• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.22 no.3 s.27
• /
• pp.368-379
• /
• 1989

The relationship between mercury level of hair and mental retardation was investigated. The 297 subjects with mental retardation were drawn from two schools providing special educational services, one, consisted of children living in an orphan home, another, children with parents. The 117 centre] subjects were drawn from whom had got average or above average academic achivement in a regular elementary school. Hair sample were taken from the nape of the neck and the mercury analysis was carried out on an atomic absorption spectrophotometer(IL 551). There was no relationship between mercury contents and age, and there was a statistically significant difference in mercury contents between male and female in the mentally retarded children living with parents. Children in the retarded group had significantly higher mercury contents compared with control group except the female group with parents. Also, the mercury levels in the retarded group living in an orphan home were significantly higher than that of the retarded group with parents. The concomitant diseases were Down's syndrome, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and autism. There were statistically significant differences in hair mercury levels in the cases of accompanying Down's syndrome and cerebral palsy in male and Down's syndrome and autism in female compared with the control group of the same sex. The most accompanying handicap was speech disturbance(40.7%) and the others were crippled, emotional disturbance etc. The percentages of double handicap were 66.7% among 6 persons exceeding 6ppm of their hair mercury contents. 10.4% among $3{\sim}6$ ppm and 15.7% among the group of 3ppm or less. The findings of this study suggest that the more opportunities of exposure to mercury in mentally retarded children may have occurred, so it can not be excluded the possibility of mercury as a contributing factor to mental retardation. Therefore, the causal relationship between mercury levels and mental retardation should be established through the examinations about their living environments, dietary pattern, eating habit etc.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.611-635
• /
• 2014

Information systems (IS) have become ubiquitous and changed every aspect of how people live their lives. While some IS have been successfully adopted and widely used, others have failed to be adopted and crowded out in spite of remarkable progress in technologies. Both the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the IS Success Model (ISSM), among many others, have contributed to explain the reasons of success as well as failure in IS adoption and usage. While the TAM suggests that intention to use and perceived usefulness lead to actual IS usage, the ISSM indicates that information quality, system quality, and service quality affect IS usage and user satisfaction. Upon literature review, however, we found a significant void in theoretical development and its applications that employ either of the two models, and we raise research questions. First of all, in spite of the causal relationship between intention to use and actual usage, in most previous studies, only intention to use was employed as a dependent variable without overt explaining its relationship with actual usage. Moreover, even in a few studies that employed actual IS usage as a dependent variable, the degree of actual usage was measured based on users' perceptual responses to survey questionnaires. However, the measurement of actual usage based on survey responses might not be 'actual' usage in a strict sense that responders' perception may be distorted due to their selective perceptions or stereotypes. By the same token, the degree of system quality that IS users perceive might not be 'real' quality as well. This study seeks to fill this void by measuring the variables of actual usage and system quality using 'fact' data such as system logs and specifications of users' information and communications technology (ICT) devices. More specifically, we propose an integrated research model that bring together the TAM and the ISSM. The integrated model is composed of both the variables that are to be measured using fact as well as survey data. By employing the integrated model, we expect to reveal the difference between real and perceived degree of system quality, and to investigate the relationship between the perception-based measure of intention to use and the fact-based measure of actual usage. Furthermore, we also aim to add empirical findings on the general research question: what factors influence actual IS usage and how? In order to address the research question and to examine the research model, we selected a mobile campus application (MCA). We collected both fact data and survey data. For fact data, we retrieved them from the system logs such information as menu usage counts, user's device performance, display size, and operating system revision version number. At the same time, we conducted a survey among university students who use an MCA, and collected 180 valid responses. A partial least square (PLS) method was employed to validate our research model. Among nine hypotheses developed, we found five were supported while four were not. In detail, the relationships between (1) perceived system quality and perceived usefulness, (2) perceived system quality and perceived intention to use, (3) perceived usefulness and perceived intention to use, (4) quality of device platform and actual IS usage, and (5) perceived intention to use and actual IS usage were found to be significant. In comparison, the relationships between (1) quality of device platform and perceived system quality, (2) quality of device platform and perceived usefulness, (3) quality of device platform and perceived intention to use, and (4) perceived system quality and actual IS usage were not significant. The results of the study reveal notable differences from those of previous studies. First, although perceived intention to use shows a positive effect on actual IS usage, its explanatory power is very weak ($R^2$=0.064). Second, fact-based system quality (quality of user's device platform) shows a direct impact on actual IS usage without the mediating role of intention to use. Lastly, the relationships between perceived system quality (perception-based system quality) and other constructs show completely different results from those between quality of device platform (fact-based system quality) and other constructs. In the post-hoc analysis, IS users' past behavior was additionally included in the research model to further investigate the cause of such a low explanatory power of actual IS usage. The results show that past IS usage has a strong positive effect on current IS usage while intention to use does not have, implying that IS usage has already become a habitual behavior. This study provides the following several implications. First, we verify that fact-based data (i.e., system logs of real usage records) are more likely to reflect IS users' actual usage than perception-based data. In addition, by identifying the direct impact of quality of device platform on actual IS usage (without any mediating roles of attitude or intention), this study triggers further research on other potential factors that may directly influence actual IS usage. Furthermore, the results of the study provide practical strategic implications that organizations equipped with high-quality systems may directly expect high level of system usage.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.79 no.2
• /
• pp.196-204
• /
• 1990

