• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.353-366
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• 2022

Spatial estimation of geoscience data (geo-data) is challenging due to spatial heterogeneity, data scarcity, and high dimensionality. A novel spatial estimation method is needed to consider the characteristics of geo-data. In this study, we proposed the application of Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) among machine learning algorithms with multivariate data for robust spatial predictions. The performance of the proposed approach was tested through soil chemical concentration data from a former smelting area. The concentrations of As and Pb determined by ex-situ ICP-AES were the primary variables to be interpolated, while the other metal concentrations by ICP-AES and all data determined by in-situ portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) were used as auxiliary variables in GMM and ordinary cokriging (OCK). Among the multidimensional auxiliary variables, important variables were selected using a variable selection method based on the random forest. The results of GMM with important multivariate auxiliary data decreased the root mean-squared error (RMSE) down to 0.11 for As and 0.33 for Pb and increased the correlations (r) up to 0.31 for As and 0.46 for Pb compared to those from ordinary kriging and OCK using univariate or bivariate data. The use of GMM improved the performance of spatial interpretation of anthropogenic metals in soil. The multivariate spatial approach can be applied to understand complex and heterogeneous geological and geochemical features.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1246-1246
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• 2001

The quality of meat is highly variable in many properties. This variability originates from both animal production and meat processing. At the pre-slaughter stage, animal factors such as breed, sex, age contribute to this variability. Environmental factors include feeding, rearing, transport and conditions just before slaughter (Hildrum et al., 1995). Meat can be presented in a variety of forms, each offering different opportunities for adulteration and contamination. This has imposed great pressure on the food manufacturing industry to guarantee the safety of meat. Tissue and muscle speciation of flesh foods, as well as speciation of animal derived by-products fed to all classes of domestic animals, are now perhaps the most important uncertainty which the food industry must resolve to allay consumer concern. Recently, there is a demand for rapid and low cost methods of direct quality measurements in both food and food ingredients (including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), thin layer chromatography (TLC), enzymatic and inmunological tests (e.g. ELISA test) and physical tests) to establish their authenticity and hence guarantee the quality of products manufactured for consumers (Holland et al., 1998). The use of Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) for the rapid, precise and non-destructive analysis of a wide range of organic materials has been comprehensively documented (Osborne et at., 1993). Most of the established methods have involved the development of NIRS calibrations for the quantitative prediction of composition in meat (Ben-Gera and Norris, 1968; Lanza, 1983; Clark and Short, 1994). This was a rational strategy to pursue during the initial stages of its application, given the type of equipment available, the state of development of the emerging discipline of chemometrics and the overwhelming commercial interest in solving such problems (Downey, 1994). One of the advantages of NIRS technology is not only to assess chemical structures through the analysis of the molecular bonds in the near infrared spectrum, but also to build an optical model characteristic of the sample which behaves like the “finger print” of the sample. This opens the possibility of using spectra to determine complex attributes of organic structures, which are related to molecular chromophores, organoleptic scores and sensory characteristics (Hildrum et al., 1994, 1995; Park et al., 1998). In addition, the application of statistical packages like principal component or discriminant analysis provides the possibility to understand the optical properties of the sample and make a classification without the chemical information. The objectives of this present work were: (1) to examine two methods of sample presentation to the instrument (intact and minced) and (2) to explore the use of principal component analysis (PCA) and Soft Independent Modelling of class Analogy (SIMCA) to classify muscles by quality attributes. Seventy-eight (n: 78) beef muscles (m. longissimus dorsi) from Hereford breed of cattle were used. The samples were scanned in a NIRS monochromator instrument (NIR Systems 6500, Silver Spring, MD, USA) in reflectance mode (log 1/R). Both intact and minced presentation to the instrument were explored. Qualitative analysis of optical information through PCA and SIMCA analysis showed differences in muscles resulting from two different feeding systems.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.864-873
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• 2022

The subjective health status of adolescence reflects one's overall socio-emotional function and is an important factor in determining the health-related quality of life during this period. This study was to identify the correlation between subjective health status and health equity of adolescents. Data from the 16th online survey of youth health behavior (2020) was used to analyze 39,987 adolescents. Health equity was used as indicator for residential areas, economic conditions perceived by students, household abundance, family type, and parental education. Subjective health status was classified as a healthy group("very healthy", "healthy") and unhealthy group("normal", "unhealthy", and "very unhealthy") in response to the question "how do you think your health is usually?" The data were analyzed using complex sample analysis by using SPSS/Win 22.0. Significant factors related to the subjective health status of subjects were the area of residence (OR=0.86, p=.031), economic level (OR=1.33-2.09, p<.001), and family type (OR=1.24, p=.033). The economic level perceived by adolescents was the most important variable related to the subjective health status of adolescents, and adolescents from multicultural families often perceived their health as unhealthy compared to adolescents from general families. Therefore, there is a need for continuous interest in adolescents with low economic levels and adolescents from multicultural families and specific strategies to improve their health status.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.156-168
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• 2024

