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An Empirical Study on the Determinants of Supply Chain Management Systems Success from Vendor's Perspective (참여자관점에서 공급사슬관리 시스템의 성공에 영향을 미치는 요인에 관한 실증연구)

  • Kang, Sung-Bae;Moon, Tae-Soo;Chung, Yoon
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.139-166
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    • 2010
  • The supply chain management (SCM) systems have emerged as strong managerial tools for manufacturing firms in enhancing competitive strength. Despite of large investments in the SCM systems, many companies are not fully realizing the promised benefits from the systems. A review of literature on adoption, implementation and success factor of IOS (inter-organization systems), EDI (electronic data interchange) systems, shows that this issue has been examined from multiple theoretic perspectives. And many researchers have attempted to identify the factors which influence the success of system implementation. However, the existing studies have two drawbacks in revealing the determinants of systems implementation success. First, previous researches raise questions as to the appropriateness of research subjects selected. Most SCM systems are operating in the form of private industrial networks, where the participants of the systems consist of two distinct groups: focus companies and vendors. The focus companies are the primary actors in developing and operating the systems, while vendors are passive participants which are connected to the system in order to supply raw materials and parts to the focus companies. Under the circumstance, there are three ways in selecting the research subjects; focus companies only, vendors only, or two parties grouped together. It is hard to find researches that use the focus companies exclusively as the subjects probably due to the insufficient sample size for statistic analysis. Most researches have been conducted using the data collected from both groups. We argue that the SCM success factors cannot be correctly indentified in this case. The focus companies and the vendors are in different positions in many areas regarding the system implementation: firm size, managerial resources, bargaining power, organizational maturity, and etc. There are no obvious reasons to believe that the success factors of the two groups are identical. Grouping the two groups also raises questions on measuring the system success. The benefits from utilizing the systems may not be commonly distributed to the two groups. One group's benefits might be realized at the expenses of the other group considering the situation where vendors participating in SCM systems are under continuous pressures from the focus companies with respect to prices, quality, and delivery time. Therefore, by combining the system outcomes of both groups we cannot measure the system benefits obtained by each group correctly. Second, the measures of system success adopted in the previous researches have shortcoming in measuring the SCM success. User satisfaction, system utilization, and user attitudes toward the systems are most commonly used success measures in the existing studies. These measures have been developed as proxy variables in the studies of decision support systems (DSS) where the contribution of the systems to the organization performance is very difficult to measure. Unlike the DSS, the SCM systems have more specific goals, such as cost saving, inventory reduction, quality improvement, rapid time, and higher customer service. We maintain that more specific measures can be developed instead of proxy variables in order to measure the system benefits correctly. The purpose of this study is to find the determinants of SCM systems success in the perspective of vendor companies. In developing the research model, we have focused on selecting the success factors appropriate for the vendors through reviewing past researches and on developing more accurate success measures. The variables can be classified into following: technological, organizational, and environmental factors on the basis of TOE (Technology-Organization-Environment) framework. The model consists of three independent variables (competition intensity, top management support, and information system maturity), one mediating variable (collaboration), one moderating variable (government support), and a dependent variable (system success). The systems success measures have been developed to reflect the operational benefits of the SCM systems; improvement in planning and analysis capabilities, faster throughput, cost reduction, task integration, and improved product and customer service. The model has been validated using the survey data collected from 122 vendors participating in the SCM systems in Korea. To test for mediation, one should estimate the hierarchical regression analysis on the collaboration. And moderating effect analysis should estimate the moderated multiple regression, examines the effect of the government support. The result shows that information system maturity and top management support are the most important determinants of SCM system success. Supply chain technologies that standardize data formats and enhance information sharing may be adopted by supply chain leader organization because of the influence of focal company in the private industrial networks in order to streamline transactions and improve inter-organization communication. Specially, the need to develop and sustain an information system maturity will provide the focus and purpose to successfully overcome information system obstacles and resistance to innovation diffusion within the supply chain network organization. The support of top management will help focus efforts toward the realization of inter-organizational benefits and lend credibility to functional managers responsible for its implementation. The active involvement, vision, and direction of high level executives provide the impetus needed to sustain the implementation of SCM. The quality of collaboration relationships also is positively related to outcome variable. Collaboration variable is found to have a mediation effect between on influencing factors and implementation success. Higher levels of inter-organizational collaboration behaviors such as shared planning and flexibility in coordinating activities were found to be strongly linked to the vendors trust in the supply chain network. Government support moderates the effect of the IS maturity, competitive intensity, top management support on collaboration and implementation success of SCM. In general, the vendor companies face substantially greater risks in SCM implementation than the larger companies do because of severe constraints on financial and human resources and limited education on SCM systems. Besides resources, Vendors generally lack computer experience and do not have sufficient internal SCM expertise. For these reasons, government supports may establish requirements for firms doing business with the government or provide incentives to adopt, implementation SCM or practices. Government support provides significant improvements in implementation success of SCM when IS maturity, competitive intensity, top management support and collaboration are low. The environmental characteristic of competition intensity has no direct effect on vendor perspective of SCM system success. But, vendors facing above average competition intensity will have a greater need for changing technology. This suggests that companies trying to implement SCM systems should set up compatible supply chain networks and a high-quality collaboration relationship for implementation and performance.

