• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2016

Acoustic noise during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the main source for patient discomfort. we report our preliminary experience with this technique in neuroimaging with regard to subjective and objective noise levels and image quality. 60 patients(29 males, 31 females, average age of 60.1) underwent routine brain MRI with 3.0 Tesla (MAGNETOM Tim Trio; Siemens, Germany) system and 12-channel head coil. Q-$T_2$ and $T_2$ sequence were performed. Measurement of sound pressure levels (SPL) and heart rate on Q-$T_2$ and $T_2$ was performed respectively. Quantitative analysis was carried out by measuring the SNR, CNR, and SIR values of Q-$T_2$, $T_2$ and a statistical analysis was performed using independent sample T-test. Qualitative analysis was evaluated by the eyes for the overall quality image of Q-$T_2$ and $T_2$. A 5-point evaluation scale was used, including excellent(5), good(4), fair(3), poor(2), and unacceptable(1). The average noise and peak noise decreased by $15dB_A$ and $10dB_A$ on $T_2$ and Q-$T_2$ test. Also, the average value of heartbeat rate was lower in Q-$T_2$ for 120 seconds in each test, but there was no statistical significance. The quantitative analysis showed that there was no significant difference between CNR and SIR, and there was a significant difference (p<0.05) as SNR had a lower average value on Q-$T_2$. According to the qualitative analysis, the overall quality image of 59 case $T_2$ and Q-$T_2$ was evaluated as excellent at 5 points, and 1 case was evaluated as good at 4 points due to a motion artifact. Q-$T_2$ is a promising technique for acoustic noise reduction and improved patient comfort.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.633-638
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• 2017

The amount of radioactive waste has been rapidly increased with development of radiation treatment in medical field. Recently, it has been a common practice to use I-131 for thyroid cancer, F-18 for PET/CT and Tc-99m for diagnosis of nuclear medicine. All the wastes concerned have been disposed of by means of the self-disposal method, for example incineration, after storage enough to decay less than clearance level. IAEA proposed criteria for clearance level of waste which depends on the individual ($10{\mu}Sv/y$) and collective dose (1 man-Sv/y), and concentration of each nuclide (IAEA Safety Series No 111-P-1.1, 1992 and IAEA RS-G-1.7, 2004). In this study, specific radioactivity of radioactive waste contaminated with Re-186 was measured to confirm whether it meets the clearance level. Re-186 has long half life of 3.8 days relatively and emits beta and gamma radiation, therefore it can be applied in treatment and imaging purposes. The specific radioactivity of contaminated gloves weared by radiation workers was measured by MCA(Multi-channel Analyzer) which was calibrated by reference materials in accordance with the measuring procedure. As a result, comparison evaluation of decay storage period between the half-life which was calculated by attenuation curve based on real measurement and physical half-life was considered, and it is showed that the physical half-life is longer than induced half-life. Therefore, the storage period of radioactive waste for self-disposal may be curtailed in case of application of induced half-life. The result of this study will be proposed as ISO standard.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.567-573
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether or not there was artifact when the upper limb could not be lifted to the top of the head during multi-detector computed tomography(MDCT) scans of the chest and abdomen. Contrast radiography of the human and chest phantom was performed with 128channal MDCT. Under the same conditions(120 kVp, 110 mAs, standard algorithm)both hands lifted up and put down each time in the human experiment. In the chest phantom experiment, the radiography was carried out when the upper limb phantom was adjusted at a certain distance(0, 3, 7 cm) from the chest phantom. Subsequently, the values of Noise, CT number, SNR, and CNR were measured in the field of concern. The noise value of fat, rib, and muscle increased when the arm was lifted in humans(0.79, 47.8, 27%). Furthermore, when the upper limb was lowered, the noise value of muscle and lung increased in the phantom(31.2, 9.4%). In addition, the noise value of the muscles and lung decreased by 5, 25.12% and 5.6, 15.35% as the upper limb moved about 0,3,7cm away from the chest. When the chest and abdominal radiography were performed, in the case of the presence of other parts outside the inspection area, the probability of artifact was minimal while the distance was more than 3cm away from the upper limb to the chest and abdomen.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.627-636
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• 2020

