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Active and prompt scale-up screening tests are essential to efficiently control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The goal of this work was to identify shortcomings in the conventional screening system (CSS) implemented in the beginning of the outbreak. To overcome these shortcomings, we then introduced a novel, independently developed system called the Yeungnam University type drive-through (YU-Thru), and distributed it nationwide in Korea. This system is similar to the drive-throughs utilized by fast food restaurants. YU-Thru system has shortened the time taken to test a single person to 2–4 minutes, by completely eliminating the time required to clean and ventilate the specimen collection room. This time requirement was a major drawback of the CSS. YU-Thru system also reduced the risk of subjects and medical staff infecting one another by using a separate and closed examination system. On average, 50 to 60 tests were conducted per day when using the CSS, while now up to 350 tests per day are conducted with the YU-Thru system. We believe that the YU-Thru system has made an important contribution to the rapid detection of COVID-19 in Daegu, South Korea. Here, we will describe the YU-Thru system in detail so that other countries experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks can take advantage of this system. more...

Daegu City has the most number of heat waves every year in the last 10 years among 7 metropolitan cities in Korea. As the slang, such as ‘Daefrica(Daegu + Africa)’ shown, Daegu City is recognized as a high temperature region in the summer. The purpose of this study is to understand the perception of urban green space as a mediator for heat wave mitigation for Daegu citizens. First, about 93.3% of the respondents perceived what the heat was. The most frequent cause of the increase in the number of heat waves was the increase in energy use (34.9%), ‘indiscriminate development’ (24.9%), ‘automobile and traffic increase’ (17.9%), ‘greenery reduction’ (12.6% ) were the most common cause. Second, 87.1% of respondents had positive perception about the mitigation effect on the effect of urban green space as a medium to mitigate the heat. In addition, 26.7% of respondents answered that they are very effective in mitigating the effect of the heat of urban greenery, and 95.1% of them responded more than ‘normal’. Third, as a result of examining the priorities of short and long-term heat-related policies, the short term was the highest (37.5%) in responding to ‘electricity tariff realization’ because of the high dependence on air conditioners. In contrast to the short-term perspective, the long-term policy for mitigating the heat wave was overwhelmingly supported by ‘expansion of urban green areas’ (50.7%). This is a result of confirming Daegu citizens’ consciousness which is highly evaluating the effect of urban green space as a medium for mitigating the heat. Fourth, the importance and performance of ‘urban green space type’ for mitigation of the heat wave were examined. The type of urban green space belonging to the phenomena maintenance area (quadrant Ⅰ), which both had high importance and performance, was classified as ‘neighborhood park’. In addition, it was surveyed as ‘Ssamji(mini) Park’ as the type of urban greenery in the concentrated improvement area (quadrant Ⅱ) where the importance is high but the performance is low. We believe that the value of urban green areas for mitigating the heat waves has been fully recognized through the recognition of Daegu citizens. We hope that the results of this study will be used as basic data for future Daegu city heat and urban greening policy. more...

This study was undertaken to evaluate the correlation between preoperative Serum markers and pelvic adhesions in endometriosis patients and to explore the markers' clinical value for outcome prediction. Preoperative blood Serum and CA 125 results were obtained and pelvic adhesion scores were calculated. The patient group with adhesion scores less than 28 points was defined as the mild adhesion group, and those with a score of 28 or more were members of the severe adhesion group. The CA 125 level was significantly higher in the severe adhesion group than in the mild adhesion group. The CA 125 level, size of the largest cyst, and WBC count were associated with the level of pelvic adhesion. Adhesion scores were significantly higher in the CA 125 ≥ 35 U/mL group than in the CA 125 35 U/mL group. Patients with a preoperative CA 125 level higher than 35 U/mL are at high risk for pelvic adhesion. more...

The study aims to test the difference between the online and offline consumer responses to two sales promotion tactics (i.e., bonus packs and price discounts). Three online experiments were conducted, and as a result, Study 1 found that price discounts were perceived as prevention-focused and bonus packs as promotion-focused promotion. Study 2 then found that promotion-oriented participants chose bonus packs (vs. price discounts) more than prevention-focused participants. Lastly, Study 3 showed that participants in the online condition found the sales promotion more attractive and were more likely to purchase the product when the promotion was presented as the price discount (50% off) than the bonus pack (BOGO) while participants in the offline condition rated both promotion tactics equally. This study provides important insights for sales promotion and multichannel retailing, by addressing subtle differences induced by different shopping channels, and emphasizes the importance of developing channel-specific sales promotion strategies. more...