• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.175-184
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• 2022

Background: Post-tuberculosis (TB) sequelae is a commonly encountered clinical entity, especially in high TB burden countries. This may represent chronic anatomic sequelae of previously treated TB, with frequent symptomatic presentation. This pilot study was aimed to investigate the pulmonary functions and systemic inflammatory markers in patients with post-TB sequelae (PTBS) and to compare them with post-TB without sequelae (PTBWS) participants and healthy controls. Methods: A total of 30 participants were enrolled, PTBS (n=10), PTBWS (n=10), and healthy controls (n=10). Pulmonary function tests included spirometry and measurement of airway impedance by impulse oscillometry. Serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, transforming growth factor-β, and interferon-γ were estimated. Results: Slow vital capacity (SVC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), FEV₁/FVC, and peak expiratory flow were significantly lower in PTBS as compared to controls. SVC and FEV₁ were significantly less in PTBS as compared to PTBWS. Total airway impedance (Z₅), total airway resistance (R₅), central airway resistance (R₂₀), area of reactance (Ax), and resonant frequency (Fres) were significantly higher and respiratory reactance at 5 and 20 Hz (X₅, X₂₀) were significantly lower in PTBS as compared to PTBWS. Spirometry parameters correlated with impulse oscillometry parameters in PTBS. Serum MMP-1 level was significantly higher in PTBS as compared to other groups. Conclusion: Significant pulmonary function impairment was observed in PTBS, and raised serum MMP-1 levels compared with PTBWS and healthy controls. Follow-up pulmonary function testing is recommended after treatment of TB for early diagnosis and treatment of PTBS.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.179-186
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• 2007

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the differences in critical thinking and professionalism between Korean and Chinese nursing students. Critical thinking and professionalism were a part of five domains to evaluate nursing education: critical thinking, professionalism, leadership, communication, and nursing practice from the Korean Accreditation Board of Nursing. Methods: Data were collected from 207 college nursing students: 104 students from the 4-year degree program in Korea and 103 from the 5-year degree program in China from September 2006 to September 2007. The instruments for Chinese students were translated in Chinese and re-translated to check accuracy. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS/PC+ Win 12.0 Version. The $x^2$-test to compare general characteristics and the t-test to examine the differences of the study variables were conducted. Results: Korean nursing students reported significantly higher scores of critical thinking than did Chinese students while Chinese students reported significantly higher scores of professionalism. Students took previous courses associated with critical thinking reported significantly higher scores than did those without previous courses taken. There was no significant difference in scores of professionalism whether students had previous experience of related courses or not. Rather than, students with clinical practice reported higher scores of professionalism than did those without clinical practice. Conclusion: Levels of critical thinking were influenced by course focusing on critical thinking while professionalism was improved by combination of associated courses and clinical practice. For follow-up study, there is needed to examine nursing curriculum between Korea and China.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with the critical thinking ability of nursing students at the individual and school levels. The study adopted a descriptive design and recruited 465 nursing students from four nursing schools from November 2014 to September 2015 through convenience sampling. The Clinical Critical Thinking Skill Test was used to measure critical thinking ability, and the data were analyzed with the SAS ver. 9.4 program (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) for descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance, and multi-level model. The results showed that clinical practicum experience (${\beta}=-0.72$, p=0.025), taking critical thinking courses (${\beta}=0.63$, p=0.010), and taking simulation courses (${\beta}=0.56$, p=0.035) improved critical thinking ability in the individual level model. In the school level model, the interaction effect between the years of clinical practice done by the student and the presence of full-time clinical instructors was significant (${\beta}=1.29$, p=0.011). These results suggest that critical thinking ability improves with the more years of clinical practice individual nursing students have, and this improvement is greater with the presence of full-time clinical instructors in the school. Therefore, it is recommended that nursing students undergo critical thinking and simulation courses to develop their critical thinking ability, and dedicated clinical instructors in nursing schools should play a vital role.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.171-177
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze the effects that Flipped Learning Method has on a college student's self directed learning ability, critical thinking disposition, learning motivation, and learning satisfaction, and determine its effectiveness as a new pedagogical approach. Methods: The survey was conducted on dental technology students. The collected data was analyzed by the statistical program SPSS 21.0. The results were analyzed by reliability, frequency, t-test. To test for significance on each item, p<0.05 has been decided as a standard. Results: According to the analysis, the student who attended a class that utilized Flipped Learning Method was found to have higher levels of self directed learning ability, critical thinking disposition, learning motivation, and learning satisfaction than a student who attended a class that did not utilize such a method. Conclusion: The study results show that, in order to enhance students' self directed learning ability, critical thinking disposition, learning motivation, and learning satisfaction and to improve the quality of class instruction, it may be necessary that Flipped Learning Method be adopted more widely and recommended more strongly. Such changes will promote a long term improvement in educational environments and play a major role in strengthening students' abilities.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.157-175
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• 2009

