• Korea Trade Review
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.61-96
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• 2016

This study investigates the effects of M&A experience of Chinese firms and characteristics of deal partners in cross border M&A deal failures. 1,610 firms that participated in 1,558 cross border M&As from 2000 to November 2015 are used as samples. The dependent variable is the M&A transaction failures, which were cases of deal pending or withdrawal of Chinese firms. Major independent variables are the nationality diversity of transaction partner firm, the partner firm belonging to a developed country, domestic M&A experience of the Chinese firms, M&A experience in a particular target country, etc. After conducting a probit model analysis, we find that deal partner firm's nationality diversity increases the failure rate of M&A. While prior domestic M&A experience in China has no influence on deal failure, prior M&A experience of Chinese and focal firms in a particular country have a negative effect on the probability of deal failure. This study has academic implication on figuring out why firms are likely to fail in the process of strategic activities based on the inter-organizational learning through partnerships perspective.

• Weed & Turfgrass Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.275-282
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• 2018

Miscanthus species are known as a genus of eco-friendly and low-maintenance cost ornamental grasses. Plug and cutting methods were tested for multi-propagation of most promising ornamental Miscanthus species in greenhouse and field plot. The plug formation period with three different cell sizes with four cultivars (M. sinensis 'Andersson', 'Strictus', 'Gracillimus', 'Variegatus') were evaluated the seedling development stages with two irrigation types of the over-head and the bottom watering in greenhouse and field plot afterward during 2015-2016 season. In seedling plug test, the size of tray cell affected the plug formation. Bottom irrigation resulted positively on plant height, weight, root and tiller development compared with the over-head irrigation. Plug cell size affected the plant growth in the field after transplanting. All of the 3 Miscanthus species showed higher rates of successful propagation at the lower nodes before inflorescence formation (vegetative growth stage). To analyze the survival factors of M. xgiganteus cutting, the cutting time, node part, and culm diameter were tested as independent variables with the binary logistic model. The survival probability was influenced by node part and culm diameter significantly. The third and fifth node parts showed 0.12 (8X higher failure probability) and 0.02 (50X higher failure probability) times less survival probability. It means the survival probability will be increased by using older and lower part of cuttings during a vegetative growth stage before inflorescences of M. xgiganteus.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.335-351
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• 2021

Purpose: An underlying factor for the failure of several clinical trials of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapies is the lack of an effective method to identify patients who overexpress EGFR protein. The quantitative dot blot method (QDB) was used to measure EGFR protein levels objectively, absolutely, and quantitatively. Its feasibility was evaluated for the prognosis of overall survival (OS) of patients with gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: Slices of 2×5 ㎛ from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded gastric cancer specimens were used to extract total tissue lysates for QDB measurement. Absolutely quantitated EGFR protein levels were used for the Kaplan-Meier OS analysis. Results: EGFR protein levels ranged from 0 to 772.6 pmol/g (n=246) for all gastric cancer patients. A poor correlation was observed between quantitated EGFR levels and immunohistochemistry scores with ρ=0.024 and P=0.717 in Spearman's correlation analysis. EGFR was identified as an independent negative prognostic biomarker for gastric cancer patients only through absolute quantitation, with a hazard ratio of 1.92 (95% confidence interval, 1.05-3.53; P=0.034) in multivariate Cox regression OS analysis. A cutoff of 208 pmol/g was proposed to stratify patients with a 3-year survival probability of 44% for patients with EGFR levels above the cutoff versus 68% for those below the cutoff based on Kaplan-Meier OS analysis (log rank test, P=0.002). Conclusions: A QDB-based assay was developed for gastric cancer specimens to measure EGFR protein levels absolutely, quantitatively, and objectively. This assay should facilitate clinical trials aimed at evaluation of anti-EGFR therapies retrospectively and prospectively for gastric cancer.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.661-670
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• 2020

The water supply system has a wider installation range and various components of it than other infrastructure, making it difficult to secure stability against earthquakes. Therefore, it is necessary to develop methods for evaluating the seismic performance of water supply systems. Ground Motion Prediction Equation (GMPE) is used to evaluate the seismic performance (e.g, failure probability) for water supply facilities such as pump, water tank, and pipes. GMPE is calculated considering the independent variables such as the magnitude of the earthquake and the ground motion such as PGV (Peak Ground Velocity) and PGA (Peak Ground Acceleration). Since the large magnitude earthquake data has not accumulated much to date in Korea, this study tried to select a suitable GMPE for the domestic earthquake simulation by using the earthquake data measured in Korea. To this end, GMPE formula is calculated based on the existing domestic earthquake and presented the results. In the future, it is expected that the evaluation will be more appropriate if the determined GMPE is used when evaluating the seismic performance of domestic waterworks. Appropriate GMPE can be directly used to evaluate hydraulic seismic performance of water supply networks. In other words, it is possible to quantify the damage rate of a pipeline during an earthquake through linkage with the pipe failure probability model, and it is possible to derive more reasonable results when estimating the water outage or low-pressure area due to pipe damages. Finally, the quantifying result of the seismic performance can be used as a design criteria for preparing an optimal restoration plan and proactive seismic design of pipe networks to minimize the damage in the event of an earthquake.