• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.25-31
• /
• 2017

The objective of this study is to find the failure factors of venture companies. We analyze 210 troubled venture companies, all of which have been under guarantee from the Korea Technology Finance Corporation over the last three years. Methods of analysis for failure factors are as follows. First, we categorize the failure factors into the four different types based on growth and profitability indicators in the financial statements of targeted venture companies. Then we analyzed the failure factors of the subject companies based on the troubled guarantee reports made by the Korea Technology Finance Corporation. If a venture company under its guarantee program falls into insolvency, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation make the troubled guarantee report to find out the failure factors and evaluate the recovery potentials. We identify 374 failure factors of venture companies through the analysis. The most prominent among them are deteriorating of business environments (79 factors) and decreasing or withdrawing orders from major suppliers (54 factors) due to bankruptcies or change in business plans. They are followed by slowing collection of accounts receivable (31 factors), dropping or frozen product price (24 factors) due to intensifying competition and escalating pressures from major suppliers, rising raw material costs both at home and abroad (21 factors). In addition, the nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, shut-down of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and subsequent lawsuits, delay in technology development projects, high cost-low efficiency management structure, etc., are also revealed as new factors causing trouble for venture companies.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2014

Agricultural soils surrounding mine areas in South Korea are often contaminated with multiple metals such as Cd, Pb and Zn. It poses potential risks to plants, soil organisms, groundwater, and eventually human health. The aim of this study was to examine the changes in phytoavailability of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn after application with calcined eggshell (CES; 0, 1, 3, and 5% W/W) in an agricultural soil contaminated by mine tailings. The contents of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in soils were 8.79, 65.4, 1602, and $692mgkg^{-1}$ (aqua regia dissolution), respectively. The experiments were conducted with lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia) grown under greenhouse conditions during a 30-d period. $NH_4NO_3$ solution was used to examine the mobile fraction of these metals in soil. The application of CES dramatically increased soil pH and inorganic carbon content in soil due to CaO and $CaCO_3$ of CES. The increased soil pH decreased the mobile fraction of Cd, Pb, Zn: from 3.49 to < $0.01mgkg^{-1}$ for Cd, from 79.4 to $1.75mgkg^{-1}$ for Pb, and from 29.6 to $1.13mgkg^{-1}$ for Zn with increasing treatment of CES from 0 to 5%. In contrast, the mobile fraction of Cu was increased from 0.05 to $3.08mgkg^{-1}$, probably due to the formation of soluble $CuCO_3{^0}$ and Cu-organic complex. This changes in the mobile fraction resulted in a diminished uptake of Cd, Pb and Zn by lettuce and an increased uptake of Cu: from 4.19 to < $0.001mgkg^{-1}$ dry weight (DW) for Cd, from 0.78 to < $0.001mgkg^{-1}$ DW for Pb, and from 133 to $50.0mgkg^{-1}$ DW for Zn and conversely, from 3.79 up to $8.21kg^{-1}$ DW for Cu. The increased contents of Cu in lettuce shoots did not exceed the toxic level of $>25mgkg^{-1}$ DW. The mobile contents of these metals in soils showed a strong relationship with their contents in plant roots and shoots. These results showed that CES effectively reduced the phytoavailability of Cd, Pb, and Zn to lettuce but elevated that of Cu in consequence of the changed binding forms of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in soils. Based on these conclusions, CES can be used as an effective immobilization agent for Cd, Pb and Zn in contaminated soils. However, the CES should be applied in restricted doses due to too high increased pH in soils.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.195-202
• /
• 2007

The normalized difference in incident solar energy between a target surface and a level surface (overheating index, OHI) is useful in eliminating estimation error of site-specific maximum temperature in complex terrain. Due to the complexity in its calculation, however, an empirical proxy variable called northern exposure index (NEI) which combines slope and aspect has been used to estimate OHI based on empirical relationships between the two. An experiment with real-world landscape and temperature data was carried out to evaluate performance of the NEI - derived OHI (N-OHI) in reduction of spatial interpolation error for daily maximum temperature compared with that by the original OHI. We collected daily maximum temperature data from 7 sites in a mountainous watershed with a $149 km^2$ area and a 795m elevation range ($651{\sim}1,445m$) in Pyongchang, Kangwon province. Northern exposure index was calculated for the entire 166,050 grid cells constituting the watershed based on a 30-m digital elevation model. Daily OHI was calculated for the same watershed ana regressed to the variation of NEI. The regression equations were used to estimate N-OHI for 15th of each month. Deviations in daily maximum temperature at 7 sites from those measured at the nearby synoptic station were calculated from June 2006 to February 2007 and regressed to the N-OHI. The same procedure was repeated with the original OHI values. The ratio sum of square errors contributable by the N-OHI were 0.46 (winter), 0.24 (fall), and 0.01 (summer), while those by the original OHI were 0.52, 0.37 and 0.15, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.10 no.2 s.21
• /
• pp.69-79
• /
• 2004

