• Health Policy and Management
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.125-154
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• 1997

The hospital, clinical department and the physician factor in explaining variations of hospital resource use in surgically admitted patients was compared. This analysis was based on 6, 361 discharges in 28 hospitals for three surgical conditions - lens procedures anal and stomal procedures, uterine and ovarian procedures using medical insurnce claim data. The results were as follows: 1. Regression analysis indicated that the hospital and clinical department characteristics, such as hospital ownership and size, were more significant predictors of the resource use indicators than the physician and patients' social characteristics. 2. Regarding to the physician factors, the hospital where the physician received the residency training and the medical shool where he/she graduated had less effect compared to the hospitals where he/she currently works. Between the residency trained hospital and medical school, the is more important than the latter. 3. When the hospital charges were divided into type of service provided i. e. room, drug, laboratory & radiologic, procedure & operation, and anesthesic charges, variance due to the hospital factor was larger than that due to the physician factor in each item. In summary, the hospital and clinical departmental factor played an important role than physician factor ; indicating to reduce the variation in hospital resource use, the policy that affects hospital behavior would be more effective than that targets individual physician behavior.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.465-473
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• 2021

The main aim of this research paper is to identify the factors that influence smartphone purchase intention in the Nepalese market. The study identifies how the brand personality, attribute factors, and the price factor influence the purchase intention of a smartphone. The paper puts the emphasis on how the consumer preference functions in the selection of the smartphone and which factor plays the more significant role in smartphone purchase intention. This research paper has used primary data and a 7-point Likert scale survey questionnaire. The primary data has been collected through a structured survey questionnaire by using convenient sampling technique from 294 smartphone users in the Kathmandu Valley. Descriptive statistics, Correlation Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) have been carried out to analyze the primary data using the SPSS AMOS 24. Brand personality, attribute factor, and product price were taken as independent variables to identify the impact on purchase intention. The result of the regression path analysis showed that brand personality has no significant effect on purchase intention in the purchasing of smartphone. It is also found that the product attributes and product price have a significant influence on consumer purchase intention of a smartphone in Nepal.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.64-71
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• 2022

Norovirus (NV) is the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis, with the potential to develop into a fatal disease in those who are immuno-compromised, and effective vaccines and treatments are still non-existent. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the previously identified NV replication inhibitor utilizing a vinyl-stilbene backbone, AC-1858. First, we confirmed the inhibition of the NV RNA replication by a structural analog of AC-1858, AC-2288 with its exclusive cytoplasmic sub-cellular localization. We further validated the induction of one specific host factor, the phosphorylated form of heat shock factor (HSF)-1, and its increased nuclear localization by AC-1858 treatment. Finally, we verified the positive and negative impact of the siRNA-mediated downregulation and lentivirus-mediated overexpression of HSF-1 on NV RNA replication. In conclusion, these data suggest the restrictive role of the host factor HSF-1 in overall viral RNA genome replication during the NV life cycle.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.439-444
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• 2011

This study is aimed to extract the key role of port operation organizations for the development of region ports and identify the operating efficiency priorities of three ports such as Busan, Incheon and UIsan port operated by PA(port authority). The Factor Analysis(FA) and Fuzzy Method were used as the analysis methodes. As an important role of port authority and regional maritime affairs & port office, thirteen sub-evaluation factors and four top-level evaluation factors were selected using the FA. Among the top-level evaluation factors i.e. 'port security, information management', service for regional society and customers', 'port marketing' and 'customer attraction', the most important factor was identified as 'port marketing'. The total port efficiency was evaluated using these factors and Fuzzy Method. As a result, Busan ranked 1st, followed by Incheon and Ulsan.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.243-245
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• 2002

Pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) is an octadecapeptide distributed in the optic lobe and the brain in a variety of insect species. There are lines of evidence suggesting possible involvement of PDF in the insect circadian system. However, its physiological roles in the circadian time keeping mechanism have not been clearly defined. In this study, we have examined the phase shifting effects of Gryllus-PDF on the circadian locomotor rhythm in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus of which circadian clock is located in the optic lobe. Phase shifts in the circadian activity rhythm were measured following microinjection of 22nl of vehicle (Ringer's solution) or O.lmM PDF into the optic lobe through the compound eye at various circadian times. The results showed that PDF induced phase shifts of the circadian clock in a phase-dependent manner, suggesting that it may play a role as an input signal for the circadian clock.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.478-485
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• 2017

Urban DC railways have played an important role in urban transportation, and railway operation and energy management have been emphasized to be important to achieve maximum efficiency from existing infrastructure. Fast, accurate DC railway power flow analysis is required to operate a DC railway efficiently, and this paper proposes a novel methodology to analyze the DC railway power network by implementing the participation factor (PF). The PF concept consists of a correlation between the vehicle and the substation, as explained using zones based on the position of the vehicles running on the route. Then, the DC railway powerflow is calculated using the PF concept. Finally, the usability of the proposed method was validated via case studies with actual railway operation data, and we discuss some of the advantages of the suggested methodology.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06c
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• pp.392-397
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• 2001

Topology optimization is applied to determine the layout of a structure whose eigenfrequency coincides with a specified frequency. The topology optimization problem is formulated to minimize the difference between the structural frequency and a given frequency using the homogenization method and the modified optimality criteria method. It turns out that the value of a weighting factor in the updating scheme plays an important role to achieve both a suitable speed and a stable convergence of an algorithm. Unlike a constant weighting factor in previous works, it is suggested that a weight factor is varied during the iteration to control the amount of the frequency change. To substantiate the proposed approach two-dimensional structural design problems are presented and the resulted topology layouts for the specified eigenfrequency are compared to layouts for maximizing the corresponding eigenfrequency.

• The Microorganisms and Industry
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.2-5
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• 1990

IgA is the predominant immunoglobulin isotype in mucosal secretions(1). It has been reported that a population of Peyer's patch T cells can selectively induce IgM bearing B cells to switch to surface IgA bearing B cells(2,3). Further, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-6 alone and in combination, can significantly influence murine IgA B cell differentiation in vitro(4-7). However, it remains an open question which cytokines have a major role in class switching to the IgA isotype. Recently, it has been reported that transforming growth factor .betha.1(TGF .betha.1) alone, or in combination with IL-2 increases IgA secretion by LPS-activated surface IgA negative (sIgA$\^$-/) murine spleen B cells while concurrently downregulating IgM and IgG secretion by such cells(8-11). In the present study, limiting dilution analysis was used to demonstrate, at the clonal level, that TGF .betha.1 has siginificant activity as an IgA isotype switch factor.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2016.05a
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• pp.141-142
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• 2016

Port in Northern Vietnam has been playing an important role in the logistics system the country. In recent years, the cargo throughput of the region, especially, containerized cargo has increased gradually. There are totally 11 container terminals in Northern Vietnam, concentrating in Haiphong city and Quang Ninh province. Despite of increasing demand, the competition among the terminals is becoming more and more critical. The paper, firstly, summarizes factors impacting the market share of the terminals before reveal the correlation between given factors and annual container throughput. Factor analysis will be then applied to evaluate the level of terminals' logistics infrastructure. For the conclusion, strategic thinking of terminals' logistics competitiveness will be contributed to related organizations.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.110-120
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• 2011

As information technology rapidly develops and the period required to enter new technology shortens, there emerges a wide variety of alternatives for consumers. When there are many alternatives in the market, users choose after making comparisons. This process of making comparisons is our research key. We established a research model to find a mixed effect that comes from new attitudes to technology adoption and alternative's continuous usage intention. The effect is revealed through a relative attractiveness (RA) factor to explain a user's process of comparison. We empirically test our research model in the new media services, such as mobile TV, web TV, and mobile IPTV. According to our research results, a continuous usage intention of an existing technology is an important factor to explain the adoption of a new technology. So, the contribution of our research is in finding a role for the RA factor in research in new technology adoption.