Pinus densiflora is not only widely distributed but also one of the most economically important timber species in Korea. In Korea, this species is classified into four local forms according to tree forms, as it has widely geographical variations. Trees of Ankang form are dwarfish nearly like shrubs, and those of Keumkang form are very tall and straight. Those of flatland and highland forms are exhibited in-between Ankang and Keumkang forms. This study was carried out to examine biomass, net production and production efficiency among four local forms of Pirzus densiflora forests growing in Korea. For the study, dimension analysis was used for trees and harvest method for shrubs and herbs in four 30-40 year-old stands showing the typical tree forms. Stand biomass of Ankang, flatland, highland and Keumkang forms were 29.87, 110.89, 133.53 and 205.42 t/ha, respectively. As going in order of Ankang, flatland, highland and Keumkang forms, the proportions of stem woods to total tree biomass increased while the proportions of stem barks, live branches, needles and roots showed a tendency to decrease. Stand net productions of Ankang, flatland, highland and Keumkang forms were 3.716, 10.796, 13.097 and 16.500 t/ha yr., respectively. As going in order of Ankang, flatland, highland and Keumkang forms, the proportions of stem woods and lire branches to total tree net production increased while the proportion of needles decreased. In case of live branches, the opposite trend of biomss and net production proportion may be resulted from the differences in the ratio of self-pruning. Net assimilation ratios of Ankang, flatland, highland and Keumkang forms were 1.406, 1.920, 1.487 and 1.677, respectively. Efficiency of needles to produce stems in those forms were 0.239, 0.714, 0.572 and 0.771, respectively. Considering the difference in measuring time, net assimilation ratio and efficiency of needles to produce stems may increase as going in order of Ankang, flatland, highland and Keumkang forms.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.725-736
• /
• 2017

