• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.99-123
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• 2004

We focus in this study on incremental financing decisions and estimate a logit model for the probability a firm will choose a private placement over a public bond issue. We hypothesize that information asymmetry, financial risk, agent cost, and proprietary information may affect a firm's choice between public debt and private placements. We find that as the size of firm increases, the probability of choosing a private placement declines significantly. The age of the firm, however, is not a significant factor affecting the firm's choice between public and privately-placed bond. The coefficients on the firm's leverage and non-investment grade dummy are significantly positive, meaning firms with high financial risk and credit risk select private placements. The findings regarding agency-related variables, PER and Tobin's Q, are somewhat complex. We find significant evidence that firms with high PER prefer private placements to public bonds, suggesting that borrowers with options to engage in asset substitution or underinvestment are more likely to choose private placements. The coefficient of Tobin's Q is negative, but not significant, which weakly support the hold-up hypothesis. When we construct an interaction term on the Tobin's Q with a non-investment rating dummy, however, the Tobin's Q interaction term becomes positive and significant. Thus, high Tobin's Q firms with a speculative rating are significantly more likely to choose a private placement, regardless of the potential hold-up problems. The ratio of R&D to sales, proxy for proprietary information, is positively significant. This result can be interpreted as evidence in favor of a role for proprietary information in the debt sourcing decision process for these firms.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.167-173
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• 2007

Purpose: Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extract is one of the most widely used agents in alternative cancer therapeutic regimens in Europe. This study was conducted to determine the effect of mistletoe extract on immune function in gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Ten patients that had undergone a curative gastrectomy were enrolled in the prospective study. ABNOBAviscum $Q^{(R)}$ was injected subcutaneously three times a week from postoperative-day 7 to week 16 with an increasing dose. All of the patients simultaneously received chemotheraphy with mitomycin, oral 5-FU and a cisplatin regimen. The WBC count, differential count, lymphocyte/WBC ratio and the level of cytokines (IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-2, IL-6, IFN-$\gamma$, TNF-$\alpha$) were checked in the peripheral blood preoperatively, at postoperative week 8 and at postoperative week 16. Results: The WBC and neutrophil counts significantly decreased after treatment on week 8 and week 16 (P=0.001), but the total eosinophil count was slightly increased (P=0.15). The total lymphocyte count also decreased during treatment but the lymphocyte/WBC ratio was slightly increased without statistical significance (P=0.91). The cytokine levels did not significantly change during treatment. Conclusion: It is somewhat difficult to determine the direct effect of mistletoe therapy on immune function as the effect may be compromised by the concurrent chemotherapy. It can be assumed that the slightly increased lymphocyte/WBC ratio and eosinophil count may be a result of the immunomodulatory effect of the mistletoe extract.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.43
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• pp.205-230
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• 2015

This study aims to compare the differences of crucial factors that are associated with probation warning tickets between sex offenders and non-sex offenders in South Korea. Serious high-profile cases have occurred in recent years which resulted in public and political conners for successful sex offender management and monitoring strategy through community corrections. The official response has been to initiate a series of legislative probation and parole measures by using GPS electronic monitoring system, chemical castration, and sex offender registry and notification. In this context, the current study is designed to explore the major factors that could affect the failure of probation by comparing the differences between sex offenders and non-sex offenders in terms of their major factors which are related to the failure of probation. The failure of probation is measured by the number of warning tickets which would be issued when there is the violation of probation conditions. The data is obtained from Seoul Probation office from January, 29, 2014 to February, 28, 2014. The sample number of sex offenders is 144 and the number of non-sex offenders is 1,460. The data includes the information regarding the offenders who completed their probation order after they were assigned to Seoul Probation in 2013. Furthermore, this study uses the chi-square and logistic regression analysis by using SPSS statistical package program. The result demonstrated that only prior criminal history was statistically significant factor that was related to the number of warning tickets in the sex offender group when other variables were controlled($X^2=25.15$, p<0.05, Nagelkerke $R^2=0.23$)(b=0.19, SE=0.08, p<0.05). By contrast, there were various factors that were associated with the number of warning tickets in non-sex offender group. Specifically, the logistic regression analysis for the non-sex offenders showed that demographic variable(marital status and employment type), offender-victim relationships, alcohol addiction, violent behavior, prior criminal history, community service order, and attendance order were statistically significant factors that were associated with the odds of warning tickets. Further policy implication will be discussed.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.725-731
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• 2009

