• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2018

From the 21st century, various high-quality services have come up with the growth of the internet or 'Information and Communication Technologies'. Especially, the scale of E-commerce industry in which Amazon and E-bay are standing out is exploding in a large way. As E-commerce grows, Customers could get what they want to buy easily while comparing various products because more products have been registered at online shopping malls. However, a problem has arisen with the growth of E-commerce. As too many products have been registered, it has become difficult for customers to search what they really need in the flood of products. When customers search for desired products with a generalized keyword, too many products have come out as a result. On the contrary, few products have been searched if customers type in details of products because concrete product-attributes have been registered rarely. In this situation, recognizing texts in images automatically with a machine can be a solution. Because bulk of product details are written in catalogs as image format, most of product information are not searched with text inputs in the current text-based searching system. It means if information in images can be converted to text format, customers can search products with product-details, which make them shop more conveniently. There are various existing OCR(Optical Character Recognition) programs which can recognize texts in images. But existing OCR programs are hard to be applied to catalog because they have problems in recognizing texts in certain circumstances, like texts are not big enough or fonts are not consistent. Therefore, this research suggests the way to recognize keywords in catalog with the Deep Learning algorithm which is state of the art in image-recognition area from 2010s. Single Shot Multibox Detector(SSD), which is a credited model for object-detection performance, can be used with structures re-designed to take into account the difference of text from object. But there is an issue that SSD model needs a lot of labeled-train data to be trained, because of the characteristic of deep learning algorithms, that it should be trained by supervised-learning. To collect data, we can try labelling location and classification information to texts in catalog manually. But if data are collected manually, many problems would come up. Some keywords would be missed because human can make mistakes while labelling train data. And it becomes too time-consuming to collect train data considering the scale of data needed or costly if a lot of workers are hired to shorten the time. Furthermore, if some specific keywords are needed to be trained, searching images that have the words would be difficult, as well. To solve the data issue, this research developed a program which create train data automatically. This program can make images which have various keywords and pictures like catalog and save location-information of keywords at the same time. With this program, not only data can be collected efficiently, but also the performance of SSD model becomes better. The SSD model recorded 81.99% of recognition rate with 20,000 data created by the program. Moreover, this research had an efficiency test of SSD model according to data differences to analyze what feature of data exert influence upon the performance of recognizing texts in images. As a result, it is figured out that the number of labeled keywords, the addition of overlapped keyword label, the existence of keywords that is not labeled, the spaces among keywords and the differences of background images are related to the performance of SSD model. This test can lead performance improvement of SSD model or other text-recognizing machine based on deep learning algorithm with high-quality data. SSD model which is re-designed to recognize texts in images and the program developed for creating train data are expected to contribute to improvement of searching system in E-commerce. Suppliers can put less time to register keywords for products and customers can search products with product-details which is written on the catalog.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2019

Validamycin A is an aminoglycoside fungicide produced by Streptomyces hygroscopicus that inhibits trehalase. The purpose of this study was to develop a method for detecting validamycin A in agricultural samples to establish MRL values for use in Korea. The validamycin A residues in samples were extracted using methanol/water (50/50, v/v) and purified with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) cartridges. The analyte was quantified and confirmed by liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS) in positive ion mode using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Matrix-matched calibration curves were linear over the calibration ranges (0.005~0.5 ng) into a blank extract with $R^2$ > 0.99. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.005 and 0.01 mg/kg, respectively. For validation validamycin A, recovery studies were carried out three different concentration levels (LOQ, $LOQ{\times}10$, $LOQ{\times}50$, n = 5) with five replicates at each level. The average recovery range was from 72.5~118.3%, with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 10.3%. All values were consistent with the criteria ranges requested in the Codex guidelines (CAC/GL 40-1993, 2003) and the NIFDS (National Institute of Food and Drug Safety) guideline (2016). Therefore, the proposed analytical method is accurate, effective and sensitive for validamycin A determination in agricultural commodities.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.251-262
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• 2019