TThis study investigated the influence of AGH-Ringer (chelated organic minerals liquid fertilizer) on the growth, yield, and fruit quality of 'Jukhyang' strawberry in a hydroponic system. The results revealed that AGH-Ringer group led to significantly higher plant length than that of the control group, and that leaf length and leaf width increased with increasing leaf area. In addition, the fresh and dry weights of leaves and SPAD unit, which measures leaf color also showed a significant increase with AGH-Ringer. However, the length and dry weight of roots did not show significant differences when compared to the control group. In the fruit quality analysis, AGH-Ringer group did not show any difference in fruit length compared to the control group, but it increased both the fruit weight, which, along with the simultaneous increase in fruit width, increased the yield per strawberry. Furthermore, AGH-Ringer group strengthened the red skin color of the fruit, and resulted in significantly greater hardness than that of the control group, but did not have any effect on the soluble solid content and acidity. As shown in the results, the AGH-Ringer group resulted in lesser mineral content and lower to medium EC (electrical conductivity) in comparison to the inorganic mineral hydroponic fertilizer, which was used as a control. However, it increased the leaf growth, fruit weight, and yield, and improved the fruit quality by increasing the soluble solid content in the hydroponic system of 'Jukhyang' strawberry. Therefore, based on this study, AGH-Ringer is thought to be a more effective hydroponic fertilizer than the inorganic mineral hydroponic fertilizer. Moreover, the field experiment demonstrated that AGH-Ringer is a useful hydroponic fertilizer convenient for application in farms. This study also proved that AGH-Ringer is a fertilizer that can promote plant nutrition by controlling the salinity of the soil and facilitating the absorption of necessary minerals in future soil cultivation, thereby providing basic data for organic farming.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.477-484
• /
• 2006

The purposes of this study were to compare the apical terminus width of simulated curved root canal prepared with three NiTi file systems used by undergraduates for evaluation the effects of flute angle and pitch or radial land on reducing screw-in effect and to determine more safe NiTi file system for inexperienced operators. Fifty inexperienced undergraduate students prepared 150 simulated curved root canals in resin blocks with three NiTi file systems ; ProFile$^{(R)}$, Hero Shaper$^{(R)}$, K3$^{TM}$. The electric motor set at a speed of 300 rpm and torque of 30 in a 16 : 1 reduction handpiece was used. The simulated root canal was prepared to ISO #25 sizes with each file system. The scanned images of pre- and post-instrumented canal of resin block were superimposed. To evaluate the screw-in effect of three NiTi file systems, apical terminus width of root canal was measured from superimposed images and statistical analysis was performed. There were significant differences in three NiTi flle systems. ProFile$^{(R)}$ had significantly smaller width than Hero Shaper$^{(R)}$ and K3$^{TM}$"" (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed between K3$^{TM}$ and Hero Shaper$^{(R)}$. Under the condition of this study, active file system (Hero SHaper$^{(R)}$, K3$^{TM}$) with variable pitch and helical angle had more screw-in effect than passive file system (ProFile$^{(R)}$) with constant pitch and helical angle. It seems that the radial lands play more important role in reducing screw-in effect.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.214-220
• /
• 2006

Purpose: p53 is one of the most commonly mutated genes in human tumors. The aim of this study was to analyze p53 mutation in gastric cancer and its correlations with the clinicopathologic variables to clarify the usefulness of p53 mutation as a prognostic factor. Materials and Methods: Specimens from 331 patients with gastric cancer who underwent a gastrectomy between March 1999 and April 2001 at the Kyungpook National University Hospital were used. p53 gene mutations were assessed by using a polymerase chain-reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis. The correlations between p53 gene mutation and clinocopathologic parameters were analyzed. Results: p53 mutations were found in 66 (19.9%) tumors. Among those 66 cases, mutations were seen in 23 tumors at axon 5, in 8 at exon 6, in 21 at exon 7, and in 17 at exon 8. Two mutations were shown in 3 tumors. Thiriy-six (23.1%) of 156 intestinal-type tumors and 19 (13.1%) of 145 diffuse-type tumors showed p53 gene mutation (P=0.007). The frequency of p53 gene mutation didn't show any significant differences according to age, sex, stage, location, or gross type. Exon 5 mutations showed more frequently in intestinal-type tumors than in diffuse-type tumors (9.7% vs. 2.8%, P=0.024), and p53 mutation were more frequent in lymph nodes metastasis group than lymph nodes non-metastasis group with statistical significance (25.0% vs 15.6%, P=0.034). The five-year survival rate showed no statistically significant difference with p53 mutation (P=0.704). Conclusion: p53 mutations assessed by PCR-SSCP had little value as a prognostic factor after gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.51-79
• /
• 1990