Studies on the Correlation between Sodium Chloride Metabolism and Blood Pressure of Koreans (한국사람의 뇨중식염배설량과 혈압과의 상호관계에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Ku-Ja
    • The Korean Journal of Physiology
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    • v.8 no.2
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    • pp.19-31
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    • 1974
  • In oder to study the correlation between daily urinary output of sodium chloride and blood pressure, twenty four hour urine samples were collected from 224 cases (70 male and 154 female) of healthy Koreans whose age varied from 18 to 70 years old. The volume and concentration of sodium, chloride and potassium and total nitrogen were measured, along with the resting blood pressure. Results obtained are summarized as follows; 1. Daily urinary output was increased as a function of age. However, daily urinary output per unit sulface area was maintained at approximately 800 to 900 $ml/m^2$ in all age groups of male and it increased as a function of age in female groups. There was no significant difference between male and female. 2. The daily urinary sodium concentration was decreased gradually acceding to age in both sexes. Daily excretion of sodium was constant regardless of age in both sexes but especially high in 25-39 year female age group, which was slightly greater in males than in females. 3. The daily urinary chloride concentration was at approximately 250 meq/L in all age groups of male and which decreased as a function of age in females. 4. Hence the daily urinary output of sodium chloride was constant in all age groups of males which increased as a function of age in female groups. However, daily excretion of sodium chloride per unit sulface area was maintained at approximately 11 $gm/m^2$ in males and which increased as a function of age in females. 5. The daily urinary excretion of potassium was constant regardless of age in both sexes. 6. Urinary K/Na ratio was maintained at approximately 0.27 in males and 0.33 in females. 7. The daily urinary output of total nitrogen amount was approximately $8{\sim}10$ gm in males and $7{\sim}9$ gm in females. However, daily urinary output of nitrogen per unit sulface area was constant regardless of age in both sexes. 8. The systolic blood pressure was increased gradually according to the age in both sexes and was higher for males than females under 40 years of age. However, there was no significant difference between both sexes in ages over 40 years. 9. Quantitative comparisons indicated that daily urinary output and sodium chloride excretion are higher while daily potassium output, nitrogen excretion and urinary K/Na ratio are significantly lower among Koreans than a among Occidentals. These findings suggest that average Koreans live on low-protein and high-salt diet throughout their livers. Statistical result obtained may he summarized as follows; 10. The relation between blood pressure and sodium concentration of urine. The correlation between systolic blood pressure and sodium concentration was negatively associated for both sexes and the correlation coefficient was significant for females $({\gamma}_1=-.19<-{\gamma}_{152},\;_{0.05}=-0.159)$ and it was not significant for males $({\gamma}_1=-.19>-{\gamma}_{68},\;_{0.05}=-0.232)$ tut may be due to the sample size for males. The correlation between diastolic blood Pressure and sodium concentration was negatively associated for both sexes and the correlation coefficient was significant for males $({\gamma}_1=-.37<-{\gamma}_{68},\;0.05=-0.232)$ and the relation was not significant for females $({\gamma}_1=-.11>-{\gamma}_{152},\;_{0.05}=-0.159)$. 11. The relation between blood pressure and daily urinary sodium chloride excretion. The association between systolic blood pressure and sodium chloride excretion was positively correlated for both sexes and the relation was significant for females $({\gamma}_1=.20>{\gamma}_{152},\;_{0.05}= 0.159)$ and it was insignificant for males $({\gamma}_1=.09<{\gamma}_{68},\;_{0.05}=0.232)$, The relation between diastolic blood pressure and sodium chloride excretion was positively associated and insignificant for both sexes males $({\gamma}_1=.17<{\gamma}_{68},\;_{0.05}=0.232)$ and females $({\gamma}_1=.09<{\gamma}_{152},\;_{0.05}=0. 159)$. 12. The relation between daily urinary nitrogen excretion and sodium chloride excretion. The association between daily nitrogen excretion and sodium chloride excretion was positively significant for both sexes, males $({\gamma}_1=.31>{\gamma}\;_{68},\;_{0.05}=0.232)$ and females $({\gamma}_1=.36>{\gamma}_{-152},\;_{0.05}=0.159)$.