This paper offers a critical review of a newspaper argument regarding the problems of high school education assessment for university entrance examination system in the United Kingdom. The media account raises three sets of questioning to hold that the nation's long-standing A-levels have failed and is no longer viable as a high-stakes test. However, it is found that the writer's argumentations involving misleading conceptions can be deconstructed because of invalid reasoning and unreliable evidence. So, it is proposed that a reasonable solution to replace the discredited A-level exams should be to adopt an eclectic approach for assessing candidates' multiple capabilities; performance, potentiality and critical thinking skills. These criteria for component-oriented assessments are designed to measure their high school academic achievements and intellectual capacity for tertiary education; in the process of such measurement, critical-logical reasoning abilities for sound judgment and problem-solving tasks should be incorporated with the basic precondition that each university possesses its own discretion for the determination of adequate proportions to reflect each of the assessment outcomes. It is, therefore, expected that this critical review will inspire the readers to understand aspects of assessment as an educational field and to confirm how seriously they may be misguided by a distorted media argumentation without substantive background knowledge.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.44 no.9
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• pp.524-528
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• 2007

The results of evaluating steel corrosion in concrete containing chloride content of various levels indicated that the more chloride content in concrete leads to the lower potential and higher corrosion current density. However, the open circuit potential of steel varied with time and exposure condition, and the corelation between the open circuit potential and corrosion current density was not obvious. In order to determine the critical threshold content of chloride of steel corrosion in concrete, the concept of average corrosion current density was employed. The range of critical chloride content in portland cement concretes was about $1.56{\sim}1.77%$($Cl^-$, %, wt of cement content) along with water-cement ratio, and higher water-cement ratio resulted in reduction in critical threshold chloride content.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2023

This study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey study that confirms the effect on subjects that prefer clinical practice in order to prepare basic data for efficient clinical practice guidance for nursing college students. The study participants were 201 students attending C University, and the data collection period was from October 1 to October 15, 2022. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 as descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, Chi square test, ANOVA test, and Multiple regression test. As a result of the analysis, it was found that clinical decision-making and critical thinking were correlated under the statistical significance level (r=.730, p<0.01). The most favorite clinical practice department was community nursing, and male students preferred community nursing the most (Male=45.6%, χ²=.000), female students were found to prefer similar levels of practical subjects with child nursing , adult nursing, and maternal nursing(χ²=000).Clinical decision-making was found to be higher in students who preferred community nursing at a statistical significance level than those who preferred child nursing (F=4.91, p<0.01). Critical thinking was higher among students who preferred adult nursing than those who preferred other subjects (F=4.65, p<0.01). Through the analysis results, it was found that general characteristics vary, but clinical decision-making ability and critical thinking affect the preference of clinical practice subjects. Therefore, based on the results of this study, the professor of clinical practice suggests the development of a program to foster clinical decision-making and critical thinking to make students interested in clinical practice subjects.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.sup1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Considering the high number of deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Latin American countries, together with multiple factors that increase the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, we aimed to determine 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels and its association with mortality in patients with critical COVID-19. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a prospective observational study including adult patients with critical COVID-19. Data, including clinical characteristics and 25(OH)D levels measured at the time of intensive care unit admission, were collected. All patients were followed until hospital discharge or in-hospital death. The patients were divided into those surviving and deceased patient groups, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine independent predictors of in hospital mortality. RESULTS: The entire cohort comprised 94 patients with critical COVID-19 (males, 59.6%; median age, 61.5 years). The median 25(OH)D level was 12.7 ng/mL, and 15 (16%) and 79 (84%) patients had vitamin D insufficiency and vitamin D deficiency, respectively. The median serum 25(OH)D level was significantly lower in deceased patients compared with surviving (12.1 vs. 18.7 ng/mL, P < 0.001). Vitamin D deficiency was present in 100% of the deceased patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age, body mass index, other risk factors, and 25(OH)D level were independent predictors of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency was present in 84% of critical COVID-19 patients. Serum 25(OH)D was independently associated with mortality in critical patients with COVID-19.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.86-93
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• 2015

Globally, wind power development is experiencing dramatic growth and wind power penetration levels are increasing. Wind generation is highly variable in time and space and it doesn't guarantee the system reliability and secure system operation. As wind power capacity becomes a significant portion of total generation capacity, the reliability assessment for wind power are therefore needed. At present, this operational reliability assessment is focusing on a generation adequacy perspective and does not consider transmission reliability issues. In this paper, we propose the critical transmission operating constraint prediction(CTOCP) system with high wind power penetration to enhance transmission reliability.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.135-158
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• 2022

This study aimed to building models to understand the relationships between reasoning resources and content knowledge. We applied Support Vector Machine and linear models to the data including fifth graders' scores in the Cornel Critical Thinking Test and the Iowa Assessments, demographic information, and learning science approach (a student-centered approach to learning called the Science Writing Heuristic [SWH] or traditional). The SWH model showing the relationships between critical thinking domains and academic achievement at grade 5 was developed, and its validity was tested across different learning environments. We also evaluated the stability of the model by applying the SWH models to the data of the grade levels. The findings can help mathematics educators understand how critical thinking and achievement relate to each other. Furthermore, the findings suggested that reasoning in mathematics classrooms can promote performance on standardized tests.