• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.67-81
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• 2012

The physical, chemical, and biological properties of clogging materials formed within groundwater wells in the Mt. Geumjeong area, Busan, Korea, were characterized. The particle size distribution (PSD) of clogging materials was measured by a laser analyzer. XRD, SEM, and TEM analyses were performed to obtain mineralogical information on the clogging materials, with an emphasis on identifying and characterizing the mineral species. In most cases, PSD data exhibited an near log-normal distribution; however, variations in frequency distribution were found in some intervals (bi-or trimodal distributions), raising the possibility that particles originated from several sources or were formed at different times. XRD data revealed that the clogging materials were mainly amorphous ironhydroxides such as goethite, ferrihydrite, and lapidocrocite, with lesser amounts of Fe, Mn, and Zn metals and silicates such as quartz, feldspar, micas, and smectite. Reddish brown material was amorphous hydrous ferriciron (HFO), and dark red and dark black materials were Fe, Mn-hydroxides. Greyish white and pale brown materials consisted of silicates. SEM observations indicated that the clogging materials were mainly HFO associated with iron bacteria such as Gallionella and Leptothrix, with small amounts of rock fragments. In TEM analysis, disseminated iron particles were commonly observed in the cell and sheath of iron bacteria, indicating that iron was precipitated in close association with the metabolism of bacterial activity. Rock-forming minerals such as quartz, feldspar, and micas were primarily derived from soils or granite aquifers, which are widely distributed in the study area. The results indicate the importance of elucidating the formation mechanisms of clogging materials to ensure sustainable well capacity.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.5-10
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• 2012

Currently, the rewards programs offered by many companies to strengthen customer relationships have been working quite well. In addition, many companies' rewards programs, designed for stabilizing revenue, are recognized to be effective. However, these rewards programs are not significantly differentiated between companies and there are no accurate conclusions currently, which can be made about their effects. Because of this, a company with a customer rewards program may not comprehend the true level of active participation. In this environment some companies' rewards programs inadvertently hinder business profitability as a side effect while attempting to increase customer loyalty. In fact, airline and oil companies pass on the financial cost of their programs to the customer, and as a result, they have been criticized publicly. The result of this is that the corporations with bad rewards programs tend to get a bad image. In this study of stores' rewards programs, we centered our focus on the design of the program. The main problem in this study is to recognize the financial value of the rewards program and whether it can create a competitive edge for the companies despite the cost issues experienced by them. Customers receiving financial rewards for their business may be just as satisfied with a particular company or store versus those who are not, and the program, perhaps, does not form a distinctive competitive advantage. When the customer is deciding between competing companies to secure their product needs with, we wanted to figure out how much of an affect a valuable reward program had on their decision making. To evaluate this, we set the first hypothesis as, "based on the level of involvement of the customers, there is a difference between customers' preferences for rewards programs." In the results of Experiment 1 we saw that in a financial compensation program for high-involvement groups and low-involvement groups, significant differences appeared and Hypothesis 1 was partially supported. As for the second hypothesis that "customers will have different preferences between a financial rewards programs (SE) and a joint rewards programs (JE)," the analysis showed that the preference for JE was significantly higher than that for other programs. In addition, through Experiment 2, we were able to find meaningful results, which revealed that consumers have shown a significant difference in their preferences between SE and JE. The purpose of these experiments was to enable the designing of a rewards program by learning how to enhance service information distribution and strengthen customer relationships. From the results, there should be a great amount of value for future service-related endeavors and academic research programs. The research is significant, because the results can be found to have a positive effect on reward program designs however, it does have the following limitations. First, this study was performed using an experiment, and all experiments have limitations. Second, although there was an individual evaluation and a joint evaluation, setting a proper evaluation criteria was difficult. In this study, 1,000 Korean won (KRW) in the individual evaluation had a value of 2 points, and, in the joint evaluation, 1,000 KRW had a value of 1 point. There may have been alternative ways to differentiate the evaluations to obtain the proper results. In this study, since there was no funding, the experiments were performed orally however, this was complementary to the study. Third, the subjects who participated in this experiment were students. Conducting this study through experimentation was unavoidable for us, and future research should be conducted using an actual program with the target customers.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.33-41
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• 2010

