• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.139-162
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• 2010

In terms of the international air transport, the open skies policy implies freedom in the sky or opening the sky. In the normative respect, the open skies policy is a kind of open-door policy which gives various forms of traffic right to other countries, but on the other hand it is a policy of free competition in the international air transport. Since the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the United States has signed an open skies agreement with many countries, starting with the Netherlands, so that competitive large airlines can compete in the international air transport market where there exist a lot of business opportunities. South Korea now has an open skies agreement with more than 20 countries. The frequent flyer program (FFP) is part of a broad-based marketing alliance which has been used as an airfare strategy since the U.S. government's airline deregulation. The membership-based program is an incentive plan that provides mileage points to customers for using airline services and rewards customer loyalty in tangible forms based on their accumulated points. In its early stages, the frequent flyer program was focused on marketing efforts to attract customers, but now in the environment of intense competition among airlines, the program is used as an important strategic marketing tool for enhancing business performance. Therefore, airline companies agree that they need to identify customer needs in order to secure loyal customers more effectively. The outcomes from an airline's frequent flyer program can have a variety of effects on international competition. First, the airline can obtain a more dominant position in the air flight market by expanding its air route networks. Second, the availability of flight products for customers can be improved with an increase in flight frequency. Third, the airline can preferentially expand into new markets and thus gain advantages over its competitors. However, there are few empirical studies on the airline frequent flyer program. Accordingly, this study aims to explore the effects of the program on international competition, after reviewing the types of strategic alliance between airlines. Making strategic airline alliances is a worldwide trend resulting from the open skies policy. South Korea also needs to be making open skies agreements more realistic to promote the growth and competition of domestic airlines. The present study is about the performance of the airline frequent flyer program and international competition under the open skies policy. With a sample of five global alliance groups (Star, Oneworld, Wings, Qualiflyer and Skyteam), the study was attempted as an empirical study of the effects that the resource structures and levels of information technology held by airlines in each group have on the type of alliance, and one-way analysis of variance and regression analysis were used to test hypotheses. The findings of this study suggest that both large airline companies and small/medium-size airlines in an alliance group with global networks and organizations are able to achieve high performance and secure international competitiveness. Airline passengers earn mileage points by using non-flight services through an alliance network with hotels, car-rental services, duty-free shops, travel agents and more and show high interests in and preferences for related service benefits. Therefore, Korean airline companies should develop more aggressive marketing programs based on multilateral alliances with other services including hotels, as well as with other airlines.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1230-1238
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• 2013

The regulatory effect of the tumor-suppressor protein p53 on the apoptogenic activity of $17{\alpha}$-estradiol ($17{\alpha}-E_2$) was compared between HCT116 ($p53^{+/+}$) and HCT116 ($p53^{-/-}$) cells. When the HCT116 ($p53^{+/+}$) and HCT116 ($p53^{-/-}$) cells were treated with $2.5{\sim}10{\mu}M$ $17{\alpha}-E_2$ for 48 h or with $10{\mu}M$for various time periods, cytotoxicity and an apoptotic sub-$G_1$ peak were induced in the HCT116 ($p53^{+/+}$) cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. However, the HCT116 ($p53^{-/-}$) cells were much less sensitive to the apoptotic effect of $17{\alpha}-E_2$. Although $17{\alpha}-E_2$ induced aberrant mitotic spindle organization and incomplete chromosome congregation at the equatorial plate, $G_2/M$ arrest was induced to a similar extent in both cell types. In addition, $17{\alpha}-E_2$-induced activation of Bak and Bax, ${\Delta}{\Psi}m$ loss, and PARP degradation were more dominant in the HCT116 ($p53^{+/+}$) than in the HCT116 ($p53^{-/-}$) cells. In accordance with enhancement of p53 phosphorylation (Ser-15) and p53 levels, p21 and Bax levels were elevated in the HCT116 ($p53^{+/+}$) cells treated with $17{\alpha}-E_2$. The HCT116 ($p53^{-/-}$) cells exhibited barely or undetectable levels of p21 and Bax, regardless of $17{\alpha}-E_2$ treatment. On the other hand, although the level of Bcl-2 was slightly lower in the HCT116 ($p53^{+/+}$) than in the HCT116 ($p53^{-/-}$) cells, it remained relatively constant after the $17{\alpha}-E_2$ treatment. Together, these results show that among the components of the $17{\alpha}-E_2$-induced apoptotic-signaling pathway, which proceeds through mitotic spindle defects causing mitotic arrest, subsequent activation of Bak and Bax and the mitochondria-dependent caspase cascade, leading to PARP degradation, $17{\alpha}-E_2$-induced activation of Bak and Bax is the upstream target of proapoptotic action of p53.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.216-226
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• 1983

Genetic studies on the $F_2$ generation of a set of half diallel crosses involving six cowpea varieties were conducted. by the randomized block design with three replications to determine combining ability, gene action and the relationships between parents and their $F_2$ hybrids. The 12 agronomic characters namely, days to flowering, days from flowering to maturity, days to maturity, diameter of stem, length of internode, number of branches per plant, length of pod, number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod, number of grains per plant, 100 grain weight and grain weight per plot were observed, and the $F_2$ generation of this diallel set of crosses was analysed for each character according to the method by Jinks and Hayman. The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1. Vr-Wr graphical analyses; The following seven characters, days to flowering, number of branches per plant, length of pod, number of pods per plant, number of grains per plant, 100 grain weight and grain weight per plot appeared to be partially dominant, and over dominance was found for days from flowering to maturity, days to maturity, length of internode and number of grains per pod. But diameter of stem indicated partial dominance near complete dominance. 2. Estimates of genetic variance components; In the degree of dominance,. eight characters, that is, days to flowering, days from flowering to maturity, days to maturity, length of internode, number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod, number of grains per plant and grain weight per plot were expressed larger than 1. And the characters, days from flowering to maturity, number of branches per plant and number of grains per plant as the degree of mean dominance ($H_1$/D) were found to be negative value over other characters. On the other hand, apprent asymmetry of dominance-recessive allele ($H_2$ /$4H_1$) produced comparatively estimates with lower value on days from flowering to maturity, length of internode, number of branches per plant and number of grains per pod. 3. Analyses of combining ability; Mean square value of GCA(general combining ability) appeared to be more important than those of SCA (specific combining ability) for most characters, and among them, grain weight per plot showed the highest mean square value in GCA and SCA. 4. Effect of combining ability; Variety 178 was expressed as the highest GCA effects in five characters (days to flowering days to maturity, number of pods per plant, number of grains per plant and grain weight per plot). SCA effects were differed from parents, characters and crosses, but crosses between TVu 1857 $\times$ TVu 2885 and TVu 2702 $\times$ J78 were shown to be highly with SCA effects on yield.