• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1751-1760
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• 2015

Mucin2 (MUC2), an important regulatory factor in the immune system, plays an important role in the host defense system against bacterial translocation. Probiotics known to regulate MUC2 gene expression have been widely studied, but the interactions among probiotic, pathogens, and mucin gene are still not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of MUC2 in blocking effects of probiotics on meningitic E. coli-induced pathogenicities. In this study, live combined probiotic tablets containing living Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus were used. MUC2 expression was knocked down in Caco-2 cells by RNA interference. 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR), which enhances mucin-promoted probiotic effects through inducing production of Sadenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe), was used to up-regulate MUC2 expression in Caco-2 cells. The adhesion to and invasion of meningitic E. coli were detected by competition assays. Our studies showed that probiotic agents could block E. coli-caused intestinal colonization, bacteremia, and meningitis in a neonatal sepsis and meningitis rat model. MUC2 gene expression in the neonatal rats given probiotic agents was obviously higher than that of the infected and uninfected control groups without probiotic treatment. The prohibitive effects of probiotic agents on MUC2-knockdown Caco-2 cells infected with E44 were significantly reduced compared with nontransfected Caco-2 cells. Moreover, the results also showed that 5-Aza-CdR, a drug enhancing the production of SAMe that is a protective agent of probiotics, was able to significantly suppress adhesion and invasion of E44 to Caco-2 cells by upregulation of MUC2 expression. Taken together, our data suggest that probiotic agents can efficiently block meningitic E. coli-induced pathogenicities in a manner dependent on MUC2.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.19-28
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• 2012

Rapidly growing sales amount and the number of discount stores caused many side effects and sensitive issues in Korea. Because these severe competition due to more expensive cost just like excessive increase in advertising and location selection, and these caused completely ruined small merchants as well as passed on to the consumer. This Study focused on competitiveness of discount store in Korea to the perspective of college students, as explored the relationships between marketing communication and store loyalty. And, examined for two moderating effect, 1) consumers' value separated by hedonic value and utilitarian value between marketing communication and store loyalty, and 2) consumers' value separated by hedonic value and utilitarian value between marketing communication and consumption emotion. Finally, this study examined for mediating effect of consumption emotion between marketing communication and store loyalty. In order to verify the relationship, moderating and mediating effects, data were collected from 130 college students in Whasung, Gyeonggi Province to test theoretical model and its hypotheses. Findings are as followed : First, analysis showed that factors such as advertisement(β =.221, p<.05), publicity(β =.513, p<.01), sales promotion(β =.234, p<.01), word of mouth(β =.627, p<.01) and physical environment(β =.339, p<.01) for marketing communication in the discount store have statistically significant positive effect on store loyalty. But the result of regression analysis for which factors are more impact in marketing communication between store loyalty showed that word of mouth(β =.53, p<.01) is only statistically significant. Second, publicity(β =-.895, p<.05), the sub-dimension of marketing communication shows only statistically significant negative moderating effect on store loyalty. But, the results of the moderating effect of value between marketing communication and consumption emotion verified that utilitarian value show statistically significant, specifically advertisement(β =.294, p<.01), physical environment(β =.418, p<.01), sales promotion(β =.245, p<.01), word of mouth(β =.414, p<.01) and publicity(β =1.137, p<.05), respectively. And hedonic value show statistically significant, specifically advertisement(β =.286, p<.01), physical environment (β =.418, p<.01), sales promotion(β =.236, p<.01) and word of mouth(β =.420, p<.01), respectively. But publicity(β =.145, p=.119) is not statistically significant. Finally, the results verified mediating effect for consumption emotion between all factors for marketing communication and store loyalty showed that factors such as advertisement, publicity, word of mouth and physical environment for marketing communication except sales promotion were statistically significant fully mediated in advertisement, and partially mediated in publicity, word of mouth and physical environment. This testified that the consumption emotion had the most important factor to enhance store loyalty to the perspective of College students. These results can provide important implications and invaluable tips for planning marketing strategies and gaining access to new potential customers. Implications and future research directions are also discussed.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.6
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• pp.152-171
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• 2002