Purpose: The trend of highway traffic accidents shows a repeating pattern of increase and decrease, with the fatality rate being highest on highways among all road types. Therefore, there is a need to establish improvement measures that reflect the situation within the country. Method: We conducted accident severity analysis using Random Forest on data from accidents occurring on 10 specific routes with high accident rates among national highways from 2019 to 2021. Factors influencing accident severity were identified. Result: The analysis, conducted using the SHAP package to determine the top 10 variable importance, revealed that among highway traffic accidents, the variables with a significant impact on accident severity are the age of the perpetrator being between 20 and less than 39 years, the time period being daytime (06:00-18:00), occurrence on weekends (Sat-Sun), seasons being summer and winter, violation of traffic regulations (failure to comply with safe driving), road type being a tunnel, geometric structure having a high number of lanes and a high speed limit. We identified a total of 10 independent variables that showed a positive correlation with highway traffic accident severity. Conclusion: As accidents on highways occur due to the complex interaction of various factors, predicting accidents poses significant challenges. However, utilizing the results obtained from this study, there is a need for in-depth analysis of the factors influencing the severity of highway traffic accidents. Efforts should be made to establish efficient and rational response measures based on the findings of this research.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the number of existing permanent teeth is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a representative sample of Korean adults. Data from 3,107 subjects who participated in the 2009 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were examined. The dependent variable was COPD and the independent variable was the number of existing permanent teeth. Spirometry results were classified into three groups (normal pattern, restrictive pattern, and obstructive pattern) by trained technicians. We used dichotomized COPD variables (no vs. yes). The number of existing permanent teeth was evaluated by oral examination and divided into 3 groups (0~19, 20~27, and 28). Demographic factors (age group and sex group), socioeconomic status (education and income), health behaviors (smoking and drinking), oral health and behavior (frequency of toothbrushing; periodontitis; decayed, missing, filled, permanent teeth index; and denture status), and general health status (body mass index, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension) were included as confounders in the analysis. Bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analyses including confounders were applied, and all analyses considered a complex sampling design. Stratified analysis was performed by smoking status. After controlling for various confounders, there was a significant association between the number of existing permanent teeth and COPD (odds ratio [OR], 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20~3.00 for the 20~27 group; OR, 3.93; 95% CI, 1.75~8.84 for the 0~19 group). The association was more significant in current smokers (OR, 8.90; 95% CI, 2.53~31.33). Our data indicate that the number of existing permanent teeth was independently associated with COPD, especially in current smokers. Further longitudinal research is needed to determine whether oral health promotion plays a role in the improvement of lung function and prevention of COPD.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.103-128
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• 2013

When a consumer needs a product or service and multiple sellers are available online, the process of selecting a seller to buy online from is complex since the process involves many behavioral dimensions that have to be taken into account. As a part of this selection process, consumers may set minimum trust expectation that can be used to screen out less trustworthy sellers. In the previous research, the level of consumers' trust expectation has been anchored on two important factors: product involvement and perceived risk. Product involvement refers to the extent to which a consumer perceives a specific product important. Thus, the higher product involvement may result in the higher trust expectation in sellers. On the other hand, other related studies found that when consumers perceived a higher level of risk (e.g., credit card fraud risk), they set higher trust expectation as well. While abundant research exists addressing the relationship between product involvement and perceived risk, little attention has been paid to the integrative view of the link between the two constructs and their impacts on the trust expectation. The present paper is a step toward filling this research gap. The purpose of this paper is to understand the process by which a consumer chooses an online merchant by examining the relationships among product involvement, perceived risk, trust expectation, and intention to buy from an e-tailer. We specifically focus on the mediating role of perceived risk in the relationships between enduring product involvement and the trust expectation. That is, we question whether product involvement affects the trust expectation directly without mediation or indirectly mediated by perceived risk. The research model with four hypotheses was initially tested using data gathered from 635 respondents through an online survey method. The structural equation modeling technique with partial least square was used to validate the instrument and the proposed model. The results showed that three out of the four hypotheses formulated were supported. First, we found that the intention to buy from a digital storefront is positively and significantly influenced by the trust expectation, providing support for H4 (trust expectation ${\rightarrow}$ purchase intention). Second, perceived risk was found to be a strong predictor of trust expectation, supporting H2 as well (perceived risk ${\rightarrow}$ trust expectation). Third, we did not find any evidence of direct influence of product involvement, which caused H3 to be rejected (product involvement ${\rightarrow}$ trust expectation). Finally, we found significant positive relationship between product involvement and perceived risk (H1: product involvement ${\rightarrow}$ perceived risk), which suggests that the possibility of complete mediation of perceived risk in the relationship between enduring product involvement and the trust expectation. As a result, we conducted an additional test for the mediation effect by comparing the original model with the revised model without the mediator variable of perceived risk. Indeed, we found that there exists a strong influence of product involvement on the trust expectation (by intentionally eliminating the variable of perceived risk) that was suppressed (i.e., mediated) by the perceived risk in the original model. The Sobel test statistically confirmed the complete mediation effect. Results of this study offer the following key findings. First, enduring product involvement is positively related to perceived risk, implying that the higher a consumer is enduringly involved with a given product, the greater risk he or she is likely to perceive with regards to the online purchase of the product. Second, perceived risk is positively related to trust expectation. A consumer with great risk perceptions concerning the online purchase is likely to buy from a highly trustworthy online merchant, thereby mitigating potential risks. Finally, product involvement was found to have no direct influence on trust expectation, but the relationship between the two constructs was indirect and mediated by the perceived risk. This is perhaps an important theoretical integration of two separate streams of literature on product involvement and perceived risk. The present research also provides useful implications for practitioners as well as academicians. First, one implication for practicing managers in online retail stores is that they should invest in reducing the perceived risk of consumers in order to lower down the trust expectation and thus increasing the consumer's intention to purchase products or services. Second, an academic implication is that perceived risk mediates the relationship between enduring product involvement and trust expectation. Further research is needed to elaborate the theoretical relationships among the constructs under consideration.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.1-25
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• 2010

