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Comparison of Effectiveness about Image Quality and Scan Time According to Reconstruction Method in Bone SPECT (영상 재구성 방법에 따른 Bone SPECT 영상의 질과 검사시간에 대한 실효성 비교)

  • Kim, Woo-Hyun;Jung, Woo-Young;Lee, Ju-Young;Ryu, Jae-Kwang
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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    • v.13 no.1
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    • pp.9-14
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    • 2009
  • Purpose: Nowadays in the nuclear medicine, many studies and efforts are being made to reduce the scan time, as well as the waiting time to be needed to execute exams after injection of radionuclide medicines. Several methods are being used in clinic, such as developing new radionuclide compounds that enable to be absorbed into target organs more quickly and reducing acquisition scan time by increase the number of Gamma Camera detectors to examine. Each medical equipment manufacturer has improved the imaging process techniques to reduce scan time. In this paper, we tried to analyze the difference of image quality between FBP, 3D OSEM reconstruction methods that commercialized and being clinically applied, and Astonish reconstruction method (A kind of Iterative fast reconstruction method of Philips), also difference of image quality on scan time. Material and Methods: We investigated in 32 patients that examined the Bone SPECT from June to July 2008 at department of nuclear medicine, ASAN Medical Center in Seoul. 40sec/frame and 20sec/frame images were acquired that using Philips‘ PRECEDENCE 16 Gamma Camera and then reconstructed those images by using the Astonish (Philips’ Reconstruction Method), 3D OSEM and FBP methods. The blinded test was performed to the clinical interpreting physicians with all images analyzed by each reconstruction method for qualitative analysis. And we analyzed target to non target ratio by draws lesions as the center of disease for quantitative analysis. At this time, each image was analyzed with same location and size of ROI. Results: In a qualitative analysis, there was no significant difference by acquisition time changes in image quality. In a quantitative analysis, the images reconstructed Astonish method showed good quality due to better sharpness and distinguish sharply between lesions and peripheral lesions. After measuring each mean value and standard deviation value of target to non target ratio with 40 sec/frame and 20sec/frame images, those values are Astonish (40 sec-$13.91{\pm}5.62$ : 20 sec-$13.88{\pm}5.92$), 3D OSEM (40 sec-$10.60{\pm}3.55$ : 20 sec-$10.55{\pm}3.64$), FBP (40 sec-$8.30{\pm}4.44$ : 20 sec-$8.19{\pm}4.20$). We analyzed target to non target ratio from 20 sec and 40 sec images. And we analyzed the result, In Astonish (t=0.16, p=0.872), 3D OSEM (t=0.51, p=0.610), FBP (t=0.73, p=0.469) methods, there was no significant difference statistically by acquisition time change in image quality. But FBP indicates no statistical differences while some images indicate difference between 40 sec/frame and 20 sec/frame images by various factors. Conclusions: In the circumstance, try to find a solution to reduce nuclear medicine scan time, the development of nuclear medicine equipment hardware has decreased while software has marched forward at a relentless. Due to development of computer hardware, the image reconstruction time was reduced and the expanded capacity to restore enables iterative methods that couldn't be performed before due to technical limits. As imaging process technique developed, it reduced scan time and we could observe that image quality keep similar level. While keeping exam quality and reducing scan time can induce the reduction of patient's pain and sensory waiting time, also accessibility of nuclear medicine exam will be improved and it provide better service to patients and clinical physician who order exams. Consequently, those things make the image of department of nuclear medicine be improved. Concurrent Imaging - A new function that setting up each image acquisition parameter and enables to acquire images simultaneously with various parameters to once examine.