This study analyses the avatar service, which is recognized as an alternative strategy of animation industry. The research questions of this study are following: (1) How have the avatar services been developed and what are the present dominant types? (2) Which structural characteristics of e-business environment are needed for the success of avatar services? (3) What is the economic characteristics of avatar business model? To solve these research questions, the basic conditions and the structural characteristics of avatar services have been investigated. In the first place, two forms of avatar service are classified. One is the internet service site whole primary service is to provide chatting service based on avatar service. The other is the portal site in which many kinds of products and services are presented as bundles to meet the needs of internet users. So avatar service is one of bundles which those portal sites are providing with. In this study, the big five internet service sites are selected based on the profits they earned through the sales of avatar service. The result of analysis is that the pricing strategy of those big five sites is very different from those of traditional off-line markets. The pricing mechanism are based on the value which internet users endow with the avatar items, not based on the costs of making the products. Avatar is the representative informative goods. The informative goods have the original cost structures, constant fixed costs and zero marginal costs, so the providers of avatar services make much of the subjective values of consumers. The sayclub, which is the most successful avatar service site and earn the average sales of 3 billing won a month, takes the aggressive strategy of pricing avatar items at highest price in the industry. The avatar service providers which make lots of profits are planning of making differentiate the services, introducing well-known brand items and star-named items. Nevertheless, the fact that the members of the sayclub are not decreasing means that the network effect of the site is so strongly manifest. Moreover, the costs the members have paid for the avatar items are so big not as to switch from one site to the other site, it can be very costly. These switching costs are endemic in high-technology industries and digital contents industries. It can be so large that switching suppliers is virtually unthinkable, a situation known as 'lock-in'. When switching costs are substantial, competition can be intense to attract new customers, since, one they are locked in, they can be a substantial source of profit. The consumers of avatar items have switching costs if they subscribe for the new avatar service site. The switching costs can be subscription costs as well as the costs of giving up the items they already paid for. One common example of switching costs involves specialized supplies, as with inkjet printer cartridges. In this example, the switching cost is the purchase of a new printer. The market is competitive ex ante, but since cartridges are incompatible, it is monopolized dx post. So the providers of printer/cartridges set pricing printer so cheap and cartridges expensive. On the contrary, since the avatar service can be successful with the strong network effect, the providers of avatar services have to compete aggressively for new customers. So they allow the subscription at a low price(almost marginal cost) in the early market. The network effect can be maximized when the members are sufficiently growing. The providers which have the monopoly power with sufficient subscribers. begin to raise the prices over the lifetime of the product and make profits.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.235-259
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• 2014

New product or new technology developments are directly linked to a firm's survival and thus their performance and improvement are gaining attention in the midst of rapidly changing business environment and aggravating competition. However, despite SMEs' significance in the national economy, they are limited in terms of size and resources in possession, so the government provides a variety of supports as a policy. According to a study on the organizational life cycle, a firm's limits and difficulties differ by growth stage, so the supports need to be tailored. Based on the data from 2,575 firms that responded to the "2011 SMEs Technological Statistics," how technological capability level and deviation in the R&D process affect the R&D sales performance was studied. The result of analysis revealed that the technological capability has a positive impact on the R&D sales performance. It was also learned that the relationship between deviation in the technological capability and R&D sales performance was moderated by the government support. For the hypothesis that the government support would have a different moderating effect by growth stage for the impact the technology level has on the R&D sales performance, the empirical analysis showed a different meaningful moderating effect for each growth stage. The theoretical implications of the study are that, instead of a simple relation of dynamics that does not take the growth stages into account, it suggested a more realistic causal relationship model that reflects the complex environment the SMEs are in and that the need for measuring and using the deviation in technological capability as a research variable has been justified. The practical implications are that the government policy for supports can be tailored to a growth stage and that the guidelines have been suggested to effectively use the government funding by encouraging the SMEs in a different growth stage to adapt to the customized policy.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.41-67
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• 1991