Background: Lobectomy and more extended anatomic resection are regarded as standard treatment for stage Ia non-small cell lung cancer, but approximately 15~40% of patients suffer from treatment failures such as cancer recurrence or death. The authors analyzed types and causes of treatment failures in surgically treated cases of stage Ia non small cell lung cancer. Material and Method: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 156 patients who had undergone complete resection for stage Ia NSCLC between Jan 1992 and Aug 2005. Patients were divided into two different treatment failure groups: cancer-related deaths and non-cancer-related deaths. Risk factors were analyzed in each group by the Kaplan-Meyer survival method and the Cox proportional hazard model. Result: Among the 156 patients, 93 were males; the mean age was 61. The median follow-up period was 33.8 months. The 5 year survival rate was 87.6%. Microscopic lympho-vascular permeation was reported in 10 patients. Recurrence was reported in 19 patients and 12 patients died due to recurrent lung cancer. Noncancer related deaths occurred in 16 patients. Risk factors for cancer recurrence and cancer related death were microscopic lympho-vascular permeation (HR=6.81, p=0.007, HR=7.81, p<0.001); for non-cancer related death, risk factors were pneumonectomy (HR=25.92, p=0.001) and postoperative cardiopulmonary complications (HR=29.67, p=0.002). Conclusion: After complete resection of stage Ia non small cell lung cancer patients, mortality includes not only cancer related deaths but also cancer unrelated deaths. Adjuvant chemotherapy is advised for patients who show microscopic lympho-vascular permeation, which is a risk factor for recurrence and for cancer related death. Patients who had pneumonectomy or who suffered from cardiac or respiratory complications need meticulous care in order to reduce comorbidity-induced death.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.55-80
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• 2009

Technology innovation activity plays a pivotal role in constructing the entrance barrier for other firms and making process improvement and new product. and these activities give a profit increase and growth to firms. Thus, technology innovation activity can reduce the default risk of firms. However, technology innovation activity can also increase the firm's default risk because technology innovation activity requires too much investment of the firm's resources and has the uncertainty on success. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of technology innovation activity on the default risk of firms. This study's sample consists of manufacturing firms listed on the Korea Securities Market and The Kosdaq Market from January 1,2000 to December 31, 2008. This study makes use of R&D intensity as an proxy variable of technology innovation activity. The default probability which proxies the default risk of firms is measured by the Merton's(l974) debt pricing model. The main empirical results are as follows. First, from the empirical results, it is found that technology innovation activity has a negative and significant effect on the default risk of firms independent of the Korea Securities Market and Kosdaq Market. In other words, technology innovation activity reduces the default risk of firms. Second, technology innovation activity reduces the default risk of firms independent of firm size, firm age, and credit score. Third, the results of robust analysis also show that technology innovation activity is the important factor which decreases the default risk of firms. These results imply that a manager must show continuous interest and investment in technology innovation activity of one's firm. And a policymaker also need design an economic policy to promote the technology innovation activity of firms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.913-920
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• 2001

