• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.187-195
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• 2007

The cord blood serves as a vehicle for the transportation of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus. In the past, the human cord blood has generally been discarded after birth. However, numerous studies have described the regenerative ability of the cord blood cells in various incurable diseases. The umbilical cord blood (UCB)-derived stem cells are obtained through non-invasive methods that are not harmful to both the mother and the fetus. Furthermore, the cord blood stem cells are more immature than the adult stem cells and expand readily in vitro. The mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the capacity to differentiate in vitro into various mesodermal (bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, and adipose), endodermal (hepatocyte), and ectodermal (neurons) tissues. This review describes the immunological properties of the human UCB-MSCs to assess their potential usefulness in the allogeneic transplantation for the regenerative medicine.

• East Asian mathematical journal
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.377-392
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• 2023

The purpose of this research was to investigate mathematics teachers' beliefs regarding the implementation of STEM approaches in secondary school mathematics classes and to identify the factors influencing their beliefs. A survey on teachers' beliefs about applying STEM in mathematics classes was developed and distributed online to mathematics teachers from middle and high schools in two metropolitan areas. Eighty-two surveys were returned from the teachers. Factor analysis revealed that the items were distributed among five main aspects. The findings indicated that most teachers believed in the necessity of implementing STEM education. However, some teachers expressed concerns about the effectiveness of implementation due to the lack of materials, resources, and equipment needed for STEM implementation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 2022

Regenerative medicine is a research field that develops methods to restore damaged cell or tissue function by regeneration, repair or replacement. Stem cells are the raw material of the body that is ultimately used from the point of view of regenerative medicine, and stem cell therapy uses cells themselves or their derivatives to promote responses to diseases and dysfunctions, the ultimate goal of regenerative medicine. Stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) are recognized as an attractive source because they can enrich exogenous microRNAs (miRNAs) by targeting pathological recipient cells for disease therapy and can overcome the obstacles faced by current cell therapy agents. However, there are some limitations that need to be addressed before using miRNA-enriched EVs derived from stem cells for multiplexed therapeutic targeting in many diseases. Here, we review various roles on miRNA-based stem cell EVs that can induce effective and stable functional improvement of stem cell-derived EVs. In addition, we introduce and review the implications of several miRNA-enriched EV therapies improved by multiplexed targeting in diseases involving the circulatory system and nervous system. This systemic review may offer potential roles for stem cell-derived therapeutics with multiplexed targeting.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.125-147
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mathematics-centered STEAM program which was operated in free semester system classes on middle school students' interest in science, technology/engineering, and mathematics(STEM) career and integrated problem solving ability. The study was conducted with 40 first graders in a middle school for 12 weeks using mathematics-centered STEAM program developed for the use of free semester system classes by the support of the Ministry of Education/KOFAC in 2016. According to the results of STEM career interest survey, mathematics-centered STEAM program was effective for improving middle school students' interest in STEM career. And it was also effective in the development of students' integrated problem solving ability.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.12
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• pp.727-735
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• 2023

Stem cells require high amounts of energy to replicate their genome and organelles and differentiate into numerous cell types. Therefore, metabolic stress has a major impact on stem cell fate determination, including self-renewal, quiescence, and differentiation. Lysosomes are catabolic organelles that influence stem cell function and fate by regulating the degradation of intracellular components and maintaining cellular homeostasis in response to metabolic stress. Lysosomal functions altered by metabolic stress are tightly regulated by the transcription factor EB (TFEB) and TFE3, critical regulators of lysosomal gene expression. Therefore, understanding the regulatory mechanism of TFEB-mediated lysosomal function may provide some insight into stem cell fate determination under metabolic stress. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanism of TFEB/TFE3 in modulating stem cell lysosomal function and then elucidate the role of TFEB/TFE3-mediated transcriptional activity in the determination of stem cell fate under metabolic stress.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.42-56
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• 2022

