• Title/Summary/Keyword: image scale

Search Result 2,451, Processing Time 0.03 seconds

Study on the Relationships Among Perceived Shopping Values, Brand Equity, and Store Loyalty of Korean and Chinese Consumers: A Case of Large Discount Store (한국과 중국 소비자의 쇼핑 경험가치 지각과 브랜드자산 및 점포충성도의 관계에 관한 비교 연구: 대형 할인점을 중심으로)

  • Hwang, Soonho;Oh, Jongchul;Yoon, Sungjoon
    • Asia Marketing Journal
    • /
    • v.14 no.2
    • /
    • pp.209-237
    • /
    • 2012
  • 1. Research Purpose Consumers rely on various clues to evaluate their decision to patronize a retail store, and store brand is one of them (Dodds 1991; Grewal et al. 1998). As consumers find ever increasing variety of contact points connecting them to specific store, the value of experiential shopping as a means of increasing store's brand equity warrants greater attention from scholars of retail management. Retail shopping values are credited for creating not only cognitive experiences like brand knowledge but also emotional experiences such as shopping pleasure and pride (Schmitt 1999). This may be because today's consumers place emphasis on emotional values associated with shopping pleasure, lifestyle brought to life, brand relationship, and store atmosphere more than utilitarian values such as product quality and price. Many previous literature found this to be true (Ahn and Lee 2011; Mathwick et al. 2001). This brings forth important research issues and questions regarding the roles of shopping experiential values and brand equity with regard to consumer's retail patronage choice. However, despite this importance, research on this area remains quite inadequate (Hwang 2010). For this reason, this study aims to verify the relationships among experiential shopping values, retail store brand equity and tries to link that with customer loyalty by surveying large-scale discount store shoppers in Korea and China. 2. Research Contents In order to carry out the research objective, this study conducted comprehensive literature survey on previous literature by discussing major findings and implications with regard to shopping values and retail brand equity and store loyalty. For data collection, researcher employed survey-based research method where data were collected in two major cities of Korea (Seoul) and China (Bejing) and sampling frame was based on patrons of large discount stores in both countries. Specific research questions raised in this study are as follows; RQ1: How do Korean and Chinese consumers differently perceive of shopping values regarding shopping at large-sclae discount stores? RQ2: Are there differences in consumers' emotional consumption propensities? RQ3: Do Korean and Chinese consumers display different perceptions of brand equity towards large-scale discount stores? RQ4: Are there differences in relationships between shopping values and brand equity for Korean and Chinese consumers? For statistical analysis, SPSS17.0, AMOS17.0 and SmartPLS were employed. 3. Research Results The data collected through face-to-face survey conducted in Seoul and Bejing revealed appropriate data validity and reliability as a result of exploratory/confirmatory factor analysis and reliability tests, andh SEM model yielding satisfactory model fitness. The result of the study may be summarized by three main points. First, as a result of testing differences in consumption dispositions, Chinese consumers showed higher scores in aesthetic and symbolic dispositions, whereas Korean consumers scored higher in hedonic disposition. Second, testing on perceptions toward brand equity of large discount stores showed that Korean consumers exhibited more positive perceptions of brand awareness and brand image than Chinese counterparts. Third, the result of exploratory factor analysis on the experiential shopping values revealed different factors for each country. On Korean side, consumer interest value, aesthetic value, and hedonic value were prominent, whereas on Chinese side, hedonic value, aesthetic value, consumer interest value, and service excellence value were found salient. 4. Research Implications While many previous studies on inter-country differences in retailing area mainly focused on cultural dispositions or orientations to explain the differences, this study sets itself apart by specifically targeting individual consumer's shopping values from an experiential viewpoint. The study result provides important theoretical as well as practical implications for large-scale discount store, especially the impotance of fully exploring the linkage between shopping values and brand equity, which has significant influence on loyalty. Therefore, the specific implications deriving from the result shed some important insights upon the consumption values based on shopping experiences and brand equity. The differences found in store shoppers between the two countries may also provide useful insights for Korean and Chinese retailers who plan to expand their operations globally. Related strategic implications derived from this study is the importance of localizing retail strategy which is based on the differences found in experiential shopping values between the two country groups. Especially the finding that Chinese consumers value consumer interest and service excellence, whereas Koreans place importance on hedonic or aesthetic values indicates the need to differentiate the consumer's psychographical profiles when it comes to expanding retail operations globally. Particularly important will be to pursue price-orienated strategy in China in consideration of the high emphasis on consumer interests and service excellence, but to emphasize the symbolic aspects of brand equity in Korea by maximizing the brand equity associated with aesthetic values and hedonic orientations. 5. Recommendations This study focused on generic retail branded discount stores in both countries, thus making it difficult to tease out store-specific strategies based on specific retail brands. Future studies may benefit fro employing actual brand names in survey questionnaire to verify relationship between shopping values and brand-based store strategy. As with other studies of this nature, this study needs to strengthen the result's generalizability by selecting respondents from a wider spectrum of respondents.