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An evaluation of the adequacy of pont's index (Pont 지수의 임상적 적합성에 대한 평가)

  • Kim, Seong-Hun;Lee, Ki-Soo
    • The korean journal of orthodontics
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    • v.30 no.1 s.78
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    • pp.115-126
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    • 2000
  • Dental arch expansion is one of the method used to solve the dental crowding problem by non-extraction. Many formulae using tooth size have been suggested to predict ideal inter-premolar and inter-molar width. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adequacy of some upper dental arch width prediction methods, namely Pont's method, Schmuth's method and Cha's method. The sample consisted of the casts of 119 Korean young adults who had no muscular abnormality, no skeletal discrepancy, and Angle's Class I molar relationships. Measurements were obtained directly from plaster casts; they Included mesiodistal crown diameters of the four maxillary incisors, as well as maxillary inter-first-premolar and inter-first-molar arch widths as specified by Pont. The correlation coefficients between the sum of incisors(SI) and upper dental arch width were calculated. The differences between predicted width and actual width were classified as overestimated, properestimated, and underestimated. The data obtained from each group were analyzed for statistical differences. The results were as follows : 1. Upper dental arch width indices were calculated from SI in normal occlusion (81.96 : premolar index, 62.55 : molar index). 2. Low correlations between SI and arch width were noted in normal occlusion (0.50 in the inter-premolar width, 0.39 in the inter-molar width). 3. Pont's formula and Schmuth's formula tended to overestimate the inter-premolar width. A more even distribution of estimates was noted in Cha's fomula. 4. Cases within $\pm$1 mm range of observed inter-premolar width were $45\%$ in the Cha's formula, $40\%$ in the Pont's formula, and $39\%$ in the Schmuth's formula. 5. All formulae had a tendency to underestimate the inter-molar width, but Cha's formula had better predictability than others. 6. Cases within $\pm$1 mm range of observed inter-molar width were $40\%$ in the Cha's formula, $29\%$ in the Pont's formula, and $13\%$ of Schmuth's formula. The data presented in this study does not support the clinical usefulness of ideal arch width prediction methods using the mesiodistal width of maxillary incisors.