Debris flow disasters primarily occur in mountainous terrains far from cities. As such, they have been underestimated to cause relatively less damage compared with other natural disasters. However, owing to urbanization, several residential areas and major facilities have been built in mountainous regions, and the frequency of debris flow disasters is steadily increasing owing to the increase in rainfall with environmental and climate changes. Thus, the risk of debris flow is on the rise. However, only a few studies have explored the characteristics of flooding and reduction measures for debris flow in areas designated as steep slopes. In this regard, it is necessary to conduct research on securing independent disaster prevention technology, suitable for the environment in South Korea and reflective of the topographical characteristics thereof, and update and improve disaster prevention information. Accordingly, this study aimed to calculate the amount of debris flow, depending on disaster prevention performance targets for regions designated as steep slopes in South Korea, and develop an independent model to not only evaluate the impact of debris flow but also identify debris barriers that are optimal for mitigating damage. To validate the reliability of the two-dimensional debris flow model developed for the evaluation of debris barriers, the model's performance was compared with that of the hydraulic model. Furthermore, a 2-D debris model was constructed in consideration of the regional characteristics around the steep slopes to analyze the flow characteristics of the debris that directly reaches the damaged area. The flow characteristics of the debris delivered downstream were further analyzed, depending on the specifications (height) and installation locations of the debris barriers employed to reduce the damage. The experimental results showed that the reliability of the developed model is satisfactory; further, this study confirmed significant performance degradation of debris barriers in areas where the barriers were installed at a slope of 20° or more, which is the slope at which debris flows occur.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.77-100
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• 2009

Information Systems (IS) is an essential tool for any organizations. The last decade has seen an increasing body of knowledge on IS usage. Yet, IS often fails because of its misuse or non-use. In general, decisions regarding the selection of a system, which involve the evaluation of many IS vendors and an enormous initial investment, are made not through the consensus of employees but through the top-down decision making by top managers. In situations where the selected system does not satisfy the needs of the employees, the forced use of the selected IS will only result in their resistance to it. Many organizations have been either integrating dispersed legacy systems such as archipelago or adopting a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system to enhance employee efficiency. This study examines user resistance prior to the adoption of the selected IS or ERP system. As such, this study identifies the importance of managing organizational resistance that may appear in the pre-adoption context of an integrated IS or ERP system, explores key factors influencing user resistance, and investigates how prior experience with other integrated IS or ERP systems may change the relationship between the affecting factors and user resistance. This study focuses on organizational members' resistance and the affecting factors in the pre-adoption context of an integrated IS or ERP system rather than in the context of an ERP adoption itself or ERP post-adoption. Based on prior literature, this study proposes a research model that considers six key variables, including perceived benefit, system complexity, fitness with existing tasks, attitude toward change, the psychological reactance trait, and perceived IT competence. They are considered as independent variables affecting user resistance toward an integrated IS or ERP system. This study also introduces the concept of prior experience (i.e., whether a user has prior experience with an integrated IS or ERP system) as a moderating variable to examine the impact of perceived benefit and attitude toward change in user resistance. As such, we propose eight hypotheses with respect to the model. For the empirical validation of the hypotheses, we developed relevant instruments for each research variable based on prior literature and surveyed 95 professional researchers and the administrative staff of the Korea Photonics Technology Institute (KOPTI). We examined the organizational characteristics of KOPTI, the reasons behind their adoption of an ERP system, process changes caused by the introduction of the system, and employees' resistance/attitude toward the system at the time of the introduction. The results of the multiple regression analysis suggest that, among the six variables, perceived benefit, complexity, attitude toward change, and the psychological reactance trait significantly influence user resistance. These results further suggest that top management should manage the psychological states of their employees in order to minimize their resistance to the forced IS, even in the new system pre-adoption context. In addition, the moderating variable-prior experience was found to change the strength of the relationship between attitude toward change and system resistance. That is, the effect of attitude toward change in user resistance was significantly stronger in those with prior experience than those with no prior experience. This result implies that those with prior experience should be identified and provided with some type of attitude training or change management programs to minimize their resistance to the adoption of a system. This study contributes to the IS field by providing practical implications for IS practitioners. This study identifies system resistance stimuli of users, focusing on the pre-adoption context in a forced ERP system environment. We have empirically validated the proposed research model by examining several significant factors affecting user resistance against the adoption of an ERP system. In particular, we find a clear and significant role of the moderating variable, prior ERP usage experience, in the relationship between the affecting factors and user resistance. The results of the study suggest the importance of appropriately managing the factors that affect user resistance in organizations that plan to introduce a new ERP system or integrate legacy systems. Moreover, this study offers to practitioners several specific strategies (in particular, the categorization of users by their prior usage experience) for alleviating the resistant behaviors of users in the process of the ERP adoption before a system becomes available to them. Despite the valuable contributions of this study, there are also some limitations which will be discussed in this paper to make the study more complete and consistent.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.374-380
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• 2010

