• Title/Summary/Keyword: Difference-in-differences analysis

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Characteristic of Raindrop Size Distribution Using Two-dimensional Video Disdrometer Data in Daegu, Korea (2차원 광학 우적계 자료를 이용한 대구지역 우적크기분포 특성 분석)

  • Bang, Wonbae;Kwon, Soohyun;Lee, GyuWon
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.38 no.7
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    • pp.511-521
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    • 2017
  • This study analyzes Two-dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD) data while summer 2011-2012 in Daegu region and compares with Marshall and Palmer (MP) distribution to find out statistical characteristics and characteristics variability about drop size distribution (DSD) of Daegu region. As the characterize DSD of Daegu region, this study uses single moment parameters such as rainfall intensity (R), reflectivity factor (Z) and double moment parameters such as generalized characteristics number concentration ($N{_0}^{\prime}$) and generalized characteristics diameter ($D{_m}^{\prime}$). Also, this study makes an assumption that DSD function can be expressed as general gamma distribution. The results of analysis show that DSD of Daegu region has ${\log}_{10}N{_0}^{\prime}=2.37$, $D{_m}^{\prime}=1.04mm$, and c =2.37, ${\mu}=0.39$ on average. When the assumption of MP distribution is used, these figures then end up with the different characteristics; ${\log}_{10}N{_0}^{\prime}=2.27$, $D{_m}^{\prime}=0.9mm$, c =1, ${\mu}=1$ on average. The differences indicate liquid water content (LWC) of Daegu distribution is generally larger than MP distribution at equal Z. Second, DSD shape of Daegu distribution is concave upward. Other important facts are the characteristics of Daegu distribution change when Z changes. DSD shape of Daegu region changes concave downward (c =2.05~2.55, ${\mu}=0.33{\sim}0.77$) to cubic function-like shape (c =3.0, ${\mu}=-0.13{\sim}-0.33$) at Z > 45 dBZ. 35 dBZ ${\leq}$ Z > 45 dBZ group of Daegu distribution has characteristics similar to maritime cluster of diverse climate DSD study. However, Z > 45 dBZ group of Daegu distribution has a difference from the cluster.

Clinical Efficacy of Bunny Multifocal Intraocular Lens after Cataract Surgery (버니 다초점인공수정체의 임상적 효용성)

  • Cho, Myung Ho;Park, Jae Yeong;Park, Byung Gun;Lee, Jong Soo
    • Journal of The Korean Ophthalmological Society
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    • v.59 no.12
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    • pp.1129-1136
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    • 2018
  • Purpose: To compare the postoperative clinical outcomes after cataract surgery and implantation using the BunnyLens $MF^{(R)}$ and $ReSTOR^{(R)}$ multifocal intraocular lenses. Methods: Sixty-five eyes implanted with multifocal intraocular lenses were divided into two groups involving either $ReSTOR^{(R)}$ (39 eyes) or BunnyLens $MF^{(R)}$ (26 eyes) lenses. In these two groups, the distant and near visual acuity, astigmatism, spherical equivalent, and contrast sensitivity test were examined at preoperative and postoperative 1 week, 8 weeks, and 24 weeks. We compared the clinical efficacy between the two groups before and after cataract surgery using statistical analysis. Results: The mean value of distant and near visual acuity, and spherical equivalent of both groups after intraocular lens implantation were significantly improved, compared with the preoperative values (p < 0.05), while there was no significant differences between the two groups (p > 0.05). The means of postoperative distant and near visual acuity, astigmatism, and contrast sensitivity test were not significantly different between $ReSTOR^{(R)}$ and BunnyLens $MF^{(R)}$ lenses (p > 0.05). The mean numeric error of spherical equivalent at the final postoperative 24 weeks was $-0.17{\pm}0.50$ diopters (D) for the $ReSTOR^{(R)}$ lenses and $-0.34{\pm}0.52D$ for the BunnyLens $MF^{(R)}$ lenses (p > 0.05). Conclusions: BunnyLens $MF^{(R)}$ and $ReSTOR^{(R)}$ lenses showed no significant difference in clinical efficacy, including distance and near vision, spherical equivalent error, and contrast sensitivity test after cataract surgery. However, it should be noted that BunnyLens $MF^{(R)}$ lenses had a tendency toward myopic shift compared with $ReSTOR^{(R)}$ lenses.