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Spatial Distribution Patterns and Prediction of Hotspot Area for Endangered Herpetofauna Species in Korea (국내 멸종위기양서·파충류의 공간적 분포형태와 주요 분포지역 예측에 대한 연구)

  • Do, Min Seock;Lee, Jin-Won;Jang, Hoan-Jin;Kim, Dae-In;Park, Jinwoo;Yoo, Jeong-Chil
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.381-396
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    • 2017
  • Understanding species distribution plays an important role in conservation as well as evolutionary biology. In this study, we applied a species distribution model to predict hotspot areas and habitat characteristics for endangered herpetofauna species in South Korea: the Korean Crevice Salamander (Karsenia koreana), Suweon-tree frog (Hyla suweonensis), Gold-spotted pond frog (Pelophylax chosenicus), Narrow-mouthed toad (Kaloula borealis), Korean ratsnake (Elaphe schrenckii), Mongolian racerunner (Eremias argus), Reeve's turtle (Mauremys reevesii) and Soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis). The Kori salamander (Hynobius yangi) and Black-headed snake (Sibynophis chinensis) were excluded from the analysis due to insufficient sample size. The results showed that the altitude was the most important environmental variable for their distribution, and the altitude at which these species were distributed correlated with the climate of that region. The predicted distribution area derived from the species distribution modelling adequately reflected the observation site used in this study as well as those reported in preceding studies. The average AUC value of the eigh species was relatively high ($0.845{\pm}0.08$), while the average omission rate value was relatively low ($0.087{\pm}0.01$). Therefore, the species overlaying model created for the endangered species is considered successful. When merging the distribution models, it was shown that five species shared their habitats in the coastal areas of Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheongnam-do, which are the western regions of the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, we suggest that protection should be a high priority in these area, and our overall results may serve as essential and fundamental data for the conservation of endangered amphibian and reptiles in Korea.

Optimization of Support Vector Machines for Financial Forecasting (재무예측을 위한 Support Vector Machine의 최적화)

  • Kim, Kyoung-Jae;Ahn, Hyun-Chul
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.241-254
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    • 2011
  • Financial time-series forecasting is one of the most important issues because it is essential for the risk management of financial institutions. Therefore, researchers have tried to forecast financial time-series using various data mining techniques such as regression, artificial neural networks, decision trees, k-nearest neighbor etc. Recently, support vector machines (SVMs) are popularly applied to this research area because they have advantages that they don't require huge training data and have low possibility of overfitting. However, a user must determine several design factors by heuristics in order to use SVM. For example, the selection of appropriate kernel function and its parameters and proper feature subset selection are major design factors of SVM. Other than these factors, the proper selection of instance subset may also improve the forecasting performance of SVM by eliminating irrelevant and distorting training instances. Nonetheless, there have been few studies that have applied instance selection to SVM, especially in the domain of stock market prediction. Instance selection tries to choose proper instance subsets from original training data. It may be considered as a method of knowledge refinement and it maintains the instance-base. This study proposes the novel instance selection algorithm for SVMs. The proposed technique in this study uses genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize instance selection process with parameter optimization simultaneously. We call the model as ISVM (SVM with Instance selection) in this study. Experiments on stock market data are implemented using ISVM. In this study, the GA searches for optimal or near-optimal values of kernel parameters and relevant instances for SVMs. This study needs two sets of parameters in chromosomes in GA setting : The codes for kernel parameters and for instance selection. For the controlling parameters of the GA search, the population size is set at 50 organisms and the value of the crossover rate is set at 0.7 while the mutation rate is 0.1. As the stopping condition, 50 generations are permitted. The application data used in this study consists of technical indicators and the direction of change in the daily Korea stock price index (KOSPI). The total number of samples is 2218 trading days. We separate the whole data into three subsets as training, test, hold-out data set. The number of data in each subset is 1056, 581, 581 respectively. This study compares ISVM to several comparative models including logistic regression (logit), backpropagation neural networks (ANN), nearest neighbor (1-NN), conventional SVM (SVM) and SVM with the optimized parameters (PSVM). In especial, PSVM uses optimized kernel parameters by the genetic algorithm. The experimental results show that ISVM outperforms 1-NN by 15.32%, ANN by 6.89%, Logit and SVM by 5.34%, and PSVM by 4.82% for the holdout data. For ISVM, only 556 data from 1056 original training data are used to produce the result. In addition, the two-sample test for proportions is used to examine whether ISVM significantly outperforms other comparative models. The results indicate that ISVM outperforms ANN and 1-NN at the 1% statistical significance level. In addition, ISVM performs better than Logit, SVM and PSVM at the 5% statistical significance level.