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Physicochemical Characteristics of Fermented Pig Manure Compost and Cow Manure Compost by Pelletizing (펠렛 가공처리에 따른 돈분 발효퇴비와 우분 발효퇴비의 물리화학적 특성)

  • Jeong, Kwang Hwa;Park, Chi Ho;Choi, Dong Yun;Kwak, Jung Hoon;Yang, Chang Bum;Kang, Ho
    • Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.118-127
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    • 2005
  • The best way to treat livestock manure is a recycling the manure to arable land as an organic fertilizer. In this study, fermented cow manure compost and pig manure compost were used as a raw materials for pelletizing. The changes of physicochemical properties of each composts and pellets were investigated. The aim of this research was to improve availability of livestock manure compost. In pelletizing process of fermented livestock manure compost, the optimal water content to make pellet was around 40%. When clay was mixed by volume more than 15% as a bonding agent, the condition of pelletizing process was beginning to improve. On a dry matter basis, the contents of N, P and K of fermented pig manure compost were 2.05%, 1.89% and 1.31%, respectively. After pelletizing, the contents of compost pelleted with the pig manure compost were 1.96% 1.73% and 0.89%, respectively. The same parameters of cow manure compost were 2.52%, 1.01% and 2.98%, respectively. After processing, the contents of compost pelleted with the cow manure compost were 2.45%, 1.10% and 2.93%, respectively. After pelletizing, there were little change in the content of heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, As and Hg. When pelleted compost dried naturally was submerged in water, it was completely dissolved in 30 minutes. On the other hand, Pelleted compost dried with the mechanical convection oven set $70^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours was completely dissolved in 960 minutes. The volume and weight of pelleted compost were decreased with time. After 30 days of storing, the weight of pelleted compost was decreased by 15% compared with its original weight. The volume of it was decreased by 17~25% in the same time.

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Structural change and electrical conductivity according to Sr content in Cu-doped LSM (La1-xSrxMn0.8Cu0.2O3) (Sr 함량이 Cu-doped LSM(La1-xSrxMn0.8Cu0.2O3)의 구조적변화와 전기전도도에 미치는 영향)

  • Ryu, Ji-Seung;Noh, Tai-Min;Kim, Jin-Seong;Lee, Hee-Soo
    • Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.78-83
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    • 2012
  • The structural change and the electrical conductivity with Sr content in $La_{1-x}Sr_xMn_{0.8}Cu_{0.2}O_3$ (LSMCu) were studied. $La_{0.8}Sr_{0.2}MnO_3$ (LSM) and $La_{1-x}Sr_xMn_{0.8}Cu_{0.2}O_3$ ($0.1{\leq}x{\leq}0.4$) were synthesized by EDTA citric complexing process (ECCP). A decrease in the lattice parameters and lattice volumes was observed with increase of Sr content, and these results were attributed to the increasing $Mn^{4+}$ ions and $Cu^{3+}$ ions in B-site. The electrical conductivity measured from $500^{\circ}C$ to $1000^{\circ}C$ was increased with increase of Sr content in the $0.1{\leq}x{\leq}0.3$ composition range, and it was 172.6 S/cm (at $750^{\circ}C$) and 177.7 S/cm (at $950^{\circ}C$, the maximum value) in x = 0.3. The electrical conductivity was decreased in x = 0.4 because of the presence of the second phase in the grain boundaries. The lattice volume was contracted by increase of $Mn^{4+}$ ions and $Cu^{3+}$ ions in B-site according to increase of Sr content and the electrical conductivity was increased with increase of charge carriers which were involved in the hopping mechanism.

Continuous Wet Oxidation of TCE over Supported Metal Oxide Catalysts (금속산화물 담지촉매상에서 연속 습식 TCE 분해반응)

