• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.4765-4771
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• 2014

Background: Patients with chronic liver diseases (CLD) may have compromised health related quality of life (HRQoL). Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has long been the leading cause of CLD including liver cancer and cirrhosis. Knowledge on different symptom profiles of CLD should help in development of comprehensive treatment and patient care plans. Objective: To access the facets of HRQoL in chronic liver diseases throughout their spectrum of severity. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University in Yunnan Province of China. Both out- and inpatients undergoing treatment protocols for different HBV related liver disease states were consecutively collected from December 2012 to June 2013. ANOVA was used to compare the mean scores of EQ-5D and chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ) among 5 disease groups. The relationship between demographic variables predicting global CLDQ scores and the domains of CLDQ was analysed. Results: A total of 1040 patients including 520 without complications, 91 with compensated cirrhosis, 198 with decompensated cirrhosis, 131 with HCC and 100 with liver failure were recruited. All domains of CLDQ, the means of EQ-5D value and EQ VAS exhibited significant decline with worsening of disease severity from uncomplicated HBV to liver failure. The multivariate regression demonstrated the reduction of mean scores of CLDQ domain at advanced stage. Patients with liver failure and HCC had more HRQoL impairment than other disease states. No effect of patient gender was found. Patient age was associated with 'fatigue' and 'worry' domains (p=0.006; p=0.004) but not with other domains and global scores of CLDQ and ED-5D. Conclusions: The HRQoL in chronic hepatitis B patients is greatly affected by disease states. Care for HBV-related diseases should consider not only the outcomes of treatment strategies but also improvement in patient wellbeing.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.9
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• pp.534-541
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• 2017

The bioreactor type of landfill is to operate to enhance waste decomposition by continuously supplying water such as leachate and wastewater within the landfill, which helps increase the landfill gas production, which in turn prematurely stabilize the landfill. Recently, the environmental law for the operation of the bioreactor type of landfill has been enacted and thereafter the bioreactor type of landfill has been introduced for the first time in Korea to the SUDOKWON landfill site. In order to properly apply for bioreactor to the landfill, it is necessary to investigate the water distribution inside the landfill so that water recirculation should be optimally allocated with the zone of concern. In this regard, electrical resistivity survey has been suitably performed to delineate the water distribution in the landfill. That is, it has surveyed for long-term of period that the recirculation of leachate has been properly reflected from electrical resistivity within the second landfill of SUDOKWON landfill site. As a result, the electrical resistivity immediately corresponded to the variation of the extent of the seasonal temperature dynamics. From this, a calibratrion could be accomplished by correlating between temperature and electrical resistivity obtained from this study that can be applicable for optimally monitoring to keep the ideal operating condition for the bioreactor type of landfill.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.119-148
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• 2009

The paper presents and empirically tests a model of the digital contents(DC) innovation systems that enables us to study interactions between users, service providers, contents developers and network providers, and to examine the relationship between manufacturing innovation and service innovation as well as patterns of innovation in the DC industry. The framework of Gallouj and Weinstein(1997) and Gallouj(2002) is modified into the DC innovation model according to characteristics of the DC industry, that is, user involvement and network externalities. The model is applied to a case analysis that traces the growth of the online game industry in Korea since its introduction. The model offers several advantages over other approaches in understanding the dynamics in the DC industry. Most importantly, it provides a single unified basis within which both service innovation resulting from users and service providers and manufacturing innovation induced by contents developers, platform holders and network providers are analyzed. The distinction between service and manufacturing innovation is important in many ways, for instance in selecting proper government policy tools for promotion or regulation of the DC industry. Second, the Korean online game industry has experienced both radical innovation during the beginning period and non-radical innovation throughout the maturation period. The model developed herein helps to illustrate several types of non-radical innovations such as recombinative innovation that are crucial to sustainable development of the DC industry. Third, the model clarifies impacts of network externalities that are characteristics of the DC industry.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.232-271
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• 2000