Biological Characteristics of Protein Hydrolysates Derived from Yoensan Ogae Meat by Various Commercial Proteases (프로테아제 종류에 따른 이용한 연산 오계육 단백질 가수분해물의 아미노산 및 생리활성 특성)

  • Ha, Yoo Jin;Kim, Joo Shin;Yoo, Sun Kyun
    • Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.1018-1027
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    • 2019
  • Natural-derived protein-derived low molecular weight peptides have been known to have physiological activities such as antioxidant, hypertension relief, immunomodulation, pain relief and antimicrobial activity. In this study, the low-molecular peptides were produced using commercial proteases (alcalase, bromelain, flavourzyme, neutrase, papain, protamex), and the antioxidant activity (DPPH scavenging activity, superoxide radical scavenging activity, hydroxy radical scavenging activity, and metals chelation capacity), constituent amino acid and molecular weight of the peptide were analyzed. Enzyme reaction was performed by adding 50 g of chopped Ogae meat slurry and 2%(w/v) protein enzyme into the enzyme reactor for 2 h at a pH of 6 and a temperature of $60^{\circ}C$. The degree of hydrolysis(%) after the reaction ranged from $36.65{\pm}4.10%$ to $70.75{\pm}5.29%$. The highest degree of hydrolysis of protamex was 46.3%, and the highest value of papain hydrolysate was $70.75{\pm}5.29%$. On the other hand, alcalase hydrolysate showed the lowest value of $36.65{\pm}4.10%$. Bromelain-treated low molecular weight peptides showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity and the lowest scavenging activity of alcalase-treated peptides. Superoxide radical scavenging activity showed that bromelain treated low molecular peptide showed the highest radical scavenging activity of 50% or more. Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity ranged from about 16.73 to 69.16%, the highest among bromelain-treated low molecular peptides. $Fe^{2+}$ chelation abilities showed a distribution between about 17.85 to 47.84%. The chelation capacity of the hydrolysates was not significantly different without any difference to the enzymes used. The results of amino acid analysis showed differences between hydrolysates of alcalase, bromelain, flavourzyme, neutrase, papain, and protamex enzymes. The most amino acid was glutamic acid. The molecular weight distribution of the enzyme hydrolyzates was in the range of 300-2,000 Da, although the molecular weight distribution differed according to the treated enzymes.

Suicide Ideation and the Related Factors among Korean Adults by Gender (한국 성인의 성별 자살생각 관련 요인 분석)

  • Park, Eunok
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.39 no.3
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    • pp.161-175
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    • 2014
  • Objectives: This study investigates the prevalence of suicide ideation and its the related factors by gender among Korean adults. Methods: National cross-sectional data from the database of the first and second year of $5^{th}$ Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (KNHANES V-1, V-2) were used for this study. 13,165 adults (${\geq}20$ years) were included in this analysis. Results: The prevalence of suicide ideation was 9.8% for men, 18.9% for women. Renal failure, depression, melancholy, stress, perceived health status, and smoking were significant risk factors among both men and women for suicide ideation. Divorced, separated or widowed of marital status and severe physical activity were related factors of suicide ideation for men. Low educational attainment, and alcohol dependency were associated factors of suicide ideation for women. Conclusions: There was gender difference of prevalence and risk factors of suicide ideation. These gender differences should be considered for planning and implementing suicide prevention program.