  • Kim, Moon Hyeon;Choo, Kwang-Ho
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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    • v.43 no.2
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    • pp.206-214
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    • 2005
  • Heterogeneously-catalyzed oxidation of aqueous phase trichloroethylene (TCE) over supported metal oxides has been conducted to establish an approach to eliminate ppm levels of organic compounds in water. A continuous flow reactor system was designed to effect predominant reaction parameters in determining catalytic activity of the catalysts for wet TCE decomposition as a model reaction. 5 wt.% $CoO_x/TiO_2$ catalyst exhibited a transient period in activity vs. on-stream time behavior, suggesting that the surface structure of the $CoO_x$ might be altered with on-stream hours; regardless, it is probable to be the most promising catalyst. Not only could the bare support be inactive for the wet decomposition reaction at $36^{\circ}C$, but no TCE removal also occurred by the process of adsorption on $TiO_2$ surface. The catalytic activity was independent of all particle sizes used, thereby representing no mass transfer limitation in intraparticle diffusion. Very low TCE conversion appeared for $TiO_2$-supported $NiO_x$ and $CrO_x$ catalysts. Wet oxidation performance of supported Cu and Fe catalysts, obtained through an incipient wetness and ion exchange technique, was dependent primarily on the kinds of the metal oxides, in addition to the acidic solid supports and the preparation routes. 5 wt.% $FeO_x/TiO_2$ catalyst gave no activity in the oxidation reaction at $36^{\circ}C$, while 1.2 wt.% Fe-MFI was active for the wet decomposition depending on time on-stream. The noticeable difference in activity of the both catalysts suggests that the Fe oxidation states involved to catalytic redox cycle during the course of reaction play a significant role in catalyzing the wet decomposition as well as in maintaining the time on-stream activity. Based on the results of different $CoO_x$ loadings and reaction temperatures for the decomposition reaction at $36^{\circ}C$ with $CoO_x/TiO_2$, the catalyst possessed an optimal $CoO_x$ amount at which higher reaction temperatures facilitated the catalytic TCE conversion. Small amounts of the active ingredient could be dissolved by acidic leaching but such a process gave no appreciable activity loss of the $CoO_x$ catalyst.

Removal Characteristics of Lead-contaminated Soil at Military Shooting Range by Using Soil Washing Process (토양세척공정을 이용한 군사격장 납 오염토양의 제거특성)

  • Ahn, Sung-Kyun;Kim, Chul;Lee, Joung-Man;Lee, Gang-Choon;Shon, Zang-Ho;Jung, Byung-Gil;Yoon, Tae-Kyung
    • Clean Technology
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.390-397
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    • 2012
  • Removal characteristics of lead-contaminated soil at the military shooting range located in the Changwon city were studied experimentally using soil washing process. As a washing solution, hydrogen chloride (HCl) concentrations of 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 0.2 N were used, and soil : solution ratios were 1 : 2, 1 : 3, 1 : 4, and 1 : 5. Particle diameter of contaminated soil of 4-0.075 mm, and washing period of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 60, and 120 min were used as operating parameters. The optimum concentration of HCl solution was 0.1 N (56.3% of Pb removal efficiency) with 15 minutes operation period in views of economics, and the optimum soil : solution ratio was determined as 1 g : 3 mL for 69.7% of Pb removal efficiency with 0.1 N HCl and 15 minutes washing period. As washing period increased, removal efficiency was increased until 20 min of the removal efficiency of 75.3%, and then almost stable. Pb removal efficiency in soil particle diameters of 0.075 mm or more was ranged from 77.0% to 82.0%, but it was decreased to 52.8% in diameter of less than 0.075 mm. Therefore, the optimum cut-off size of the soil particle diameter was found less than 0.075 mm. Combined HCl solution and ultrasonic washing method showed better removal efficiency compared to only water or HCl washing method for particle sizes above 0.075 mm.