This study focuses on the relationship between pollution factors around Masan, Changwon and Chinhae city considerd as main pollution sources and marine environment in Masan bay of Korea. Water quality data measured In Jinhae bay and environmental investigation data in Masan, Changwon and Jinhae cities from 1981 to 1998 were used for this study. Annual means and standard deviations of COD, DIN and DIP concentrations from 1981 to 1998 showed that both their concentration and fluctuations were higher in the inner part of Masan bay (region A) than near Somodo (region B). Sediment dredging in Masan bay had been done from 1990 to 1994. After dredging, COD concentration has been decreasing In surface layer. Also water pollution was gradually spreaded from the inner part to the outer part of the bay due to the continuous inflow of domestic sewage and industrial wastewater. In the late of 1990s, the pollution was heavier. DIN and DIP concentrations were found to be increased by establishment of industry complex and decreased by sewage treatment plant near the city adjacent to Jinhae bay, 1993. The correlation between COD, DIN and DIP changes and neighbor cities' pollution sources were calculated From 1981 to 1998, correlation coefficient (r) was over 0.8 except for the bottom of region A From 1981 to 1998, r between the DIP concentration and population was over 0.65 except for the surface of region A, and the r between the DIP and the number of factories was over 0.6 too, in region B.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.880-884
• /
• 2001

Rumen microbiology research has undergone several evolutionary steps: the isolation and nutritional characterization of readily cultivated microbes; followed by the cloning and sequence analysis of individual genes relevant to key digestive processes; through to the use of small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) sequences for a cultivation-independent examination of microbial diversity. Our knowledge of rumen microbiology has expanded as a result, but the translation of this information into productive alterations of ruminal function has been rather limited. For instance, the cloning and characterization of cellulase genes in Escherichia coli has yielded some valuable information about this complex enzyme system in ruminal bacteria. SSU rRNA analyses have also confirmed that a considerable amount of the microbial diversity in the rumen is not represented in existing culture collections. However, we still have little idea of whether the key, and potentially rate-limiting, gene products and (or) microbial interactions have been identified. Technologies allowing high throughput nucleotide and protein sequence analysis have led to the emergence of two new fields of investigation, genomics and proteomics. Both disciplines can be further subdivided into functional and comparative lines of investigation. The massive accumulation of microbial DNA and protein sequence data, including complete genome sequences, is revolutionizing the way we examine microbial physiology and diversity. We describe here some examples of our use of genomics- and proteomics-based methods, to analyze the cellulase system of Ruminococcus flavefaciens FD-1 and explore the genome of Ruminococcus albus 8. At Illinois, we are using bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) vectors to create libraries containing large (>75 kbases), contiguous segments of DNA from R. flavefaciens FD-1. Considering that every bacterium is not a candidate for whole genome sequencing, BAC libraries offer an attractive, alternative method to perform physical and functional analyses of a bacterium's genome. Our first plan is to use these BAC clones to determine whether or not cellulases and accessory genes in R. flavefaciens exist in clusters of orthologous genes (COGs). Proteomics is also being used to complement the BAC library/DNA sequencing approach. Proteins differentially expressed in response to carbon source are being identified by 2-D SDS-PAGE, followed by in-gel-digests and peptide mass mapping by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry, as well as peptide sequencing by Edman degradation. At Ohio State, we have used a combination of functional proteomics, mutational analysis and differential display RT-PCR to obtain evidence suggesting that in addition to a cellulosome-like mechanism, R. albus 8 possesses other mechanisms for adhesion to plant surfaces. Genome walking on either side of these differentially expressed transcripts has also resulted in two interesting observations: i) a relatively large number of genes with no matches in the current databases and; ii) the identification of genes with a high level of sequence identity to those identified, until now, in the archaebacteria. Genomics and proteomics will also accelerate our understanding of microbial interactions, and allow a greater degree of in situ analyses in the future. The challenge is to utilize genomics and proteomics to improve our fundamental understanding of microbial physiology, diversity and ecology, and overcome constraints to ruminal function.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
• /
• 2004.02a
• /
• pp.140-142
• /
• 2004

Since the April of 1978, Korea has strongly relied on the nuclear energy for electricity generation. As of today, eighteen nuclear power plants are in operation and ten are to be inaugurated by 2015. The installed nuclear capacity is 15, 716 MW as of the end of 2002, representing 29.3% of the nation's total installed capacity. The nuclear share in electricity remains around 38.9 at the end of 2002, reaching at the level of 119 billion kWh's. New power reactors, KSNP's (Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant) are fully based on the domestic technologies. More advanced reactors such as KNGR (Korea Next Generation Reactor) will be commercialized soon. Even though the front end nuclear cycle enjoys one of the best positions in the world, there have been some chronical problems in the back end fuel cycle. That's the one of the reason why we need more active R&D programs in Korea and active international and regional cooperation in this area. The everlasting NIMBY problem hinders the implementation of the nation's radioactive waste management program. We expect that the storage capacity for the LILW(Low and Intermediate Level radioactive Waste) will be dried out soon. The situation for the spent fuel storage is also not so favorable too. The storage pools for spent fuel are being filled rapidly so that in 2008, some AR pools cannot accommodate any more new spent nuclear fuels. The Korean Government in strong association with utilities and national academic and R&D institutes have tried its best effort to secure the site for a LILW repository and a AFR site. Finally, one local community, Buan in Jeonbook Province, submitted the petition for the site. At the end of the last July, the Government announced that the Wido, a small island in Buan, is suitable for the national complex site. The special force team headed by Dr IS Chang, president of KAERI teamed with Government officials and many prominent scholars and journalists agreed that by the evidences from the preliminary site investigation, they could not find any reason for rejecting the local community's offer.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.315-334
• /
• 2014

