• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.22
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• pp.137-165
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• 2007

It seems high time to increase productivity by adopting e-business to overcome challenges posed by both external factors including the appreciation of Korean won, oil hikes and fierce global competition and domestic issues represented by disparities between large corporations and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Seoul metropolitan and local cities, and export and domestic demand all of which weaken future growth engines in the Korean economy. The demands of the globalization era are for innovative changes in businessprocess and industrial structure aiming for creating new values. To this end, e-business is expected to play a core role in the sophistication of the Korean economy through new values and innovation. In order to examine business performance in e-business-adopting industries, this study analyzed the home shopping industry by closely looking into the financial ratios including the ratio of net profit to sales, the ratio of operation income to sales, the ratio of gross cost to sales cost, the ratio of gross cost to selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense, and return of investment (ROI). This study, for best outcome, referred to corporate financial statements as a main resource to calculate financial ratios by utilizing Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART) of the Financial Supervisory Service, one of the Korea's financial supervisory authorities. First of all, the result of the trend analysis on the ratio of net profit to sales is as following. CJ Home Shopping has registered a remarkable increase in its ratio of net profit rate to sales since 2002 while its competitors find it hard to catch up with CJ's stunning performances. This is partly due to the efficient management compared to CJ's value of capital. Such significance, if the current trend continues, will make the front-runner assume the largest market share. On the other hand, GS Home Shopping, despite its best organized system and largest value of capital among others, lacks efficiency in management. Second of all, the result of the trend analysis on the ratio of operation income to sales is as following. Both CJ Home Shopping and GS Home Shopping have, until 2004, recorded similar growth trend. However, while CJ Home Shopping's operating income continued to increase in 2005, GS Home Shopping observed its operating income declining which resulted in the increasing income gap with CJ Home Shopping. While CJ Home Shopping with the largest market share in home shopping industryis engaged in aggressive marketing, GS Home Shopping due to its stability-driven management strategies falls behind CJ again in the ratio of operation income to sales in spite of its favorable management environment including its large capital. Companies in the Group B were established in the same year of 2001. NS Home Shopping was the first in the Group B to shift its loss to profit. Woori Home Shopping has continued to post operating loss for three consecutive years and finally was sold to Lotte Group in 2007, but since then, has registered a continuing increase in net income on sales. Third of all, the result of the trend analysis on the ratio of gross cost to sales cost is as following. Since home shopping falls into sales business, its cost of sales is much lower than that of other types of business such as manufacturing industry. Since 2002 in gross costs including cost of sales, SG&A expense, and non-operating expense, cost of sales turned out to have remarkably decreased. Group B has also posted a notable decline in the same sector since 2002. Fourth of all, the result of the trend analysis on the ratio of gross cost to SG&A expense is as following. Due to its unique characteristics, the home shopping industry usually posts ahigh ratio of SG&A expense. However, more than 80% of SG&A expense means the result of lax management and at the same time, a sharp lower net income on sales than other industries. Last but not least, the result of the trend analysis on ROI is as following. As for CJ Home Shopping, the curve of ROI looks similar to that of its investment on fixed assets. As it turned out, the company's ratio of fixed assets to operating income skyrocketed in 2004 and 2005. As far as GS Home Shopping is concerned, its fixed assets are not as much as that of CJ Home Shopping. Consequently, competition in the home shopping industry, at the moment, is among CJ, GS, Hyundai, NS and Woori Home Shoppings, and all of them need to more thoroughly manage their costs. In order for the late-comers of Group B and other home shopping companies to advance further, the current lax management should be reformed particularly on their SG&A expense sector. Provided that the total sales volume in the Internet shopping sector is projected to grow over 20 trillion won by the year 2010, it is concluded that all the participants in the home shopping industry should put strategies on efficient management on costs and expenses as their top priority rather than increase revenues, if they hope to grow even further after 2007.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.345-359
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• 2006

