• Title/Summary/Keyword: distribution function

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The Location of Medical Facilities and Its Inhabitants' Efficient Utilization in Kwangju City (광주시(光州市) 의료시설(醫療施設)의 입지(立地)와 주민(住民)의 효율적(效率的) 이용(利用))

  • Jeon, Kyung-Sook
    • Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.163-193
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    • 1997
  • Medical services are a fundamental and essential service in all urban areas. The location and accessibility of medical service facilities and institutions are critical to the diagnosis, control and prevention of illness and disease. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study on the location of medical facilities in Kwangju and the utilization of these facilities by the inhabitants. The following information is a summary of the findings: (1) Korea, like many countries, is now witnessing an increase in the age of its population as a result of higher living standards and better medical services. Korea is also experiencing a rapid increase in health care costs. To ensure easy access to medical consultation, diagnosis and treatment by individuals, the hierarchical efficient location of medical facilities, low medical costs, equalized medical services, preventive medical care is important. (2) In Korea, the quality of medical services has improved significantly as evident by the increased number of medical facilities and medical personnel. However, there is still a need for not only quantitative improvements but also for a more equitable distribution of and location of medical services. (3) There are 503 medical facilities in Kwangju each with a need to service 2,556 people. This is below the national average of 1,498 inhabitants per facility. The higher locational quotient and satisfactory population per medical facility showed at the civic center. On the other hand, problem regions such as the traditional residential area in Buk-Gu, Moo-deung mountain area and the outer areas of west Kwangju still maintain rural characteristics. (4) In the study area there are 86 general medicine clinics which provide basic medical services. i. e. one clinic per every 14,949 residents. As a basic service, its higher locational quotient showed in the residential area. The lower population concentration per clinic was found in the civic center and in the former town center, Songjeong-dong. In recently build residential areas and in the civic center, the lack of general medicine clinics is not a serious medical services issue because of the surplus of medical specialists in Korea. People are inclined to seek a consultation with a specialist in specific fields rather than consult a general practitioner. As a result of this phenomenon, there are 81 internal medicine facilities. Of these, 32.1% provide services to people who are not referred by a primary care physician but who self-diagnose then choose a medical facility specializing in what they believe to be their health problem. Areas in the city, called dongs, without any internal facilities make up 50% of the total 101 dongs. (5) There are 78 surgical facilities within the area, and there is little difference at the locational appearance from internal medicine facilities. There are also 71 pediatric health clinics for people under 15 years of age in this area, represents one clinic per 5,063 people. On the quantitative aspect, this is a positive situation. Accessibility is the most important facility choice factor, so it should be evenly located in proportion to demander distribution. However, 61% of 102 dongs have no pediatric clinics because of the uneven location. (6) There are 43 obstetrical and gynecological clinics in Kwangju, and the number of residents being served per clinic is 15,063. These services need to be given regularly so it should increase the numbers. There are 37 ENT clinics in the study area with the lower concentration in Dong-gu (32.4%) making no locational differences by dong. There are 23 dermatology clinics with the largest concentration in Dong-Gu. There are 17 ophthalmic clinics concentrated in the residential area because of the primary function of this type of specialization. (7) The use of general medicine clinics, internal medicine clinics, pediatric clinics, ENT clinics by the inhabitants indicate a trend toward primary or routine medical services. Obstetrics and gynecology clinics are used on a regular basis. In choosing a general medicine clinic, internal medicine clinic, pediatric clinic, and a ENT clinic, accessibility is the key factor while choice of a general hospital, surgery clinic, or an obstetrics and gynecology clinic, thes faith and trust in the medical practitioner is the priority consideration. (8) I considered the efficient use of medical facilities in the aspect of locational and management and suggest the following: First, primary care facilities should be evenly distributed in every area. In Kwangju, the number of medical facilities is the lowest among the six largest cities in Korea. Moreover, they are concentrated in Dong-gu and in newly developed areas. The desired number of medical facilities should be within 30 minutes of each person's home. For regional development there is a need to develop a plan to balance, for example, taxes and funds supporting personnel, equipment and facilities. Secondly, medical services should be co-ordinated to ensure consistent, appropriate, quality services. Primary medical facilities should take charge of out-patient activities, and every effort should be made to standardize and equalize equipment and facility resources and to ensure ongoing development and training in the primary services field. A few specialty medical facilities and general hospitals should establish a priority service for incurable and terminally ill patients. (9) The management scheme for the inhabitants' efficient use of medical service is as follows: The first task is to efficiently manage medical facilities and related services. Higher quality of medical services can be accomplished within the rapidly changing medical environment. A network of social, administrative and medical organizations within an area should be established to promote information gathering and sharing strategies to better assist the community. Statistics and trends on the rate or occurrence of diseases, births, deaths, medical and environment conditions of the poor or estranged people should be maintained and monitored. The second task is to increase resources in the area of disease prevention and health promotion. Currently the focus is on the treatment and care of individuals with illness or disease. A strong emphasis should also be placed on promoting prevention of illness and injury within the community through not only public health offices but also via medical service facilities. Home medical care should be established and medical testing centers should be located as an ordinary service level. Also, reduced medical costs for the physically handicapped, cardiac patients, and mentally ill or handicapped patients should be considered.

