• International journal of advanced smart convergence
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.194-204
• /
• 2022

This study is a one-group pretest-posttest design to evaluate the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) for patient safety on self-leadership, patient safety competencies, and reflective thinking of nursing students. The research was conducted from March 2 to April 15, 2022, in which 57 nursing students participated. PBL for patient safety was examined in a total of 8 sessions in the order of motivation, problem identification, task performance planning, problem-solving methods, summary and solution, presentation, and evaluation. The following topics of patient safety were selected for each team: nursing records, high-alert medication, medication error and intravenous fluid regulation, blood transfusion care, fall, bedsore, infection control, and pain management. We provided feedback on the learning process and outcomes of nursing students. According to the results, self-leadership showed a statistically significant improvement in self-expectations (t=2.60, p=0.01), goal setting (t=2.84, p<0.01), self-reward (t=3.32, p<0.01), and self-criticism (t=2.32, p=0.02). Patient safety competencies showed a statistically significant improvement in patient safety knowledge (t=13.05, p<0.001) and patient safety skills (t=4.87, p<0.001) but not in reflective thinking. The results prove that PBL for patient safety is an effective teaching-learning strategy to improve self-leadership and patient safety competencies. Future studies must develop and validate specific and long-term teaching-learning methods to improve reflective thinking.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
• /
• 2015.10a
• /
• pp.92-96
• /
• 2015

Due to unique characteristics of small construction companies, safety management is comprised of complex problems (e.g., resources constraints, a lack of formalized management structures, low level of management safety commitment etc.). In order to understand causal interdependencies between safety factors at different system levels (regulation, organization, technical and individual), this paper aims to develop a system dynamics (SD) model of safety management in small construction companies. The purpose of the SD model is to better understand why small construction companies have low level of safety performance. A causal loop diagram (CLD) was developed based on literature, with an attempt to map causal relationships between variables. The CLD was then converted into stock and flow diagram for simulation. Various tests were conducted to build confidence in the model's ability to represent the reality. A number of policies were analyzed by changing the value of parameters. The value of a system dynamics approach to safety management in small construction companies is its ability to address joint effects of multiple safety risk factors on safety performance with a systems thinking perspective. By taking into account feedback loops and non-linear relationships, such a system dynamics model provides insights into the complex causes of relatively poor safety performance of small construction companies and improvement strategies.

• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2024

Purpose This study aims to investigate the correlation of social skills and metacognition among university students participating in service-learning programs. Also by evaluating the satisfaction of college students participating in service learning, this research seeks to understand the impact of this program on learning experiences. Research design, data and methodology: The research period spans two semesters, each comprising 15 weeks, from March 2, 2023, to December 20, 2023. Detailed procedures, including planning, preparation, data collection, analysis, and organization, cover activities conducted over the course of 30 weeks. These activities encompass various stages, from initial classroom planning with designated English storybooks to reflection and feedback sessions aimed at continuous development. Data collection methods include surveys, interviews, and observations, allowing for a comprehensive examination of social skills and metacognition among participating students. Results: The results show significant correlations between social skills and metacognition, such as the correlation between knowledge and statistics (r = 0.759, p < .01), the moderate correlation between cooperation and knowledge (r = 0.532, p < .01), the moderate correlation between statistics and cooperation (r = 0.539, p < .01), and the correlation between self-regulation and assertion (r = 0.278, p < .001). The average score of the satisfaction of college students participating in service learning was 4.8 out of 5. Conclusions: This study highlights the significant role of service-learning in boosting social skills and metacognition among university students. This study enhances the academic understanding of the relationships between social skills, metacognition, and service-learning programs, contributing to the expansion of both theoretical and practical knowledge in the field.

• Annals of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.204-209
• /
• 2018