In the age of globalization, effective and efficient corporate management is becoming more important as domestic and international business circumstances changes. In the middle of endless changes in business circumstances, fast reaction to customers and market, and offering customized goods and service became essential. In this respect, CRM designed to utilize customer information scientifically and systematically, has become an essential system and marketing strategy to enhance corporate competitiveness. CRM has placed the importance of customers in the front of marketing and has focused every process and business minds on customers. Recent change in the market and the trend of establishing and introducing CRM system has lead us to concentrate on the introduction of CRM in the financial institutions. This study searched for several views about CRM in academic and industrial papers. Through theoretical approach on CRM, the background of the introduction of CRM, the purpose of CRM, the characteristic and application of CRM, and the expected effect of CRM will be discussed. This study is focused on financial institutions where CRM is widely used. And through documents about examples of the introduction of CRM, the status of the establishment of domestic CRM and the necessity and trend of CRM will be discussed. Also the problem of CRM in the financial institutions and the improvement of CRM in domestic banks will be analyzed. When discussing CRM in the financial area, customers are the main source of corporate profit and through relationship management with the customers enhancing loyalty and maximizing profit can be obtained. Especially in CRM in financial institutions, maintaining existing customers makes higher profit ratio, so repurchasing and cross selling becomes important for obtaining lifetime value of existing customers who contribute to most of the profit of corporations. As a result, CRM should be completely customer oriented. CRM in financial institutions is not merely marketing work, but organizational competence which is made up of standardized work process through total process integration inside the corporation. Corporations which plan to introduce CRM should analyze the characteristics and conditions of corporations and establish purpose and strategy of CRM. And they need long term view to find out the factors which best fit for the introduction of CRM. To enable this, strategy composed of daily marketing activity and CRM concept is necessary. Also continued improvement through drill and training for operating organization should be followed to maintain CRM well. And corporate culture must settle customer as the center of corporate value. The race for introducing and improving CRM has already begun. CRM should not be regarded as a choice. It should be accepted as something essential. In this reality financial institutions should solve subdivision problem of customers and necessity of customers with the mind of 'customer's profit is my profit'. Customer focused management should not be emphasized only by words. Efforts like viewing from the customer's point must be nurtured to provide methods to help customers. That is, we should not just follow what is done in foreign countries. We should solve the problem of our customers according to the situation of our country, our industry, our corporation. Then we can gain the trust of customers, and the value derived from the customers will become the background of CRM which will lead the corporation to success.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.264-268
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• 2016

The nursery test against rice blast in Korea from 2014 to 2015 was analyzed. The average of disease severity of leaf blast in 12 sites showed $3.7{\pm}2.1$ in 2014 and $4.4{\pm}2.1$ in 2015. Disease severity of leaf blast in Icheon and Cheolwon was increased ranging from $2.8{\pm}2.2$ in 2014 to $6.3{\pm}1.8$ in 2015. Using a designation system, a total of 588 isolates collected those years were categorized into 34 races in 2014 and 51 races in 2015 based on the reaction pattern of Korean differential varieties. The blast isolates of 2015 were more diverse than those in 2014. The ratios of KI race to KJ race were 54:46 in 2014 and 70:30 in 2015; however, the predominant race population was KJ-301 as 16%, and KI-101 as 15% in 2014 and 2015, respectively. These results indicate that the distribution of the blast races is getting more diverse in Korea, therefore, this research would provide the possibility to predict race distribution and change to prevent the outbreak of rice blast and will also serve as a useful information for breeding of resistant rice cultivar against blast.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7633-7640
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• 2015