Functional Brain Mapping Using $H_2^{15}O$ Positron Emission Tomography ( I ): Statistical Parametric Mapping Method ($H_2^{15}O$ 양전자단층촬영술을 이용한 뇌기능 지도 작성(I): 통계적 파라메터 지도작성법)

  • Lee, Dong-Soo;Lee, Jae-Sung;Kim, Kyeong-Min;Chung, June-Key;Lee, Myung-Chul
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.225-237
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    • 1998
  • Purpose: We investigated the statistical methods to compose the functional brain map of human working memory and the principal factors that have an effect on the methods for localization. Materials and Methods: Repeated PET scans with successive four tasks, which consist of one control and three different activation tasks, were performed on six right-handed normal volunteers for 2 minutes after bolus injections of 925 MBq $H_2^{15}O$ at the intervals of 30 minutes. Image data were analyzed using SPM96 (Statistical Parametric Mapping) implemented with Matlab (Mathworks Inc., U.S.A.). Images from the same subject were spatially registered and were normalized using linear and nonlinear transformation methods. Significant difference between control and each activation state was estimated at every voxel based on the general linear model. Differences of global counts were removed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with global activity as covariate. Using the mean and variance for each condition which was adjusted using ANCOVA, t-statistics was performed on every voxel To interpret the results more easily, t-values were transformed to the standard Gaussian distribution (Z-score). Results: All the subjects carried out the activation and control tests successfully. Average rate of correct answers was 95%. The numbers of activated blobs were 4 for verbal memory I, 9 for verbal memory II, 9 for visual memory, and 6 for conjunctive activation of these three tasks. The verbal working memory activates predominantly left-sided structures, and the visual memory activates the right hemisphere. Conclusion: We conclude that rCBF PET imaging and statistical parametric mapping method were useful in the localization of the brain regions for verbal and visual working memory.

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Studies on the Physical and Chemical Denatures of Cocoon Bave Sericin throughout Silk Filature Processes (제사과정 전후에서의 견사세리신의 물리화학적 성질변화에 관한 연구)

  • 남중희
    • Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.21-48
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    • 1974
  • The studies were carried out to disclose the physical and chemical properties of sericin fraction obtained from silk cocoon shells and its characteristics of swelling and solubility. The following results were obtained. 1. The physical and chemical properties of sericin fraction. 1) In contrast to the easy water soluble sericin, the hard soluble sericin contains fewer amino acids include of polar side radical while the hard soluble amino acid sach as alanine and leucine were detected. 2) The easy soluble amino acids were found mainly on the outer part of the fibroin, but the hard soluble amino acids were located in the near parts to the fibroin. 3) The swelling and solubility of the sericin could be hardly assayed by the analysis of the amino acid composition, and could be considered to tee closely related to the compound of the sericin crystal and secondary structure. 4) The X-ray patterns of the cocoon filament were ring shape, but they disappeared by the degumming treatment. 5) The sericin of tussah silkworm (A. pernyi), showed stronger circular patterns in the meridian than the regular silkworm (Bombyx mori). 