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The Effects of Perceived Quality Factors on the Customer Loyalty: Focused on the Analysis of Difference between PB and NB (지각된 품질요인이 고객충성도에 미치는 영향: PB와 NB간의 차이분석)

  • Ye, Jong-Suk;Jun, So-Yon
    • Journal of Distribution Research
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    • v.15 no.2
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    • pp.1-34
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    • 2010
  • Introduction As consumers' purchase behavior change into a rational and practical direction, the discount store industry came to have keen competition along with rapid external growth. Therefore as a solution, distribution businesses are concentrating on developing PB(Private Brand) which can realize differentiation and profitability at the same time. And as improvement in customer loyalty beyond customer satisfaction is effective in surviving in an environment with keen competition, PB is being used as a strategic tool to improve customer loyalty. To improve loyalty among PB users, it is necessary to develop PB by examining properties of a customer group, first of all, quality level perceived by consumers should be met to obtain customer satisfaction and customer trust and consequently induce customer loyalty. To provide results of systematic analysis on relations between antecedents influenced perceived quality and variables affecting customer loyalty, this study proposed a research model based on causal relations verified in prior researches and set 16 hypotheses about relations among 9 theoretical variables. Data was collected from 400 adult customers residing in Seoul and the Metropolitan area and using large scale discount stores, among them, 375 copies were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 and Amos 7.0. The findings of the present study followed as; We ascertained that the higher company reputation, brand reputation, product experience and brand familiarity, the higher perceived quality. The study also examined the higher perceived quality, the higher customer satisfaction, customer trust and customer loyalty. The findings showed that the higher customer satisfaction and customer trust, the higher customer loyalty. As for moderating effects between PB and NB in terms of influences of perceived quality factors on perceived quality, we can ascertain that PB was higher than NB in the influences of company reputation on perceived quality while NB was higher than PB in the influences of brand reputation and brand familiarity on perceived quality. These results of empirical analysis will be useful for those concerned to do marketing activities based on a clearer understanding of antecedents and consecutive factors influenced perceived quality. At last, discussions about academical and managerial implications in these results, we suggested the limitations of this study and the future research directions. Research Model and Hypotheses Test After analyzing if antecedent variables having influence on perceived quality shows any difference between PB and NB in terms of their influences on them, the relation between variables that have influence on customer loyalty was determined as Figure 1. We established 16 hypotheses to test and hypotheses are as follows; H1-1: Perceived price has a positive effect on perceived quality. H1-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of perceived price on perceived quality. H2-1: Company reputation has a positive effect on perceived quality. H2-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of company reputation on perceived quality. H3-1: Brand reputation has a positive effect on perceived quality. H3-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of brand reputation on perceived quality. H4-1: Product experience has a positive effect on perceived quality. H4-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of product experience on perceived quality. H5-1: Brand familiarity has a positive effect on perceived quality. H5-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of brand familiarity on perceived quality. H6: Perceived quality has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. H7: Perceived quality has a positive effect on customer trust. H8: Perceived quality has a positive effect on customer loyalty. H9: Customer satisfaction has a positive effect on customer trust. H10: Customer satisfaction has a positive effect on customer loyalty. H11: Customer trust has a positive effect on customer loyalty. Results from analyzing main effects of research model is shown as

    , and moderating effects is shown as
    . Results This study is designed with 16 research hypotheses, Results from analyzing their main effects show that 9 of 11 hypotheses were supported and other 2 hypotheses were rejected. On the other hand, results from analyzing their moderating effects show that 3 of 5 hypotheses were supported and other 2 hypotheses were rejected. H1-1: (SPC: Standardized Path Coefficient)=-0.04, t-value=-1.04, p>. 05). H1-2: (${\Delta}\chi^2$=1.10, df=1, p> 0.05). H1-1 and H1-2 are rejected, so it is prove that perceived price is not a significant decision variable having influence on perceived quality and there is no significant variable between PB and NB in terms of influence of perceived price on perceived quality. H2-1: (SPC=0.31, t-value=3.74, p<. 001). H2-2: (${\Delta}\chi^2$=3.93, df=1, p< 0.05). H2-1 and H2-2 are supported, so it is proved that company reputation is a significant decision variable having influence on perceived quality and, in terms of influence of company reputation on perceived quality, PB has relatively stronger influence than NB. H3-1: (SPC=0.26, t-value=5.30, p< .001). H3-2: (${\Delta}\chi^2$=16.81, df=1, p< 0.01). H3-1 and H3-2 are supported, so it is proved that brand reputation is a significant decision variable having influence on perceived quality and, in terms of influence of brand reputation on perceived quality, NB has relatively stronger influence than PB. H4-1: (SPC=0.31, t-value=2.65, p< .05). H4-2: (${\Delta}\chi^2$=1.26, df=1, p> 0.05). H4-1 is supported, but H4-2 is rejected, Therefore, it is proved that product experience is a significant decision variable having influence on perceived quality and, on the other hand, there is no significant different between PB and NB in terms of influence of product experience on product quality. H5-1: (SPC=0.24, t-value=3.00, p<. 05). H5-2: (${\Delta}\chi^2$=5.10, df=1, p< 0.05). H5-1 and H5-2 are supported, so it is proved that brand familiarity is a significant decision variable having influence on perceived quality and, in terms of influence of brand familiarity on perceived quality, NB has relatively stronger influence than PB. H6: (SPC=0.91, t-value=19.06, p< .001). H6 is supported, so a fact that customer satisfaction increases as perceived quality increases is proved. H7: (SPC=0.81, t-value=7.44, p<. 001). H7 is supported, so a fact that customer trust increases as perceived quality increases is proved. H8: (SPC=0.57, t-value=7.87, p< .001). H8 is supported, so a fact that customer loyalty increases as perceived quality increases is proved. H9: (SPC=0.08, t-value=0.76, p> .05). H9 is rejected, so it is proved influence of customer satisfaction on customer trust is not significant. H10: (SPC=0.21, t-value=4.34, p< .001). H10 is supported, so a fact that customer loyalty increases as customer satisfaction increases is proved. H11: (SPC=0.40, t-value=5.68, p< .001). H11 is supported, so a fact that customer loyalty increases as customer trust increases is proved. Implications Although most of existing studies have used function, price, brand, design, service, brand name, store name as antecedent variables for perceived quality, this study used different antecedent variables in order to analyze and distinguish purchase group PB and NB through preliminary research. Therefore, this study may be used as preliminary data for a empirical study that is designed to be helpful for practical jobs. Also, this study is made to be easily applied to any practical job because SEM(Structural Equation Modeling), most strongly explaining the relation between observed variable and latent variable, is used for this study. This study suggests a new strategic point that, in order to increase customer loyalty, customer's perceived quality level should satisfied for inducing customer satisfaction, customer trust, and customer loyalty. Therefore, after finding an effective differentiating factors in perceived quality in order to increase customer loyalty through increasing perceived quality, this factor was made to be applied to PB and NB. Because perceived quality factors which is recognized as being important by consumers is different between PB and NB, this study suggests how to efficiently establish marketing strategy by enhancing a factor. Companies have mostly focused on profitability in terms of analyzing customer loyalty, but this study included positive WOM(word of mouth). Hence, this study suggests that it would be helpful for establishing customer loyalty when consumers have cognitive satisfaction and emotional satisfaction together. Limitations This study used variables perceived price, company reputation, brand reputation, product experience, brand familiarity in order to determine whether each constituent factor has different influence on perceived quality between purchase group PB and NB. These characteristic variables are made up on the basis of the preliminary research, but it is expected that more precise research result would be obtained if additional various variables are included in study. This study selected a practical product that is non-durable, low-priced and bestselling product in a discount store through the preliminary research because it can be easily estimated by consumers. Therefore. generalization of study would be more easily obtained if more various product characteristics is included. Regarding a sample used in this study, it was only based on consumers who purchase products in a large-scale discount store located in Seoul and in the capital area. Accordingly, this sample has some geographical limitation, If a study is expanded by including more areas, more representative research results may be produced. Because this study is only designed to analyze consumers who purchase a product in a large-scale discount store, some difference may be found according to characteristics of each business type. In other words, there is certainly some application limitation, so research result from this study may not be applied to other business types. Future research may have fruitful results if it adjusts a variable to each business type.