Well-feathered (5.2 feathers, stem diameter 13 mm) trees of 'Fuji' apple/ M.9 EMLA were planted at $4.0{\tiems}1.5$ m and whip trees (stem diameter 10 mm) of 'Fuji'/M.26 at $4.0{\times}2.0$ m were trained to the slender spindle. The productivity and yield efficiency of two orchard systems were compared for 6 years. The canopy volume of the tree/M.9 EMLA reached $2.07m^3$ in 2nd year and increased slowly to almost the targeted tree volume of $2.9m^3$ in 4th year. Trees/M.26 grew slowly at the begin but from 3rd year the tree volume expanded quickly to reach $5.6m^3$ in 5th year, covering over the allowed space. Yield of M.9 EMLA per 10a increased from 0.3 ton in 2nd year to 4.6 ton in 5th year, and 5.0 ton in 6th year, but yield of M.26 per 10a increased from 0.5 ton in 3rd to 2.9 ton in 6th year. Cumulative yield per 10a up to 6th year was 13.9 ton for M.9 EMLA but only 9.8 ton for M.26. Fruit weight for M.9 EMLA was heavier than that for M.26. In conclusion, the high density planting system with well-feathered trees/M.9 EMLA was better than the conventional wide planting system with whip trees/M.26.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.260-267
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• 2014

To evaluate microbiological and aflatoxin safety on traditional dried persimmon, a total of 315 samples were collected from 105 farms. The collected samples were assessed on aflatoxin and microorganisms (Aerobic plate count, coliform count, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus). The the APC of sliced dried persimmon, dried persimmon, and semi dried persimmon were $3.93{\pm}0.96$, $2.12{\pm}0.93$, and $1.50{\pm}1.08{\log}\;CFU/g$, respectively. S. aureus was detected in 40.0% of sliced dried persimmon, 29.5% of dried persimmon, and 23.5% of semi dried persimmon. E. coli recovered from dried persimmon and semi dried persimmon was 6.6%, and 2.9%, respectively. However, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and L. monocytogenes were not detected. According to the result of aflatoxin by ELISA and UPLC, aflatoxin was not detected in any sample. These data suggested that safety management system should be introduce to the farms producing traditional dried persimmon to enhance the safety of traditional dried persimmon.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.435-442
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• 2010