The effect of kimchi pill supplementation on plasma lipid concentration of middle aged healthy people were studied. Freeze-dried mustard leaf added (30%) Korean cabbage kimchi and powdered glutinous parch were used to prepare kimchi and placebo pill, respectively. Experimental group if six participants took 3 g of freeze-dried kimchi as a pill daily for 6 weeks which is equivalent to 30 g of fresh kimchi and control group of six people took same amount of placebo. The diet intakes for the kimchi and placebo group fairly remained unchanged during 6 weeks of trial. When the effect of kimchi pill supplementation was expressed as average percentage changes based on each individual changes, the plasma triglyceride concentration of kimchi pill group was sig-nificantly decreased by 16.8% during trial (p<0.05)while that of placebo group increased by 9.8%, But no changes in plasma and LDL cholesterol concentrations of both groups were observed. HDL cholesterol of kimchi pill group significantly increased by 11.7%(p<0.05), therefore the ratio LDL/HDL cholesterol was significantly decreased by 6.7%(p<0.05) while that for the placebo group increased. The atherogenic index at the kimchi group was also significantly decreased by 10.8%(p<0.05). Kimchi supplementation seemed to have beneficial effects on controlling plasma triglyceride and HDL cholesterol in middle aged men.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.8-9
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• 2011

On 4 September 2010 an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on the Richter scale occurred on the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand. The Canterbury Plains are an area of extensive groundwater and spring fed surface water systems. Since the September earthquake there have been several thousand aftershocks (Fig. 1), the largest being a 6.3 magnitude quake which occurred close to the centre of Christchurch on 22February 2011. This second quake caused extensive damage to the city of Christchurch including the deaths of 189 people. Both of these quakes had marked hydrological impacts. Water is a vital natural resource for Canterburywith groundwater being extracted for potable supply and both ground and surface water being used extensively for agricultural and horticultural irrigation.The groundwater is of very high quality so that the city of Christchurch (population approx. 400,000) supplies untreated artesian water to the majority of households and businesses. Both earthquakes caused immediate hydrological effects, the most dramatic of which was the liquefaction of sediments and the release of shallow groundwater containing a fine grey silt-sand material. The liquefaction that occurred fitted within the empirical relationship between distance from epicentre and magnitude of quake described by Montgomery et al. (2003). . It appears that liquefaction resulted in development of discontinuities in confining layers. In some cases these appear to have been maintained by artesian pressure and continuing flow, and the springs are continuing to flow even now. In spring-fed streams there was an increase in flow that lasted for several days and in some cases flows remained high for several months afterwards although this could be linked to a very wet winter prior to the September earthquake. Analysis of the slope of baseflow recession for a spring-fed stream before and after the September earthquake shows no change, indicating no substantial change in the aquifer structure that feeds this stream.A complicating factor for consideration of river flows was that in some places the liquefaction of shallow sediments led to lateral spreading of river banks. The lateral spread lessened the channel cross section so water levels rose although the flow might not have risen accordingly. Groundwater level peaks moved both up and down, depending on the location of wells. Groundwater level changes for the two earthquakes were strongly related to the proximity to the epicentre. The February 2011 earthquake resulted in significantly larger groundwater level changes in eastern Christchurch than occurred in September 2010. In a well of similar distance from both epicentres the two events resulted in a similar sized increase in water level but the slightly slower rate of increase and the markedly slower recession recorded in the February event suggests that the well may have been partially blocked by sediment flowing into the well at depth. The effects of the February earthquake were more localised and in the area to the west of Christchurch it was the earlier earthquake that had greater impact. Many of the recorded responses have been compromised, or complicated, by damage or clogging and further inspections will need to be carried out to allow a more definitive interpretation. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to provisionally conclude that there is no clear evidence of significant change in aquifer pressures or properties. The different response of groundwater to earthquakes across the Canterbury Plains is the subject of a new research project about to start that uses the information to improve groundwater characterisation for the region. Montgomery D.R., Greenberg H.M., Smith D.T. (2003) Stream flow response to the Nisqually earthquake. Earth & Planetary Science Letters 209 19-28.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.1383-1392
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• 2021

