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Background and Aim Recent prospective studies have shown that the sequential therapy has not achieved the target Helicobacter pylori eradication rate of > 80% in Korea. The aim of this study was to therefore assess the efficacy of the hybrid therapy as a first-line treatment for H. pylori eradication in a prospective trial. Methods From December 2012 to August 2013, 184 patients with confirmed H. pylori infections received either the 14-day hybrid therapy or the 14-day sequential therapy. Eradication outcomes were evaluated using a 13 C-urea breath test at least 4 weeks after treatment cessation. Results A total of 184 patients (90 receiving hybrid treatment and 94 receiving sequential treatment) completed the study. The eradication rates of the hybrid and sequential therapy groups were 81.1% (73/90; 95% confidence interval [ CI] = 73.0-89.2%) and 79.8% (75/94; 95% CI = 71.7-87.9%), respectively, by intention-to-treat analysis ( P = 0.821). By per protocol analysis, eradication rates were 85.9% (73/85; 95% CI = 78.5-93.3%) and 82.0% (73/89; 95% CI = 74.0-89.9%; P = 0.489), respectively. There were no significant intergroup differences in treatment compliance or discontinuation induced by severe side effects. Conclusions The hybrid therapy achieved acceptable eradication rate (85.9%), but not statistically significantly higher rates than the sequential therapy (82.0%). Further studies are therefore needed to identify first-line treatments with even better eradication rates in the Korean population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using a plentiful plant-level data-set, we examined productivity growth of the Korean manufacturing industry for the period 1993-2003. In doing this, we employed the Malmquist productivity growth index. We also investigated decomposed components of productivity growth. A second-stage regression analysis was employed to find determinants of productivity growth. Empirical results show that after the 1997 financial crisis productivity and efficiency decreased, whereas technology improved. The result of the second regression analysis indicates that a competitive market condition, R&D activities, export activities and innovativeness increased the rate of productivity growth. It also shows that productivity converged during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of production efficiency has been studied since the 1960s, but consumption activity as well may be inefficient for various reasons, such as product complexity, lack of information, the bounded rationality of the consumer and imperfect markets, to name a few. This study proposes a conceptual framework for measuring the consumption efficiency of differentiated products, based on traditional utility theory. It employs stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) in an empirical analysis. It makes use of hedonic price theory to link traditional utility theory and the SFA framework. When the developed model is applied to the Korean personal computer market, empirical results indicate the levels and distribution of consumption efficiency in that market. The findings afford us a better understanding of the characteristics of the innovation process in that market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]