6) There was no pattern difference between Fraction A and B. 7) X-ray diffraction patterns of the Sericin 1, ll and 111 were similar except interference of 8.85A (side chain spacing). 8) The amino acids above 150 in molecular weight such as Cys. Tyr. Phe. His. and Arg. were not found quantitatively by the 60 minutes-hydrolysis (6N-HCI). 9) The X-ray Pattern of 4.6A had a tendency to disappear with hot-water, ether, and alcohol treatment. 10) The partial hydrolysis of sericin showed a cirucular interference (2A) on the meridian. 11) The sericin pellet after hydrolysis was considered to be peptides composed with specific amino acids. 12) The decomposing temperature of Sericin 111 was higher than that of Sericin I and II. 13) Thermogram of the inner portioned sericin of the cocoon shell had double endothermic peaks at 165$^{\circ}C$, and 245$^{\circ}C$, and its decomposing temperature was higher than that of other portioned sericin. 14) The infrared spectroscopic properties among sericin I, II, III and sericin extracted from each layer portion of the cocoon shell were similar. II. The characteristics of seriein swelling and solubility related with silk processing. 1) Fifteen minutes was required to dehydrate the free moisture of cocoon shells with centrifugal force controlled at 13${\times}$10$^4$ dyne/g at 3,000 R.P.M. B) It took 30 minutes for the sericin to show positive reaction with the Folin-Ciocaltue reagent at room temperature. 3) The measurable wave length of the visible radiation was 500-750m${\mu}$, and the highest absorbance was observed at the wave length of 650m${\mu}$. 4) The colorimetric analysis should be conducted at 650mu for low concentration (10$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$), and at 500m${\mu}$ for the higher concentration to obtain an exact analysis. 5) The absorbing curves of sericin and egg albumin at different wave lengths were similar, but the absorbance of the former was slightly higher than that of the latter. 6) The quantity of the sericin measured by the colorimetric analysis, turned out to be less than by the Kjeldahl method. 7) Both temperature and duration in the cocoon cooking process has much effect on the swelling and solubility of the cocoon shells, but the temperature was more influential than the duration of the treatment. 8) The factorial relation between the temperature and the duration of treatment of the cocoon cooking to check for siricin swelling and solubility showed that the treatment duration should be gradually increased to reach optimum swelling and solubility of sericin with low temperature(70$^{\circ}C$) . High temperature, however, showed more sharp increase. 9) The more increased temperature in the drying of fresh cocoons, the less the sericin swelling and solubility were obtained. 10) In a specific cooking duration, the heavier the cocoon shell is, the less the swelling and solubility were obtained. 11) It was considered that there are differences in swelling or solubility between the filaments of each cocoon layer. 12) Sericin swelling or solubility in the cocoon filament was decreased by the wax extraction.. 13) The ionic surface active agent accelerated the swelling and solubility of the sericin at the range of pH 6-7. 14) In the same conditions as above, the cation agent was absorbed into the sericin. 15) In case of the increase of Ca ang Mg in the reeling water, its pH value drifted toward the acidity. 16) A buffering action was observed between the sericin and the water hardness constituents in the reeling water. 17) The effect of calcium on the swelling and solubility of the sericin was more moderate than that of magnecium. 18) The solute of the water hardness constituents increased the electric conductivity in the reeling water.