Motion pictures are so typical experience goods that consumers tend to look for more credible information. Hence, movie audiences consider movie viewers' reviews more important than the information provided by the film distributor. Recently many portal sites allow consumers to post their reviews and opinions so that other people check the number of consumer reviews and scores before going to the theater. There are a few previous researches studying the electronic word of mouth(eWOM) effect in the movie industry. They found that the volume of eWOM influenced the revenue of the movie significantly but the valence of eWOM did not affect it much (Liu 2006). The goal of our research is also to investigate the eWOM effects in general. But our research is different from the previous studies in several aspects. First, we study the eWOM effect in Korean movie industry. In other words, we would like to check whether we can generalize the results of the previous research across countries. The similar econometric models are applied to Korean movie data that include 746,282 consumer reviews on 439 movies. Our results show that both the valence(RATING) and the volume(LNMSG) of the eWOM influence weekly movie revenues. This result is different from the previous research findings that the volume only influences the revenue. We conjectured that the difference of self construal between Asian and American culture may explain this difference (Kitayama 1991). Asians including Koreans have more interdependent self construal than American, so that they are easily affected by other people's thought and suggestion. Hence, the valence of the eWOM affects Koreans' choice of the movie. Second, we find the critical defect of the previous eWOM models and, hence, attempt to correct it. The previous eWOM model assumes that the volume of eWOM (LNMSG) is an independent variable affecting the movie revenue (LNREV). However, the revenue can influence the volume of the eWOM. We think that treating the volume of eWOM as an independent variable a priori is too restrictive. In order to remedy this problem, we employed a simultaneous equation in which the movie revenue and the volume of the eWOM can affect each other. That is, our eWOM model assumes that the revenue (LNREV) and the volume of eWOM (LNMSG) have endogenous relationship where they influence each other. The results from this simultaneous equation model showed that the movie revenue and the eWOM volume interact each other. The movie revenue influences the eWOM volume for the entire 8 weeks. The reverse effect is more complex. Both the volume and the valence of eWOM affect the revenue in the first week, but only the volume affect the revenue for the rest of the weeks. In the first week, consumers may be curious about the movie and look for various kinds of information they can trust, so that they use the both the quantity and quality of consumer reviews. But from the second week, the quality of the eWOM only affects the movie revenue, implying that the review ratings are more important than the number of reviews. Third, our results show that the ratings by professional critics (CRATING) had negative effect to the weekly movie revenue (LNREV). Professional critics often give low ratings to the blockbuster movies that do not have much cinematic quality. Experienced audiences who watch the movie for fun do not trust the professionals' ratings and, hence, tend to go for the low-rated movies by them. In summary, applied to the Korean movie ratings data and employing a simultaneous model, our results are different from the previous eWOM studies: 1) Koreans (or Asians) care about the others' evaluation quality more than quantity, 2) The volume of eWOM is not the cause but the result of the revenue, 3) Professional reviews can give the negative effect to the movie revenue.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to understand the effects of obesity and stress on oral disease in Korean adults by using the data of the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The subjects of this study are 4,627 adults at the age of 19 to 64, and the data were analyzed by using SPSS Windows ver.18.0. The results are as follows: Obesity was higher in men and the age of 40 to 64 than the other. And the group with lower education or lower income level tended to show significantly higher obesity (p<0.05). As for stress, women, the age of 19 to 39 and the subjects with higher academic career tended to indicate significantly higher stress (p<0.05). As for the effects of obesity on oral disease, there were no significant difference between body mass index (BMI) or waist-hip ratio (WHR) and oral disease but there was statistically significant difference between stress and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) (p<0.05). Even when the subjects with stress were obese or abdominally obese, there was no significant difference in oral disease (p>0.05). As to correlation among variables, there were correlations between BMI and WHR, stress and TMD, masticatory problems and periodontal disease or TMD (p<0.05). About the effects of general characteristics, obesity, and stress on oral disease, age was the variable influencing TMD, and age and abdominal obesity were the variables influencing masticatory problems (p<0.05). In this society, the environment surrounding individuals is fairly complex, and the concept of health including quality of life has more complex meaning than in the past. Various factors are influencing obesity and stress, and they are also influencing oral health and behaviors. Accordingly, it will be needed not only to make efforts to reduce obesity and stress but also to employ approaches from different perspectives to improve oral health.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.103-111
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• 1985