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  • DEVELOPMENT OF STATEWIDE TRUCK TRAFFIC FORECASTING METHOD BY USING LIMITED O-D SURVEY DATA (한정된 O-D조사자료를 이용한 주 전체의 트럭교통예측방법 개발)

    • 박만배
      • Proceedings of the KOR-KST Conference
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      • 1995.02a
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      • pp.101-113
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      • 1995
    • The objective of this research is to test the feasibility of developing a statewide truck traffic forecasting methodology for Wisconsin by using Origin-Destination surveys, traffic counts, classification counts, and other data that are routinely collected by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). Development of a feasible model will permit estimation of future truck traffic for every major link in the network. This will provide the basis for improved estimation of future pavement deterioration. Pavement damage rises exponentially as axle weight increases, and trucks are responsible for most of the traffic-induced damage to pavement. Consequently, forecasts of truck traffic are critical to pavement management systems. The pavement Management Decision Supporting System (PMDSS) prepared by WisDOT in May 1990 combines pavement inventory and performance data with a knowledge base consisting of rules for evaluation, problem identification and rehabilitation recommendation. Without a r.easonable truck traffic forecasting methodology, PMDSS is not able to project pavement performance trends in order to make assessment and recommendations in the future years. However, none of WisDOT's existing forecasting methodologies has been designed specifically for predicting truck movements on a statewide highway network. For this research, the Origin-Destination survey data avaiiable from WisDOT, including two stateline areas, one county, and five cities, are analyzed and the zone-to'||'&'||'not;zone truck trip tables are developed. The resulting Origin-Destination Trip Length Frequency (00 TLF) distributions by trip type are applied to the Gravity Model (GM) for comparison with comparable TLFs from the GM. The gravity model is calibrated to obtain friction factor curves for the three trip types, Internal-Internal (I-I), Internal-External (I-E), and External-External (E-E). ~oth "macro-scale" calibration and "micro-scale" calibration are performed. The comparison of the statewide GM TLF with the 00 TLF for the macro-scale calibration does not provide suitable results because the available 00 survey data do not represent an unbiased sample of statewide truck trips. For the "micro-scale" calibration, "partial" GM trip tables that correspond to the 00 survey trip tables are extracted from the full statewide GM trip table. These "partial" GM trip tables are then merged and a partial GM TLF is created. The GM friction factor curves are adjusted until the partial GM TLF matches the 00 TLF. Three friction factor curves, one for each trip type, resulting from the micro-scale calibration produce a reasonable GM truck trip model. A key methodological issue for GM. calibration involves the use of multiple friction factor curves versus a single friction factor curve for each trip type in order to estimate truck trips with reasonable accuracy. A single friction factor curve for each of the three trip types was found to reproduce the 00 TLFs from the calibration data base. Given the very limited trip generation data available for this research, additional refinement of the gravity model using multiple mction factor curves for each trip type was not warranted. In the traditional urban transportation planning studies, the zonal trip productions and attractions and region-wide OD TLFs are available. However, for this research, the information available for the development .of the GM model is limited to Ground Counts (GC) and a limited set ofOD TLFs. The GM is calibrated using the limited OD data, but the OD data are not adequate to obtain good estimates of truck trip productions and attractions .. Consequently, zonal productions and attractions are estimated using zonal population as a first approximation. Then, Selected Link based (SELINK) analyses are used to adjust the productions and attractions and possibly recalibrate the GM. The SELINK adjustment process involves identifying the origins and destinations of all truck trips that are assigned to a specified "selected link" as the result of a standard traffic assignment. A link adjustment factor is computed as the ratio of the actual volume for the link (ground count) to the total assigned volume. This link adjustment factor is then applied to all of the origin and destination zones of the trips using that "selected link". Selected link based analyses are conducted by using both 16 selected links and 32 selected links. The result of SELINK analysis by u~ing 32 selected links provides the least %RMSE in the screenline volume analysis. In addition, the stability of the GM truck estimating model is preserved by using 32 selected links with three SELINK adjustments, that is, the GM remains calibrated despite substantial changes in the input productions and attractions. The coverage of zones provided by 32 selected links is satisfactory. Increasing the number of repetitions beyond four is not reasonable because the stability of GM model in reproducing the OD TLF reaches its limits. The total volume of truck traffic captured by 32 selected links is 107% of total trip productions. But more importantly, ~ELINK adjustment factors for all of the zones can be computed. Evaluation of the travel demand model resulting from the SELINK adjustments is conducted by using screenline volume analysis, functional class and route specific volume analysis, area specific volume analysis, production and attraction analysis, and Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) analysis. Screenline volume analysis by using four screenlines with 28 check points are used for evaluation of the adequacy of the overall model. The total trucks crossing the screenlines are compared to the ground count totals. L V/GC ratios of 0.958 by using 32 selected