  • PDF

Typology of Korean Eco-sumers: Based on Clothing Disposal Behaviors (관우한국생태학적일개예설(关于韩国生态学的一个预设): 기우복장탑배적행위(基于服装搭配的行为))

  • Sung, Hee-Won;Kincade, Doris H.
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
    • /
    • v.20 no.1
    • /
    • pp.59-69
    • /
    • 2010
  • Green or an environmental consciousness has been a major issue for businesses and government offices, as well as consumers, worldwide. In response to this movement, the Korean government announced, in the early 2000s, the era of "Green Growth" as a way to encourage green-related business activities. The Korean fashion industry, in various levels of involvement, presents diverse eco-friendly products as a part of the green movement. These apparel products include organic products and recycled clothing. For these companies to be successful, they need information about who are the consumers who consider green issues (e.g., environmental sustainability) as part of their personal values when making a decision for product purchase, use, and disposal. These consumers can be considered as eco-sumers. Previous studies have examined consumers' purchase intention for or with eco-friendly products. In addition, studies have examined influential factors used to identify the eco-sumers or green consumers. However, limited attention was paid to eco-sumers' disposal or recycling behavior of clothes in comparison with their green product purchases. Clothing disposal behaviors are ways that consumer can get rid of unused clothing and in clue temporarily lending the item or permanently eliminating the item by "handing down" (e.g., giving it to a younger sibling), donating, exchanging, selling, or simply throwing it away. Accordingly, examining purchasing behaviors of eco-friendly fashion items in conjunction with clothing disposal behaviors should improve understanding of a consumer's clothing consumption behavior from the environmental perspective. The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide descriptive information about Korean eco-sumers who have ecologically-favorable lifestyles and behaviors when buying and disposing of clothes. The objectives of this study are to (a) categorize Koreans on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors; (b) investigate the differences in demographics, lifestyles, and clothing consumption values among segments; and (c) compare the purchase intention of eco-friendly fashion items and influential factors among segments. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on previous studies. The questionnaire included 10 items of clothing disposal behavior, 22 items of LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) characteristics, and 19 items of consumption values, measured by five-point Likert-type scales. In addition, the purchase intention of two eco-friendly fashion items and 11 attributes of each item were measured by seven-point Likert type scales. Two polyester fleece pullovers, made from fabric created from recycled bottles with the PET identification code, were selected from one Korean brand and one US imported brand among outdoor sportswear brands. A brief description of each product with a color picture was provided in the survey. Demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, marital status, education level, income, occupation) were also included. The data were collected through a professional web survey agency during May 2009. A total of 600 final usable questionnaires were analyzed. The age of respondents ranged from 20 to 49 years old with a mean age of 34 years. Fifty percent of the respondents were males and about 58% were married, and 62% reported having earned university degrees. Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to identify the underlying dimensions of the clothing disposal behavior scale, and three factors were generated (i.e., reselling behavior, donating behavior, non-recycling behavior). To categorize the respondents on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors, k-mean cluster analysis was used, and three segments were obtained. These consumer segments were labeled as 'Resale Group', 'Donation Group', and 'Non-Recycling Group.' The classification results indicated approximately 98 percent of the original cases were correctly classified. With respect to demographic characteristics among the three segments, significant differences were found in gender, marital status, occupation, and age. LOHAS characteristics were reduced into the following five factors: self-satisfaction, family orientation, health concern, environmental concern, and voluntary service. Significant differences were found in the LOHAS factors among the three clusters. Resale Group and Donation Group showed a similar predisposition to LOHAS issues while the Non-Recycling Group presented the lowest mean scores on the LOHAS factors compared to the other segments. The Resale and Donation Groups described themselves as enjoying or being satisfied with their lives and spending spare-time with family. In addition, these two groups cared about health and organic foods, and tried to conserve energy and resources. Principal components factor analysis generated clothing consumption values into the following three factors: personal values, social value, and practical value. The ANOVA test with the factors showed differences primarily between the Resale Group and the other two groups. The Resale Group was more concerned about personal value and social value than the other segments. In contrast, the Non-Recycling Group presented the higher level of social value than did Donation Group. In a comparison of the intention to purchase eco-friendly products, the Resale Group showed the highest mean score on intent to purchase Product A. On the other hand, the Donation Group presented the highest intention to purchase for Product B among segments. In addition, the mean scores indicated that the Korean product (Product B) was more preferable for purchase than the U.S. product (Product A). Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the influence of product attributes on the purchase intention of eco product. With respect to Product A, design, price and contribution to environmental preservation were significant to predict purchase intention for the Resale Group, while price and compatibility with my image factors were significant for the Donation Group. For the Non-Recycling Group, design, price compatibility with the factors of my image, participation to eco campaign, and contribution to environmental preservation were significant. Price appropriateness was significant for each of the three clusters. With respect to Product B, design, price and compatibility with my image factors were important, but different attributes were associated significantly with purchase intention for each of the three groups. The influence of LOHAS characteristics and clothing consumption values on intention to purchase Products A and B were also examined. The LOHAS factor of health concern and the personal value factor were significant in the relationships with the purchase intention; however, the explanatory powers were low in the three segments. Findings showed that each group as classified by clothing disposal behaviors showed differences in the attributes of a product, personal values, and the LOHAS characteristics that influenced their purchase intention of eco-friendly products. Findings would enable organizations to understand eco-friendly behavior and to design appropriate strategic decisions to appeal eco-sumers.