Local autonomy of Korea's lower-level local council has been reinstated following elections last March for the first time in thirty years. Last June, we had elections for the upper-level local council. Mayors, governors, and administrative chiefs of cities, provinces and other local government bodies are slated for elections in the first half of next year. The impacts of local autonomy are taking effect in not only the political sphere, but also the administrative and economic spheres. In fact, it seems that some modification of all economic policy making and administration is inevitable. Since the initiation of local autonomy, in order to make the economy work more efficiently, it has become quite important to examine the impact of local autonomy on the national economy. The areas of local autonomy include independent legislative power, administrative power, organizational power, and most important of all, the independent public financial power of the local governments. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of local autonomy on the national economy and ways of enhancing the role of local public finance to facilitate settlement and development of the local autonomy system. Local autonomy will contribute to the continuous growth of our economy, allow balanced development, and generate greater efficiency. However, local autonomy can also incur economic costs causing at times short-term price instability, inefficient resource allocation, through tax competition and tax exporting, and insolvency of local government due to abusive fiscal operation. To reduce these side effects, different alternatives must be considered. Local autonomy systems generally provide more efficient resource allocation than centralization. But in the model used in Chapter 3 of this paper, the relative efficiencies of both local autonomy and centralization are determined by comparing the elasticity of substitution between national public goods and local public goods. If the elasticity of substitution is bigger than one, centralization provides a more efficient resource allocation. The development of local autonomy could be attained through democratization of the local public finance system including the following three propositions. I) The independence of public financial power of local governments should be established over central government. Furthermore, a democratically operated scheme of intergovernmental fiscal coordination is especially necessary. 2) In the operation of local finance, direct democracy is needed to induce the voluntary participation of local residents. The residents can take part in planning both the local budget and the development of the community. To attain this goal, all the results of local finance operations should be made public. 3) Among economic ill-effects of the local autonomy system, the most serious one is the possibility of insolvency of local governments. Therefore, measures to limit abusive spending by the local governments should be introduced, such as the fiscal restraints system adopted in the United States.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.3-30
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• 1991

This paper examines Korea's exports of manufactures to the United States, Japan, and other OECD member countries in the 1974-89 period, focusing on the market share in the trade partners' imports. It decomposes the growth of exports into various effects, following the "constant-market-shares" analysis. For this purpose, the entire period is divided into three subperiods: 1974-78, 1978-83, and 1983-89. The paper also estimates a regression model of the market share determination, using the data of Korea's market share in U.S. imports. In the three subperiods under study, Korea's exports grew at different paces for varied reasons. The average annual growth rate was 28 %, 11 %, and 21 %, respectively. A large drop in the "competitiveness effect", that is, in the market-share growth rate, was mainly responsible for the decline in the export growth rate. The largest drop in the competitiveness effect was found in the light manufactures exports in the second period. The market share did not regain the rapid growth momentum. The main reason for the rise in export growth rate in the last subperiod was the "market-size effect"-a rise in the growth rate of the trade partners' imports. According to the regression results, high intensities in physical and human capital tended to lower the Korean manufacturing industries' market shares in the United States. This negative correlation was stronger in the case of human capital intensity, suggesting that Korea is relatively poorer in human capital endowment than in physical capital endowment when compared to the United States. This negative correlation between the market share and each of the two intensities became weaker overtime. This may be interpreted as the consequence of both physical and human capital accumulation which were faster than the labor force growth. Depreciation of the Japanese yen was estimated to have a negative influence on the Korean manufacturing industries' market share in the United States, and this negative influence became stronger each year in the 1980s. This seems to reflect the intensifying competition between the two countries' exports in U.S. import markets. The Heavy and Chemical Industry Policy of the 1970s, which promoted a number of selected industries by providing them with various incentives and inevitably discriminated against the rest of the industries, was estimated to have had strong negative effects on the export performance of the light manufacturing industries. This finding and the largest decline in the "competitiveness effect" -found in the light manufactures exports in the 1978-83 period-indicate that the Heavy and Chemical Industry Policy was mainly accountable for the drop in the export growth rate during the period. On the other hand, the rise in export growth rate during the subsequent subperiod was greatly impacted by the large scale exchange rate realignments of major currencies, especially by the appreciation of the Japanese yen, and other changes in international economic conditions.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.101-111
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• 1987