links and 1.001 by using 16 selected links are obtained. The %RM:SE for the four screenlines is inversely proportional to the average ground count totals by screenline .. The magnitude of %RM:SE for the four screenlines resulting from the fourth and last GM run by using 32 and 16 selected links is 22% and 31 % respectively. These results are similar to the overall %RMSE achieved for the 32 and 16 selected links themselves of 19% and 33% respectively. This implies that the SELINICanalysis results are reasonable for all sections of the state.Functional class and route specific volume analysis is possible by using the available 154 classification count check points. The truck traffic crossing the Interstate highways (ISH) with 37 check points, the US highways (USH) with 50 check points, and the State highways (STH) with 67 check points is compared to the actual ground count totals. The magnitude of the overall link volume to ground count ratio by route does not provide any specific pattern of over or underestimate. However, the %R11SE for the ISH shows the least value while that for the STH shows the largest value. This pattern is consistent with the screenline analysis and the overall relationship between %RMSE and ground count volume groups. Area specific volume analysis provides another broad statewide measure of the performance of the overall model. The truck traffic in the North area with 26 check points, the West area with 36 check points, the East area with 29 check points, and the South area with 64 check points are compared to the actual ground count totals. The four areas show similar results. No specific patterns in the L V/GC ratio by area are found. In addition, the %RMSE is computed for each of the four areas. The %RMSEs for the North, West, East, and South areas are 92%, 49%, 27%, and 35% respectively, whereas, the average ground counts are 481, 1383, 1532, and 3154 respectively. As for the screenline and volume range analyses, the %RMSE is inversely related to average link volume. 'The SELINK adjustments of productions and attractions resulted in a very substantial reduction in the total in-state zonal productions and attractions. The initial in-state zonal trip generation model can now be revised with a new trip production's trip rate (total adjusted productions/total population) and a new trip attraction's trip rate. Revised zonal production and attraction adjustment factors can then be developed that only reflect the impact of the SELINK adjustments that cause mcreases or , decreases from the revised zonal estimate of productions and attractions. Analysis of the revised production adjustment factors is conducted by plotting the factors on the state map. The east area of the state including the counties of Brown, Outagamie, Shawano, Wmnebago, Fond du Lac, Marathon shows comparatively large values of the revised adjustment factors. Overall, both small and large values of the revised adjustment factors are scattered around Wisconsin. This suggests that more independent variables beyond just 226; population are needed for the development of the heavy truck trip generation model. More independent variables including zonal employment data (office employees and manufacturing employees) by industry type, zonal private trucks 226; owned and zonal income data which are not available currently should be considered. A plot of frequency distribution of the in-state zones as a function of the revised production and attraction adjustment factors shows the overall " adjustment resulting from the SELINK analysis process. Overall, the revised SELINK adjustments show that the productions for many zones are reduced by, a factor of 0.5 to 0.8 while the productions for ~ relatively few zones are increased by factors from 1.1 to 4 with most of the factors in the 3.0 range. No obvious explanation for the frequency distribution could be found. The revised SELINK adjustments overall appear to be reasonable. The heavy truck VMT analysis is conducted by comparing the 1990 heavy truck VMT that is forecasted by the GM truck forecasting model, 2.975 billions, with the WisDOT computed data. This gives an estimate that is 18.3% less than the WisDOT computation of 3.642 billions of VMT. The WisDOT estimates are based on the sampling the link volumes for USH, 8TH, and CTH. This implies potential error in sampling the average link volume. The WisDOT estimate of heavy truck VMT cannot be tabulated by the three trip types, I-I, I-E ('||'&'||'pound;-I), and E-E. In contrast, the GM forecasting model shows that the proportion ofE-E VMT out of total VMT is 21.24%. In addition, tabulation of heavy truck VMT by route functional class shows that the proportion of truck traffic traversing the freeways and expressways is 76.5%. Only 14.1% of total freeway truck traffic is I-I trips, while 80% of total collector truck traffic is I-I trips. This implies that freeways are traversed mainly by I-E and E-E truck traffic while collectors are used mainly by I-I truck traffic. Other tabulations such as average heavy truck speed by trip type, average travel distance by trip type and the VMT distribution by trip type, route functional class and travel speed are useful information for highway planners to understand the characteristics of statewide heavy truck trip patternS. Heavy truck volumes for the target year 2010 are forecasted by using the GM truck forecasting model. Four scenarios are used. Fo~ better forecasting, ground count- based segment adjustment factors are developed and applied. ISH 90 '||'&'||' 94 and USH 41 are used as example routes. The forecasting results by using the ground count-based segment adjustment factors are satisfactory for long range planning purposes, but additional ground counts would be useful for USH 41. Sensitivity analysis provides estimates of the impacts of the alternative growth rates including information about changes in the trip types using key routes. The network'||'&'||'not;based GMcan easily model scenarios with different rates of growth in rural versus . . urban areas, small versus large cities, and in-state zones versus external stations. cities, and in-state zones versus external stations.