Development of validated Nursing Interventions for Home Health Care to Women who have had a Caesarian Delivery (조기퇴원 제왕절개 산욕부를 위한 가정간호 표준서 개발)

  • HwangBo, Su-Ja
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
    • /
    • v.6 no.1
    • /
    • pp.135-146
    • /
    • 2000
  • The purpose of this study was to develope, based on the Nursing Intervention Classification (NIC) system. a set of standardized nursing interventions which had been validated. and their associated activities. for use with nursing diagnoses related to home health care for women who have had a caesarian delivery and for their newborn babies. This descriptive study for instrument development had three phases: first. selection of nursing diagnoses. second, validation of the preliminary home health care interventions. and third, application of the home care interventions. In the first phases, diagnoses from 30 nursing records of clients of the home health care agency at P. medical center who were seen between April 21 and July 30. 1998. and from 5 textbooks were examined. Ten nursing diagnoses were selected through a comparison with the NANDA (North American Nursing Diagnosis Association) classification In the second phase. using the selected diagnoses. the nursing interventions were defined from the diagnoses-intervention linkage lists along with associated activities for each intervention list in NIC. To develope the preliminary interventions five-rounds of expertise tests were done. During the first four rounds. 5 experts in clinical nursing participated. and for the final content validity test of the preliminary interventions. 13 experts participated using the Fehring's Delphi technique. The expert group evaluated and defined the set of preliminary nursing interventions. In the third phases, clinical tests were held at in a home health care setting with two home health care nurses using the preliminary intervention list as a questionnaire. Thirty clients referred to the home health care agency at P. medical center between October 1998 and March 1999 were the subjects for this phase. Each of the activities were tested using dichotomous question method. The results of the study are as follows: 1. For the ten nursing diagnoses. 63 appropriate interventions were selected from 369 diagnoses interventions links in NlC., and from 1.465 associated nursing activities. From the 63 interventions. the nurses expert group developed 18 interventions and 258 activities as the preliminary intervention list through a five-round validity test 2. For the fifth content validity test using Fehring's model for determining lCV (Intervention Content Validity), a five point Likert scale was used with values converted to weights as follows: 1=0.0. 2=0.25. 3=0.50. 4=0.75. 5=1.0. Activities of less than O.50 were to be deleted. The range of ICV scores for the nursing diagnoses was 0.95-0.66. for the nursing interventions. 0.98-0.77 and for the nursing activities, 0.95-0.85. By Fehring's method. all of these were included in the preliminary intervention list. 3. Using a questionnaire format for the preliminary intervention list. clinical application tests were done. To define nursing diagnoses. home health care nurses applied each nursing diagnoses to every client. and it was found that 13 were most frequently used of 400 times diagnoses were used. Therefore. 13 nursing diagnoses were defined as validated nursing diagnoses. Ten were the same as from the nursing records and textbooks and three were new from the clinical application. The final list included 'Anxiety', 'Aspiration. risk for'. 'Infant behavior, potential for enhanced, organized'. 'Infant feeding pattern. ineffective'. 'Infection'. 'Knowledge deficit'. 'Nutrition, less than body requirements. altered', 'Pain'. 'Parenting'. 'Skin integrity. risk for. impared' and 'Risk for activity intolerance'. 'Self-esteem disturbance', 'Sleep pattern disturbance' 4. In all. there were 19 interventions. 18 preliminary nursing interventions and one more intervention added from the clinical setting. 'Body image enhancement'. For 265 associated nursing activities. clinical application tests were also done. The intervention rate of 19 interventions was from 81.6% to 100%, so all 19 interventions were in c1uded in the validated intervention set. From the 265 nursing activities. 261(98.5%) were accepted and four activities were deleted. those with an implimentation rate of less than 50%. 5. In conclusion. 13 diagnoses. 19 interventions and 261 activities were validated for the final validated nursing intervention set.