We investigated the binding properties of $(^3H)$ QNB and $(^3H)$ NMS to mAchR to elucidate the characterstics of mAchR in rat brain by using two different preparations (homogemates & intact brain cell aggregates). The binding properties of both ligands demonstrated high affinity and saturability in both experiments, however $(^3H)$ QNB showed a significantly higher maximal binding capacity than tha ot $(^3H)$ NMS 1. In rat brain homogenates; Displacement of both lignands with several mAchR antagonists resulted in competition curves in accoradnce with the law of massaction for QNB, atropine & scopolamine in thie preparation, also a similar profile was found for the quaternary ammonium analogs of atropine & scopolamine (methyl atropine & methylscopolamine) when $(^3H)$ NMS was used to label the receptors in rat brain. But when these hydrophillic antagonists were used to displace $(^3H)$ QNB, they showed interaction with high- and low-affinity binding sites in brain homogenates. Pirenzepine, the nonclassical mAchR antagonist, was able to displace both ligands from binding sites in this preparation. 2. In intact rat brain cell aggregates; Intact bain cell aggregates were used to elucidate the binding characteristics of $(^3H)$ NMS to mAchR in rat. The magnitude of binding of this ligand was related linearly to the amount of cell protein in the binding assay with a high ratio of total to nonspecific binding. mAchR antagonists displaced specific $(^3H)$ NMS binding according to the law of mass-action, while it was possible to resolve displacement curves using mAchR agonist into high-& low-affinity component. 3. Our results indicate that more hydrophilic receptor ligand $(^3H)$ QNB, displacement experiments in both tissues demonstrated that the lipid solubility of a particulr mAchR ligand might play an important role in determining its profile of binding to the mAchR, and the concentrations of mAchR in rat brain are both on the cell surface (membrane-bound receptor) and in the intracelluar membrane (intermembrane-bound receptor). 4. The results are discussed in terms of the usefulness of dissociated intact rat brain cells in studying mAchR in central nervous system.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.95-120
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• 1996