Loss of maxillary molar teeth leads to rapid loss of crestal bone and inferior expansion of the maxillary sinus floor (secondary pneumatization). Rehabilitation of the site with osseointegrated dental implants often represents a clinical challenge because of the insufficient bone volume resulted from this phenomenon. Boyne & James proposed the classic procedure for maxillary sinus floor elevation entails preparation of a trap door including the Schneiderian membrane in the lateral sinus wall. Summers proposed another non-invasive method using a set of osteotome and the osteotome sinus floor elevation (OSFE) was proposed for implant sites with at least 5-6mm of bone between the alveolar crest and the maxillary sinus floor. The change of grafted material in maxillary sinus is important for implant survival and the evaluation of graft height after maxillary sinus floor elevation is composed of histologic evaluation and radiomorphometric evaluation. The aim of the present study was radiographically evaluate the graft height change after maxillary sinus floor elevation and the influence of the graft material type in height change and the bone remodeling of grafts in sinus. A total of 59 patients (28 in lateral approach and 31 in crestal approach) who underwent maxillary sinus floor elevation composed of lateral approach and crestal approach were radiographically followed for up to about 48 months. Change in sinusgraft height were calculated with respect to implant length (IL) and grafted sinus height(BL). It was evaluated the change of the graft height according to time, the influence of the approach technique (staged approach and simultaneous approach) in lateral approach to change of the graft height, and the influence of the type of graft materials to change of the graft height. Patients were divided into three class based on the height of the grafted sinus floor relative to the implant apex and evaluated the proportion change of that class (Class I, in which the grafted sinus floor was above the implant apex; Class II, in which the implant apex was level with the grafted sinus floor; and Class III, in which the grafted sinus floor was below the implant apex). And it was evaluated th bone remodeling in sinus during 12 months using SGRl(by $Br\ddot{a}gger$ et al). The result was like that; Sinus graft height decreased significantly in both lateral approach and crestal approach in first 12 months (p$MBCP^{TM}$ had minimum height loss. Class III and Class II was increased by time in both lateral and crestal approach and Class I was decreased by time. SGRI was increased statistically significantly from baseline to 3 months and 3 months(p<0.05) to 12 months(p$ICB^{(R)}$ single use, more reduction of sinusgraft height was appeared. Therefore we speculated that the mixture of graft materials is preferable as a reduction of graft materials. Increasing of the SGRI as time goes by explains the stability of implant, but additional histologic or computed tomographic study will be needed for accurate conclusion. From the radiographic evaluation, we come to know that placement of dental implant with sinus floor elevation is an effective procedure in atrophic maxillary reconstruction.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.213-222
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• 2016

Solubility data of hydrogen sulfide ($H_2S$) and methane ($CH_4$) in two kinds of ionic liquids with the same anion: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([emim][TfO]) and 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([bmpyr][TfO]) are presented at pressures up to about 30 MPa and at temperatures between 303 K and 343 K. The gas solubilities in ionic liquids were determined by measuring the bubble point pressures of the gas + ionic liquid mixtures with various compositions at different temperatures using a high-pressure equilibrium apparatus equipped with a variable-volume view cell. The $H_2S$ solubilities in ionic liquid increased with the increase of pressure and decreased with the increase of temperature. On the other hand, the $CH_4$ solubilities in ionic liquid increased significantly with the increase of pressure, but there was little effect of temperature on the $CH_4$ solubility. For the ionic liquds [emim][TfO] and [bmpyr][TfO] with the same anion, the solubility of $H_2S$ as a molality basis was substantially similar, regardless of the temperature and pressure conditions as a molar concentration basis. Comparing the solubilities of $H_2S$ and $CH_4$ in the ionic liquid [emim][TfO], the solubilities of $H_2S$ were much greater than those of $CH_4$. For the same type of ionic liquid, the solubility data of $H_2S$ and $CH_4$ obtained in this study were compared to the solubility data of $CO_2$ from the literature. When compared at the same pressure and temperature conditions, the $CO_2$ solubility was in between the solubility of $H_2S$ and $CH_4$.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.53-62
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• 2018

Follofwing the accelerating speed-up of trains and rising demand for large-volume transfer capacity, not only in Korea, but also around the world, track structures for trains have been improving consistently. Precast concrete slab track (PST), a concrete structure track, was developed as a system that can fulfil new safety and economic requirements for railroad traffic. The purpose of this study is to provide the information required for the development and design of the system in the future, by analyzing the behavior of each structural member of the PST system. The stress distribution result for different combinations of appropriate loads according to the KRL-2012 train load and KRC code was analyzed by conducting a three-dimensional finite element analysis, while the result for different thicknesses of the grouting layer is also presented. Among the structural members, the largest stress took place on the grouting layer. The stress changed sensitively following the thickness and the combination of loads. When compared with a case of applying only a vertical KRL-2012 load, the stress increased by 3.3 times and 14.1 times on a concrete panel and HSB, respectively, from the starting load and temperature load. When the thickness of the grouting layer increased from 20 mm to 80 mm, the stress generated on the concrete panel decreased by 4%, while the stress increased by 24% on the grouting layer. As for the cracking condition, tension cracking was caused locally on the grouting layer. Such a result indicates that more attention should be paid to the flexure and tension behavior from horizontal loads rather than from vertical loads when developing PST systems. In addition, the safety of each structural member must be ensured by maintaining the thickness of the grouting layer at 40 mm or more.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.316-324
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• 2004