  • PDF

Quantitative Assessment and Ligament Traceability of Volume Isotropic Turbo Spin Echo Acquisition (VISTA) Ankle Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Fat Suppression versus without Fat Suppression (발목관절 VISTA 자기공명영상에서 정량평가와 인대의 Traceability: 지방억제 대비 지방억제기법)

  • Cho, Kyung Eun;Yoon, Choon-Sik;Song, Ho-Taek;Lee, Young Han;Lim, Daekeon;Suh, Jin-Suck;Kim, Sungjun
    • Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    • /
    • v.17 no.2
    • /
    • pp.110-122
    • /
    • 2013
  • Purpose : To compare the image quality and ligament traceability in ankle images obtained using Volume Isotropic Turbo Spin Echo Acquisition (VISTA) MRI with and without fat suppression. Materials and Methods: The signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) in images from a phantom and from the ankle of a volunteer were compared. Ten ankles from 10 non-symptomatic volunteers were imaged for comparisons of contrast ratio (CR) and ligament traceability. All examinations were performed using VISTA sequences with and without fat suppression on a 3T MRI scanner. The SNRs were obtained from images with subjects and without subjects (noise-only). Contrast ratios from images of the 10 ankles were acquired between fluid and tendon (F-T), F-cartilage (C), F-ligament (L), fat (f)-T, f-C and f-L. Two musculoskeletal radiologists independently scored the traceability of 7 ligaments, in sagittal, axial and coronal images respectively, based on a 4-point scale (1 as not traceable through 4 as clearly traceable). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the CR. Fisher's exact test and Pearson's chi-squared test were used to compare the ligament traceability. Results: The SNRs did not differ significantly between the two sequences except in bone marrow. VISTA SPAIR showed the higher CR only in F-T (p = 0.04), whereas VISTA showed higher CR in f-T (p = 0.005), f-C (p = 0.005) and f-L (p = 0.005). The calcaneofibular ligament traceability with VISTA was superior to that obtained with VISTA SPAIR (p < 0.05) in all planes. Conclusion: VISTA showed significant superiority to VISTA SPAIR in tracing CFL due to the superior CR between fat and ligament.

Overview of Research Trends in Estimation of Forest Carbon Stocks Based on Remote Sensing and GIS (원격탐사와 GIS 기반의 산림탄소저장량 추정에 관한 주요국 연구동향 개관)

