• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.49-55
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• 2018

Purpose - This paper examines the effect of related party transactions on crash firm-specific stock price crash risk. Ownership of a typical Korean conglomerate is concentrated in a single family. In those entities, management and board positions are often filled by family members. Therefore, a dominant shareholder can benefit from related party transactions. In Korea, firms have to report related party transactions in financial statement footnotes. However, those are not disclosed in detail. The more related party transactions are the greater information risk. Thus, companies with related party transactions are likely to experience stock price crashes. Research design, data, and methodology - 2,598 firm-year observations are used for the main analysis. Those samples are from TS2000 database from 2009 to 2013, and the database covers KOSPI-listed firms in Korea. The proxy for related party transactions (RTP) is calculated by dividing total transactions to the related-party by total sales. A dummy variable is used as a dependent variable (CRASH) in the regression model. Logistic regression is used to explain the relationship between related party transactions and crash risk. Then, the sample was separated into two groups; tunneling firms and propping firms. The relation between related party transactions and crash risk variances with features of the transaction were investigated. Results - Using a sample of KOSPI-listed firms in TS2000 database for the period of 2009-2013, I find that stock price crash risk increases as the trade volume of related-party transactions increases. Specifically, I find that the coefficient of RPT is significantly positive, supporting the prediction. In addition, this relationship is strong and robust in tunneling firms. Conclusions - The results report that firms with related party transactions are more likely to experience stock price crashes. The results mean that related party transactions increase the possibility of future stock price crashes by enlarging information asymmetry between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders. In case of tunneling, it could be seen that related party transactions are positively associated with stock crash risk. The result implies that the characteristic of the transaction influences crash risk. This study is related to a literature that investigates the effect of related party transactions on the stock market.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.294-303
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• 2010

Various types of health functional foods (HFF) are popularly used among middle-aged. We surveyed 946 middle-aged in Korea for HFF use and significant variables for their HFF use including demographic characteristics, health related variables and nutritional beliefs. The use prevalence of HFF was 58.9%, and among all types of HFF, red ginseng products were taken most frequently, followed by nutritional supplements, ginseng products > mushroom products. HFF was taken more frequently in subjects from high monthly family income (p < .001), and in those from families with a high socioeconomic status (p < .001) in comparison to each corresponding group. Mean age of users was higher than nonusers (p < .001). Self concern about health (p < .001) and usage ratio of HFF by family (p < .001) were higher in users than in nonusers of HFF. Total dietary assessment score was not different in two groups, and users had a more positive view concerning the potential health benefit of HFF than nonusers (p < .001). Most users of HFF took HFF when they were healthy (52.8%) and experienced a little effect through the HFF use (51.2%). Most users of HFF obtained the information on HFF through family and relatives (30.5%) and most of them purchased HFF at pharmacy or oriental medicine clinics (44.5%). HFF users preferred multivitamin and Ca-supplements most among the vitamin mineral supplements belonged to HFF. Given the widespread use of HFF and inappropriate usage of HFF among subjects, the proper use of these products for the contribution to their optimal nutrition and overall health is a subject that should be formed through practical nutrition education considering the various variables affecting their HFF use.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2009

Purpose: Excessive scarring in the forms of keloid and hypertrophic scar could be a consquence of the accumulation of granulation tissue cells due to aberrant control of apoptosis. Verapamil retard extracelluar matrix production and inhibits VEGF production in primary cultured keloid fibroblast. The object of this study was effect of verapamil on VEGF expression and apoptosis in early wound scarring of the rabbit ear. Methods: Full thickness wounds were created on the ventral side of 6 New Zealand rabbits's ear. 16 days after initial wounding verapamil and saline were injected each scars and scars were harvested 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks later. The wounds were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, TUNEL stain, immunohistochemical stain for VEGF and calculated scar elevation index. Results: Histologic analaysis demonstrated significant reduction in inflammation, vascularity and improvement in dermal collagen organization in experimental group. In TUNEL staining apotosis positive cells were increased and immunohistochemial staining of VEGF demonstrated significant reduction of VEGF expression in experimental group. No significant difference was noted in scar elevation index between two groups. Conclusion: This study suggest that intralesional injection of verapamil on early wound scarring of the rabbit ear decreased VEGF production and increased apoptosis and have a benefit on the pathophysiology of scar formation.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.381-386
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• 2020