Genetic Variation of some Patches of Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim) Maxim. in Korea (국내(國內) 가시오갈피 군락(群落)의 유전변이(遺傳變異) 분석(分析))

  • Hong, Kyung-Nak;Cho, Kyung-Jin;Park, Yew-Heon;Hur, Sung-Du;Hong, Yong-Pyo;Kang, Bum-Yong
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.89 no.5
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    • pp.645-654
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    • 2000
  • The aim of this study was to described the genetic structure of Eleutherococcus senticosus in Korea. We investigated 10 patches, which are eight Korean patches and two foreign patches come from Russia and China growing at Korean habitat, using ISSR(inter-simple sequence repeats) markers. In ISSR PCR, the overall percentage of polymorphic ISSR amplicons was 76% and the mean number of amplicons per ISSR primer was 11.5, which were higher than the RAPD results for the some cultivars collected in Korea(Kim et al., 1998) ; 57% and 5.7, respectively. So ISSR markers provide more powerful tool than RAPD markers for the investigation of genetic variation in E. senticosus. There are relatively high genetic variation among patches as 62.8%, but low variation within eight Korean patches. Such pattern of genetic variation, which is not ordinary in other tree species, may be result from the narrow and limited habitats and the asexual reproduction of this species at the natural stands in Korea. Although the small sample size in this study seemed to be resulted in the high genetic variation among patches, the overall genetic interpretation of this study might not be much affected on the basis of the characteristics of the distribution and the reproduction system of E. senticosus. Analysis of genetic distance between all pairs of the patches did not reveal any trends with regard to geographic distance, which was confirmed by the results obtained from AMOVA(analysis of molecular variance) and PCA(principal component analysis). These results suggest that, in addition to the preservation of the natural stands, the conservation of larger number of patches with small number of individuals per patch is more effective for the ex situ conservation and for maintaining the genetic diversity of E. senticosus in Korea than smaller patches with large number of individuals.

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A Study on Relationship between Physical Elements and Tennis/Golf Elbow