  • Kim, Kyoung-Min;Lee, Jung-Bin;Kim, Eun-Sook;Park, Hyun-Ju;Roh, Young-Hee;Lee, Seung-Ho;Park, Key-Ho;Shin, Hyu-Seok
    • Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
    • /
    • v.14 no.3
    • /
    • pp.236-256
    • /
    • 2011
  • Forest carbon stocks change due to land use change is an important data required by UNFCCC(United Nations framework convention on climate change). Spatially explicit estimation of forest carbon stocks based on IPCC GPG(intergovernmental panel on climate change good practice guidance) tier 3 gives high reliability. But a current estimation which was aggregated from NFI data doesn't have detail forest carbon stocks by polygon or cell. In order to improve an estimation remote sensing and GIS have been used especially in Europe and North America. We divided research trends in main countries into 4 categories such as remote sensing, GIS, geostatistics and environmental modeling considering spatial heterogeneity. The easiest way to apply is combination NFI data with forest type map based on GIS. Considering especially complicated forest structure of Korea, geostatistics is useful to estimate local variation of forest carbon. In addition, fine scale image is good for verification of forest carbon stocks and determination of CDM site. Related domestic researches are still on initial status and forest carbon stocks are mainly estimated using k-nearest neighbor(k-NN). In order to select suitable method for forest in Korea, an applicability of diverse spatial data and algorithm must be considered. Also the comparison between methods is required.

The Relationship Analysis between the Epicenter and Lineaments in the Odaesan Area using Satellite Images and Shaded Relief Maps (위성영상과 음영기복도를 이용한 오대산 지역 진앙의 위치와 선구조선의 관계 분석)

  • CHA, Sung-Eun;CHI, Kwang-Hoon;JO, Hyun-Woo;KIM, Eun-Ji;LEE, Woo-Kyun
    • Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
    • /
    • v.19 no.3
    • /
    • pp.61-74
    • /
    • 2016
  • The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the location of the epicenter of a medium-sized earthquake(magnitude 4.8) that occurred on January 20, 2007 in the Odaesan area with lineament features using a shaded relief map(1/25,000 scale) and satellite images from LANDSAT-8 and KOMPSAT-2. Previous studies have analyzed lineament features in tectonic settings primarily by examining two-dimensional satellite images and shaded relief maps. These methods, however, limit the application of the visual interpretation of relief features long considered as the major component of lineament extraction. To overcome some existing limitations of two-dimensional images, this study examined three-dimensional images, produced from a Digital Elevation Model and drainage network map, for lineament extraction. This approach reduces mapping errors introduced by visual interpretation. In addition, spline interpolation was conducted to produce density maps of lineament frequency, intersection, and length required to estimate the density of lineament at the epicenter of the earthquake. An algorithm was developed to compute the Value of the Relative Density(VRD) representing the relative density of lineament from the map. The VRD is the lineament density of each map grid divided by the maximum density value from the map. As such, it is a quantified value that indicates the concentration level of the lineament density across the area impacted by the earthquake. Using this algorithm, the VRD calculated at the earthquake epicenter using the lineament's frequency, intersection, and length density maps ranged from approximately 0.60(min) to 0.90(max). However, because there were differences in mapped images such as those for solar altitude and azimuth, the mean of VRD was used rather than those categorized by the images. The results show that the average frequency of VRD was approximately 0.85, which was 21% higher than the intersection and length of VRD, demonstrating the close relationship that exists between lineament and the epicenter. Therefore, it is concluded that the density map analysis described in this study, based on lineament extraction, is valid and can be used as a primary data analysis tool for earthquake research in the future.

Analysis of Consumer Consumption Status and Demand of Rice-wine (약주에 대한 소비자의 소비실태 및 요구도 분석)

  • Kim, Eun-Hae;Ahn, Byung-Hak;Lee, Min-A
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
    • /
    • v.42 no.3
    • /
    • pp.478-486
    • /
    • 2013
  • The purpose of this study was to analyze consumer consumption and product concept demands of Korean rice-wine. An online survey, conducted from April 28, 2010 to May 6 2010, targeted 200 consumers in Seoul and the Gyeonggi-do area. More than half of the respondents (51.3%) drank rice-wine because of the taste. The common reasons for dissatisfaction with rice-wine were hangovers (35.7%) and taste (16.9%). From analyzing rice-wine preferences, the most preferred ingredient was rice (57.8%), while the most preferred aroma and taste was derived from the fruit (48.7% and 58.4%, respectively). The most common methods consumers observed for promoting rice-wine consumption were the "development and management of rice-wine brands" (59.7%), and "continuous promotion" (44.8%). The most important attributes of a rice-wine product included its taste (4.60), followed by its quality (4.41) using 5-point Likert scale. An importance-performance analysis (IPA) was performed for the 17 attributes of rice-wine and identified targets for product management strategies, including the "usage of domestic ingredients", "ease of purchase", clarity of "product information", and "external image". Therefore, developing solid concepts in marketing strategy are required and may be achieved by understanding the consumer preferences and demands of rice-wine.

