• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.52-63
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• 2019

Biased performance implications are common in conducting empirical analysis on leading firms in strategic management field. Venture businesses in which successful and failing firms in the future are mixed in the present could provide a better discriminative result for examining the determinants of performance. We suggest hypotheses on how competitive strategy, CEO characteristics, and their interactions affect firm performance. We examine these hypotheses through empirical analyses on the basis of a survey collected from 387 venture businesses in order to assure the validity of strategic management theories by using more deviated data. Empirical results show that innovative differentiation from competitive strategies affects firm performance and innovativeness and long-term orientation from CEO characteristics affect firm performance. According to the results of the interaction analyses between competitive strategies and CEO characteristics, cost-leadership and marketing differentiation strategies have combination effects with risk taking, innovativeness, and long-term orientation, while innovative differentiation strategy has no combination effects with risk taking, innovativeness, and long-term orientation. We conclude that cost-leadership and marketing differentiation strategies have no direct effect on firm performance but have combination effects with CEO characteristics, while innovative differentiation strategy has direct effect on firm performance but has no combination effect. Our primary contribution is that we test and confirm that the fit between competitive strategies and CEO characteristics are an important consideration to increase firm performance in venture businesses.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.33.1-33.8
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• 2014

Background: Sox 9 is a major marker of chondrocyte differentiation. When chondrocytes are cultured in vitro they progressively de-differentiate and this is associated with a decline in Sox 9 expression. The active form of vitamin D, 1, 25 $(OH)_2D_3$ has been shown to be protective of cartilage in both humans and animals. In this study equine articular chondrocytes were grown in culture and the effects of 1, 25 $(OH)_2D_3$ upon Sox 9 expression examined. The expression of the transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) ion channels 5 and 6 in equine chondrocytes in vitro, we have previously shown, is inversely correlated with de-differentiation. The expression of these channels in response to 1, 25 $(OH)_2D_3$ administration was therefore also examined. Results: The active form of vitamin D (1, 25 $(OH)_2D_3$ when administered to cultured equine chondrocytes at two different concentrations significantly increased the expression of Sox 9 at both. In contrast 1, 25 $(OH)_2D_3$ had no significant effect upon the expression of either TRPV 5 or 6 at either the protein or the mRNA level. Conclusions: The increased expression of Sox 9, in equine articular chondrocytes in vitro, in response to the active form of vitamin D suggests that this compound could be utilized to inhibit the progressive de-differentiation that is normally observed in these cells. It is also supportive of previous studies indicating that $1{\alpha}$, 25-dihydroxyvitamin $D_3$ can have a protective effect upon cartilage in animals in vivo. The previously observed correlation between the degree of differentiation and the expression levels of TRPV 5/6 had suggested that these ion channels may have a direct involvement in, or be modulated by, the differentiation process in vitro. The data in the present study do not support this.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.660-667
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• 2000

Previous studies on the effect of age on intestinal taurine transport in animals have invariably shown a decline in the activity of the transport system with increasing age. In the present study changes in taurine transporter activity were observed during cell differentiation in the human colon carcinoma cell line HT-29 This cell line exhibits various enterocytic characteristics when differentiated and therefore has frequently been used to study the characteristcs and regulation of nutrient and drug absorption in the small intestine at the cellular level. Pre-treatment of the cells with $\beta$-alanine(10mM) reduced the taurine transport activity to 33% of the value for the control cells(p<0.05) which implies that taurine and $\beta$-alanine share a common $\beta$-amino acid transport system for their celluar uptake in the HI-29 was continued until 21 days post seeding. Kinetic studies of the taurine transporter were conducted in the HT-29 cell line with varying taurine concentration(5-60$\mu$M) in the uptake medium Both Vmax and the Michaelis-Menten constant(Km) of taurine transporter were decreased as differentiation of the HT-29 cell line was progressed ; Vmax of the taurine transporter in cells incubated for 4, 14 and 21 days post seeding was 2.79$\pm$3.4m 16.89$\pm$1.74, and 0.85$\pm$0.08 and 0.32$\pm$0.01nmol.mg protein-1 .30min-1 respectively(p<0.001) and Km was 42.3$\pm$3.4, 16.89$\pm$1.74, and 11.2$\pm$3.0$\mu$M respectively (p<0.01) These results indicate that the activity of sodium dependent active taurine transport system in the HT-29 cell line is decreased as confluent cells are differentiated. This phenomenon in cell culture system corresponds well with the earlier observation of lower intestinal taurine transport activity in suckling rats compared to that in adult animals although direct relationship of cell differentiation with in vivo aging process needs further verification.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.43-48
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• 2015