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    Asymptomatic Primary Hematuria in Children (소아의 무증상성 일차성 혈뇨에 관한 고찰)

    • Lee, Jung-Mi;Park, Woo-Saeng;Ko, Cheol-Woo;Koo, Ja-Hoon;Kwak, Jung-Sik
      • Childhood Kidney Diseases
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      • v.4 no.1
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      • pp.25-32
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      • 2000
    • Purpose: This retrospective study of 126 children with symptomless primary hematuria was undertaken to determine the distribution of various histologic types by renal biopsy, clinical outcome according to the biopsy findings and also to find out feasibility of performing renal biopsy in these children. Patients and Methods : Study population consisted of 126 children with symptom-less primary hematuria who have been admitted to the pediatric department of Kyung-poot National University Hospital for the past 11 years from 1987 to 1998 and renal biopsy was performed percutaneously. Hematuric children with duration of less than 6 months, evidences of systemic illness such as SLE or Henoch-Schonlein purpura, urinary tract infection, and idiopathic hypercalciuria were excluded from the study. Results : Mean age of presentation was 9.2${\pm}$3.3 years (range ; 1.5-15.3 years) and male preponderance was noted with male to female ratio of 2:1. IgA nephropathy was the most common biopsy finding occuring in 60 children ($47.6\%$), followed by MsPGN in 13 ($10.3\%$), MPGN in 5 ($3.9\%$), TGBM in 6 ($4.7\%$), Alport syndrome in 2 ($1.6\%$), FSGS in 1 ($0.8\%$), and in 39 children ($30.9\%$), 'normal' glomeruli were noted. Recurrent gross hematuria was more common than persistent microscopic hematuria (84 versus 42), and especially in IgA nephropathy, recurrent gross hematuria was the most prevalent pattern of hematuria. In 58 out of 126 cases ($46.0\%$), hematuria was isolated without accompa-nying proteinuria and this was especially true In cases of MsPGN and 'normal' glomer-uli by biopsy finding. Normalization of urinalysis (disappearance of hematuria) in IgA nephropathy, MsPGN and 'normal' glomuli group were similar and it was $14\%,\;27\%\;and\;21\%$ respectively during 1-2 years of follow-up period, and $37.1\%,\;40\%\;and\;35\%$ respectively during 3-4 years of follow-up periods. However, abnormal urinalysis persi-sted in the majority of children with MPGN, TGBM. Alport syndrome and FSGS. Renal function deteriorated progressively in 6 cases (3 with IgA nephropathy, 2 with Alport syndrome and 1 with TGBM). Conclusion : In summary, present study demonstrates that in 126 children with symptomless primary hematuria, IgA nephropathy was the most common biopsy findings followed by MsPGN, MPGN, TGBM, Alport syndrome and FSGS, and 'normal glomeruli' was also seen in 39 cases ($30.9\%$). Renal histology could not be predictable on the clinical findings, so that to establish appropriate long-term planning for these children, we would recommend to obtain precise histologic diagnosis by renal biopsy.

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    A Time Series Graph based Convolutional Neural Network Model for Effective Input Variable Pattern Learning : Application to the Prediction of Stock Market (효과적인 입력변수 패턴 학습을 위한 시계열 그래프 기반 합성곱 신경망 모형: 주식시장 예측에의 응용)

    • Lee, Mo-Se;Ahn, Hyunchul
      • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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      • v.24 no.1
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      • pp.167-181
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      • 2018
    • Over the past decade, deep learning has been in spotlight among various machine learning algorithms. In particular, CNN(Convolutional Neural Network), which is known as the effective solution for recognizing and classifying images or voices, has been popularly applied to classification and prediction problems. In this study, we investigate the way to apply CNN in business problem solving. Specifically, this study propose to apply CNN to stock market prediction, one of the most challenging tasks in the machine learning research. As mentioned, CNN has strength in interpreting images. Thus, the model proposed in this study adopts CNN as the binary classifier that predicts stock market direction (upward or downward) by using time series graphs as its inputs. That is, our proposal is to build a machine learning algorithm that mimics an experts called 'technical analysts' who examine the graph of past price movement, and predict future financial price movements. Our proposed model named 'CNN-FG(Convolutional Neural Network using Fluctuation Graph)' consists of five steps. In the first step, it divides the dataset into the intervals of 5 days. And then, it creates time series graphs for the divided dataset in step 2. The size of the image in which the graph is drawn is $40(pixels){\times}40(pixels)$, and the graph of each independent variable was drawn using different colors. In step 3, the model converts the images into the matrices. Each image is converted into the combination of three matrices in order to express the value of the color using R(red), G(green), and B(blue) scale. In the next step, it splits the dataset of the graph images into training and validation datasets. We used 80% of the total dataset as the training dataset, and the remaining 20% as the validation dataset. And then, CNN classifiers are trained using the images of training dataset in the final step. Regarding the parameters of CNN-FG, we adopted two convolution filters ($5{\times}5{\times}6$ and $5{\times}5{\times}9$) in the convolution layer. In the pooling layer, $2{\times}2$ max pooling filter was used. The numbers of the nodes in two hidden layers were set to, respectively, 900 and 32, and the number of the nodes in the output layer was set to 2(one is for the prediction of upward trend, and the other one is for downward trend). Activation functions for the convolution layer and the hidden layer were set to ReLU(Rectified Linear Unit), and one for the output layer set to Softmax function. To validate our model - CNN-FG, we applied it to the prediction of KOSPI200 for 2,026 days in eight years (from 2009 to 2016). To match the proportions of the two groups in the independent variable (i.e. tomorrow's stock market movement), we selected 1,950 samples by applying random sampling. Finally, we built the training dataset using 80% of the total dataset (1,560 samples), and the validation dataset using 20% (390 samples). The dependent variables of the experimental dataset included twelve technical indicators popularly been used in the previous studies. They include Stochastic %K, Stochastic %D, Momentum, ROC(rate of change), LW %R(Larry William's %R), A/D oscillator(accumulation/distribution oscillator), OSCP(price oscillator), CCI(commodity channel index), and so on. To confirm the superiority of CNN-FG, we compared its prediction accuracy with the ones of other classification models. Experimental results showed that CNN-FG outperforms LOGIT(logistic regression), ANN(artificial neural network), and SVM(support vector machine) with the statistical significance. These empirical results imply that converting time series business data into graphs and building CNN-based classification models using these graphs can be effective from the perspective of prediction accuracy. Thus, this paper sheds a light on how to apply deep learning techniques to the domain of business problem solving.