Study for the Geochemical Reaction of Ca-feldspar, Amphibole and Olivine with Supercritical $CO_2$ and Brine on the $CO_2$ Sequestration Condition (이산화탄소 지중저장 조건에서 초임계이산화탄소와 염수 반응에 의한 Ca-사장석, 각섬석, 감람석의 지화학적 변화 연구)

  • Kang, Hyun-Min;Park, Min-Ho;Park, Sang-Hee;Lee, Min-Hee;Wang, Soo-Kyun
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
    • /
    • v.44 no.2
    • /
    • pp.123-133
    • /
    • 2011
  • The lab scale experiments to investigate the geochemical reaction among supercritical $CO_2$-mineral-brine which occurs at $CO_2$ sequestration sites were performed. High pressurized cell system (l00 bar and $50^{\circ}C$) was designed to create supercritical $CO_2$ in the cell, simulating the sub-surface $CO_2$ storage site. From the high pressurized cell experiment, the surface changes of Ca-feldspar, amphibole (tremolite) and olivine, resulted from the supercritical $CO_2$-mineral-brine reaction, were observed and the dissolution of minerals into the brine was also investigated. The mineral slabs were polished and three locations on the surface were randomly selected for the image analysis of SPM and the surface roughness value (SRV) of those locations were calculated to quantify the change of mineral surface for 30 days. At a certain time interval, SPM images and SRVs of the same mineral surface were acquired. The secondary minerals precipitated on the mineral surfaces were also analyzed on SEM/EDS after the experiment. From the experiments, the average SRV of Ca-feldspar increased from 2.77 nm to 20.87 nm for 30 days, suggesting that the dissolution of Ca-feldspar occurs in active when the feldspars contact with supercritical $CO_2$ and brine. For the amphibole, the average SRV increased from 2.54 nm to 8.31 nm and for the olivine from 0.77 nm to 11.03 run. For the Ca-feldspar, $Ca^{2+}$, $Na^+$, $Fe^{2+}$, $Si^{4+}$, $K^+$ and $Mg^{2+}$ were dissolved in the highest order and $Si^{4+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Fe^{2+}$ and $Mg^{2+}$ for the amphibole. Fe (or Mg) - oxides were precipitated as the secondary minerals on the surfaces of amphibole and olivine after 30 days reaction. Results suggested that $Ca^{2+}$, $Fe^{2+}$ and $Mg^{2+}$ rich minerals would be significantly weathered when it contacts with the supercritical $CO_2$ and brine at $CO_2$ sequestration sites.

Assessment of Metabolic Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease with [$^{18}F$]FDG PET: Validity and Role of Simplified Tissue Radioactivity Ratio Analysis (알쯔하이머병에서 양전자방출단층촬영을 이용한 국소뇌포도당대사의 변화에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Sang-Eun;Na Duk-Lyul;Lee, Jeong-Rim;Choi, Yong;Lee, Kyung-Han;Choe Yearn-Seong;Kim, Doh-Kwan;Kim, Byung-Tae;Lee, Kwang-Ho;Kim, Seung-Tai P.
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
    • /
    • v.30 no.3
    • /
    • pp.299-314
    • /
    • 1996
  • The purpose of the present study was to validate the use of tissue radioactivity ratios instead of regional metabolic rates for the assessment of regional metabolic changes in Alzheimer's disease(AD) with [$^{18}F$]FDG PET and to examine the correlation of ratio indices with the severity of cognitive impairment in AD. Thirty-seven AD Patients(age $68{\pm}9 yrs$, $mean{\pm}s.d.$; 36 probable and 1 definite AD), 28 patients with dementia of non-Alzheimer type(age $66{\pm}7 yrs$), and 17 healthy controls(age $66{\pm}4 yrs$) underwent [$^{18}F$]FDG PET imaging. Two simplified radioactivity ratio indices were calculated from 37-66 min image: region-to-cerebellar radioactivity ratio(RCR) and a composite radioactivity ratio(a ratio of radioactivity in the most typically affected regions over the least typically affected regions: CRR). Local cerebral metabolic rate for glucose(LCMRglu) was also measured using a three-compartment, five-parameter tracer kinetic model. The ratio indices were significantly lower in AD patients than in controls(RCR in temporoparietal cortex, $0.949{\pm}0.136$ vs. $1.238{\pm}0.129$, p=0.0004; RCR in frontal cortex, $1.027{\pm}0.128$ vs. $1.361{\pm}0.151$, p<0.0001; CRR, $0.886{\pm}0.096$ vs. $1.032{\pm}0.042$. p=0.0024). On the RCR analysis, 86% of AD patients showed a pattern of bilateral temporoparietal hypometabolism with or without frontal involvement; hypometabolism was unilateral in 11% of the patients. When bilateral temporoparietal hypometabolism was considered to be suggestive of AD, the sensitivity and specificity of the RCR analysis for the differential diagnosis of AD were 86% and 73%, respectively. The RCR was correlated significantly with the macroparameter K [$K_1k_3/(k_2+k_3)$] (r=0.775, p<0.0001) and LCMRglu(r=0.633, p=0.0002) measured using the kinetic model. In patients with AD, both average RCR of cortical association areas and CRR were correlated with Mini-Mental Status Examination(r=0.565, p=0.0145; r=0.642, p=0.0031, respectively), Clinical Dementia Rating(r=-0.576, p=0.0124; r=-0.591, p=0.0077), and total score of Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (r=0.574, p=0.0648; r=0.737, p=0.0096). There were also significant correlations between memory and language impairments and corresponding regional RCRs. The results suggest that the [$^{18}F$]FDG PET ratio indices, RCR and CRR, reflect global and regional metabolic rates and correlate with the severity of cognitive impairment in AD. The simplified ratio analysis may be clinically useful for the differential diagnosis and serial monitoring of the disease.