Objectives : The aim of this study was to investigate the memory enhancing properties of extract of Hoelen Cum Radix (HCR) and its possible mechanism in mice of normal condition. Methods : We evaluated the effects of HCR on cognitive function and memory enhancement in normal mice. Male ICR mice were orally administrated with HCR 100 mg/kg for 7 days and equal volume of saline was administrated to the control group in the same condition. We conducted two behavioral tests which measure the spatial working memory (Y-maze test) and cognitive fear memory (passive avoidance test). We also investigated whether HCR affects the hippocampal neurogenesis in the brain. To assess the effects of HCR on neural progenitor cell differentiation and neurite outgrowth in the early stage of hippocampal neurogenesis, we performed doublecortin (DCX), a direct neurogenesis marker, immunohistochemical analysis in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the mouse hippocampus. Results : HCR significantly enhanced memory and cognitive function as determined by the Y-maze test (p<0.05) and passive avoidance test (p<0.001). Moreover, HCR increased DCX positive cells (p<0.01) and neurite length (p<0.01) compared to the control group. These results indicated that HCR stimulates differentiation of neural progenitor cells and promotes neurite outgrowth in hippocampal DG of the mice. Conclusion : We concluded that HCR shows memory enhancing effects through the stimulation of hippocampal neurogenesis as a consequence of accelerated neuronal differentiation and neurite outgrowth in the DG of the hippocampus after HCR treatment.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.463-472
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• 2020

Direct reprogramming, also known as a trans-differentiation, is a technique to allow mature cells to be converted into other types of cells without inducing a pluripotent stage. It has been suggested as a major strategy to acquire the desired type of cells in cell-based therapies to repair damaged tissues. Studies related to switching the fate of cells through epigenetic modification have been progressing and they can bypass safety issues raised by the virus-based transfection methods. In this study, a protocol was established to directly convert fully differentiated fibroblasts into diverse mesenchymal-lineage cells, such as osteoblasts, adipocytes, chondrocytes, and ectodermal cells, including neurons, by means of DNA demethylation, immediately followed by culturing in various differentiating media. First, 24 h exposure of 5-azacytidine (5-aza-CN), a well-characterized DNA methyl transferase inhibitor, to NIH-3T3 murine fibroblast cells induced the expression of stem-cell markers, that is, increasing cell plasticity. Next, 5-aza-CN treated fibroblasts were cultured in osteogenic, adipogenic, chondrogenic, and neurogenic media with or without bone morphogenetic protein 2 for a designated period. Differentiation of each desired type of cell was verified by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction/western blot assays for appropriate marker expression and by various staining methods, such as alkaline phosphatase/alizarin red S/oil red O/alcian blue. These proposed procedures allowed easier acquisition of the desired cells without any transgenic modification, using direct reprogramming technology, and thus may help make it more available in the clinical fields of regenerative medicine.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.156-166
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• 2019

For this study, a survey was conducted with the employees of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) located in Seoul and in Gyeonggi province. In the end, a total of 328 valid questionnaires were received and used in the analysis. The data of this study were analyzed using two statistics programs: SPSS Statistics 22.0 and AMOS 22.0. As for the method to verify the hypothesis, we used a structural equation model. The key findings of this study are as follows. First, the results of correlation analysis between management strategy factors, innovation activities, and business performance showed that the factors that were at a higher level of correlation were the technology differentiation strategies, marketing differentiation strategies, and the cost-driven strategy. Second, the strategic management factors that influenced innovation activities were in the following order: marketing differentiation, technology differentiation, and the cost-driven strategy, while the valid factors that affected business performance with significance were only the marketing differentiation strategy and the cost-driven strategy. Third, while the analysis showed that the technology differentiation strategy did not have a direct effect on business performance, it was shown that the relationship between the technology differentiation strategy and business performance was completely mediated by innovation activities.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.49-61
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• 2019