The introduction of a team system to any organization is usually to improve that organizations dynamics, by increasing the proper adaptation to rapidly changing environments, by reducing approval procedures, and by promoting power authorization. In this regard, this study was carried out in an attempt to determine (1) whether or not the introduction of a team system can be as effective in hospital organizations as it has been in business organizations, and (2) what behavior factors influence such effectiveness. For the current study, questionnaires were distributed to the employees of a university hospital in Pusan. Four hundred eighty three of them(94.7%) were retrieved and analyzed through statistical processes. The three types of variables that were found to influence team effectiveness were: (1) independent variables of team organization characteristics, such as communication, organizational atmosphere, leadership and team knowledge, (2) intervening variables of team organization characteristics. such as job autonomy, technological variety, task subjectivity, task feedback and task importance, and(3) the dependent variables of team level effectiveness, such as job satisfaction and commitment to team organization. The gathered data were processed by using the 6.12 version of the statistical program SAS(Statistical Analysis System), and the reliance coefficient of those measured variables was then evaluated as an average of 0.78. The influence of team level effectiveness was analyzed by using multiple regression analysis. These differences in effectiveness were then analyzed on the basis of related mean values, while the differences among demo-sociological characteristics were analyzed by using the dispersion analysis(ANOVA) and the t-test. The results of the study can be summarized by the following. First, regarding the relationship between team organization characteristics and team level effectiveness, all of the factors including communication, organizational atmosphere, leadership and team knowledge were found to have a significant influence on effectiveness. Second, the factors of team job characteristics, such as technological variety, task importance and job autonomy, had significant effects on job satisfaction and organizational commitment among the teams members. Team level effectiveness was generally high, while team job satisfaction was higher the teams organizational commitment. Third, regarding the demo-sociological characteristics, team level effectiveness was found to be higher among those who were older, who had more job experience, and who had a higher position. Comparing the differences among job types, the effectiveness was relatively higher in the fields of nursing and administration/management then in other fields. Further study should be done towards the setting of variables for characteristics of hospital organization, developing suitable methods of measurement, and researching individual level effectiveness.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.69 no.1
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• pp.103-123
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• 2017

This article examines the existing literature on the intersection of care and migration in Europe and the potential contributions of the Korean case. The paper reviews the three bodies of research: care, migration and their intersections. When defined as social reproductive labour, the concept of care not only captures individual/family level of experiences but it can also be an effective tool to analyse the diversity of the welfare state and the path of its evolution. Furthermore, in the context of globalisation and international migration, the concept of care can help overcome so-called 'the methodological nationalism' in the welfare state research. Accumulated evidence shows that only by applying a transnational perspective to the relationship between such social realities as class, gender and race, can we properly examine the dynamics of care distribution. Existing care-migration nexus research has found a widely observed trend of the 'migrantisation of care' in European welfare states; however, the actual modality of care-migration intersection varies reflecting historical and institutional contexts. This is why care-migration nexus research must go beyond the well-known welfare regime types. The Korean case can expand the geographical coverage and theoretical applicability of the intersection research by including a new welfare state regime type (productivist or developmental welfare states) and new patterns of migration (co-ethnic migration and marriage migration) which were rarely dealt with in this scholarship.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.193-207
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• 2012

This study discussed characteristics of Shindu Coastal Dune as habitat, and relationship between geodiversity and biodiversity. It was identified spatio-temporal variation of incoming nutrients depended on geomorphic differences of foredunes. The main incoming path of nutrients into coastal dune was considered as influx with movement of wind blown sands from the beach and tidal f lat. Concentrations of Na, Mg, K, Ca, and P in blown sands were compared. Concentrations of Na, Mg, and K showed high and irregular pattern in favorable condition of influx of blown sand. So these nutrients were related with geomorphic characteristics of foredunes. However, Na was also influenced by other factor such as salt spray. P was independent from effects of sea water and blown sands. In the case of Ca, a large coastal dune system rather than localized forms of foredunes made differences in the variation. Due to differences in spatio-temporal variation of nutrients, patterns of major vegetation could be inferred to appear differently. This study shows geomorphic dynamics of coastal dunes as habitat, and will provide information for coastal dune management and for understanding biological distribution and growth pattern in coastal dune.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.361-369
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• 2017

