• STI Policy Review
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.1-18
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• 2010

The development and maintenance of human capacity in economies is critical to long term competitiveness, but also for the overall health and environment of regions. Yet, human science and technology-based capacity is multidimensional and has interrelated characteristics which present certain policy challenges. This paper addresses a range of issues specific to a discussion on human capacity in S&T. First, the paper emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the complexity of human capacity issues and how they evolve along the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) pipeline. The pipeline is an often used reference to describe the training and development in STEM disciplines, from early childhood education, to more advanced training, and finally to professional collaboration and interaction and serves as a useful organizing framework for the discussion of capacity along the career evolution process. Second, the paper offers an organizing framework for discussion of policy mechanisms that have been developed to address issues and gaps that occur along this STEM pipeline. Specifically, it contrasts the traditional mechanisms of building human capacity in STEM areas with newer "gap filling" and integrated approached to addressed human capacity disparities and priorities. Third, the paper addresses core challenges in human capacity in STEM, including the education and training, participation of women and underrepresented groups, brain drain/brain circulation issues, and the globalization of science. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy implication for the development of human capacity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.89-101
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• 2011

Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) integrated education has been spotlighted as a new approach for promoting students' conceptual understanding and supporting their future career in STEM field. There is increasing evidence of the positive impact of using a whole design process that can be an example of STEM integrated activities to improve students' conceptual understanding and problem solving skills. However, there is a lack of information on how teachers should accomplish science and engineering integration activities in their classroom and what process they should pay attention. To answer this question, we research the relationship between an design process and students' conceptual understanding using an engineering design activity, called 'Save the Penguins', and study on how each step in an engineering design process in this activity enhance students' conceptual knowledge in science. We found that testing their prototypes and discussing with their peers were the most important process for students to understand and apply science concept for their design, even though the whole engineering design process (demonstration about radiation, discussion about examples in our lives, and testing and reviewing their prototypes, and making final design) helps the students understand the scientific concepts.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.461-467
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• 2006

The growth pattern and the seasonal changes in nutrient contents of Humulus japonicus were investigated. Stem length of H. japonicus reached the maximum from 240 to 260 Julian date and the median value was found at 255 Julian date. The maximum leaf area was observed from 235 to 248 Julian date and the median value was at 240 Julian date. The maximum growth rate of the stem length ranged from 205 to 227 Julian date. The leaf area showed the maximum growth rate from 196 to 214 Julian date. The median date in the growth rate of the stem length and leaf area was 212 and 205 Julian date, respectively. The growth rate of H. japonicus was related to rainy season and precipitation. Phosphorus and sodium contents of H. japonicus were correlated with maximum potential rate of relative growth. Although stem biomass of H. japonicus was $ 1.5{\sim}3.5$ times larger than that of leaf, N content of the leaf ($4.48{\sim}5.27%$) was about 2 times higher than that of the stem ($2.00{\sim}3.62%$). High content of N might be responsible for the high growth rate of H. japonicus in summer. This result provides valuable information for appropriate timing for the removal of H. japonicus.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.137-173
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• 2021

Research and national standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the United States, promote the development and implementation of K-12 interdisciplinary curricula integrating the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (STEM+CS). However, little research has explored how teachers provide epistemic support in interdisciplinary contexts or the factors that inform teachers' epistemic support in STEM+CS activities. The goal of this paper is to articulate how interdisciplinary instruction complicates epistemic knowledge and resources needed for teachers' instructional decision-making. Toward these ends, this paper builds upon existing models of teachers' instructional decision-making in individual STEM+CS disciplines to highlight specific challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary approaches on classroom epistemic supports. First, we offer considerations as to how teachers can provide epistemic support for students to engage in disciplinary practices across mathematics, science, engineering, and computer science. We then support these considerations using examples from our studies in elementary classrooms using integrated STEM+CS curriculum materials. We focus on an elementary school context, as elementary teachers necessarily integrate disciplines as part of their teaching practice when enacting NGSS-aligned curricula. Further, we argue that as STEM+CS interdisciplinary curricula in the form of NGSS-aligned, project-based units become more prevalent in elementary settings, careful attention and support needs to be given to help teachers not only engage their students in disciplinary practices across STEM+CS disciplines, but also to understand why and how these disciplinary practices should be used. Implications include recommendations for the design of professional learning experiences and curriculum materials.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.151-162
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• 2020

Education is one of the priority sectors specified in Tanzania, and it has committed to provide 11 years of compulsory free basic education for all from pre-primary to lower secondary level. Despite the Government's efforts to provide free basic education to all children, there are 2.0 million (23.2 per cent) out of 8.5 million children at the primary school age of 7-13, who are out of school in Tanzania. The ICT class should be offered as a regular class in all secondary schools in Tanzania, recommended by the ministry of education. However, many schools are struggling to implement this mandate. Most of schools offer the ICT class with theory without any real hardware. Some schools were given with computers but they were not maintained for operation. There is a huge task to make ICT education universal. Main issues include: remoteness (off-grid area), lack of ICT teachers, lack of resources such as hardware, infrastructure, and lack of practical lessons or projects to be used at schools. An innovative blended ICT/STEM education program is being conducted not only for Tanzanian public and private/international schools, but also for out-of-school adolescents through institutions, NGO centers, home visits and at the E3 Empower academy center. For effective STEM education to take place and remain sustainable, more practical curriculum, and close-up teacher support need to be accompanied concurrently. Practical, project-based simple coding lessons have been developed and employed that students experience true learning. The effectiveness of the curriculum has been demonstrated in various project centers, and it showed that students are showing new interests in exploring new discovery, even though this was a totally new area for them. It has been designed for an easy replication, thus students who learned can repeat the lessons themselves to other students. The ultimate purpose of this project is to have IT education offered as universally as possible throughout the whole Tanzania. Quality education for all children is a key for better future for all. Previously it was hoped that education with discipline will improve the active learning. But now more than ever, we believe that children have the ability to learn on their own with given proper STEM education tools, guidelines and environment. This gives promising hope to all of us, including those in the developing countries.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.205-211
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• 2003