    Shielding for Critical Organs and Radiation Exposure Dose Distribution in Patients with High Energy Radiotherapy (고 에너지 방사선치료에서 환자의 피폭선량 분포와 생식선의 차폐)

    • Chu, Sung-Sil;Suh, Chang-Ok;Kim, Gwi-Eon
      • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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      • v.27 no.1
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      • pp.1-10
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      • 2002
    • High energy photon beams from medical linear accelerators produce large scattered radiation by various components of the treatment head, collimator and walls or objects in the treatment room including the patient. These scattered radiation do not provide therapeutic dose and are considered a hazard from the radiation safety perspective. Scattered dose of therapeutic high energy radiation beams are contributed significant unwanted dose to the patient. ICRP take the position that a dose of 500mGy may cause abortion at any stage of pregnancy and that radiation detriment to the fetus includes risk of mental retardation with a possible threshold in the dose response relationship around 100 mGy for the gestational period. The ICRP principle of as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) was recommended for protection of occupation upon the linear no-threshold dose response hypothesis for cancer induction. We suggest this ALARA principle be applied to the fetus and testicle in therapeutic treatment. Radiation dose outside a photon treatment filed is mostly due to scattered photons. This scattered dose is a function of the distance from the beam edge, treatment geometry, primary photon energy, and depth in the patient. The need for effective shielding of the fetus and testicle is reinforced when young patients ate treated with external beam radiation therapy and then shielding designed to reduce the scattered photon dose to normal organs have to considered. Irradiation was performed in phantom using high energy photon beams produced by a Varian 2100C/D medical linear accelerator (Varian Oncology Systems, Palo Alto, CA) located at the Yonsei Cancer Center. The composite phantom used was comprised of a commercially available anthropomorphic Rando phantom (Phantom Laboratory Inc., Salem, YN) and a rectangular solid polystyrene phantom of dimensions $30cm{\times}30cm{\times}20cm$. the anthropomorphic Rando phantom represents an average man made from tissue equivalent materials that is transected into transverse 36 slices of 2.5cm thickness. Photon dose was measured using a Capintec PR-06C ionization chamber with Capintec 192 electrometer (Capintec Inc., Ramsey, NJ), TLD( VICTOREEN 5000. LiF) and film dosimetry V-Omat, Kodak). In case of fetus, the dosimeter was placed at a depth of loom in this phantom at 100cm source to axis distance and located centrally 15cm from the inferior edge of the $30cm{\times}30cm^2$ x-ray beam irradiating the Rando phantom chest wall. A acryl bridge of size $40cm{\times}40cm^2$ and a clear space of about 20 cm was fabricated and placed on top of the rectangular polystyrene phantom representing the abdomen of the patient. The leaf pot for testicle shielding was made as various shape, sizes, thickness and supporting stand. The scattered photon with and without shielding were measured at the representative position of the fetus and testicle. Measurement of radiation scattered dose outside fields and critical organs, like fetus position and testicle region, from chest or pelvic irradiation by large fie]d of high energy radiation beam was performed using an ionization chamber and film dosimetry. The scattered doses outside field were measured 5 - 10% of maximum doses in fields and exponentially decrease from field margins. The scattered photon dose received the fetus and testicle from thorax field irradiation was measured about 1 mGy/Gy of photon treatment dose. Shielding construction to reduce this scattered dose was investigated using lead sheet and blocks. Lead pot shield for testicle reduced the scatter dose under 10 mGy when photon beam of 60 Gy was irradiated in abdomen region. The scattered photon dose is reduced when the lead shield was used while the no significant reduction of scattered photon dose was observed and 2-3 mm lead sheets refuted the skin dose under 80% and almost electron contamination. The results indicate that it was possible to improve shielding to reduce scattered photon for fetus and testicle when a young patients were treated with a high energy photon beam.

    Changes in Distribution and Morphology of Rat Alveolar Macrophage Subpopulations in Acute Hyperoxic Lung Injury Model (고농도 산소로 유발한 흰쥐의 급성폐손상모델에서 폐포대식세포 아형군의 분포와 형태 변화)