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide and it is responsible for most cases of cervical uterine cancer. Although HPV infections of the cervix do not always progress to cancer, 90% of cervical cancer cases have been found to be associated with high risk HPV (HR-HPV) infection. HPV DNA testing is widely used, along with Papanicolaou (Pap) testing, to screen for cervical abnormalities. However, there are no data on the prevalence of genotype-specific HPV infections assessed by measuring HPV E6/E7 mRNA in women representative of the Chinese population across a broad age range. Materials and Methods: In the present study, we compared the results with the CervicGen HPV RT-qDx assay, which detects 16 HR-HPV genotypes (Alpha-9: HPV 16, 31, 33, 35, 52, and 58; Alpha-7: HPV 18, 39, 45, 51, 59, and 68; and Alpha-5, 6: HPV 53, 56, 66, and 69), and the REBA HPV-ID assay, which detects 32 HPV genotypes based on the reverse blot hybridization assay (REBA) for the detection of oncogenic HPV infection according to cytological diagnosis. We also investigated the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV infection with a total of 324 liquid-based cytology samples collected in western Shandong province, East China. Results: The overall HPV prevalences determined by HPV DNA and HPV E6/E7 mRNA assays in this study were 79.9% (259/324) and 55.6% (180/324), respectively. Although the positivity of HPV E6/E7 mRNA expression was significantly lower than HPV DNA positivity, the HPV E6/E7 mRNA assay showed greater specificity than the HPV DNA assay (88.6% vs. 48.1%) in normal cytology samples. The prevalence of Alpha-9 (HPV 16, 31, 33, 35, 52, and 58) HPV infection among these women accounted for up to 80.3% and 76.1% of the high-grade lesions detected in the HPV mRNA and DNA tests, respectively. The HR-HPV genotype distribution, based on HPV DNA and E6/E7 mRNA expression by age group in patients with cytologically confirmed lesions, was highest in women aged 40 to 49 years (35.9% for cytologically confirmed cases, Pearson correlation r value=0.993, p<0.001) for high-grade lesions. Among the oncogenic HR-HPV genotypes for all age groups, there was little difference in the distribution of HPV genotypes between the HPV DNA (HPV -16, 53, 18, 58, and 33) and HPV E6/E7 mRNA (HPV -16, 53, 33, 58, and 18) assays. HPV 16 was the most common HPV genotype among women with high-grade lesions. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the HPV E6/E7 mRNA assay can be a sensitive and specific tool for the screening and investigation of cervical cancer. Furthermore, it may provide useful information regarding the necessity for early cervical cancer screenings and the development of additional effective HPV vaccines, such as one for HPV 53 and 58. Additionally, gaining knowledge of HPV distribution may also inform us about ecological changes in HPV after the vaccination.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1354-1361
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• 2015

This study was aimed to investigate the distribution status and phylogenetic relationship of Myotis aurascens in Jeju Ialnd, which has not clearly confirmed until now. We found three groups of M. aurascens from three different cave enforcements (CEs). The bat population of Jeju Island had smaller levels of HBL and Hfcu, but greater levels of TL, EL, FAL, and Tra than those of the Korean Peninsula population. Jeju bats had wide range in the lengths of FAL and Hfcu comparing to those of European bats. From the bimonthly monitoring to each finding site, we have actually failed to observe those again, estimating that they use those CEs as the daily-roosting place in activating seasons. The sequences of CYTB and COI genes showed identical sequences among Jeju bats tested, indicating that they are maternally related. The results from molecular phylogeny showed that the sequences of these bats located on the same branch with those for M. aurascens in the phylogenetic trees. Besides, the nucleotide sequences of the Jeju bats showed the closest relation with that of Korean Peninsula. Consequently, these findings indicate that the bats of M. aurascens, verified the natural distribution in Jeju Island, have originated from a single maternal origin and differences in morphological and genetic backgrounds form those of Korean Peninsula and the other countries, and had probably immigrated via Korean Peninsula. These findings will contribute as basic information for understanding the migration history and biogeographic relationship of mammals on Jeju Island in East Asia.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.383-392
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• 2007

Karstic features and mining-related cavities not only lead to severe restrictions in land utilizations, but also constitute serious concern about geohazard and groundwater contamination. A microgravity survey was applied for detecting, mapping and monitoring karstic cavities in the test site at Muan prepared by KIGAM. The gravity data were collected using an AutoGrav CG-3 gravimeter at about 800 stations by 5 m interval along paddy paths. The density distribution beneath the profiles was drawn by two dimensional inversion based on the minimum support stabilizing functional, which generated better focused images of density discontinuities. We also imaged three dimensional density distribution by growing body inversion with solution from Euler deconvolution as a priori information. The density image showed that the cavities were dissolved, enlarged and connected into a cavity network system, which was supported by drill hole logs. A time-lapse microgravity was executed on the road in the test site for monitoring the change of the subsurface density distribution before and after grouting. The data were adjusted for reducing the effects due to the different condition of each survey, and inverted to density distributions. They show the change of density structure during the lapsed time, which implies the effects of grouting. This case history at the Muan test site showed that the microgravity with accuracy and precision of ${\mu}Gal$ is an effective and practical tool for detecting, mapping and monitoring the subsurface cavities.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.968-974
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• 2010