Childhood epilepsy which has high prevalence rate and inception rate is one of the commonest problem encountered in pediatrician. In contrast with epilepsy of adult, in childhood epilepsy, more variable and varying manifestations are found because the factors of age, growth and development exert their influences in the manifestations and the courses of childhood epilepsy. Moreover epileptic children have associated problems such as physical and mental handicaps, psychologicaldisorders and learning disability. For these reasons pediatrician who deals with epileptic children experiences difficulties in making diagnosis and managing them. In order to improve understanding and management of childhood epilepsy, authors reviewed 103 cases of epileptic patients seen at pediatric department of Yeungnam University Hospital retrospectively. The patients were classified according to the type of epileptic seizure. Suspected causes of epilepsy, associated conditions of epileptic patients, age incidence and the findings of brain CT were reviewed. Large numbers of epileptic patients (61.2%) developed their first seizures under the age of 5. The most frequent type of epileptic seizure was generalized ionic-clonic, tonic, clonic seizure (49.5%), followed by simple partial seizure with secondary generalization (17.5%), simple partial seizure (7.8%), a typical absence (5.8%) and unclassified seizure (5.8%). In 83.5% of patients, we could not find specific cause of it, but in 16.5% of cases, history of neonatal hypoxia (4.9%), meningitis (3.9%), prematurity (1.9%), small for gestational age (1.0%), CO poisoning (1.0%), encephalopathy (1.0%), DPT vaccination (1.0%), cerebrovascular accident (1.0%) and neonatal jaundice (1.0%) were found, 30 cases of patients had associated diseases such as mental retardation, hyperactivity, delayed motor milestones or their combinations. The major abnormal findings of brain CT performed in 42 cases were cortical atrophy, cerebral infarction, hydrocephalus and brain swelling. This review stressed better designed classification of epilepsy is needed and with promotion of medical care, prevention of epilepsy is possible in some cases. Also it is stressed that childhood epilepsy requires multidisplinary therapy and brain CT is helpful in the evaluation of epilepsy with limitation in therapeutic aspects.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.808-819
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• 2023

This study was conducted to develop a selection marker for the identification of the Bacillus licheniformis K12 strain in microbial communities. The strain not only demonstrates good growth at moderate temperatures but also contains enzymes that catalyze the decomposition of various polymer materials, such as proteases, amylases, cellulases, lipases, and xylanases. To identify molecular markers appropriate for use in a microbial community, a search was conducted to identify variable gene regions that show considerable genetic mutations, such as recombinase, integration, and transposase sites, as well as phase-related genes. As a result, five areas were identified that have potential as selection markers. The candidate markers were two recombinase sites (BLK1 and BLK2), two integration sites (BLK3 and BLK4), and one phase-related site (BLK5). A PCR analysis performed with different Bacillus species (e.g., B. licheniformis, Bacillus velezensis, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus cereus) confirmed that PCR products appeared at specific locations in B. licheniformis: BLK1 in recombinase, BLK2 in recombinase family protein, and BLK3 and BLK4 as site-specific integrations. In addition, BLK1 and BLK3 were identified as good candidate markers via a PCR analysis performed on subspecies of standard B. licheniformis strains. Therefore, the findings suggest that BLK1 can be used as a selection marker for B. licheniformis species and subspecies in the microbiome.