Objectives: Few studies have been published regarding the relevance of the admission diagnosis to the smoking cessation rate. We studied smoking cessation rates in relation to admission diagnoses in our inpatient smoking cessation programmes. Methods: This retrospective study included all patients recruited into our inpatient smoking cessation programmes at 2 institutions in Singapore between June 2008 and December 2016. Patients were given individualized intensive counselling and were followed up via phone interviews for up to 6-month to assess their smoking status. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyse potential associations between admission diagnoses and 6-month abstinence. Results: A total of 7194 patients were included in this study. The mean age was 54.1 years, and 93.2% were male. In total, 1778 patients (24.7%) were abstinent at the 6-month follow-up call. Patients who quit smoking tended to be of Chinese ethnicity, have initiated smoking at a later age, be better educated, and have lower Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence scores. After adjusting for these factors, patients with a cardiovascular admission diagnosis had a significantly higher probability of quitting tobacco use than patients with a respiratory or other diagnosis. Conclusions: In patients acutely admitted to the hospital, a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease was associated with the highest quit rate. Smoking cessation interventions need to be incorporated into all cardiovascular disease treatment pathways to leverage the patient's motivation and to improve the quit rate. In addition, patients in groups with lower quit rates may benefit from more intensive programmes to increase the rate of successful cessation.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.283-288
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• 2015

In this study, we investigated anti-obesity effect of isoegomaketone (IK) isolated from leaves extract of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. cv. We verified differentiation and lipid accumulation by Oil Red O staining in 3T3-L1 cells after IK treatment with differentiation media. IK inhibited mRNA expression of adipocyte specific genes that were related with differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. We confirmed the effects of IK on body weight and visceral fat mass in obese mice. Mice were randomly divided into three groups; normal diet group (ND), high-fat diet group (HFD) and high-fat diet with IK group (HFD-IK). The obesity mice were induced by feeding the 45% high-fat diet to the C57BL/6J mice during 4 weeks. After HFD-IK was orally administered 10 mg/kg of IK. As a result, the body weight of HFD and HFD-IK was increased 2.4 times and 1.7 times of ND, respectively. Also visceral fat mass of HFD was increased 24 times but in the case of HFD-IK was increased to 13 times in comparison with ND. Taken together, our findings suggest that IK reduced differentiation and adiogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells, decreased the body weight and visceral fat mass in obesity mice. These results suggest that IK may have a potential benefit as anti-obesity material.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2013

Purpose: Compared to conventional radiotherapy (RT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) significantly reduces the rate of treatment-induced late toxicities in head and neck cancer. However, a clear survival benefit of IMRT over conventional RT has not yet been shown. This study is among the first comparative study to compare the survival rates between conventional RT and helical tomotherapy in head and neck cancer. Materials and Methods: From January 2008 to November 2011, 37 patients received conventional RT and 30 patients received helical tomotherapy for management of head and neck cancer. We retrospectively compared the survival rates between patients treated with conventional RT and helical tomotherapy, and analyzed the prognostic factors for survival. Results: The 1- and 2-year locoregional recurrence-free survival rates were 61.2% and 58.1% for the conventional RT group, 89.3% and 80.3% for the helical tomotherapy group, respectively. The locoregional recurrence-free survival rates of the helical tomotherapy group were significantly higher than conventional RT group (p = 0.029). There were no significant differences in the overall and distant metastasis-free survival between the two groups. RT technique, tumor stage, and RT duration were significant prognostic factors for locoregional recurrence-free survival. Conclusion: This study showed the locoregional recurrence-free survival benefits of helical tomotherapy in the treatment of head and neck cancers.

• Ocean Science Journal
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.127-143
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• 2005

The taxonomic sufficiency approach has been proposed as a surrogate for the typical analysis of species-abundance data, especially in conditions involving prominent pollution gradients. Here, we evaluate the use of taxonomic sufficiency with infralittoral macrobenthic data derived from samples taken in a moderate polluted subtropical environment in southeastern Brazil, analysing five taxonomic levels and including two functional levels throughout polychaete feeding guilds and trophic groups. The data were collected seasonally at nine stations and studied for two abundance data series (0.5 and 1.0 mm sieve mesh-size). The results showed a similar ordination pattern between the two sieve mesh-size, but with the 0.5 mm sieve data a different pattern was observed during austral summer. A slight loss of information was detected using genus, family, polychaete species and their feeding guilds as taxonomic/functional units. These results together with those of the cost! benefit ratio, suggested that the family level seemed to be sufficient to detect the impact caused by moderate pollution in this shallow-water, subtropical environment. In additional, through the use of feeding guilds, similar patterns are obtained. Correlation analysis showed that chlorophyll a, total organic matter, zinc, and chromium sediment content were the variables that best explained the biological pattern observed and not always the best correlation coefficient occurring at the species level. The feeding guild approach seems to be useful and generates interpretable results similar to those obtained with the species level of the whole macroinfauna. The results showed an important cost reduction in the sample processing, suggesting that it is possible to adopt a coarser taxonomic level monitoring program even in species-rich communities.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.48-52
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• 2014