  • PDF

Anxiety and Depression of The Korean Residents in China (중국 거주 조선인의 불안과 우울에 관한 실태)

  • SaKong, Jeong-Kyu;Cheung, Seung-Douk;Kim, Chang-Su;Kim, Cheol-Gu;Kim, Bong-Jin
    • Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
    • /
    • v.9 no.2
    • /
    • pp.275-287
    • /
    • 1992
  • In order to survey the reality of anxiety and depression among the Koreans residing in China, a study was conducted between January and March of 1991, on the residents of Yun-Kil city, with subjects of 472 Koreans and 479 Chinese. The evaluation was based on the questionairs, named Combined self-rating anxiety depression scale(CADS), distributed among the subjects. ANOVA and t-test were applied for data processing. The results were as follows : There was not significant difference in the mean of total scores between the two groups. The scores of Koreans were $29.70{\pm}7.03$, while those of Chinese were $29.45{\pm}9.01$. The score of the CADS above 50(clinially significant level) was seen in 12(2.54%) Koreans and 21(4.38%) Chinese. The anxiety-depression scores relating to the items of indigestion and decreased appetite, sleep disturbance, apprehension, decreased libido were relatively high among the Koreans. The items appeared low in scores among the Koreans were faintness, fear, suicidal rumination, hopelessness, paresthesias. The highs among the Chinese were facial flushing, anxiousness, dissatisfaction, suicidal rumination. The items appeared low among the Chinese were fear, faintness, paresthesias, weight loss, suicidal rumination. In the comparison of evaluation by items between the two groups, the items placing the Koreans significantly higher over the Chinese are indigestion & decreased appetite, sleep disturbance, apprehension, decreased libido. The Chinese marked significantly higher in facial flushing, anxiousness, dissatisfaction, suicidal rumination. Those in the case of female (p<0.01 respectively), less than twenty years old (p<0.01 respectively), dissatisfied with family relationship(p<0.01 respectively), with past history of psychiatric hospitalization(Koreans p<0.01, Chinese p<0.05), pessimistic toward future, present, past self image(p<0.01 respectively) had significantly higher scores in both groups. In religion, neither group showed significant difference. In religion, neither group showed significant difference. In marital status, the Koreans showed a higher degree of divorce and separation and the Chinese in singleness(p<0.01 respectively). The Korean were higher in illiteracy and the Chinese had more college education(p<0.01 respectively). In place of growth, the Koreans showed not much difference in the areas while more Chinese grew up un large cities(p<0.01). More Koreans lived in the dormitory while the Chinese were engaged more in self-cooking(p<0.01 respectively). In pocket money per mouth, more Koreans were less than 1 dollar while the Chinese were between 7 and 10 dollars(p<0.01 respectively). There were no significant difference between two groups about religion.

  • PDF