Optimum Population in Korea : An Economic Perspective (한국의 적정인구: 경제학적 관점)

  • Koo, Sung-Yeal
    • Korea journal of population studies
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.1-32
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    • 2005
  • The optimum population of a society or country can be defined as 'the population growth path that maximizes the welfare level of the society over the whole generations of both the present and the future, under the paths allowed by its endowments of production factors such as technology, capital and labor'. Thus, the optimum size or growth rate of population depends on: (i) the social welfare function, (ii) the production function, and (iii)demographic economic interrelationship which defines how the national income is disposed into consumption(birth and education of children included) and savings on the one hand and how the demographic and economic change induced thereby, in turn, affect production capacities on the other. The optimum population growth path can, then, be derived in the process of dynamic optimization of (i) under the constraints of (ii) and (iii), which will give us the optimum population growth rate defined as a function of parameters thereof. This paper estimates the optimum population growth rate of Korea by: specifying (i), (ii), and (iii) based on the recent development of economic theories, solving the dynamic optimization problem and inserting empirical estimates in Korea as the parametric values. The result shows that the optimum path of population growth in Korea is around TFR=1.81, which is affected most sensitively, in terms of the size of the partial elasticity around the optimum path, by the cost of children, share of capital income, consumption rate, time preference, population elasticity of utility function, etc. According to a survey implemented as a follow up study, there are quite a significant variations in the perceived cost of children, time preference rate, population elasticity of utility across different socio-economic classes in Korea, which implied that, compared to their counterparts, older generation and more highly educated classes prefer higher growth path for the population of Korea.

Distributional Characteristics of Fault Segments in Cretaceous and Tertiary Rocks from Southeastern Gyeongsang Basin (경상분지 남동부 일대의 백악기 및 제3기 암류에서 발달하는 단층분절의 분포특성)

  • Park, Deok-Won
    • The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.109-120
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    • 2018
  • The distributional characteristics of fault segments in Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks from southeastern Gyeongsang Basin were derived. The 267 sets of fault segments showing linear type were extracted from the curved fault lines delineated on the regional geological map. First, the directional angle(${\theta}$)-length(L) chart for the whole fault segments was made. From the related chart, the general d istribution pattern of fault segments was derived. The distribution curve in the chart was divided into four sections according to its overall shape. NNE, NNW and WNW directions, corresponding to the peaks of the above sections, indicate those of the Yangsan, Ulsan and Gaeum fault systems. The fault segment population show near symmetrical distribution with respect to $N19^{\circ}E$ direction corresponding to the maximum peak. Second, the directional angle-frequency(N), mean length(Lm), total length(Lt) and density(${\rho}$) chart was made. From the related chart, whole domain of the above chart was divided into 19 domains in terms of the phases of the distribution curve. The directions corresponding to the peaks of the above domains suggest the directions of representative stresses acted on rock body. Third, the length-cumulative frequency graphs for the 18 sub-populations were made. From the related chart, the value of exponent(${\lambda}$) increase in the clockwise direction($N10{\sim}20^{\circ}E{\rightarrow}N50{\sim}60^{\circ}E$) and counterclockwise direction ($N10{\sim}20^{\circ}W{\rightarrow}N50{\sim}60^{\circ}W$). On the other hand, the width of distribution of lengths and mean length decrease. The chart for the above sub-populations having mutually different evolution characteristics, reveals a cross section of evolutionary process. Fourth, the general distribution chart for the 18 graphs was made. From the related chart, the above graphs were classified into five groups(A~E) according to the distribution area. The lengths of fault segments increase in order of group E ($N80{\sim}90^{\circ}E{\cdot}N70{\sim}80^{\circ}E{\cdot}N80{\sim}90^{\circ}W{\cdot}N50{\sim}60^{\circ}W{\cdot}N30{\sim}40^{\circ}W{\cdot}N40{\sim}50^{\circ}W$) < D ($N70{\sim}80^{\circ}W{\cdot}N60{\sim}70^{\circ}W{\cdot}N60{\sim}70^{\circ}E{\cdot}N50{\sim}60^{\circ}E{\cdot}N40{\sim}50^{\circ}E{\cdot}N0{\sim}10^{\circ}W$) < C ($N20{\sim}30^{\circ}W{\cdot}N10{\sim}20^{\circ}W$) < B ($N0{\sim}10^{\circ}E{\cdot}N30{\sim}40^{\circ}E$) < A ($N20{\sim}30^{\circ}E{\cdot}N10{\sim}20^{\circ}E$). Especially the forms of graph gradually transition from a uniform distribution to an exponential one. Lastly, the values of the six parameters for fault-segment length were divided into five groups. Among the six parameters, mean length and length of the longest fault segment decrease in the order of group III ($N10^{\circ}W{\sim}N20^{\circ}E$) > IV ($N20{\sim}60^{\circ}E$) > II ($N10{\sim}60^{\circ}W$) > I ($N60{\sim}90^{\circ}W$) > V ($N60{\sim}90^{\circ}E$). Frequency, longest length, total length, mean length and density of fault segments, belonging to group V, show the lowest values. The above order of arrangement among five groups suggests the interrelationship with the relative formation ages of fault segments.

