a clear accounting of all participants were conducted in 42% and 50% of reports. The synthesis of RCTs revealed that herbal acupuncture was useful and effective on degenerative gonarthritis, omarthralgia on cerebrovascular accident, acute ankle sprain, back sprain, neck sprain, headache, rheumatoid arthritis and tennis elbow, generally. Conclusions: Although further improvement in quality of methodology of RCTs with herbal acupuncture is required, clinical usefulness of herbal acupuncture was shown especially on disorders of musculoskeletal system via RCTs.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.283-291
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• 2020

Although the corporate governance plays a crucial role in protecting shareholder wealth, the effect of corporate governance on cost of debt is unclear. On one hand, the corporate governance reduces asymmetric information between corporate and external investor including debtholder leading to a decreasing in cost of debt financing. On the other hand, bondholders require higher rate of return for an improvement corporate governance. Hence, this study aims to investigate the relationship between the mechanism to improve corporate governance namely board effectiveness and the cost of debt in an emerging market. As we aim to explore the relationship between cost of debt and board effectiveness, we select corporation in Thailand as our sample because the businesses in Thailand are major debt-financing. Hence, our sample include listed firm in Stock Exchange of Thailand between 2007 and 2016. Our main findings support the sub-optimal investment hypothesis in that improved board effectiveness is associated with higher cost of borrowing. In addition, we find that the number of board member-board size, the number of board meeting, and the percentage of non-executive on audit committee play are positively associated with the cost of debt financing. Furthermore, we perform two-stage-least square (2SLS) to ensure that our results are far from endogeneity issue.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.51-61
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• 2020

This research investigates the consequences of the increase in corporate use of short-term debt in China over the past decades. Using a sample of Chinese firms from 2007 to 2018, we empirically explore the effect of corporate use of short-term debt for long-term investment (SFLI) on audit pricing. We first examine the relationship between SFLI and audit pricing for different groups of firms. Then, we investigate the role of the increase in short-term debt in alleviating principal-agent conflicts and reducing agency costs. We have four primary empirical findings. First, auditors tend to charge SFLI clients higher fees. Second, the negative relationship between SFLI and audit fee is found in private firms, firms audited by Chinese domestic auditors, and firms with higher information asymmetry. Third, the time auditors spent on SFLI clients is significantly more than that spent on non-SFLI clients, suggesting that the decrease in audit fee is not due to the decrease in cost. Fourth, SFLI significantly reduces the agency costs of the firm, which auditors regard as a low risk signal and grant an audit fee discount. Our findings suggest that the decrease in debt maturity, not only influences managerial behaviors, but also influences auditors' risk assessment and pricing decisions.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.263-269
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• 2020

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of consumer price index, infrastructure, human resources, trade openness, and private credit on the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Tay Ninh province as well as to emphasize the important role of FDI in economic growth of developing areas. The research data was collected from Tay Ninh Statistical Office with 80 samples of a 20-year period from 2000 to 2019. Also, OLS regression method using Eviews software was employed to analyze the data obtained. The findings revealed that human resources, infrastructure and private credit have a positive and significant impact on FDI attraction in Tay Ninh province, while consumer price index was proven to affect FDI attraction negatively. Accordingly, competent authorities of Tay Ninh province should focus on stabilizing prices as well as implementing policies for developing local human resources and attracting high-quality personnel from foreign countries. Tay Ninh province also needs to pay more attention to information technology investment for synchronous development of infrastructure. Moreover, the State Bank of Tay Ninh branch needs to consider more credit sources to provide support packages for businesses, creating a strong basis for establishments to attract FDI for the province's economic development.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.4953-4960
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• 2013

Primary liver cancer is one of the most common cancers at the global level, accounting for half of all cancers in some undeveloped countries. This disease tends to occur in livers damaged through alcohol abuse, or chronic infection with hepatitis B and C, on a background of cirrhosis. Various cancer-causing substances are associated with primary liver cancer, including certain pesticides and such chemicals as vinyl chloride and arsenic. The strong association between HBV infection and liver cancer is well documented in epidemiological studies. It is generally acknowledged that the virus is involved through long term chronic infection, frequently associated with cirrhosis, suggesting a nonspecific mechanism triggered by the immune response. Chronic inflammation of liver, continuous cell death, abnormal cell growth, would increase the occurrence rate of genetic alterations and risk of disease. However, the statistics indicated that only about one fifth of HBV carries would develop HCC in lifetime, suggesting that individual variation in genome would also influence the susceptibility of HCC. The goal of this review is to highlight present level of knowledge on the role of viral infection and genetic variation in the development of liver cancer.