• International Area Studies Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.51-71
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• 2009

We pursue empirically influential determinants of risk-sharing across various groups in the United States. We consider all the possible combinations out of the eight BEA economic regions and relate the risk-sharing measure for each group to sectoral composition difference under the control of the state-level macroeconomic and financial characteristics. Our results show that more active risk-sharing via cross-ownership market is observed in groups exhibiting more different sectoral composition. The evidence implies that, given other economic and financial conditions equal, economic union tends to share more consumption risk among its members that are more heterogeneous in their sectoral composition. These days, many countries aim to form FTA and other forms of economic integration. We suggest that they should pay attention to sectoral composition for member countries to minimizes income shock in the integrated economy.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.349-368
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• 2011

The emergence of new multipolar world economy along with the predominant growth of emerging economies encourages these emerging countries to internationalize their currencies. Currently the discrepancy between qualification and status of international currency is easily observed, and the emerging market currencies are no doubt underestimated considering their share of the world's economic size and trade volume. This paper studies the determinant factors of currency internationalization for five key currencies (US Dollar, Yen, Euro, Pound, and Swiss Franc). The analysis shows economic size, trade volume, and the stability of price and exchange rate are most important. Based on this result, Chinese Yuan is forecast to become a new international currency in the near future. Therefore, Korea needs to preempt the issue of regional economic integration, and even currency integration, by taking into account the possibility of internationalized Yuan.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate determinants of purchasing indemnity private health insurance and its impact on the healthcare utilization among outpatients with chronic disease. Methods: The study analyzed 4,997 chronic ill patients using 2015 Korean Health Panel data. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the factors affecting the purchase of indemnity private health insurance and multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyze the effect of private health insurance on the number of outpatient visits and outpatient expenditures. Findings: The age, education level, and number of chronic diseases were significant factors affecting the purchasing of indemnity private health insurance among chronic patients. As a result of analyzing the impact of indemnity private health insurance on healthcare utilization, the number of outpatient visits for those who enrolled in the indemnity private health insurance was higher than the number of outpatient visits for those who did not. But there was no statistically significant difference in outpatient medical expenses. Practical Implications: The results of this study shows that indemnity private health insurance may cause inequality in the healthcare utilization of the socially vulnerable. It is necessary to seek ways to strengthen the health security of chronic disease patients and high-risk elderly people who need more healthcare.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2019

Background: Increasing the establishment of integrated management systems (IMSs) is done with the purpose of leaving traditional management methods and replacing them with modern management methods. Thus, the present study sought to analyze the events and investigate the impact of IMS on health and safety performance indices in an Iranian combined cycle power plants. Methods: This case study was conducted in 2012 in all units of the Yazd Combined Cycle Power Plant on accident victims before and after the implementation of IMS. For data analysis and prediction of indices after the implementation of IMS, descriptive statistics and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Chi-square, linear regression, and Cubic tests were conducted using SPSS software. Results: The number of people employed in the power plant in an 8-year period (2004-2011) was 1,189, and 287 cases of work-related accidents were recorded. The highest accident frequency rate and accident severity rate were in 2004 (32.65) and 2008 (209), respectively. Safe T-score reached to below -3 during 2010-2011. In addition, given the regression results, the relation between all predictor variables with outcomes was significant (p < 0.05), except for the variable $X^1$ belonging to the accident severity rate index. Conclusion: The implementation of safety programs especially that of IMS and its annual audits has had a significant impact on reducing accident indices and improving safety within the study period. Accordingly, health and safety management systems are appropriate tools for reducing accident rate, and the use of regression models and accident indices is also a suitable way for monitoring safety performance.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2019

Background: As of now, the impact of low back pain (LBP) and its chronic state, chronic low back pain (CLBP), on mental health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has never been investigated among police officers. The present investigation aims at studying this relationship using a biopsychosocial model. Methods: Between May and October 2014, a Web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among Quebec police officers (Quebec, Canada). Mental HRQOL was measured using the role emotional (RE) and the mental health (MH) domains of the SF-12v2 Health Survey. The impact of CLBP on mental HRQOL (as opposed to acute/subacute LBP or no LBP) was studied with a multivariate linear regression model. Results: Of the 3,589 police officers who participated in the study, 1,013 (28.4%) reported CLBP. The mean age of respondents was $38.5{\pm}8.7years$, and 32.0% were females. The RE (44.1/100) and MH (49.0/100) mean scores of the CLBP group were comparable with the scores found in populations suffering from cancer or heart diseases. Compared to officers without LBP, the presence of CLBP was significantly associated with lower RE (${\beta}$: -0.068; p = 0.003) and MH (${\beta}$: -0.062; p = 0.002) scores. These relationships were not found in the acute/subacute LBP group. Conclusion: Our results underscore how frequent CLBP is among police officers and how burdensome it is. Considering the importance of good physical and mental health for this occupational population, police organizations should be aware of this issue and contribute to the efforts toward CLBP prevention and management in the workplace.