A Study on Market Size Estimation Method by Product Group Using Word2Vec Algorithm (Word2Vec을 활용한 제품군별 시장규모 추정 방법에 관한 연구)

  • Jung, Ye Lim;Kim, Ji Hui;Yoo, Hyoung Sun
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.26 no.1
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    • pp.1-21
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    • 2020
  • With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, various techniques have been developed to extract meaningful information from unstructured text data which constitutes a large portion of big data. Over the past decades, text mining technologies have been utilized in various industries for practical applications. In the field of business intelligence, it has been employed to discover new market and/or technology opportunities and support rational decision making of business participants. The market information such as market size, market growth rate, and market share is essential for setting companies' business strategies. There has been a continuous demand in various fields for specific product level-market information. However, the information has been generally provided at industry level or broad categories based on classification standards, making it difficult to obtain specific and proper information. In this regard, we propose a new methodology that can estimate the market sizes of product groups at more detailed levels than that of previously offered. We applied Word2Vec algorithm, a neural network based semantic word embedding model, to enable automatic market size estimation from individual companies' product information in a bottom-up manner. The overall process is as follows: First, the data related to product information is collected, refined, and restructured into suitable form for applying Word2Vec model. Next, the preprocessed data is embedded into vector space by Word2Vec and then the product groups are derived by extracting similar products names based on cosine similarity calculation. Finally, the sales data on the extracted products is summated to estimate the market size of the product groups. As an experimental data, text data of product names from Statistics Korea's microdata (345,103 cases) were mapped in multidimensional vector space by Word2Vec training. We performed parameters optimization for training and then applied vector dimension of 300 and window size of 15 as optimized parameters for further experiments. We employed index words of Korean Standard Industry Classification (KSIC) as a product name dataset to more efficiently cluster product groups. The product names which are similar to KSIC indexes were extracted based on cosine similarity. The market size of extracted products as one product category was calculated from individual companies' sales data. The market sizes of 11,654 specific product lines were automatically estimated by the proposed model. For the performance verification, the results were compared with actual market size of some items. The Pearson's correlation coefficient was 0.513. Our approach has several advantages differing from the previous studies. First, text mining and machine learning techniques were applied for the first time on market size estimation, overcoming the limitations of traditional sampling based- or multiple assumption required-methods. In addition, the level of market category can be easily and efficiently adjusted according to the purpose of information use by changing cosine similarity threshold. Furthermore, it has a high potential of practical applications since it can resolve unmet needs for detailed market size information in public and private sectors. Specifically, it can be utilized in technology evaluation and technology commercialization support program conducted by governmental institutions, as well as business strategies consulting and market analysis report publishing by private firms. The limitation of our study is that the presented model needs to be improved in terms of accuracy and reliability. The semantic-based word embedding module can be advanced by giving a proper order in the preprocessed dataset or by combining another algorithm such as Jaccard similarity with Word2Vec. Also, the methods of product group clustering can be changed to other types of unsupervised machine learning algorithm. Our group is currently working on subsequent studies and we expect that it can further improve the performance of the conceptually proposed basic model in this study.