We assessed the feasibility of discrete wavelet transform (DWT) applied for the spectral processing to enhance the estimation performance quality of soil organic matters using visible-near infrared spectra and mapped their distribution via block Kriging model. Continuum-removal and $1^{st}$ derivative transform as well as Haar and Daubechies DWT were used to enhance spectral variation in terms of soil organic matter contents and those spectra were put into the PLSR (Partial Least Squares Regression) model. Estimation results using raw reflectance and transformed spectra showed similar quality with $R^2$ > 0.6 and RPD> 1.5. These values mean the approximation prediction on soil organic matter contents. The poor performance of estimation using DWT spectra might be caused by coarser approximation of DWT which not enough to express spectral variation based on soil organic matter contents. The distribution maps of soil organic matter were drawn via a spatial information model, Kriging. Organic contents of soil samples made Gaussian distribution centered at around 20 g $kg^{-1}$ and the values in the map were distributed with similar patterns. The estimated organic matter contents had similar distribution to the measured values even though some parts of estimated value map showed slightly higher. If the estimation quality is improved more, estimation model and mapping using spectroscopy may be applied in global soil mapping, soil classification, and remote sensing data analysis as a rapid and cost-effective method.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.110 no.3
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• pp.341-354
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• 2021

A large part of Gapyeong is occupied by Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) and Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) plantations. Abies holophylla stands are scattered throughout Gapyeong, but little information on their distribution is available. This study explored the potential of succession from planted species to native A. holophylla in plantations. Trees were inventoried and regeneration of A. holoplhylla and stand management history were examined in Korean pine, Japanese larch, and A. holophylla-dominated stands. The importance percentage of A. holophylla was the highest among species with a range of 36.1% to 79.1% in all stands and the density of A. holophylla in understory (DBH <2 cm or <1.3 m height) ranged from 50 to 5,820 trees ha^-1. Non-metric multidimensional scaling classified stands into four types, AN, AP, AM, and P. The AN type showed a reverse J-shape DBH distribution, which was similar to that in natural A. holophylla stands. Both AP and AM types included Korean pine plantations with A. holophylla seed trees within stands. For AP, A. holophylla competed with planted species in overstory and deciduous broadleaved species in understory. The AM type was once thinned from below, thus stem density in the mid DBH classes was lower than upper or lower DBH classes. The P type consisted of plantations without A. holophylla seed trees. However, understory regeneration of A. holophylla was abundant through seed supply from A. holophylla in adjacent stands. Plantations with A. holophylla seed trees within or in adjacent stands showed vigorous natural regeneration of A. holophylla, highlighting the potential for succession from planted species to native A. holophylla in the Gapyeong area. Further studies can help develop techniques to restore plantations to native species-dominated natural stands using ecological succession.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.127-137
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• 2014

The main purpose of this study is to estimate tradial growth response and to predict the potential spatial distribution of major tree species(Pinus densiflora, Quercus mongolica, Quercus spp., Castanea crenata and Larix kaempferi) in South Korea, considering climate and topographic factors. To estimate radial growth response, $5^{th}$ National Forest Inventory data, Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) and climatic data such as temperature and precipitation were used. Also, to predict the potential spatial distribution of major tree species, RCP 8.5 Scenario was applied. By our analysis, it was found that the rising temperature would have negative impacts on radial growth of Pinus densiflora, Castanea crenata and Larix kaempferi, and positive impacts on that of Quercus mongolica, Quercus spp.. Incremental precipitation would have positive effects on radial growth of Pinus densiflora and Quercus mongolica. When radial growth response considered by RCP 8.5 scenario, it was found that the radial growth of Pinus densiflora, Castanea crenata and Larix kaempferi would be more vulnerable than that of Quercus mongolica and Quercus spp. to temperature. According to the climate change scenario, Quercus spp. including Quercus mongolica would be expected to have greater abundance than its present status in South Korea. The result of this study would be helpful for understanding the impact of climatic factors on tree growth and for predicting the distribution of major tree species by climate change in South Korea.