College level educational training system for the allied health manpower in the country is one of the oldest junior college education programs, and has been developed at very steady phase. Since the school years of the programs limited for 2 to 3 years by the education related law, qualification of the manpower is insufficient to meet the rapidly changing needs in the field of allied health and medicine. The system is comparable with that of developed countries where 4-year baccalaureate degree programs are basically required to be an allied health personnel. Thus, education and training background of allied health program graduates of the country confronts the barriers in competition and cooperation with the graduates of foreign countries at equal basis. Beside, junior college graduates can hardly find the way through advanced courses at 4-year colleges in their specialties except a few programs such as environmental sicience or courses in hygiene. It has long been sought to develop the education and training programs for junior college graduates. Some of them are already materilized and some show remarkable progress while some need to tackle. Wide opening of the opportunity to enroll extensive education program for the junior college graduates of allied health science majors in 4-year colleges with eventual grant of bachelor's degree for those who successfully completed the programs should soon be substantiated. The study was focused to emphasize the necessity of the extensive education and training for the junior college graduate allied health manpower, and to show possibility of the education program development in connection with the 4-year degree granting education programs. The outcome of the study can be summarized as followings. 1. A total number of graduates from eight allied health sciences related programs of junior colleges by the year of 1995 are 109,320. 2. According to the survey report analysed through questionnaires, 99.7% of respondents including administrative deans and professors of junior colleges agreed with the establishment of extensive education and training programs in junior colleges. 53.9% of administrative deans, 52.9% of professors and 47.6% of the graduates expected that it is possible to learn more about their majors, and to earn bachelor's degree through the extensive education programs. Other opinions include that the programs can provide supplementary opportunities to fortify in the area of basic life science, and development of research and technology. 3. It was also found through the survey that 91.2% of the deans, 87.8% of the professors and 68.2% of the graduates responded that the most appropriate organizations to open the extensive education and training programs for allied health manpower are junior colleges where allied health personnel are taught and trained. The majority of the respondents agreed that the acceptable number of credits offered for the previous 2-year junior college graduates are $50\sim60$, and those for the current 3-year graduates are $20\sim30$ units. 4. It was strongly suggested through the survey that baccalaureate degree should be granted for those who successfully completed the extensive courses. The suggestion was claimed by 94.1% of the deans, 89.4% of the professors and 83.4% of the graduates. 5. The model curricula for the extensive education and training programs for the allied health manpower are designed for the purpose of broad capability in practice, enrichment of knowledge and promotion of proficiency for the self access in the major areas. 6. To meet the universal standards of allied health education and training program, it is recommended that opening of the curricula for the extensive, and as well as intensive, courses within junior colleges(continuation education institute) should be materialized. The special baccalaureate degree programs within junior colleges are also recommended to accommodate the junior college graduates and to grant the degree fellowing successful completion of the courses. As a part of the education revolution in progress, the school years at junior college level should be flexible depending upon the nature of course and trend of the universe. For instance, the school years for the allied health manpower should be extended to two to four years from current two to three years.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.591-606
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to develop the argumentation program to build scientific concepts on natural selection for science-gifted elementary students and to know how to implement this program. For this study, nine key concepts about natural selection such as the overproduction of offspring, limited resources, population stability, competition, variation, heredity of variation, differential survival, change of the population and speciation were selected through the literature study. The programs were developed by learning cycle instructional model. Argument writings and discourses have been collected, analyzed and compared before and after the program. Two questionnaires to compare pre and post concept change consist of multiple choice questionnaire and open-ended response question were developed and applied to 19 science-gifted elementary students. Sufficiency of the explanation and conceptual quality of the explanation were used to assess the quality of their arguments before and after the program. Discourse and visual models collected from the highest and lowest group about score improvement were compared. The scores of the gifted statistically improved significantly in multiple choice questionnaire. Students' alternative conceptions about natural selection at the beginning of the program decreased and changed scientifically after the program. Visual models drawn by the students supported the results as well. This study asserts that elementary science-gifted students are able to explain evolutionary perspectives about organism change and use the key concepts of natural selection. The study means that evolutionary perspective is possible to be reflected in elementary science curriculum for the gifted.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.452-459
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• 2006

Competition will usually develop between the opposing walls as the restorative resin shrinks during polymerization. Magnitude of this phenomenon may be depended upon cavity configuration and volume. The purpose of this sturdy was to evaluate the effect of cavity configuration and volume on microleakage of composite resin restoration that has margins on the enamel site only. The labial enamel of forty bovine teeth was ground using a model trimmer to expose a flat enamel surface. Four groups with cylindrical cavities were defined, according to volume and configuration factor(Depth x Diameter / C-factor) - Group I : 1.5 mm ${\times}$ 2.0 mm / 4.0, Group II : 1.5 mm ${\times}$ 6.0 mm / 2.0, Group III : 2.Omm ${\times}$ 1.72 mm / 5.62, Group IV : 2.0 mm ${\times}$ 5.23 mm / 2.54. After treating with fifth-generation one-bottle adhesive - BC Plus$^{TM}$ (Vericom, AnYang, Korea), cavities were bulk flted with microhybrid composite resin - Denfill$^{TM}$ (Vericom). Teeth were stored in distilled water for one day at room temperature and were finished and polished with Sof-Lex system. Specimens were thermocycled 500 times between 5$^{\circ}$C and 55$^{\circ}$C for 30 second at each temperature. Teeth were isolated with two layers of nail varnish except the restoration surface and 1 mm surrounding margins. Electrical conductivity (${\mu}$A) was recorded in distilled water by electrochemical method. Microleakage scores were compared and analyzed using two-way ANOVA at 95% level. The results were as follows: 1. Small cavity volume showed lower microleakage score than large one, however, there was no statistically significant difference. 2. There was no relationship between cavity configuration and microleakage. Factors of cavity configuration and volume did not affect on microleakage of resin restorations with enamel margins only.