Optimization and Development of Prediction Model on the Removal Condition of Livestock Wastewater using a Response Surface Method in the Photo-Fenton Oxidation Process (Photo-Fenton 산화공정에서 반응표면분석법을 이용한 축산폐수의 COD 처리조건 최적화 및 예측식 수립)

  • Cho, Il-Hyoung;Chang, Soon-Woong;Lee, Si-Jin
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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    • v.30 no.6
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    • pp.642-652
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    • 2008
  • The aim of our research was to apply experimental design methodology in the optimization condition of Photo-Fenton oxidation of the residual livestock wastewater after the coagulation process. The reactions of Photo-Fenton oxidation were mathematically described as a function of parameters amount of Fe(II)($x_1$), $H_2O_2(x_2)$ and pH($x_3$) being modeled by the use of the Box-Behnken method, which was used for fitting 2nd order response surface models and was alternative to central composite designs. The application of RSM using the Box-Behnken method yielded the following regression equation, which is an empirical relationship between the removal(%) of livestock wastewater and test variables in coded unit: Y = 79.3 + 15.61x$_1$ - 7.31x$_2$ - 4.26x$_3$ - 18x$_1{^2}$ - 10x$_2{^2}$ - 11.9x$_3{^2}$ + 2.49x$_1$x$_2$ - 4.4x$_2$x$_3$ - 1.65x$_1$x$_3$. The model predicted also agreed with the experimentally observed result(R$^2$ = 0.96) The results show that the response of treatment removal(%) in Photo-Fenton oxidation of livestock wastewater were significantly affected by the synergistic effect of linear terms(Fe(II)($x_1$), $H_2O_2(x_2)$, pH(x$_3$)), whereas Fe(II) $\times$ Fe(II)(x$_1{^2}$), $H_2O_2$ $\times$ $H_2O_2$(x$_2{^2}$) and pH $\times$ pH(x$_3{^2}$) on the quadratic terms were significantly affected by the antagonistic effect. $H_2O_2$ $\times$ pH(x$_2$x$_3$) had also a antagonistic effect in the cross-product term. The estimated ridge of the expected maximum response and optimal conditions for Y using canonical analysis were 84 $\pm$ 0.95% and (Fe(II)(X$_1$) = 0.0146 mM, $H_2O_2$(X$_2$) = 0.0867 mM and pH(X$_3$) = 4.704, respectively. The optimal ratio of Fe/H$_2O_2$ was also 0.17 at the pH 4.7.

A study on Development Process of Fish Aquaculture in Japan - Case by Seabream Aquaculture - (일본 어류 양식업의 발전과정과 산지교체에 관한 연구 : 참돔양식업을 사례로)