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An Exploratory Study on Marketing of Financial Services Companies in Korea (한국 금융회사 마케팅 현황에 대한 탐색 연구)

  • Chun, Sung Yong
    • Asia Marketing Journal
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.111-133
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    • 2010
  • Marketing financial services used to be easier. Today, the competition in financial services is fierce. Not only has the competition become more intense, financial services have also changed structurally. In an environment with various customer needs and severe competitions, the marketing in financial services industry is getting more difficult and more important than before. However, there are still not enough studies on financial services marketing in Korea whereas lots of research papers have been published frequently in some international journals. The purpose of this paper is (1)to review the literature on financial services marketing, (2)to investigate current marketing activities based on in-depth interview with financial marketing managers in Korea, and (3)to suggest some implications for future research on the financial services marketing. Financial products are not consumer products. In fact, they are not products at all in the way product marketing is usually described. Nor are they altogether like services. The financial industry operates in a unique way, and its marketing tasks are correspondingly complex. However, the literature review shows that there has been a lack of basic studies which dealt with inherent characteristics of financial services marketing compared to the research on marketing in other industries. Many studies in domestic marketing journals have so far focused only on the general customer behaviors and the special issues in some financial industries. However, for more effective financial services marketing, we have to answer following questions. Is there any difference between financial service marketing and consumer packaged goods marketing? What are the differences between the financial services marketing and other services marketing such as education and health services? Are there different ways of marketing among banks, securities firms, insurance firms, and credit card companies? In other words, we need more detailed research as well as basic studies about the financial services marketing. For example, we need concrete definitions of financial services marketing, bank marketing, securities firm marketing, and etc. It is also required to compare the characteristics of each marketing within the financial services industry. The products sold in each market have different characteristics such as duration and degree of risk-taking. It means that there are sub-categories in financial services marketing. We have to consider them in the future research on the financial services marketing. It is also necessary to study customer decision making process in the financial markets. There have been little research on how customers search and process information, compare alternatives, make final decision, and repeat their choices. Because financial services have some unique characteristics, we need different understandings in the customer behaviors compared to the behaviors in other service markets. And also considering the rapid growth in financial markets and upcoming severe competition between domestic and global financial companies, it is time to start more systematic and detailed research on financial services marketing in Korea. In the second part of this paper, I analyzed the results of in-depth interview with 20 marketing managers of financial services companies in Korea. As a result, I found that the role of marketing departments in Korean financial companies are mainly focused on the short-term activities such as sales support, promotion, and CRM data analysis although the size and history of marketing departments to some extent show a sign of maturity. Most companies established official marketing departments before 2001. Average number of employees in a marketing department is about 58. However, marketing managers in eight companies(40% of the sample) still think that the purpose of marketing is only to support and manage general sales activities. It shows that some companies have sales-oriented concept rather than marketing-oriented concept. I also found three key words which marketing managers think importantly in financial services markets. They are (1)Trust in customer relationship, (2)Brand differentiation, and (3)Rapid response to customer needs. 50% of the sample support that "Trust" is the most important key word in the financial services marketing. It is interesting that 80% of banks and securities companies think that "Trust" is the most important thing, whereas managers in credit card companies consider "Rapid response to customer needs" as the most important key word in their market. In addition, there are different problems recognition of marketing managers depending on the types of financial industries they belong to. For example, in the case of banks and insurance companies, marketing managers consider "a lack of communication with other departments" as the most serious problem. On the other hand, in the case of securities firms, "a lack of utilization of customer data" is the most serious problem. These results imply that there are different important factors for the customer satisfaction depending on the types of financial industries, and managers have to consider them when marketing financial products in more effective ways. For example, It will be necessary for marketing managers to study different important factors which affect customer satisfaction, repeat purchase, degree of risk-taking, and possibility of cross-selling according to the types of financial industries. I also suggested six hypothetical propositions for the future research.