Purpose : In radiotherapy of tumors in liver, enough planning target volume (PTV) margins are necessary to compensate breathing-related movement of tumor volumes. To overcome the problems, this study aims to obtain patients' body movements by using a moving phantom and an ultrasonic sensor, and to develop respiration sating techniques that can adjust patients' beds by using reversed values of the data obtained. Materials and Methods : The phantom made to measure patients' body movements is composed of a microprocessor (BS II, 20 MHz, 8K Byte), a sensor (Ultra-Sonic, range $3\~3$ m), host computer (RS232C) and stepping motor (torque 2.3 Kg) etc., and the program to control and operate it was developed. The program allows the phantom to move within the maximum range of 2 cm, its movements and corrections to take place In order, and x, y and z to move successively. After the moving phantom was adjusted by entering random movement data (three dimensional data form with distance of 2 cm), and the phantom movements were acquired using the ultra sonic sensor, the two data were compared and analyzed. And then, after the movements by respiration were acquired by using guinea pigs, the real-time respiration gating techniques were drawn by operating the phantom with the reversed values of the data. Results : The result of analyzing the acquisition-correction delay time the three types of data values and about each value separately shows that the data values coincided with one another within $1\%$ and that the acquisition-correction delay time was obtained real-time $(2.34{\times}10^{-4}sec)$. Conclusion : This study successfully confirms the clinic application possibility of respiration gating techniques by using a moving phantom and an ultrasonic sensor. With ongoing development of additional analysis system, which can be used in real-time set-up reproducibility analysis, it may be beneficially used in radiotherapy of moving tumors.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 2010

Purpose: To evaluate the rate of tumor response, local control, and treatment-related complications after hypofractionated radiotherapy for recurrent hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC) less than 5 cm in size. Materials and Methods: Among the HCC patients who were treated by radiotherapy (RT) between 2006 and 2007 after the failure of previous treatment, a total of 12 patients were treated with hypofractionated RT. The criteria for hypofractionated RT was as follows: 1) HCC less than 5 cm, 2) HCC not adjacent to a critical organ, 3) HCC without portal vein tumor thrombosis, and 4) less than 15% of normal liver volume that irradiated 50% of the prescribed dose. Hypofractionated RT was performed with 50 Gy delivered in 10 fractions, at a rate of 5 fractions per week. The evaluation of tumor response was determined by CT scans performed at 3 months after the cessation of RT, followed by the evaluation of toxicity by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 3.0. The median follow-up period after radiotherapy was 18 months. Results: A complete response (CR) was achieved in 5 of 12 lesions (41.7%) at CT performed at 3 months after the cessation, whereas the overall complete response was observed in 7 of 12 cases (58.3%). In-field local control rate was sustained in 83.3% of patients. All patients developed intra-hepatic metastases except for 2 patients. The overall survival rate was 90.0% at 1 year and 67.5% at 2 years, respectively. Three patients developed Grade 1 nausea during RT and 1 patient showed a progression of ascites after RT. There was no grade 3 or greater treatment-related toxicities. Conclusion: Hypofractionated RT for small-sized HCC as a salvage therapy showed a 58.3% CR rate and 83.3% of local control. Fifty Gy administered in 10 fractions of partial liver irradiation is considered as a tolerable dose that does not cause severe complications.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.154-162
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the microbial reduction effect of chlorine dioxide and sodium hypochlorite in Korean chive. Korean chive inoculated with foodborne pathogens at the level of approximately 7~8 log CFU/g was treated with various concentration of chlorine dioxide (3, 4, 10, 25 and 100 ppm and sodium hypochlorite (100, 150 and 200 ppm) for 5, 10, 30 and 60 minutes. The treatment of 150 ppm sodium hypochlorite and 50 ppm chlorine dioxide for 30 min reduced the number of total bacteria in Korean chive up to 2.0 log CFU/g. Reduction of microbial levels was observed for all concentrations of sanitizers but their effectiveness did not correspond to their concentration. Due to the quality degradation, 50 ppm chlorine dioxide was not appropriate for Korean chive. Most effective reduction of microbial levels was observed when Korean chive were treated with 9 times more sanitizer in volume. For field application, the treatment of 150 ppm sodium hypochlorite showed 2.7 and 4.0 log CFU/g reductions for numbers of total bacteria and coliforms, respectively. Therefore, washing with sodium hypochlorite of a ratio of 1:9 (Korean chive : 150 ppm sodium hypochlorite (w/v)) for 30 minutes can reduce the number of foodborne pathogen in Korean chive.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.433-445
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• 2021