  • 송정헌
    • The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.75-90
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    • 2003
  • When we think of fundamental problems of the aquaculture industry, there are several strict conditions, and consequently the aquaculture industry is forced to change. Fish aquaculture has a structural supply surplus in production, aggravation of fishing grounds, stagnant low price due to recent recession, and drastic change of distribution circumstances. It is requested for us to initiate discussion on such issue as “how fish aquaculture establishes its status in the coastal fishery\ulcorner, will fish aquaculture grow in the future\ulcorner, and if so “how it will be restructured\ulcorner” The above issues can be observed in the mariculture of yellow tail, sea scallop and eel. But there have not been studied concerning seabream even though the production is over 30% of the total production of fish aquaculture in resent and it occupied an important status in the fish aquaculture. The objectives of this study is to forecast the future movement of sea bream aquaculture. The first goal of the study is to contribute to managerial and economic studies on the aquaculture industry. The second goal is to identify the factors influencing the competition between production areas and to identify the mechanisms involved. This study will examine the competitive power in individual producing area, its behavior, and its compulsory factors based on case study. Producing areas will be categorized according to following parameters : distance to market and availability of transportation, natural environment, the time of formation of producing areas (leaderㆍfollower), major production items, scale of business and producing areas, degree of organization in production and sales. As a factor in shaping the production area of sea bream aquaculture, natural conditions especially the water temperature is very important. Sea bream shows more active feeding and faster growth in areas located where the water temperature does not go below 13∼14$^{\circ}C$ during the winter. Also fish aquaculture is constrained by the transporting distance. Aquacultured yellowtail is a mass-produced and a mass-distributed item. It is sold a unit of cage and transported by ship. On the other hand, sea bream is sold in small amount in markets and transported by truck; so, the transportation cost is higher than yellow tail. Aquacultured sea bream has different product characteristics due to transport distance. We need to study live fish and fresh fish markets separately. Live fish was the original product form of aquacultured sea bream. Transportation of live fish has more constraints than the transportation of fresh fish. Death rate and distance are highly correlated. In addition, loading capacity of live fish is less than fresh fish. In the case of a 10 ton truck, live fish can only be loaded up to 1.5 tons. But, fresh fish which can be placed in a box can be loaded up to 5 to 6 tons. Because of this characteristics, live fish requires closer location to consumption area than fresh fish. In the consumption markets, the size of fresh fish is mainly 0.8 to 2kg.Live fish usually goes through auction, and quality is graded. Main purchaser comes from many small-sized restaurants, so a relatively small farmer and distributer can sell it. Aquacultured sea bream has been transacted as a fresh fish in GMS ,since 1993 when the price plummeted. Economies of scale works in case of fresh fish. The characteristics of fresh fish is as follows : As a large scale demander, General Merchandise Stores are the main purchasers of sea bream and the size of the fish is around 1.3kg. It mainly goes through negotiation. Aquacultured sea bream has been established as a representative food in General Merchandise Stores. GMS require stable and mass supply, consistent size, and low price. And Distribution of fresh fish is undertook by the large scale distributers, which can satisfy requirements of GMS. The market share in Tokyo Central Wholesale Market shows Mie Pref. is dominating in live fish. And Ehime Pref. is dominating in fresh fish. Ehime Pref. showed remarkable growth in 1990s. At present, the dealings of live fish is decreasing. However, the dealings of fresh fish is increasing in Tokyo Central Wholesale Market. The price of live fish is decreasing more than one of fresh fish. Even though Ehime Pref. has an ideal natural environment for sea bream aquaculture, its entry into sea bream aquaculture was late, because it was located at a further distance to consumers than the competing producing areas. However, Ehime Pref. became the number one producing areas through the sales of fresh fish in the 1990s. The production volume is almost 3 times the production volume of Mie Pref. which is the number two production area. More conversion from yellow tail aquaculture to sea bream aquaculture is taking place in Ehime Pref., because Kagosima Pref. has a better natural environment for yellow tail aquaculture. Transportation is worse than Mie Pref., but this region as a far-flung producing area makes up by increasing the business scale. Ehime Pref. increases the market share for fresh fish by creating demand from GMS. Ehime Pref. has developed market strategies such as a quick return at a small profit, a stable and mass supply and standardization in size. Ehime Pref. increases the market power by the capital of a large scale commission agent. Secondly Mie Pref. is close to markets and composed of small scale farmers. Mie Pref. switched to sea bream aquaculture early, because of the price decrease in aquacultured yellou tail and natural environmental problems. Mie Pref. had not changed until 1993 when the price of the sea bream plummeted. Because it had better natural environment and transportation. Mie Pref. has a suitable water temperature range required for sea bream aquaculture. However, the price of live sea bream continued to decline due to excessive production and economic recession. As a consequence, small scale farmers are faced with a market price below the average production cost in 1993. In such kind of situation, the small-sized and inefficient manager in Mie Pref. was obliged to withdraw from sea bream aquaculture. Kumamoto Pref. is located further from market sites and has an unsuitable nature environmental condition required for sea bream aquaculture. Although Kumamoto Pref. is trying to convert to the puffer fish aquaculture which requires different rearing techniques, aquaculture technique for puffer fish is not established yet.

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