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Categorizing Quality Features of Franchisees: In the case of Korean Food Service Industry (프랜차이즈 매장 품질요인의 속성분류: 국내 외식업을 중심으로)

  • Byun, Sook-Eun;Cho, Eun-Seong
    • Journal of Distribution Research
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.95-115
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    • 2011
  • Food service is the major part of franchise business in Korea, accounting for 69.9% of the brands in the market. As the food service industry becomes mature, many franchisees have struggled to survive in the market. In general, consumers have higher levels of expectation toward service quality of franchised outlets compared that of (non-franchised) independent ones. They also tend to believe that franchisees deliver standardized service at the uniform food price, regardless of their locations. Such beliefs seem to be important reasons that consumers prefer franchised outlets to independent ones. Nevertheless, few studies examined the impact of qualify features of franchisees on customer satisfaction so far. To this end, this study examined the characteristics of various quality features of franchisees in the food service industry, regarding their relationship with customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The quality perception of heavy-users was also compared with that of light-users in order to find insights for developing differentiated marketing strategy for the two segments. Customer satisfaction has been understood as a one-dimensional construct while there are recent studies that insist two-dimensional nature of the construct. In this regard, Kano et al. (1984) suggested to categorize quality features of a product or service into five types, based on their relation to customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction: Must-be quality, Attractive quality, One-dimensional quality, Indifferent quality, and Reverse quality. According to the Kano model, customers are more dissatisfied when Must-be quality(M) are not fulfilled, but their satisfaction does not arise above neutral no matter how fully the quality fulfilled. In comparison, customers are more satisfied with a full provision of Attactive quality(A) but manage to accept its dysfunction. One-dimensional quality(O) results in satisfaction when fulfilled and dissatisfaction when not fulfilled. For Indifferent quality(I), its presence or absence influences neither customer satisfaction nor dissatisfaction. Lastly, Reverse quality(R) refers to the features whose high degree of achievement results in customer dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction. Meanwhile, the basic guidelines of the Kano model have a limitation in that the quality type of each feature is simply determined by calculating the mode statistics. In order to overcome such limitation, the relative importance of each feature on customer satisfaction (Better value; b) and dissatisfaction (Worse value; w) were calculated following the formulas below (Timko, 1993). The Better value indicates how much customer satisfaction is increased by providing the quality feature in question. In contrast, the Worse value indicates how much customer dissatisfaction is decreased by providing the quality feature. Better = (A + O)/(A+O+M+I) Worse = (O+M)/(A+O+M+I)(-1) An on-line survey was performed in order to understand the nature of quality features of franchisees in the food service industry by applying the Kano Model. A total of twenty quality features (refer to the Table 2) were identified as the result of literature review in franchise business and a pre-test with fifty college students in Seoul. The potential respondents of our main survey was limited to the customers who have visited more than two restaurants/stores of the same franchise brand. Survey invitation e-mails were sent out to the panels of a market research company and a total of 257 responses were used for analysis. Following the guidelines of Kano model, each of the twenty quality features was classified into one of the five types based on customers' responses to a set of questions: "(1) how do you feel if the following quality feature is fulfilled in the franchise restaurant that you visit," and "(2) how do you feel if the following quality feature is not fulfilled in the franchise restaurant that you visit." The analyses revealed that customers' dissatisfaction with franchisees is commonly associated with the poor level of cleanliness of the store (w=-0.872), kindness of the staffs(w=-0.890), conveniences such as parking lot and restroom(w=-0.669), and expertise of the staffs(w=-0.492). Such quality features were categorized as Must-be quality in this study. While standardization or uniformity across franchisees has been emphasized in franchise business, this study found that consumers are interested only in uniformity of price across franchisees(w=-0.608), but not interested in standardizations of menu items, interior designs, customer service procedures, and food tastes. Customers appeared to be more satisfied when the franchise brand has promotional events such as giveaways(b=0.767), good accessibility(b=0.699), customer loyalty programs(b=0.659), award winning history(b=0.641), and outlets in the overseas market(b=0.506). The results are summarized in a matrix form in Table 1. Better(b) and Worse(w) index indicate relative importance of each quality feature on customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction, respectively. Meanwhile, there were differences in perceiving the quality features between light users and heavy users of any specific franchise brand in the food service industry. Expertise of the staffs was labeled as Must-be quality for heavy users but Indifferent quality for light users. Light users seemed indifferent to overseas expansion of the brand and offering new menu items on a regular basis, while heavy users appeared to perceive them as Attractive quality. Such difference may come from their different levels of involvement when they eat out. The results are shown in Table 2. The findings of this study help practitioners understand the quality features they need to focus on to strengthen the competitive power in the food service market. Above all, removing the factors that cause customer dissatisfaction seems to be the most critical for franchisees. To retain loyal customers of the franchise brand, it is also recommended for franchisor to invest resources in the development of new menu items as well as training programs for the staffs. Lastly, if resources allow, promotional events, loyalty programs, overseas expansion, award-winning history can be considered as tools for attracting more customers to the business.

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Evaluation of Multiple System Atrophy and Early Parkinson's Disease Using $^{123)I$-FP-CIT SPECT ($^{123)I$-FP-CIT SPECT를 이용한 다중계위축증 및 조기 파킨슨병에서의 평가)