  • Choi, Jungmin;Park, Jungwoo;Kim, Hyunseung
    • Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.183-196
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    • 2017
  • Objective: The purpose of this research was to assess the agreement between job physical risk factor analysis by ergonomists using ergonomic methods and physical examinations made by occupational physicians on the presence of musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities. Background: Ergonomics is the systematic application of principles concerned with the design of devices and working conditions for enhancing human capabilities and optimizing working and living conditions. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent injuries and physical and emotional stress. The major types of ergonomic injuries and incidents are cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs), acute strains, sprains, and system failures. Minimization of use of excessive force and awkward postures can help to prevent such injuries Method: Initial data were collected as part of a larger study by the University of Utah Ergonomics and Safety program field data collection teams and medical data collection teams from the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (RMCOEH). Subjects included 173 male and female workers, 83 at Beehive Clothing (a clothing plant), 74 at Autoliv (a plant making air bags for vehicles), and 16 at Deseret Meat (a meat-processing plant). Posture and effort levels were analyzed using a software program developed at the University of Utah (Utah Ergonomic Analysis Tool). The Ergonomic Epicondylitis Model (EEM) was developed to assess the risk of epicondylitis from observable job physical factors. The model considers five job risk factors: (1) intensity of exertion, (2) forearm rotation, (3) wrist posture, (4) elbow compression, and (5) speed of work. Qualitative ratings of these physical factors were determined during video analysis. Personal variables were also investigated to study their relationship with epicondylitis. Logistic regression models were used to determine the association between risk factors and symptoms of epicondyle pain. Results: Results of this study indicate that gender, smoking status, and BMI do have an effect on the risk of epicondylitis but there is not a statistically significant relationship between EEM and epicondylitis. Conclusion: This research studied the relationship between an Ergonomic Epicondylitis Model (EEM) and the occurrence of epicondylitis. The model was not predictive for epicondylitis. However, it is clear that epicondylitis was associated with some individual risk factors such as smoking status, gender, and BMI. Based on the results, future research may discover risk factors that seem to increase the risk of epicondylitis. Application: Although this research used a combination of questionnaire, ergonomic job analysis, and medical job analysis to specifically verify risk factors related to epicondylitis, there are limitations. This research did not have a very large sample size because only 173 subjects were available for this study. Also, it was conducted in only 3 facilities, a plant making air bags for vehicles, a meat-processing plant, and a clothing plant in Utah. If working conditions in other kinds of facilities are considered, results may improve. Therefore, future research should perform analysis with additional subjects in different kinds of facilities. Repetition and duration of a task were not considered as risk factors in this research. These two factors could be associated with epicondylitis so it could be important to include these factors in future research. Psychosocial data and workplace conditions (e.g., low temperature) were also noted during data collection, and could be used to further study the prevalence of epicondylitis. Univariate analysis methods could be used for each variable of EEM. This research was performed using multivariate analysis. Therefore, it was difficult to recognize the different effect of each variable. Basically, the difference between univariate and multivariate analysis is that univariate analysis deals with one predictor variable at a time, whereas multivariate analysis deals with multiple predictor variables combined in a predetermined manner. The univariate analysis could show how each variable is associated with epicondyle pain. This may allow more appropriate weighting factors to be determined and therefore improve the performance of the EEM.

Aggregate Effects on γ-ray Shielding Characteristic and Compressive Strength of Concrete (콘크리트의 감마선 차폐특성 및 압축강도에 대한 골재의 영향)

  • Oh, Jeong-Hwan;Mun, Young-Bum;Lee, Jae-Hyung;Choi, Hyun-Kook;Choi, Sooseok
    • Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.357-365
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    • 2016
  • We observed the ${\gamma}-ray$ shielding characteristics and compressive strength of five types of concrete using general aggregates and high-weight aggregates. The aggregates were classified into fine aggregate and coarse aggregate according to the average size. The experimental results obtained an attenuation coefficient of $0.371cm^{-1}$ from a concrete with the oxidizing slag sand (OSS) and oxidizing slag gravel (OSG) for a ${\gamma}-ray$ of $^{137}Cs$, which is improved by 2% compared with a concrete with typical aggregates of sand and gravel. In the unit weight measurement, a concrete prepared by iron ore sand (IOS) and OSG had the highest value of $3,175kg{\cdot}m^{-3}$. Although the unit weight of the concrete with OSS and OSG was $3,052kg{\cdot}m^{-3}$, which was lower than the maximum unit weight condition by $123kg{\cdot}m^{-3}$, its attenuation coefficient was improved by $0.012cm^{-1}$. The results of chemical analysis of aggregates revealed that the magnesium content in oxidizing slag was lower than that in iron ore, while the calcium content was higher. The concrete with oxidizing slag aggregates demonstrated enhanced ${\gamma}-ray$ shielding performance due to a relatively high calcium content compared with the concrete with OSS and OSG in spite of a low unit weight. All sample concretes mixed with high-weight aggregates had higher compressive strength than the concrete with typical sand and gravel. When OSS and IOS were used, the highest compressive strength was 50.2 MPa, which was an improvement by 45% over general concrete, which was achieved after four weeks of curing.