    • Shin, Yoon;Lee, Sang-Haak;Yoon, Hyoung-Kyu;Lee, Sook-Young;Kim, Seok-Chan;Kwon, Soon-Seog;Kim, Young-Kyoon;Kim, Kwan-Hyung;Moon, Hwa-Sik;Song, Jeong-Sup;Park, Sung-Hak
      • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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      • v.48 no.4
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      • pp.478-486
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      • 2000
    • Background : In acute lung injury, alveolar macrophages play a pivotal role in the inflammatory process during the initiation phase and in the reconstruction and fibrosis process during the later phase. Recently, it has been proven that alveolar macrophages are constituted by morphologically, biochemically and immunologically heterogenous cell subpopulations. The possibility of alterations to these characteristics of the alveolar macrophage population during lung disease has been raised. To investigate such a possibility a hyperoxic rat lung model was made to check the distributional and morphological changes of rat alveolar macrophage subpopulation in acute hyperoxic lung injury. Method : Alveolar macrophage were lavaged from normal and hyperoxic lung injury rats and separated by discontinuous gradients of percoll. After cell counts of each density fraction were accessed, the morphomeric analysis of alveolar macrophages was performed on cytocentrifuged preparations by transmission electron micrograph. Result : 1. The total alveolar macrophage cell count significantly increased up to 24 hours after hyperoxic challenge (normal control group $171.6{\pm}24.1{\times}10^5$, 12 hour group $194.8{\pm}17.9{\times}10^5$, 24 hour group $207.6{\pm}27.1{\times}10^5$, p<0.05). oHoHH However the 48 hour group ($200.0{\pm}77.8{\times}10^5$) did not show a significant difference. 2. Alveolar septal thickness significantly increased up to 24 hours after hyperoxic challenge(normal control group $0.7{\pm}0.2{\mu}m$, 12 hour group $1.5{\pm}0.4{\mu}m$, 24 hour group $2.3{\pm}0.4{\mu}m$, p<0.05). However the 48 hour group did not show further change ($2.5{\pm}0.4{\mu}m$). Number of interstitial macrophage markedly increased at 24 hour group. 3. Hypodense fraction(fraction 1 and fraction 2) of alveolar macrophage showed a significant increase following hyperoxic challenge ($\beta=0.379$.$\beta=0.694$. p<0.05) ; however, fraction 3 was rather decreased following the hyperoxic challenge($\beta=0.815$. p<0.05), and fraction 4 showed an irregular pattern. 4. Electron microscopic observation of alveolar macrophage from each fraction revealed considerable morphologic heterogeneity. Cells of the most dense subfraction(fraction 4) were small, round, and typically highly ruffled with small membrane pseudopods. Cells of the least dense fraction (fraction 1) were large and showed irregular eccentric nucleus and high number of heterogenous inclusions. Conclusion : In conclusion, these results suggest that specific hypodense alveolar macrophage subpopulation may play a an important role in an acute hyperoxic lung injury model But further study, including biochemical and immunological function of these subpopulations, is needed.

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    The Clinical Features of Endobronchial Tuberculosis - A Retrospective Study on 201 Patients for 6 years (기관지결핵의 임상상-201예에 대한 후향적 고찰)

    • Lee, Jae Young;Kim, Chung Mi;Moon, Doo Seop;Lee, Chang Wha;Lee, Kyung Sang;Yang, Suck Chul;Yoon, Ho Joo;Shin, Dong Ho;Park, Sung Soo;Lee, Jung Hee
      • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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      • v.43 no.5
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      • pp.671-682
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      • 1996
    • Background : Endobronchial tuberculosis is definded as tuberculous infection of the tracheobronchial tree with microbiological and histopathological evidence. Endobronchial tuberculosis has clinical significance due to its sequela of cicatrical stenosis which causes atelectasis, dyspnea and secondary pneumonia and may mimic bronchial asthma and pulmanary malignancy. Method : The authors carried out, retrospectively, a clinical study on 201 patients confirmed with endobronchial tuberculosis who visited the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at Hangyang University Hospital from January 1990 10 April 1996. The following results were obtained. Results: 1) Total 201 parients(l9.5%) were confirmed as endobronchial tuberculosis among 1031 patients who had been undergone flexible bronchofiberscopic examination. The number of male patients were 55 and that of female patients were 146. and the male to female ratio was 1 : 2.7. 2) The age distribution were as follows: there were 61(30.3%) cases in the third decade, 40 cases(19.9%) in the fourth decade, 27 cases(13.4%) in the sixth decade, 21 cases(10.4%) in the fifth decade, 19 cases(9.5%) in the age group between 15 and 19 years, 19 cases(9.5%) in the seventh decade, and 14 cases(7.0%) over 70 years, in decreasing order. 3) The most common symptom, in 192 cases, was cough 74.5%, followed by sputum 55.2%, dyspnea 28.6%, chest discomfort 19.8%, fever 17.2%, hemoptysis 11.5%, in decreasing order, and localized wheezing was heard in 15.6%. 4) In chest X-ray of 189 cases, consolidation was the most frequent finding in 67.7%, followed by collapse 43.9%. cavitary lesion 11.6%, pleural effusion 7.4%, in decreasing order, and there was no abnormal findings in 3.2%. 5) In the 76 pulmanary function tests, a normal pattern was found in 44.7%, restrictive pattern in 39.5 %, obstructive pattern in 11.8%, and combined pattern in 3.9%. 6) Among total 201 patients, bronchoscopy showed caseous pseudomembrane in 70 cases(34.8%), mucosal erythema and edema in 54 cases(26.9%), hyperplastic lesion in 52 cases(25.9%), fibrous s.enosis in 22 cases(10.9%), and erosion or ulcer in 3 cases(1.5%). 7) In total 201 cases, bronchial washing AFB stain was positive in 103 cases(51.2%), bronchial washing culture for tuberculous bacilli in 55 cases(27.4%). In the 99 bronchoscopic biopsies, AFB slain positive in 36.4%. granuloma without AFB stain positive in 13.1%, chronic inflammation only in 36.4%. and non diagnostic biopsy finding in 14.1%. Conclusions : Young female patients, whose cough resistant to genenal antitussive agents, should be evaluated for endobronchial tuberculosis, even with clear chest roentgenogram and negative sputum AFB stain. Furthermore, we would like to emphasize that the bronchoscopic approach is a substantially useful means of making a differential diagnosis of atelectasis in older patients of cancer age. At this time we have to make a standard endoscopic classification of endobronchial tuberculosis, and well designed prospective studies are required to elucidate the effect of combination therapy using antituberculous chemotherapy with steroids on bronchial stenosis in patients with endobronchial tuberculosis.