• Korean journal of medical education
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.327-337
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• 2018

Purpose: Patient education is a dynamic and continuous process that should be implemented during the entire time of hospital stay and even afterward. Studies have shown the typically poor quality of patient education in Iran and its failure to convey the required knowledge and skills to patients. The purpose of this study was to survey the experience of nursing students in regard to the challenges of patient education in hospitals. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using the conventional qualitative content analysis approach on a sample of 21 undergraduate nursing students (4th semester and beyond), which was drawn from the Qom Nursing and Midwifery School through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted over a period of 45 to 75 minutes, and were analyzed using the conventional qualitative content analysis. Results: Results were derived from the experiences of 21 nursing students (nine males, 12 females) about the research subject. The primary themes identified in the study were the student-related, patient-related, instructor-related, education environment-related, and curriculum-related barriers to patient educations. Conclusion: Participants believed that patient education in Iranian hospitals is faced with many challenges. Nursing instructors and curriculum planners should ensure more emphasis on patient education at the initial semesters of nursing education curriculum and make sure that it is included in the evaluation of students. Hospital officials should provide a dedicated education environment with suitable facilities, tools, and atmosphere for patient education. Also, special education programs need to be developed for less educated patients.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.101-122
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• 2012

This present paper examines stochastic cost functions of Malaysian commercial bank from 1991 to 1997 periods catches the changes un their management structure and technical efficiency. Then we also discuss policy implications for bank integration and competition policy which is the part of current financial reform that reinforces the banking sector. The present paper contributes to the expansion of their study in two respects. Firstly, we have estimated the cost function, availing ourselves of SEA based on a parametric approach. Secondly, our model also includes as a factor the existence of bad debts. According to our results, we observed economies of scale clearly, but economies of scope and technological progress were not observed. Regarding the policy implications, the result of our analysis suggests strongly that the current policy is appropriate.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.173-188
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• 2020

Purpose - This study examines the determinants of offer price and short-term and long-term performance of small and medium-sized enterprise(SME) IPO stocks listed on the KOSDAQ during the period from July 2007 to December 2016. Design/methodology/approach - The SME IPO samples are classified into three categories of regular listing, technology-based special listing, and listing by merger with special purpose acquisition company(SPAC), whose results are compared each other and compared to the result for the KOSDAQ listing of large firms. Findings - From the point of SME management which attempts to list its company on the KOSDAQ, the listing by merger with SPAC is the most unfavorable, and the underpricing phenomenon of the technology-based special listing is severe in the second place. By contrast, IPO stock investors can earn the largest abnormal return by purchasing the SPAC which succeeds the merger with unlisted firm, and the next abnormal returns are obtained in the order of the IPO stocks of technology-based special listing, regular listing of SMEs, and regular listing of large firms. However, it is interesting to observe that the net buying ratio of individual investors is relatively large for the IPO stocks of regular listing of SMEs and large firms, which exhibit the long-term under-performance. Research implications or Originality - This result implies that the exceptional listing system such as the technology-based special listing or the listing by merger with SPAC cost the SMEs which bypass the complicated procedure of the regular listing.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.300-304
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• 2022

The central feature of a digital society is the presence of a significant volume of digital services. The main research-analytical goal of the work is to identify the characteristic features of digital services, to classify and compare various types of digital services, to study the main levers for the development of digital services, the principal determinants of the observance and implementation of digital rights, to identify the dominant threats regarding the violation of digital rights, to analyze the features of legal relations that arise between the supplier and the consumer of digital technologies, consider the available taxation options for the digital economy. The work uses the following methods and research methods: hermeneutic, forecasting, in particular, extrapolation, analysis and synthesis, comparative. Research results: the definition of the concept of "digital service" is given, its main characteristics and types, according to the level of digitalization, the states-leaders are identified, slowing down, promising and problematic, the main triggers of slowing digitalization in some EU countries are investigated, by analyzing the regulatory legal acts of the European Commission on digitalization the strategy of the EU's actions to increase the degree of digitalization was determined, the positive and negative effects of digital services concerning the observance of human rights and freedoms were highlighted, the issue of levying taxes from digital companies was investigated.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.29.1-29.10
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• 2021

In our previous studies, we have demonstrated the association of certain variants of the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR), thyroid peroxidase (TPO), and thyroglobulin (TG) genes with congenital hypothyroidism. Herein, we explored the mechanistic basis for this association using different in silico tools. The mRNA 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) plays key roles in gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. In TSHR variants (rs2268477, rs7144481, and rs17630128), the binding affinity of microRNAs (miRs) (hsa-miR-154-5p, hsa-miR-376a-2-5p, hsa-miR-3935, hsa-miR-4280, and hsa-miR-6858-3p) to the 3'-UTR is disrupted, affecting post-transcriptional gene regulation. TPO and TG are the two key proteins necessary for the biosynthesis of thyroid hormones in the presence of iodide and H₂O₂. Reduced stability of these proteins leads to aberrant biosynthesis of thyroid hormones. Compared to the wild-type TPO protein, the p.S398T variant was found to exhibit less stability and significant rearrangements of intra-atomic bonds affecting the stoichiometry and substrate binding (binding energies, ΔG of wild-type vs. mutant: -15 vs. -13.8 kcal/mol; and dissociation constant, K_d of wild-type vs. mutant: 7.2E^-12 vs. 7.0E^-11 M). The missense mutations p.G653D and p.R1999W on the TG protein showed altered ΔG(0.24 kcal/mol and 0.79 kcal/mol, respectively). In conclusion, an in silico analysis of TSHR genetic variants in the 3'-UTR showed that they alter the binding affinities of different miRs. The TPO protein structure and mutant protein complex (p.S398T) are less stable, with potentially deleterious effects. A structural and energy analysis showed that TG mutations (p.G653D and p.R1999W) reduce the stability of the TG protein and affect its structure-functional relationship.