The study analyzed the effects of salt concentration [high salt (HS) and low salt (LS)] and sodium nitrite ($NaNO_2$), which are typically utilized in Korean processing facilities, on fatty acid composition, free amino acids, microbial counts and sensory characteristics of processed dry-cured ham. Four different treatments were considered: three hams (11.30 kg) salted with 92 g/kg salt (w/w) (HS), three hams (10.65 kg) treated with HS and 100 ppm $NaNO_2$ (HS+$NaNO_2$), three hams (11.42 kg) salted with 62 g/kg salt (w/w) (LS), and three hams (10.62 kg) treated with LS and 100 ppm $NaNO_2$ (LS+$NaNO_2$). Fatty acid composition analysis revealed significantly (p<0.05) higher saturated fatty acid and lower (p<0.05) unsaturated fatty acid in the HS+$NaNO_2$ group compared with the other groups. Glutamate, alanine and lysine free amino acids were higher than the other free amino acids. The processing conditions did not significantly affect the free amino acids of biceps femoris muscles, except for the proline content (p>0.05). In sensory evaluation, the fermentation aroma of the LS group was higher than that of the HS group. The aerobic counts consistently ranged from from $2.3{\times}10^2$ to $1.11{\times}10^4$ CFU/g. Escherichia coli including strain O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp. were not detected.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.225-230
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• 2014

This study investigates the effect of organic certification of apples on consumer preference in China as a way to support the expanded export of Korean apples to China. A choice experiment was designed to analyze the apple consumption in China. A total of 298 Chinese consumers answered the survey, and multinomial logit models were used to analyze the results. Organic certification was identified as an important determinant of consumer preference for apples in China, affecting both the evaluation and choice of country of origin. The results also indicated that Korean organic certification significantly increased the probability of Chinese consumers choosing Korean apples. Thus, organic certification by the Korean government should be strengthened to promote apple exports to China, plus the results of this study may provide useful information to promote agricultural product exports and improve the organic certification system.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.39-53
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• 2012

It is widely known that knowledge management plays a facilitating role that contributes to upgrading organizational performance. Knowledge management systems (KMS), especially, support the knowledge management process including the sharing, creating, and using of knowledge within a company, and maximize the value of knowledge resources within an organization. Despite this widely held belief, there are few studies that describe how companies actually develop, share, and practice their knowledge. Companies in the domestic small franchise sector, which are in the early stages in terms of knowledge management, need to improve their KMS to manage their franchisees effectively. From this perspective, this study uses a qualitative approach to explore the actual process of knowledge management implementation. This article presents a case study of PB (Paris Baguette) company, which is the first to build a KMS in the franchise industry. The study was able to confirm the following facts through the analysis of target companies. First, the chief executive's support is a critical success factor and this support can increase the participation of organization members. Second, it is important to build a process and culture that actively creates and leverages information in knowledge management activities. The organizational learning culture should be one where the creation, learning, and sharing of new knowledge is developed continuously. Third, a horizontal network organization is needed in order to make relationships within the organization more close-knit. Fourth, in order to connect the diverse processes such as knowledge acquisition, storage, and utilization of knowledge management activities, information technology (IT) capabilities are essential. Indeed, IT can be a powerful tool for improving the quality of work and maximizing the spread and use of knowledge. However, during the construction of an intranet based KMS, research is required to ensure that the most efficient system is implemented. Finally, proper evaluation and compensation are important success factors. In order to develop knowledge workers, an appropriate program of promotion and compensation should be established. Also, building members' confidence in the benefits of knowledge management should be an ongoing activity. The company developed its original KMS to achieve a flexible and proactive organization, and a new KMS to improve organizational and personal capabilities. The PB case shows that there are differences between participants perceptions and actual performance in managing knowledge; that knowledge management is not a matter of formality but a paradigm that assures the sharing of knowledge; and that IT boosts communication skills, thus creating a mutual relationship to enhance the flow of knowledge and information between people. Knowledge management for building organizational capabilities can be successful when considering its focus and ways to increase its acceptance. This study suggests guidelines for major factors that corporate executives of domestic franchises should consider to improve knowledge management and the higher operating activities that can be used.