Stem bark of Cinchona sp. (Rubiaceae) is one of the well known drugs for its therapeutic values in traditional as well as modern medicine. Even though a lot of work has been carried out on quinoline alkaloids of Cinchona, its phenolic constituents received very little attention. In the present study, we evaluated antioxidant properties of C. officinalis stem bark methanolic extract and water extract containing phenolic compounds (total phenolics 21.37, 5.18% w/w respectively in the two extracts) in different in vitro and ex vivo models viz., antiradical activity by DPPH reduction, superoxide radical scavenging activity in riboflavin/light/NBT system, nitric oxide radical scavenging activity in sodium nitroprusside/Greiss reagent system and inhibition of lipid peroxidation induced by iron-ADP-ascorbate in liver homogenate and haemolysis of erythrocytes induced by phenylhydrazine in erythrocyte membrane stabilization study. Both the extracts exhibited very good antioxidant activity in all the models tested. The phenolic compounds including tannins present in the stem bark seem to offer protection from the oxidative damage.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.406-411
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• 2018

Exosomes are small membranous vesicles which contain abundant RNA molecules, and are transferred from releasing cells to uptaking cells. MicroRNA (miRNA) is one of the transferred molecules affecting the adopted cells, including glioma cells. We hypothesized that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can secrete exosomes loading miRNA and have important effects on the progress of gliomas. To determine these effects by treating exosomal miRNA in culture media of miRNA mimic transfected MSCs, we assessed the in vitro cell proliferation and invasion capabilities, and the expression level of relative proteins associated with cell apoptosis, growth and migration. For animal studies, the mice injected with U87 cells were exposed to exosomes derived from miRNA-584-5p transfected MSCs, to confirm the influence of exosomal miRNA on the progress of glioma. Based on our results, we propose a new targeted cancer therapy wherein exosomes derived from miRNA transfected MSCs could be used to modulate tumor progress as the anticancer vehicles.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.190-200
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was done to investigate the educational needs of families of children who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and to compare these needs with the educational importance as perceived by nurses. Methods: The participants were 44 families of children who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and 50 nurses who cared for these children. Data was collected through self-report questionnaires which included items on educational needs and the degree of educational importance. The data was analyzed using the SPSS/WIN program. Results: The educational needs of families before and after transplantation were high, with items on disease and treatment, and direct care ranked as most important, respectively. The degree of educational importance as perceived by nurses was different from that of families. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the educational needs of families before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were different from those after the procedure. Also, the perception of educational importance was different for families compared to nurses. Therefore nursing education programs based on the educational needs of families should be provided.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.231-241
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• 2014

This study is subject to compare the STEAM and the STEM education of Korea, the U.K., and the U.S. to find their differences and similarities, as well as the implications in implementing the STEAM education in Korea. In order to accomplish this, the educational objectives, contents and topics, teaching and learning methods, subjects and timing for education, and convergence curriculum were compared; also, after choosing the representative program of each country, a cross-comparative analysis was done for the teaching and learning method distribution ratio, content element distribution ratio, program distribution ratio, STEAM domain ratio, curriculum structure and domain ratio, frequency of inquiry process, basic inquiry, integrated inquiry frequency, hourly basic inquiry, and integrated inquiry process. As a result, it was possible to obtain 77 programs, a total of 656 class hours of Korea, 65 programs and 846 class hours of the U.S., and 75 programs and 774 class hours of the U.K. The results are as follows: Korea's STEAM and the U.K. and the U.S.' STEM all include science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, but in terms of frequency, Korea's STEAM has higher figure in arts. However, the U.K. and the U.S. have higher frequency of debate and discussion, and there were many cases of a student, after receiving feedback from other students, modifying the work.

• The Journal of Korean Association of Computer Education
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.37-54
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• 2019

The main purpose of STEM education is to understand methods of inquiry in each discipline to develop convergent problem solving skills. To do this, we must first understand the problem-solving process that is regarded as an essential component of each discipline. The purposes of this study is to understand the relationship between the problem solving in science (S), engineering (E), mathematics (M), and computational thinking (CT) based on the comparative analysis of problem solving processes in each SEM discipline. To do so, first, the problem solving process of each SEM and CT discipline is compared and analyzed, and their commonalities and differences are described. Next, we divided the CT into the instrumental and thinking skill aspects and describe how CT's problem solving process differs from SEM's. Finally we suggest a model to explain the relationship between SEM and CT problem solving process. This study shows how SEM and CT can be converged as a problem solving process.