Mitochondrial homeostasis is tightly regulated by two major processes: mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial degradation by autophagy (mitophagy). Research in mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle in response to endurance exercise training has been well established, while the mechanisms regulating mitophagy and the relationship between mitochondrial biogenesis and degradation following endurance exercise training are not yet well defined. Studies have demonstrated that endurance exercise training increases the expression levels of mitochondrial biogenesis-, dynamics-, mitophagy-related genes in skeletal muscle. However, the increased levels of mitochondrial biogenesis marker proteins such as Cox IV and citrate synthase, by endurance exercise training were abolished when autophagy/mitophagy was inhibited in skeletal muscle. This suggests that both autophagy/mitophagy plays an important role in mitochondrial biogenesis/homeostasis and the coordination between the opposing processes may be important for skeletal muscle adaptation to endurance exercise training to improve metabolic function and endurance exercise performance. It is considered that endurance exercise training regulates each of these processes, mitochondrial biogenesis, fusion and fission events and autophagy/mitophagy, ensuring a relatively constant mitochondrial population. Exercise training may also have contributed to mitochondrial quality control which replaces old and/or unhealthy mitochondria with new and/or healthy ones in skeletal muscle. In this review paper, the molecular mechanisms regulating mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy and the coordination between the opposing processes is involved in the cellular adaptation to endurance exercise training in skeletal muscle will be discussed.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.47-59
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• 2017

The objective of this study is to determine the short run and long run dynamics between maritime import volume (IMV), industrial production (IP), and real effective exchange rate (REER) of the Korean Won over the REER of certain major currencies (US Dollar, Chinese Yuan, and Japanese Yen) in Korea's Jeonnam province. The Johansen and Juselius cointegration results reveal that at least one cointegration vector or long-run relationship exists. Hence, this study estimated the long run equilibrium equation, which indicates that both IP and REER are inelastic, although the former is bigger than the latter. Moreover, the dynamic causality analysis reveals short and long-run unidirectional causality from IP and REER to IMV in all three models. Further, in all the models, the results indicate short run unidirectional causality from REER to IP. In addition, the impulse response (IR) results show that the impulse of IP and REER decayed after four months. Additionally, the IR analysis results indicate that the REER of the Korean Won over the REER of Japanese Yen is the biggest with respect to the impact of relative REER on IP, which is the proxy variable of regional real income. Thus, empirical results indicated that real income and REER play an important role in determining the Jeonnam's maritime import demand behavior in the short run and long run. More importantly, substantial actions reducing unexpected fluctuation of the REER and real income based on micro and macro economic policies will increase the imported volume in the ports of the Jeonnam province.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.1 s.97
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• pp.1-9
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• 2002

In order to understand the relationship between succession of phytoplankton community structure and inorganic nutrients and particulate organic matters, a one station in Kyungan stream in Korea during the dry season was chosen. Water samplings were carried out once a week from 18 August to 13 November 1993. The DIN concentration distributed always abundantly, however, phosphate and silicate gradually reduced during the period. Phytoplankton community had a peak chlorophyll a concentration of $90.6\;{\mu}g/l$ in late summer (21 August 1993) and a second peak of $29.7\;{\mu}g/l$ in autumn (2 October 1993). After then late autumn was characterined by relatively low chlorophyll a concentration of $15{\sim}16\;{\mu}g/l$. Seasonal fluctuation of chlorophyll a concentrations were correlated with measured POC and PON concentrations: phytoplankton blooming may be a major factor controlling POC and PON concentrations in this ecosystem. Phosphate plays an most important role as a limiting factor of phytoplankton growth. However, when Si/P ratio low, silicate may be a more critical limiting factor than phosphate. Shifts of P-limitation to Si- limitation the succession of dominant phytoplankton can in duce: diatom to cyanobacteria such as Anabaena, Microcystis and Oscillatoria.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.98-106
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• 2011

In order to investigate water quality factors controlling chlorophyll-$a$ concentrations, the by-daily monitoring was conducted from February to November 2010 in 4 stations of Masan Bay. Seasonal variability in physico-chemical factors was mainly controlled by freshwater loading as a result of precipitation: chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids and nutrient concentrations rapidly increase during the heavy rainy season, whereas they decrease in the dry season. From late winter to mid spring, phosphorus and silica sources relative to Redfield ratio were probably functioned as limiting factor for phytoplankton flourishing in surface waters, but nitrogen concentration during mid-spring to autumn might be responsible for the increase of phytoplankton biomass. The multiple regression analysis revealed that variations in chlorophyll-$a$ concentration may be strongly correlated with changes of water temperature, chemical oxygen demand, dissolved inorganic phosphorus in spring, and salinity, chemical oxygen demand and precipitation in summer. Consequently, in the Masan Bay, a heavy rainfall event is an important factor to determine changes of biotic and abiotic factors, and in addition the dynamics of chlorophyll-$a$ concentration are strongly affected by changes of hydrological factors, especially water temperature, precipitation and nutrients.