The Effects of Maternal HBs antigenemia on the Neonatal Health (산모(産母)의 B형 간염(肝炎) Virus 보유(保有)가 신생아(新生兒) 건강(健康)에 미치는 영향(影響))

  • Park, Jung-Han;Yoon, Sung-Do;Kim, Chang-Youn;Lee, Sung-Kwan
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.47-55
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    • 1984
  • To study the risk factors associated with maternal HBsAg carrier and the effects of maternal HBs antigenemia on the neonatal health, sera of 729 pergnant women admitted to the Keimyung University Hospital for delivery during the period of February 1-May 30. 1982 were tested for HBsAg by RPHA method and for anti-HBs by PHA method. Among them 43 women (5.9%) had HBsAg and 246 women (33.7%) had anti-HBs giving an infection rate of 39.6%. The interview data for 43 HBsAg positive mothers and randomly selected 210 HBsAg negative mothers showed a statistically significant association between acupuncture history and HBsAg positive rate (p<0.005) which suggest that acupuncture might have contributed significantly to the propagation of viral hepatitis in Korea. The living standard of HBsAg positive mothers was generally lower than that of HBsAg negative mothers which supports the hypothesis that environmental factors are associated with viral hepatitis B infection. None of the 43 neonates born to HBsAg positive mothers had HBsAg in their cord blood. Three months after birth, 35 out of 43 infants were retested and only one infant became HBsAg positive. At six months of age, 32 out of 35 infants were retested and none of them were HBsAg positive except the same infant who was positive at three months. Among 20 control infants of HBsAg negative mothers, all of them were HBsAg negative at three and six months follow-up. These findings are not consistent with the supposition that perinatal infection is a main route of viral hepatitis B transmission in south-east Asia including Korea. HBsAg positive mothers had significantly higher rate of premature delivery (27.9%) than HBsAg negative mothers (11.7%) (p<0.05). Also, the low birthweight incidence rate was higher among HBsAg positive mothers (23.3%) than negative mothers (14.1%) but this was not statistically significant (P=0.16). The premature rupture of membrane was more frequent among HBsAg positive mothers (25.5%) than negative mothers (11.1%) (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in the stillbirth rate and incidence of congenital anomalies between HBsAg positive and negative groups. It was not clarified in this study due to small sample size whether higher incidence of premature delivery and premature rupture of membranes among HBsAg positive mothers was due to HBs antigenemia per so or their lower living standard than HBsAg negative mothers.

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Micromorphological and Mineral Characteristics of the Jang-won Series which have Fragipan in the soil Profile (경반층 토양인 장원통의 미세형태학적 및 광물학적 특성)

  • Moon, Yong-Hee;Zhang, Yong-Seon;Chun, Hyen-Chung;Sonn, Yeon-Kyu;Hyun, Byung-Keun;Park, Chan-Won;Song, Kwan-Cheol
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.44 no.5
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    • pp.916-921
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    • 2011
  • This study was carry out on a Jang-Won series (fine loamy, mixed, mesic family of typic fragipan) that were established and classified as a fragipan soil in Korea. The morphological, physical, chemical and minerals characteristics of Jang-Won series were studied to determine the genesis of fragipan soils in natural environment. Each sample was analyzed for its physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics. The particle size distribution of samples was measured using pipette method. Clay minerals were investigated on parallel-oriented specimens of the clay fraction ($<2{\mu}m$) from each horizon, separated by sieving and centrifugation, using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Micromorphological observations were made on thin sections prepared from soil blocks impregnated with Crystic Resin, cut and ground to less than $30{\mu}m$ in thickness, and finally polished with diamond paste. Most horizons have pH values in the range of fewer than 5.0 and have very low base-saturation values. Their textural classification ranges from silt loam to loam, the lower horizons being the finer. The clay fraction revealed the occurrence of illite, kaolinite, chlorite and vermiculite. The micro-morphological analysis carries out thin sections from each soil profile. The silt concentrations occur as extremely dense and homogenous bands or zones of silt-sized materials, brownish in colour in plane-polarized light and anisotropic in cross-polarized light, surrounding or adhering to skeleton grains. The genesis of fragipan in the Jangweon series assumed composition of clay fraction rather than silt concentration. Therefore, this results suggested an authentic interpretation which Jangweon series is classification as Typic Fragiochrepts.