As the technological gap amongst manufacturers decreases, the life cycle of products has shortened, and competition accelerates due to the development of technology, incumbent manufacturing companies face growth limitations. In order to overcome such business issues, manufacturing companies are increasingly interested in changes in business models and innovations, especially in the direction of providing services where they can maintain the competitive advantage of their products. In such context, this empirical study examines managerial leadership, differentiation strategies, and products and services pricing as 'servitization factors', which can be driving forces for moving into a new era of growth for Korean SMEs, focusing on the mediating effects of servitization competency. The results are as follows : First, it was confirmed that executive leadership, differentiation strategy, and information & communication technology capability have a direct effect on service sales. Second, the process competency, partnership competency, and ICT competency, which are presented as the service competence of SMEs, were found to play an important role in inducing service sales in managerial leadership, differentiation strategy, product and services pricing. It also emphasized the role of the public policy such as helping to foster SMEs as key partners in the expansion of social facilities and establishing platforms through ICT and data utilization for the convergence of manufacturing services.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.205-220
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• 2019

This article recapitulates the recent changes in trade laws, which may be accentuated due to the intriguing emergence of fortified protectionism and Mega FTAs. It points out the need to formulate not only the corporate strategy for enhancing the product differentiation and architectural capabilities but also the public policy, which comprises the industrial adjustment policy to cope with possible negative impulses caused by the digital trade and foreign direct investment. It is imperative for Korea to facilitate the alignment between corporate strategy and industrial adjustment policy as an effective means of enhancing industrial structure by nurturing those linkage effects between relevant forward and backward industries. Given the drastically volatile trade norms of multi-track trade policies, it may be a pivotal momentum for Korea to pursue a paradigm shift of its trade policy with a prime objective of achieving such an alignment between corporate strategy and industrial adjustment policy, which affords increased value-added and the further development of product or generic technology instead of resorting to the misuses and abuses of economies of scale and production technology for the maximization of export amount.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.19-33
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• 2022

Purpose: Based on the resource-based view and the competitive advantage theory, the study views marketing capabilities (product, pricing, delivery/inventory, and promotional support) as sources of competitive advantage (differentiation advantage and low-cost advantage) and examines their impacts on competitive advantage, which in turn, will influence non-business and business performance. Research design, data and methodology: Data were collected from 149 representatives of franchising companies in South Korea and analyzed with SmartPLS 3.3.7. Results: First, promotional support and product have a significant impact on differentiation advantage. Second, pricing and promotional support have a significant impact on low-cost advantage. Third, differentiation advantage has an influence on non-financial and financial business performance. Fourth, low-cost advantage has an impact on non-financial performance but has no significant direct impact on financial performance. Fifth, non-financial performance is related to financial performance. Finally, the result of IPMA shows that importance and performance values of exogeneous variables are different depending on firm size. Conclusions: The findings suggest that franchisors should focus on different marketing capabilities depending on their strategic focus and objectives. Finally, the findings based on an IPMA suggest that small companies perceive low-cost advantage as important, while their counterparts do not. Several theoretical and managerial implications are offered.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.79-90
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• 2015

In empirical studies on rural development projects, differentiation tends to be considered a strategy aimed at increasing the number of visitors. Rural development projects include the improvement of living environment, and the discussion about project goals and evaluation of project results are often focused on the aspect of rural tourism. Thus, subjective benefits of such projects for residents are omitted. This study examines the meaning of differentiation from the perspective of residents and explores the validity of the number of visitors and the possibility of reflecting residents' subjective score as evaluation indicators for a project. To achieve such an objective, this study uses survey data collected from 153 people in 38 comprehensive development projects in areas of Eup and Myeon, Korea. The results of this study show that differentiation is viewed as a by-product of positive improvement from a rural development project, from the perspective of residents. The effects of rural development are classified into two dimensions: socioeconomic effects and living environmental effects. Landscape improvement is included in the dimension of living environmental effects and an increase in the number of visitors is included in the dimension of socioeconomic effects. As such, they are confirmed to be the factors that determine the level of differentiation. For example, the increase in the number of visitors is confirmed to be a valid indicator of project success, in which two-dimensional characters are reflected. The level of differentiation evaluated by residents is a result of the workings of the above two factors. Unlike in previous studies, the possibility of evaluation based on the perception of residents is confirmed in the evaluation of results. When the level of differentiation is interpreted as the direct result of a project, the number of visitors has an impact on socioeconomic effects, and the project content of landscape improvement has an impact on living environmental effects. The goal of policy and residents is the same in terms of the effort residents may make in maximizing results of a project by themselves; thus, the government's goal is achieved even when a project is carried out under the autonomy of residents. Ultimately, the government should focus on providing conditions in which active citizen participation can not only occur but help to establish a policy direction, which subsequently strengthens the substantial rights of residents.