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    Derivation of Digital Music's Ranking Change Through Time Series Clustering (시계열 군집분석을 통한 디지털 음원의 순위 변화 패턴 분류)

    • Yoo, In-Jin;Park, Do-Hyung
      • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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      • v.26 no.3
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      • pp.171-191
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      • 2020
    • This study focused on digital music, which is the most valuable cultural asset in the modern society and occupies a particularly important position in the flow of the Korean Wave. Digital music was collected based on the "Gaon Chart," a well-established music chart in Korea. Through this, the changes in the ranking of the music that entered the chart for 73 weeks were collected. Afterwards, patterns with similar characteristics were derived through time series cluster analysis. Then, a descriptive analysis was performed on the notable features of each pattern. The research process suggested by this study is as follows. First, in the data collection process, time series data was collected to check the ranking change of digital music. Subsequently, in the data processing stage, the collected data was matched with the rankings over time, and the music title and artist name were processed. Each analysis is then sequentially performed in two stages consisting of exploratory analysis and explanatory analysis. First, the data collection period was limited to the period before 'the music bulk buying phenomenon', a reliability issue related to music ranking in Korea. Specifically, it is 73 weeks starting from December 31, 2017 to January 06, 2018 as the first week, and from May 19, 2019 to May 25, 2019. And the analysis targets were limited to digital music released in Korea. In particular, digital music was collected based on the "Gaon Chart", a well-known music chart in Korea. Unlike private music charts that are being serviced in Korea, Gaon Charts are charts approved by government agencies and have basic reliability. Therefore, it can be considered that it has more public confidence than the ranking information provided by other services. The contents of the collected data are as follows. Data on the period and ranking, the name of the music, the name of the artist, the name of the album, the Gaon index, the production company, and the distribution company were collected for the music that entered the top 100 on the music chart within the collection period. Through data collection, 7,300 music, which were included in the top 100 on the music chart, were identified for a total of 73 weeks. On the other hand, in the case of digital music, since the cases included in the music chart for more than two weeks are frequent, the duplication of music is removed through the pre-processing process. For duplicate music, the number and location of the duplicated music were checked through the duplicate check function, and then deleted to form data for analysis. Through this, a list of 742 unique music for analysis among the 7,300-music data in advance was secured. A total of 742 songs were secured through previous data collection and pre-processing. In addition, a total of 16 patterns were derived through time series cluster analysis on the ranking change. Based on the patterns derived after that, two representative patterns were identified: 'Steady Seller' and 'One-Hit Wonder'. Furthermore, the two patterns were subdivided into five patterns in consideration of the survival period of the music and the music ranking. The important characteristics of each pattern are as follows. First, the artist's superstar effect and bandwagon effect were strong in the one-hit wonder-type pattern. Therefore, when consumers choose a digital music, they are strongly influenced by the superstar effect and the bandwagon effect. Second, through the Steady Seller pattern, we confirmed the music that have been chosen by consumers for a very long time. In addition, we checked the patterns of the most selected music through consumer needs. Contrary to popular belief, the steady seller: mid-term pattern, not the one-hit wonder pattern, received the most choices from consumers. Particularly noteworthy is that the 'Climbing the Chart' phenomenon, which is contrary to the existing pattern, was confirmed through the steady-seller pattern. This study focuses on the change in the ranking of music over time, a field that has been relatively alienated centering on digital music. In addition, a new approach to music research was attempted by subdividing the pattern of ranking change rather than predicting the success and ranking of music.

    Rough Set Analysis for Stock Market Timing (러프집합분석을 이용한 매매시점 결정)

    • Huh, Jin-Nyung;Kim, Kyoung-Jae;Han, In-Goo
      • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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      • v.16 no.3
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      • pp.77-97
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      • 2010
    • Market timing is an investment strategy which is used for obtaining excessive return from financial market. In general, detection of market timing means determining when to buy and sell to get excess return from trading. In many market timing systems, trading rules have been used as an engine to generate signals for trade. On the other hand, some researchers proposed the rough set analysis as a proper tool for market timing because it does not generate a signal for trade when the pattern of the market is uncertain by using the control function. The data for the rough set analysis should be discretized of numeric value because the rough set only accepts categorical data for analysis. Discretization searches for proper "cuts" for numeric data that determine intervals. All values that lie within each interval are transformed into same value. In general, there are four methods for data discretization in rough set analysis including equal frequency scaling, expert's knowledge-based discretization, minimum entropy scaling, and na$\ddot{i}$ve and Boolean reasoning-based discretization. Equal frequency scaling fixes a number of intervals and examines the histogram of each variable, then determines cuts so that approximately the same number of samples fall into each of the intervals. Expert's knowledge-based discretization determines cuts according to knowledge of domain experts through literature review or interview with experts. Minimum entropy scaling implements the algorithm based on recursively partitioning the value set of each variable so that a local measure of entropy is optimized. Na$\ddot{i}$ve and Booleanreasoning-based discretization searches categorical values by using Na$\ddot{i}$ve scaling the data, then finds the optimized dicretization thresholds through Boolean reasoning. Although the rough set analysis is promising for market timing, there is little research on the impact of the various data discretization methods on performance from trading using the rough set analysis. In this study, we compare stock market timing models using rough set analysis with various data discretization methods. The research data used in this study are the KOSPI 200 from May 1996 to October 1998. KOSPI 200 is the underlying index of the KOSPI 200 futures which is the first derivative instrument in the Korean stock market. The KOSPI 200 is a market value weighted index which consists of 200 stocks selected by criteria on liquidity and their status in corresponding industry including manufacturing, construction, communication, electricity and gas, distribution and services, and financing. The total number of samples is 660 trading days. In addition, this study uses popular technical indicators as independent variables. The experimental results show that the most profitable method for the training sample is the na$\ddot{i}$ve and Boolean reasoning but the expert's knowledge-based discretization is the most profitable method for the validation sample. In addition, the expert's knowledge-based discretization produced robust performance for both of training and validation sample. We also compared rough set analysis and decision tree. This study experimented C4.5 for the comparison purpose. The results show that rough set analysis with expert's knowledge-based discretization produced more profitable rules than C4.5.


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