In this study, we analyzed Korean dietary habits with food intake data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and we proposed a set of management guidelines for future Korean dietary habits. A total of 839 food items (1,419 foods) were analyzed according to the food catagories in "Food Code", which is the representative food classification system in Korea. The average total daily food intake was 1,585.77 g/day, with raw and processed foods accounting for 858.96 g/day and 726.81 g/day, respectively. Cereal grains contributed to the highest proportion of the food intake. Over 90% of subjects consumed cereal grains (99.09%) and root and tuber vegetables (95.80%) among the top 15 consumed food groups. According to the analysis by item, rice, Korean cabbage kimchi, apple, radish, egg, chili pepper, onion, wheat, soybean curds, potato, cucumber and pork were major (at least 1% of the average daily intake, 158.6 g/day) and frequently (eaten by more than 25% of subjects, 5,168 persons) consumed food items, and Korean spices were at the top of this list. In the case of kimchi, the proportion of intake of Korean cabbage kimchi (64.89 g/day) was the highest. In the case of alcoholic beverages, intake was highest by order of beer (63.53 g/day), soju (39.11 g/day) and makgeolli (19.70 g/day), and intake frequency was high in order of soju (11.3%), beer (7.2%), and sake (6.6%). Analysis results by seasonal intake trends showed that cereal grains have steadily decreased and beverages have slightly risen. In the case of alcoholic beverage consumption frequency, some kinds of makgeolli, wine, sake, and black raspberry wine have decreased gradually year by year. The consumption trend for kimchi has been gradually decreasing as well.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.124-134
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• 2019

An analytical method was developed for the determination of broflanilide and its metabolites in agricultural products. Sample preparation was conducted using the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) method and LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometer). The analytes were extracted with acetonitrile and cleaned up using d-SPE (dispersive solid phase extraction) sorbents such as anhydrous magnesium sulfate, primary secondary amine (PSA) and octadecyl ($C_{18}$). The limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.004 and 0.01 mg/kg, respectively. The recovery results for broflanilide, DM-8007 and S(PFP-OH)-8007 ranged between 90.7 to 113.7%, 88.2 to 109.7% and 79.8 to 97.8% at different concentration levels (LOQ, 10LOQ, 50LOQ) with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 8.8%. The inter-laboratory study recovery results for broflanilide and DM-8007 and S (PFP-OH)-8007 ranged between 86.3 to 109.1%, 87.8 to 109.7% and 78.8 to 102.1%, and RSD values were also below 21%. All values were consistent with the criteria ranges requested in the Codex guidelines (CAC/GL 40-1993, 2003) and the Food and Drug Safety Evaluation guidelines (2016). Therefore, the proposed analytical method was accurate, effective and sensitive for broflanilide determination in agricultural commodities.

• Korean small business review
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.67-93
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• 2009