Wolsong Low- and Intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) disposal center has two different types of disposal facilities and interacts with the neighboring Wolsong nuclear power plant. These situations impose a high level of complexity which requires in-depth understanding of phenomena in the safety assessment of the disposal facility. In this context, multidimensional radionuclide transport model and hydraulic performance assessment model should be developed to identify more realistic performance of the complex system and reduce unnecessary conservatism in the conventional performance assessment models developed for the $1^{st}$ stage underground disposal. In addition, the advanced performance assessment model is required to calculate many cases to treat uncertainties or study parameter importance. To fulfill the requirements, this study introduces the development of two-dimensional integrated near-field performance assessment model combining near-field hydraulic performance assessment model and radionuclide transport model for the $2^{nd}$ stage near-surface disposal. The hydraulic and radionuclide transport behaviors were evaluated by PORFLOW and GoldSim. GoldSim radionuclide transport model was verified through benchmark calculations with PORFLOW radionuclide transport model. GoldSim model was shown to be computationally efficient and provided the better understanding of the radionuclide transport behavior than conventional model.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.393-403
• /
• 2013

Baicalein (BA), a plant-derived active flavonoid present in the root of Scutellaria baicalensis, has been widely used for the treatment of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders including depression. Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated restraint stress disrupts the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, resulting in depression. The behavioral and neurochemical basis of the BA effect on depression remain unclear. The present study used the forced swimming test (FST) and changes in brain neurotransmitter levels to confirm the impact of BA on repeated restraint stress-induced behavioral and neurochemical changes in rats. Male rats received 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg BA (i.p.) 30 min prior to daily exposure to repeated restraint stress (2 h/day) for 14 days. Activation of the HPA axis in response to repeated restraint stress was confirmed by measuring serum corticosterone levels and the expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor in the hypothalamus. Daily BA administration significantly decreased the duration of immobility in the FST, increased sucrose consumption, and restored the stress-related decreases in dopamine concentrations in the hippocampus to near normal levels. BA significantly inhibited the stress-induced decrease in neuronal tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the ventral tegmental area and the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA in the hippocampus. Taken together, these findings indicate that administration of BA prior to the repeated restraint stress significantly improves helpless behaviors and depressive symptoms, possibly by preventing the decrease in dopamine and BDNF expression. Thus, BA may be a useful agent for the treatment or alleviation of the complex symptoms associated with depression.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.15-29
• /
• 2020

The aims of this study is to improve physical properties of the sewage sludge and the process sludge generated in the leachate treatment by mixing the dry fuel, to develop the neutral solidifing agents that reduce oder, and to recycle the sewage and the process sludges as landfill cover materials. The mixing ratio (W/W) of sludges and dry fuel was appropriate at about 1:1, and the mixed materials were shown to be homogeneous at that ratio. We could know that when the sludges were mixed with dry fuel, moisture contents and viscosities are reduced, and air passages are formed between particles and particles. The various mixing tests and odor tests showed that the neutral solidifing agent was effective for the odor reduction. The main ingredient of the solidifing agent is the ash of sewage sludge, enabling it competitive in waste recycling and production costs. The landfill cover, using developed neutral solidification agent, improved physical properties to satisfy the quality standards and to increase the compressive strength. It also proved to reduce the value of complex oder and the usage of solidification agent to 1/3 (3,000 to 1,000) and to 1/8 (50% to 6%), respectively, from the comparative study with alkaline solidified landfill cover. Further research is under way to prove that this can be mixed with general soil to be used as a soil improvement agent for plant cultivation.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.1056-1063
• /
• 2012

Recent rapidly growth in nanotechnolgies is promised novel benefits through the exploitation of their unique industrial and biomedical applications. With increasing utilization of nanomaterials in consumer products, the potential release of nanomaterials into the environment and their impacts on the ecosystem and human health have been the issues of concern. Nanomaterials that was exposed unintentionally in environment might be accumulated in various environmental media, and finally it will be influenced to human and ecosystems. Therefore, it is important to understand the fate and behavior of nanoparticles for understanding effects on environmental media (air, water, and soil phase). Therefore, in this work, we investigated the several cases for environmental exposure of nanomaterials and suggested the direction of further research. In workplace, exposure to air media is dominant, but finally waste and wastewater was moved to the water and soil phase. In addition, we found the existing sewage treatment plant was not suitable to remove completely nanomaterials in wastewater flow. To deeper study, environmental monitoring tool must be developed additionally and we suggested the several analyzing method for aged and pristine physicochemical properties of nanomaterials exposed into environmental media. This review for nanomaterials' exposure to environmental media will be helpful to investigate the environmental fate of nanomaterials and define the suitable treatment method for nano-waste.