This study aimed to investigate the views of STEM college students on the social responsibility of scientists and engineers. A total of 660 students in STEM majors at several Korean universities participated in the study. We assessed social responsibility among college students in STEM majors using the VSRoSE scale, which taps into eight different domains of social responsibility: Concern for human welfare and safety (HUMAN), Concern for environmental sustainability (ENVIR), Consideration of societal risks and consequences (CONSEQ), Consideration of societal risks and consequences (CONSEQ), Consideration of societal needs and demands (NEEDS), Pursuit of the common good (COMGOOD), Civic engagement and services (CIVIC), Communication with the public (COMMU), and Participation in policy decision-making (POLICY). Group differences in social responsibility by gender, majors, and years in school were examined. Mean scores in HUMAN, ENVIR, and CONSEQ were relatively higher than those in NEEDS, COMGOOD, CIVIC, COMMU, and POLICY. Cluster analysis identified five different groups with similar patterns of social responsibility scores. In addition to two groups with overall high and low scores across all eight factors of VSRoSE, three additional groups with different combinations of high and low scores in different factors were identified. The results indicated that students with low social responsibility are not homogeneous and these heterogeneous sub-groups of students will need tailored interventions highlighting different factors of social responsibility that they lack. Pedagogical implications of social responsibility for education were discussed.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.157-180
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• 2018

Area studies, including Asian and Southeast Asian studies, in the post-Cold War era have been facing an epochal challenge that is rooted in two conditions: on the one hand, the end of the Cold War and the fading geopolitical rationale, and on the other, the emergence of the technology-driven transformation of the global economy and society. The consequences thus far are paradoxical: 1) While the technology-led transformation needs a workforce with critical and innovative abilities, higher education becomes more hyper-utilitarian; 2) While the transformation instigates increasing diversity of identities in global cultures, many countries thrive for STEM education at the expense of learning languages and cultures, including area studies which are essential for diversity. Southeast Asian studies programs need to change in response to these new conditions. These changing conditions and paradoxes, nevertheless, take different forms and degrees in the American, European and Asian academies, thanks to their different histories of higher education. The prospects for Southeast Asian Studies in these various academies are likely to be different too.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2019

This exploratory study is aimed at exploring the validity of the Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) developed for university students, to measure the science motivation of middle school students and analyze the differences on gender and country factors of SMQ. A total of 371 students participated in this study: 171 middle school students from the USA and 200 secondary students from Korea. All participants were enrolled in the STEM program and activities in Utah, USA (for US students) and at a Korean university institute for gifted and talented students (for Korean students). In this study, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and latent mean analysis were used to analyze the gender and country differences. The results indicated that the 25 items of SMQ scale were theoretically meaningful and valid for middle school students. The latent mean difference by gender indicated that male students have higher intrinsic motivation, career motivation, grade motivation, and self-determination than female students. Moreover, a significant difference exists in these factors between the two countries. Further findings reveal that Korean students scored higher than US students in terms of the aforementioned factors. This study will provide significant insights in and contribution to science motivation issues in STEM education and the development of design-based engineering programs.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.365-372
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to improve robotics education in public education. This study was conducted with 157 secondary school teachers regardless of their gender, age and majors. The results are as follows: First, 68.2% of the respondents (81.2% of the STEM(Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)-related teachers) thought that robotics education should be included in public education because it will be a very important area in the future. Second, 73.3% of respondents (89.3% of the STEM-related teachers) agreed that robotics education will be worth teaching as a regular subject. The most important reason was that they thought the robots would be an excellent tool to initiate their class participation and increase their study motivation. Third, the results from this survey showed that the technology teachers would be the best suitable instructors for robotics education. Lastly, teachers felt a great deal of burden to teach robotics although they thought robotics education was necessary. In order to implement robotics education in public school, teachers think it is necessary to take professional training. In addition, teachers should be supported with the reduction in their workload along with sufficient fundings, educational robots such as LEGO MINDSTORMS, and newly designed teaching materials.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.709-723
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• 2015

Since 2011, after beginning of the systematic study on STEAM education, South Korea has developed a number of related programs. At this point we see that this is the time to clarify the challenges. The purpose of this study is to clarify the characteristics of their education through the review of many domestic and foreign papers in order to propose the challenges of STEAM education of Korea. The results are as follows. First, the course of integration cannot be separated by the difference in superiority but should be separated in accordance with the purpose of integration. Second, curriculum integration such as STEAM education is characterized by the emphasis on horizontal linking than vertical depth fusion. Accordingly, the content knowledge and vertical linkages are inevitably weakened. In order to overcome this problem, the key concepts and features that were emphasized in the previous curriculum need to also be emphasized in STEAM training, and the comparative study on the core concept and function of each subjects should be preceded. Third, after looking upon the current situation of our country's fusion research and talent training, the limits and the challenges that need to be overcome has been suggested. Fourth, with the basis on research results, we offered an example of the approach on STEAM education which is applicable to the current situation and proposed the challenges and implications that need to be addressed in the STEAM education of Korea in educational contexts such as curriculum, teaching and learning, and evaluation.