Research on technical efficiency, an important dimension of market performance, had received little attention until recently by most industrial organization empiricists, the reason being that traditional microeconomic theory simply assumed away any form of inefficiency in production. Recently, however, an increasing number of research efforts have been conducted to answer questions such as: To what extent do technical ineffciencies exist in the production activities of firms and plants? What are the factors accounting for the level of inefficiency found and those explaining the interindustry difference in technical inefficiency? Are there any significant international differences in the levels of technical efficiency and, if so, how can we reconcile these results with the observed pattern of international trade, etc? As the first in a series of studies on the technical efficiency of Korea's manufacturing industries, this paper attempts to answer some of these questions. Since the estimation of technical efficiency requires the use of plant-level data for each of the five-digit KSIC industries available from the Census of Manufactures, one may consture the findings of this paper as empirical evidence of technical efficiency in Korea's manufacturing industries at the most disaggregated level. We start by clarifying the relationship among the various concepts of efficiency-allocative effciency, factor-price efficiency, technical efficiency, Leibenstein's X-efficiency, and scale efficiency. It then becomes clear that unless certain ceteris paribus assumptions are satisfied, our estimates of technical inefficiency are in fact related to factor price inefficiency as well. The empirical model employed is, what is called, a stochastic frontier production function which divides the stochastic term into two different components-one with a symmetric distribution for pure white noise and the other for technical inefficiency with an asymmetric distribution. A translog production function is assumed for the functional relationship between inputs and output, and was estimated by the corrected ordinary least squares method. The second and third sample moments of the regression residuals are then used to yield estimates of four different types of measures for technical (in) efficiency. The entire range of manufacturing industries can be divided into two groups, depending on whether or not the distribution of estimated regression residuals allows a successful estimation of technical efficiency. The regression equation employing value added as the dependent variable gives a greater number of "successful" industries than the one using gross output. The correlation among estimates of the different measures of efficiency appears to be high, while the estimates of efficiency based on different regression equations seem almost uncorrelated. Thus, in the subsequent analysis of the determinants of interindustry variations in technical efficiency, the choice of the regression equation in the previous stage will affect the outcome significantly.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.105-119
• /
• 2021

The innovation cluster is formed by cooperation and networking among a number of actors, including companies, universities, research institutes, government and other supporting organizations, but the main subject of innovation in the venture ecosystem, which can be said to be the core of the innovation cluster, is the enterprise. Therefore, enterprises in innovation cluster can be seen as a major user of the innovation cluster policy. In order for the policy to be executed smoothly, policy acceptance is important. However, existing research on policy prioritization tends to be centered on policy providers, so it is necessary to check them from the perspective of policy users. Accordingly, this study conducted discussions from a two-way perspective to establish the correct policy direction through a balanced perspective between a policy provider-centered top-down perspective and a policy user's bottom-up perspective. First, the factors for activating the innovation cluster (three factors in the first level and 14 factors in the second level) were derived through prior research and expert interviews. After that, the importance of the factors for activating the innovation cluster was analyzed using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) for the policy provider group and the user group in the Daedeok Innopolis, a representative case of innovation cluster policy. As a result of analyzing the importance of the innovation cluster activation factors from the perspectives of policy providers and users, some similarities were also seen, but overall differences in mutual perception were found. It was found that the policy provider group focused on innovation creation factors, while the policy user group viewed innovation creation, clusters, and industrial location factors from a more balanced perspective. This study is meaningful in that it deals with both perspectives in a balanced way by expanding the targets from the existing policy provider-centered research to policy users. In addition, practical contributions exist in the aspect of providing basic data so that policies can be carried out based on corporate needs in fostering innovation clusters.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.251-256
• /
• 2010