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations between financial constraints and dividend smoothing of innovative small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs) listed on Korea Securities Market and Kosdaq Market of Korea Exchange. The innovative SMEs is defined as the firms with high level of R&D intensity which is measured by (R&D investment/total sales) ratio, according to Chauvin and Hirschey (1993). The R&D investment plays an important role as the innovative driver that can increase the future growth opportunity and profitability of the firms. Therefore, the R&D investment have large, positive, and consistent influences on the market value of the firm. In this point of view, we expect that the innovative SMEs can adjust dividend payment faster than the noninnovative SMEs, on the ground of their future growth opportunity and profitability. And also, we expect that the financial unconstrained firms can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms, on the ground of their financing ability of investment funds through the market accessibility. Aivazian et al.(2006) exert that the financial unconstrained firms with the high accessibility to capital market can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms. We collect the sample firms among the total SMEs listed on Korea Securities Market and Kosdaq Market of Korea Exchange during the periods from January 1999 to December 2007 from the KIS Value Library database. The total number of firm-year observations of the total sample firms throughout the entire period is 5,544, the number of firm-year observations of the dividend firms is 2,919, and the number of firm-year observations of the non-dividend firms is 2,625. About 53%(or 2,919) of these total 5,544 observations involve firms that make a dividend payment. The dividend firms are divided into two groups according to the R&D intensity, such as the innovative SMEs with larger than median of R&D intensity and the noninnovative SMEs with smaller than median of R&D intensity. The number of firm-year observations of the innovative SMEs is 1,506, and the number of firm-year observations of the noninnovative SMEs is 1,413. Furthermore, the innovative SMEs are divided into two groups according to level of financial constraints, such as the financial unconstrained firms and the financial constrained firms. The number of firm-year observations of the former is 894, and the number of firm-year observations of the latter is 612. Although all available firm-year observations of the dividend firms are collected, deletions are made in the case of financial industries such as banks, securities company, insurance company, and other financial services company, because their capital structure and business style are widely different from the general manufacturing firms. The stock repurchase was involved in dividend payment because Grullon and Michaely (2002) examined the substitution hypothesis between dividends and stock repurchases. However, our data structure is an unbalanced panel data since there is no requirement that the firm-year observations data are all available for each firms during the entire periods from January 1999 to December 2007 from the KIS Value Library database. We firstly estimate the classic Lintner(1956) dividend adjustment model, where the decision to smooth dividend or to adopt a residual dividend policy depends on financial constraints measured by market accessibility. Lintner model indicates that firms maintain stable and long run target payout ratio, and that firms adjust partially the gap between current payout rato and target payout ratio each year. In the Lintner model, dependent variable is the current dividend per share(DPS_t), and independent variables are the past dividend per share(DPS_t-1) and the current earnings per share(EPS_t). We hypothesized that firms adjust partially the gap between the current dividend per share(DPS_t) and the target payout ratio(Ω) each year, when the past dividend per share(DPS_t-1) deviate from the target payout ratio(Ω). We secondly estimate the expansion model that extend the Lintner model by including the determinants suggested by the major theories of dividend, namely, residual dividend theory, dividend signaling theory, agency theory, catering theory, and transactions cost theory. In the expansion model, dependent variable is the current dividend per share(DPS_t), explanatory variables are the past dividend per share(DPS_t-1) and the current earnings per share(EPS_t), and control variables are the current capital expenditure ratio(CEA_t), the current leverage ratio(LEV_t), the current operating return on assets(ROA_t), the current business risk(RISK_t), the current trading volume turnover ratio(TURN_t), and the current dividend premium(DPREM_t). In these control variables, CEA_t, LEV_t, and ROA_t are the determinants suggested by the residual dividend theory and the agency theory, ROA_t and RISK_t are the determinants suggested by the dividend signaling theory, TURN_t is the determinant suggested by the transactions cost theory, and DPREM_t is the determinant suggested by the catering theory. Furthermore, we thirdly estimate the Lintner model and the expansion model by using the panel data of the financial unconstrained firms and the financial constrained firms, that are divided into two groups according to level of financial constraints. We expect that the financial unconstrained firms can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms, because the former can finance more easily the investment funds through the market accessibility than the latter. We analyzed descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and median to delete the outliers from the panel data, conducted one way analysis of variance to check up the industry-specfic effects, and conducted difference test of firms characteristic variables between innovative SMEs and noninnovative SMEs as well as difference test of firms characteristic variables between financial unconstrained firms and financial constrained firms. We also conducted the correlation analysis and the variance inflation factors analysis to detect any multicollinearity among the independent variables. Both of the correlation coefficients and the variance inflation factors are roughly low to the extent that may be ignored the multicollinearity among the independent variables. Furthermore, we estimate both of the Lintner model and the expansion model using the panel regression analysis. We firstly test the time-specific effects and the firm-specific effects may be involved in our panel data through the Lagrange multiplier test that was proposed by Breusch and Pagan(1980), and secondly conduct Hausman test to prove that fixed effect model is fitter with our panel data than the random effect model. The main results of this study can be summarized as follows. The determinants suggested by the major theories of dividend, namely, residual dividend theory, dividend signaling theory, agency theory, catering theory, and transactions cost theory explain significantly the dividend policy of the innovative SMEs. Lintner model indicates that firms maintain stable and long run target payout ratio, and that firms adjust partially the gap between the current payout ratio and the target payout ratio each year. In the core variables of Lintner model, the past dividend per share has more effects to dividend smoothing than the current earnings per share. These results suggest that the innovative SMEs maintain stable and long run dividend policy which sustains the past dividend per share level without corporate special reasons. The main results show that dividend adjustment speed of the innovative SMEs is faster than that of the noninnovative SMEs. This means that the innovative SMEs with high level of R&D intensity can adjust dividend payment faster than the noninnovative SMEs, on the ground of their future growth opportunity and profitability. The other main results show that dividend adjustment speed of the financial unconstrained SMEs is faster than that of the financial constrained SMEs. This means that the financial unconstrained firms with high accessibility to capital market can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms, on the ground of their financing ability of investment funds through the market accessibility. Futhermore, the other additional results show that dividend adjustment speed of the innovative SMEs classified by the Small and Medium Business Administration is faster than that of the unclassified SMEs. They are linked with various financial policies and services such as credit guaranteed service, policy fund for SMEs, venture investment fund, insurance program, and so on. In conclusion, the past dividend per share and the current earnings per share suggested by the Lintner model explain mainly dividend adjustment speed of the innovative SMEs, and also the financial constraints explain partially. Therefore, if managers can properly understand of the relations between financial constraints and dividend smoothing of innovative SMEs, they can maintain stable and long run dividend policy of the innovative SMEs through dividend smoothing. These are encouraging results for Korea government, that is, the Small and Medium Business Administration as it has implemented many policies to commit to the innovative SMEs. This paper may have a few limitations because it may be only early study about the relations between financial constraints and dividend smoothing of the innovative SMEs. Specifically, this paper may not adequately capture all of the subtle features of the innovative SMEs and the financial unconstrained SMEs. Therefore, we think that it is necessary to expand sample firms and control variables, and use more elaborate analysis methods in the future studies.