  • Oh, So-Won;Kim, Yu-Kyeong;Lee, Byung-Chul;Kim, Bom-Sahn;Kim, Ji-Sun;Kim, Jong-Min;Kim, Sang-Eun
    • Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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    • v.43 no.1
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    • pp.10-18
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    • 2009
  • Purpose: We investigated quantification of dopaminergic transporter (DAT) and serotonergic transporter (SERT) on $^{123}I$-FP-CIT SPECT for differentiating between multiple systemic atrophy (MSA) and idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). Materials and Methods: N-fluoropropyl-$2{\beta}$-carbomethoxy-$3{\beta}$-4-[$^{123}I$]-iodophenylnortropane SPECT ($^{123}I$-FP-CIT SPECT) was performed in 8 patients with MSA (mean age: $64.0{\pm}4.5yrs$, m:f=6:2), 13 with early IPD (mean age: $65.5{\pm}5.3yrs$, m:f=9:4), and 12 healthy controls (mean age: $63.3{\pm}5.7yrs$, m:f=8:4). Standard regions of interests (ROls) of striatum to evaluate DAT, and hypothalamus and midbrain for SERT were drawn on standard template images and applied to each image taken 4 hours after radiotracer injection. Striatal specific binding for DAT and hypothalamic and midbrain specific binding for SERT were calculated using region/reference ratio based on the transient equilibrium method. Group differences were tested using ANOVA with the postHoc analysis. Results: DAT in the whole striatum and striatal subregions were significantly decreased in both patient groups with MSA and early IPD, compared with healthy control (p<0.05 in all). In early IPD, a significant increase in the uptake ratio in anterior and posterior putamen and a trend of increase in caudate to putamen ratio was observed. In MSA, the decrease of DAT was accompanied with no difference in the striatal uptake pattern compared with healthy controls. Regarding the brain regions where $^{123}I$-FP-CIT binding was predominant by SERT, MSA patients showed a decrease in the binding of $^{123}I$-FP-CIT in the pons compared with controls as well as early IPD patients (MSA: $0.22{\pm}0.1$ healthy controls: $0.33{\pm}0.19$, IPD: $0.29{\pm}0.19$), however, it did not reach the statistical significance. Conclusion: In this study, the differential patterns in the reduction of DAT in the striatum and the reduction of pontine $^{123}I$-FP-CIT binding predominant by SERT could be observed in MSA patients on $^{123}I$-FP-CIT SPECT. We suggest that the quantification of SERT as well as DAT using $^{123}I$-FP-CIT SPECT is helpful to differentiate parkinsonian disorders in early stage.

Analysis of Neurological Complications on Antegrade Versus Retrograde Cerebral Perfusion in the Surgical Treatment of Aortic Dissection (대동맥 박리에서 전방성 뇌 관류와 역행성 뇌 관류의 신경학적 분석)

  • Park Il;Kim Kyu Tae;Lee Jong Tae;Chang Bong Hyun;Lee Eung Bae;Cho Joon Yong
    • Journal of Chest Surgery
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    • v.38 no.7 s.252
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    • pp.489-495
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    • 2005
  • In the surgical treatment of aortic dissection, aortic arch replacement under total circulatory arrest is often performed after careful inspection to determine the severity of disease progression. Under circulatory arrest, antegrade or retrograde cerebral perfusion is required for brain protection. Recently, antegrade cerebral perfusion has been used more, because of the limitation of retrograde cerebral perfusion. This study is to compare these two methods especially in the respect to neurological complications. Material and Method: Forty patients with aortic dissection involving aortic arch from May 2000 to May 2004 were enrolled in this study, and the methods of operation, clinical recovery, and neurological complications were retrospectively reviewed. Result: In the ACP (antegrade cerebral perfusion) group, axillary artery cannulation was performed in 10 out of 15 cases. In the RCP (retrograde cerebral perfusion) group, femoral artery Cannulation was performed in 24 out of 25 cases. The average esophageal and rectal temperature under total circulatory arrest was $17.2^{\circ}C\;and\;22.8^{\circ}C$ in the group A, and $16.0^{\circ}C\;and\;19.7^{\circ}C$ in the group B, respectively. Higher temperature in the ACP group may have brought the shorter operation and cardiopulmonary bypass time. However, the length of period for postoperative clinical recovery and admission duration did not show any statistically significant differences. Eleven out of the total 15 cases in the ACP group and thirteen out of the total 25 cases in the RCP group showed neurological complication but did not show statistically significant difference. In each group, there were 5 cases with permanent neurological complications. All 5 cases in the ACP group showed some improvements that enabled routine exercise. However all 5 cases in RCP group did not show significant improvements. Conclusion: The Antegrade, cerebral perfusion, which maintains orthordromic circulation, brings moderate degree of hypothermia and, therefore, shortens the operation time and cardiopulmonary bypass time. We concluded that Antegrade cerebral perfusion is safe and can be used widely under total circulatory arrest.