Plasma blasting by high voltage arc discharge were performed in laboratory-scale soil samples to investigate the fluid penetration efficiency. A plasma blasting device with a large-capacity capacitor and columnar soil samples with a diameter of 80 cm and a height of 60 cm were prepared. Columnar soil samples consist of seven A-samples mixed with sand and silt by ratio of 7:3 and three B-samples by ratio of 9:1. When fluid was injected into A-sample by pressure without plasma blasting, fluid penetrated into soil only near around the borehole, and penetration area ratio was less than 5%. Fluid was injected by plasma blasting with three different discharge energies of 1 kJ, 4 kJ and 9 kJ. When plasma blasting was performed once in the A-samples, penetration area ratios of the fluid were 16-25%. Penetration area ratios were 30-48% when blastings were executed five times consecutively. The largest penetration area by plasma blasting was 9.6 times larger than that by fluid injection by pressure. This indicates that the higher discharge energy of plasma blasting and the more numbers of blasting are, the larger are fluid penetration areas. When five consecutive plasma blasting were carried out in B-sample, fluid penetration area ratios were 33-59%. Penetration areas into B-samples were 1.1-1.4 times larger than those in A-samples when test conditions were the same, indicating that the higher permeability of soil is, the larger is fluid penetration area. The fluid penetration radius was calculated to figure out fluid penetration volume. When the fluid was injected by pressure, the penetration radius was 9 cm. Whereas, the penetration radius was 27-30 cm when blasting were performed 5 times with energy of 9 kJ. The radius increased up to 333% by plasma blasting. All these results indicate that cleaning agent penetrates further and remediation efficiency of contaminated soil will be improved if plasma blasting technology is applied to in situ cleaning of contaminated soil with low permeability.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.268-276
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: In the month of January 2018, fine dust alerts and warnings were issued 36 times for $PM_{10}$ and 81 times for PM2.5. Air quality is becoming a serious issue nation-wide. Although interest in air-purifying plants is growing due to the controversy over the risk of chemical substances of regular air-purifying solutions, industrial spread of the plants has been limited due to their efficiency in air-conditioning perspective. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study aims to propose a vegetation-based bio-filter system that can assure total indoor air volume for the efficient application of air-purifying plants. In order to evaluate the quantitative performance of the system, time-series analysis was conducted on air-conditioning performance, indoor air quality, and comfort index improvement effects in a lecture room-style laboratory with 16 persons present in the room. The system provided 4.24 ACH ventilation rate and reduced indoor temperature by $1.6^{\circ}C$ and black bulb temperature by $1.0^{\circ}C$. Relative humidity increased by 24.4% and deteriorated comfort index. However, this seemed to be offset by turbulent flow created from the operation of air blowers. While $PM_{10}$ was reduced by 39.5% to $22.11{\mu}g/m^3$, $CO_2$ increased up to 1,329ppm. It is interpreted that released $CO_2$ could not be processed because light compensation point was not reached. As for the indoor comfort index, PMV was reduced by 83.6 % and PPD was reduced by 47.0% on average, indicating that indoor space in a comfort range could be created by operating vegetation-based bio-filters. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed that the vegetation-based bio-filter system is effective in lowering indoor temperature and $PM_{10}$ and has positive effects on creating comfortable indoor space in terms of PMV and PPD.

• The Journal of the Korean Institute of Forest Recreation
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.11-22
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• 2018

This study analyzes the economic feasibility on the transition of production structure to increase income for a local forest village in Laos PDR. The study area was the Nongboua village in Sangthong district where the primary product is rice from rice paddy. Possible strategies were considered to increase the villagers' revenue, and Noni (Morinda citrifolia) was production in the short-term. We assumed that the project period was for 20 years for the analysis, and a total of 1,100 Noni tree was planted in 1 ha by $3m{\times}3m$ spacing. This study classified basic scenario one, scenario two, scenario three by the survival rate and purchase pirce of Noni. Generally Noni grows well. However, the seedlings' average survival rate (= production volume) was set up conservatively in this study to consider potential risks such as no production experience of Noni and tree disease. The scenario one assumed that the survival rate of Noni seedlings was 50% for 0-1 years, 60% for 0-2 years, and 70% for 3-20 years; the scenario two, 10% less, i.e., 40%, 50%, and 60%; and the scenario three, 10% less, i.e., 40%, 50%, 60% and purchase price 10% less, i.e., $0.29 to $0.26, respectively. Our analysis showed that all 3 scenarios resulted in economically-feasible IRR (internal rate of return) of 24.81%, 19.02%, and 16.30% of with a discounting rate of 10%. The B/C (benefit/cost) ratio for a unit area (1ha) was also analyzed for the three scenarios with a discounting rate of 10%, resutling in the B/C ratio of 1.71, 1.47, and 1.31. The study results showed that the Nongboua village would have a good opportunity to improve its low-income structure through planting and managing alternative crops such as Noni. Also the results can be used as useful decision-making information at a preliminary analysis level for planning other government and public investment projects for the Nonboua village.