Purpose: Currently the substantial clinical benefits of single-port laparoscopic appendectomy (SLA) over conventional three-port laparoscopic appendectomy (CLA) are equivocal. The aim of this study was to compare surgical outcomes between SLA and CLA in children with acute appendicitis. Methods: A single blind prospective randomized single center study was performed to compare the surgical outcomes of SLA and CLA. A total of 105 patients were randomized and various parameters were analyzed, 52 patients with SLA and 53 patients with CLA between July 2013 and March 2014. Patients with sonographically confirmed acute appendicitis were randomly assigned to receive either SLA or CLA. The outcome measurements were operating time, wound complication, and intraperitoneal morbidities, postoperative pain score and cosmetic result score. Results: Operating time is significantly longer in SLA ($70.4{\pm}26.7$ minutes vs. $58.0{\pm}23.4$ minutes; p=0.016). There were no significant differences in the postoperative wound complication rate and intraperitoneal morbidities between two groups. There were no significant differences in postoperative resting pain score ($6.6{\pm}2.5$ vs. $6.3{\pm}2.5$; p=0.317) and activity pain score ($6.9{\pm}2.4$ vs. $6.3{\pm}2.5$; p=0.189), and the cosmetic result score ($9.2{\pm}1.1$ vs. $9.1{\pm}1.4$; p=0.853). Conclusion: Although SLA would be a safe and feasible procedure in children, SLA could not demonstrate the clear benefit over CLA.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.406-419
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• 2017

Purpose: The aims of this study were to develop a motivational interviewing program for exercise improvement in persons with physical disabilities and to examine the effect of this motivational interviewing intervention. Methods: The study employed a nonequivalent control group pretest and posttest design. A total of 62 persons with physical disabilities (30 in the experimental group, 32 in the control group) were recruited from 2 community rehabilitation centers. The experimental group received 8 sessions of a group motivational interviewing program, scheduled once a week, with each session lasting 60 minutes. Test measures were completed before the intervention, immediately after the end of the intervention, 2 weeks later, and 6 weeks after the end of the intervention. Measures included self-efficacy for exercise, decisional balance for exercise, stage of change for exercise, regularity of exercise, exercise maintenance, and independent living ability. Data were analyzed using the ${\chi}^2-test$, Fisher's exact test, Independent samples t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA, conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 18. Results: The experimental group showed a significant increase in self-efficacy for exercise (F=50.98, p<.001), benefit (pros) of exercise (F=24.16, p<.001), and independent living ability (F=50.94, p<.001), and a significant decrease in loss (cons) of exercise (F=26.50, p<.001). There were significant differences between the two groups in stages of change for exercise (p<.001), regularity of exercise (p<.001), and exercise maintenance (${\chi}^2=26.61$, p<.001). Conclusion: The motivational interviewing program has the potential to improve exercise levels in persons with physical disabilities.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to determine whether gender differences existed in knee valgus kinematics in college students when performing a vertical drop landing. The hypothesis of this study was that females would demonstrate greater knee valgus motion. These differences in knee valgus motion may be indicative of decreased dynamic knee joint control in females. This study compared the initial knee valgus angle and maximum knee valgus angle at the instant of impact on vertical drop landings between healthy men and women. In this study, 60 participants (30 males, 30 females) dropped from a height of 43 cm. A digital camera and two-dimensional video motion analysis software were used to analyze the kinematic data. There was significant difference in the mean knee valgus angle at initial contact landing between the two groups (Mean=$7.88^{\circ}$, SD=$4.24^{\circ}$ in males, Mean=$12.93^{\circ}$, SD=$2.89^{\circ}$ in females). The range of knee valgus angle on landing (Mean=$3.25^{\circ}$, SD=$5.72^{\circ}$ in males, Mean=$11.44^{\circ}$, SD=$6.39^{\circ}$ in females) was differed significantly (p<.05). The maximal angle of knee valgus on landing (Mean=$10.91^{\circ}$, SD=$6.89^{\circ}$ in males, Mean=$24.25^{\circ}$, SD=$6.38^{\circ}$ in females) was also differed significantly (p<.05). The females landed with a larger range of knee valgus motion than the males and this might have increased the likelihood of a knee injury. The absence of dynamic knee joint stability may be responsible for increased rates of knee injury in females. No method for accurate and practical screening and identification of athletes at increased risk of ACL injury is currently available to target those individuals that would benefit from neuromuscular training before sports participation.