Objective of this research was to investigate the influence of $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ ratios in liquid feeding on the growth of snapdragon 'Potomac Red' and changes in medium chemical properties. The seeds were sown into 200 plug trays and fertigated once a week with nutrient solution containing various ratios of $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ such as 0 : 100, 27 : 73, 50 : 50, 73 : 27, and 100 : 0. The total N concentrations were adjusted to 50, 100 and $150\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ in plug stages of 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Determination of seedling growth and analysis of plant tissue and root medum were conducted at 56 days after sowing. The treatment of 27 : 73 ($NH_4^+:NO_3^-$) had the greatest plant height, fresh weight, and dry weight. The N and P contents in 27 : 73 ($NH_4^+:NO_3^-$) treatment based on the above ground plant tissues were 2.39 and 0.39%, respectively, which were the greatest among treatments. The elevation of $NH_4^+$ ratio in fertigation solution decreased tissue Ca and Mg contents, but that did not influence tissue K content. The variations in $NH_4^+:NO_3^-$ ratios impacted the soil solution pH and the difference among treatments had been severe since three weeks after sowing. Elevation of $NH_4^+$ ratios in fertigation solution increased electrical conductivity and concentrations of K, Ca, and Mg in soil solution of root medum. The $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ concentrations in the soil solution were high in weeks 2, 3, and 4, then decreased gradually as the biomass of seedlings increased. Medium P concentration decreased gradually as seedlings grew, but statistical differences were not observed among treatments.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.178-189
• /
• 2003

Purpose: Cellular uptakes of $^{99m}Tc-sestamibi(MIBI)\;and\;\;^{99m}Tc-tetrofosmin$ into cancer cell lines expressing multidrug resistance(MDR) were investigated and compared. The effects of verapamil and cyclosporin A, well-known multidrug resistant reversing agents, on cellular uptakes of both tracers were also compared. Materials and Methods: Doxorubicin-resistant HCT15/CL02 human colorectal cell and doxorubicin-resistant K562(Adr) and vincristine-resistant K562(Vcr) human leukemic cells were studied. RT-PCR analysis was used for the detection of mdr1 mRNA expression. MDR-reversal effects with verapamil and cyclosporine A were evaluated at different drug concentrations after incubation with MIBI and tetrofosmin for 1, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min, using single-cell suspensions at $1{\times}10^6cells/ml$ incubated at $37^{\circ}C$. Radioactivity in supernatants and pellets were measured with gamma well counter. Results: The cellular uptakes of MIBI and tetrofosmin in K562(Adr) and K562(Vcr) were lower than those of parental K562 cell. In HCT15/CL02 cells and K562(Adr) cells, there were no significant difference in cellular uptakes of both tracers, but cellular uptake of MIBI was higher than that of tetrofosmin in K562(Vcr) cells. Coincubation with verapamil resulted in a increase In cellular uptakes of MIBI and tetrofosmin. Verapamil increased cellular uptakes of MIBI and tetrofosmin by HCT15/CL02 cell by 11.9- and 6.8-fold, by K562(Adr) cell by 14.3- and 8-fold and by K562(Vcr) cell by 7- and 5.7-fold in maximum, respectively. Cyciosporin A increased cellular uptakes of MIBI and tetrofosmin by HCT15/CL02 cell by 10- and 2.4-fold, by K562(Adr) cell by 44- and 13-fold and by K562(Vcr) cell by 18.8- and 11.8-fold in maximum, respectively Conclusion: Taking together, MIBI and tetrofosmin are considered as suitable radiopharmaceuticals for defecting multidrug resistance. However, MIBI seems to be a better tracer than tetrofosmin for evaluating MDR reversal effect of the modulators. Since cellular uptakes of both tracers might differ in different cell types, further experiments regarding differences in cellular uptakes between cell types should be explored.