It has been reported that emodin, a major pharmacologically active ingredient of herbal medicines such as Polygonum cuspidatum, Polygonum multiflorum, Rheum palmatum, and Aloe vera, is effective in antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and liver protection. In this study, to investigate the potential of emodin to be used as a skin disease and functional material, the activity related to the improvement of inflammation and skin barrier function was confirmed. To observe the anti-inflammatory effect on HaCaT cells, which are human keratinocytes, cytokine inhibition was confirmed by ELISA kit and protein expression by western blot. In HaCaT cells activated with TNF-α (10 ng/mL)/IFN-γ (10 ng/mL), emodin was treated with each concentration (5, 10, 20, 40) µM. As a result, It was confirmed that the production amount of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 decreased as the concentration of emodin increased. In the experimental results on the expression levels of inflammation-related proteins iNOS and COX-2, it was confirmed that 48% of iNOS and 29% of COX-2 were inhibited compared to control at a concentration of 20 µM of emodin. As an indicator of skin barrier function improvement, the mRNA expression level of filaggrin, involucrin, and loricirn and the production amount of filaggrin, involucrin, and loricirn were confirmed. and excellent results were obtained with an emodin concentration-dependent increase. In particular, filaggrin, which was produced twice as much as the control at a concentration of 20 µM, is a protein involved in the formation of NMF, a natural moisturizing factor, and is known to play an important role in moisturizing the stratum corneum. In conclusion, it was confirmed that emodin can be used as a material for improving inflammation and improving skin barrier function, which is part of the potential for use as a skin disease and functional material. It is believed that if additional research is performed in the future, the scope of its application can be further expanded.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2019

This research measured and visualized the spatial dependency and the spatial heterogeneity of the small business in Cheonan-si, Asan-si with $100m{\times}100m$ grids based on global and local spatial autocorrelation. First, we confirmed positive spatial autocorrelation of small business in the research area using Moran's I Index, which is ESDA(Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis). And then, through Getis-Ord $GI{\ast}$, one kind of LISA(Local Indicators of Spatial Association), local patterns of spatial autocorrelation were visualized. These verified that Spatial Regression Model is valid for the location factor analysis on small business commercial buildings. Next, GWR(Geographically Weighted Regression) was used to analyze the spatial relations between the distribution of small business, hourly mobile traffic-based floating population, land use attributes index, residence, commercial building, road networks, and the node of traffic networks. Final six variables were applied and the accessibility to bus stops, afternoon time floating population, and evening time floating population were excluded due to multicollinearity. By this, we demonstrated that GWR is statistically improved compared to OLS. We visualized the spatial influence of the individual variables using the regression coefficients and local coefficients of determinant of the six variables. This research applied the measured population information in a practical way. Reflecting the dynamic information of the urban people using the commercial area. It is different from other studies that performed commercial analysis. Finally, this research has a differentiated advantage over the existing commercial area analysis in that it employed hourly changing commercial service population data and it applied spatial statistical models to micro spatial units. This research proposed new framework for the commercial analysis area analysis.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.115-122
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• 2012

Objectives : This study evaluated activities and ingredient contents concerning extracts according to extraction solvents of Insampaedok-san (IS, Renshen bai du-san). Methods : The herbal constituents of IS were extracted with water and 70% ethanol at $100^{\circ}C$ for 2 hr. Using the HPLC system, the six ingredient contents of different solvent extracts of IS were analyzed. The nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) production and proinflammatory cytokines were measured in RAW264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC/CCL22) and regulated on activation normal T-cell expression and secreted (RANTES/CCL5) production were measured in HaCaT and BEAS-2B cells stimulated tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interferon-${\gamma}$ (IFN-${\gamma}$). The activities of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) and leptin level were measured in 3T3-L1 cells. Results : The calibration curves showed good linearity ($r^2$=1.0000) for different concentration ranges. The contents of liquiritin, naringin, hesperidin, neohesperirin and glycyrrizin in 70% ethanol extracts of IS were relatively higher than that of water extract, however the content of ferulic acid in 70% ethanol and water extract of IS were similar. The extraction solvents of water and 70% ethanol were evaluated inhibitory effect on the production of NO, $PGE_2$, TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 in RAW 264.7 cells. Their extractions were inhibitory effect on production of MDC/CCL22 and RANTES/CCL5 in HaCaT cell and BEAS-2B cell, respectively. In addition, evaluated reduced on GPDH activity and leptin level in 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell. Conclusions : Our results suggest that IS extracts were inhibitory effects of disease such as inflammation, allergies and obesity.