Purpose: Growth hormone transduction defect (GHTD) is characterized by severe short stature, impaired STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription-3) phosphorylation and overexpression of the cytokine inducible SH2 containing protein (CIS) and p21/CIP1/WAF1. To investigate the role of p21/CIP1/WAF1 in the negative regulation of the growth hormone (GH)/GH receptor and Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF)/EGF Receptor pathways in GHTD. Methods: Fibroblast cultures were developed from gingival biopsies of 1 GHTD patient and 1 control. The protein expression and the cellular localization of p21/CIP1/WAF1 was studied by Western immunoblotting and immunofluorescence, respectively: at the basal state and after induction with $200-{\mu}g/L$ human GH (hGH) (GH200), either with or without siRNA CIS (siCIS); at the basal state and after inductions with $200-{\mu}g/L$ hGH (GH200), $1,000-{\mu}g/L$ hGH (GH1000) or 50-ng/mL EGF. Results: After GH200/siCIS, the protein expression and nuclear localization of p21 were reduced in the patient. After successful induction of GH signaling (control, GH200; patient, GH1000), the protein expression and nuclear localization of p21 were reduced. After induction with EGF, p21 translocated to the cytoplasm in the control, whereas in the GHTD patient it remained located in the nucleus. Conclusion: In the GHTD fibroblasts, when CIS is reduced, either after siCIS or after a higher dose of hGH (GH1000), p21's antiproliferative effect (nuclear localization) is also reduced and GH signaling is activated. There also appears to be a positive relationship between the 2 inhibitors of GH signaling, CIS and p21. Finally, in GHTD, p21 seems to participate in the regulation of both the GH and EGF/EGFR pathways, depending upon its cellular location.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.1 no.4
• /
• pp.595-602
• /
• 1997

Treatment of newborn female rats with gonadal steroids induces permanent sterility in adulthood. We investigated the alteration in expression patterns of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in neonatally estrogenized sterile rats (ESR). Newborn female rats received daily injections of 17${\beta}$-estradiol (E, 10 ${\mu}$g) from the day of birth (day 1) to postnatal day 5. Controls were subjected to vehicles over the same period. All animals were sacrificed on week 7 after birth. Hypothalamic GnRH mANA levels were markedly higher in all ESR than in controls, while hypothalamic GnRH contents in ESR increased in proportion to the frequency of daily administration of E. However, both pituitary LH6 mRNA and serum LH levels were inversely decreased by the same treatment. The data indicate that neonatal exposure of E equally elevates the expression of GnRH gene, but reduces the secretion of GnRH, accordingly leading to attenuation of LH6 gene expression and circulating LH levels. The temporal effect of E and/or progesterone (P) on GnRH and LH6 mRNA levels was also examined in ESR. Newborn female rats were daily injected with E (10 ${\mu}$g) or vehicle for five successive days from day 1 and ovariectomized at week 5. They were implanted with E (235 ${\mu}$g/ml) two days prior to week 7, injected with P (1 mg) 42 h later, and sacrificed 7 h after P administration. In ovariectomized controls, hypothalamic GnRH mRNA levels were dropped to half by treatment of E and restored by subsequent treatment of P. The negative feedback action of E on GnRH mRNA levels observed in ovariectomized rats was completely blocked by neonatal exposure of E. The change in pituitary LH mRNA levels was similar to that in hypothalamic GnRH mRNA levels. Taken together, the results suggest that neonatal treatment of E alters the synthesis and release of GnRH in adulthood and furthermore blocks the negative feedback regulation of E which occurs normally after ovariectomy.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.27 no.10
• /
• pp.1225-1231
• /
• 2017

Disruptive expression patterns of the circadian clock genes are highly associated with many human diseases, including cancer. Cell cycle and proliferation is linked to a circadian rhythm; therefore, abnormal clock gene expression could result in tumorigenesis and malignant development. The molecular network of the circadian clock is based on transcriptional and translational feedback loops orchestrated by a variety of clock activators and clock repressors. The expression of 10~15% of the genome is controlled by the overall balance of circadian oscillation. Among the many clock genes, Period 1 (Per1) and Period 2 (Per2) are clock repressor genes that play an important role in the regulation of normal physiological rhythms. It has been reported that PER1 and PER2 are involved in the expression of cell cycle regulators including cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), and CDK inhibitors. In addition, correlation of the down-regulation of PER1 and PER2 with development of many cancer types has been revealed. In this review, we focused on the molecular function of PER1 and PER2 in the circadian clock network and the transcriptional and translational targets of PER1 and PER2 involved in cell cycle and tumorigenesis. Moreover, we provide information suggesting that PER1 and PER2 could be promising therapeutic targets for cancer therapies and serve as potential prognostic markers for certain types of human cancers.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.319-329
• /
• 1999

Onset of female puberty follows a series of prepubertal cellular and molecular events including changes of synaptic plasticity, synthetic and releasing activity and gene expression. Dramatic increase of gonadal steroid level is one of the most prominent changes before the onset of puberty. Based on the importance of steroid feedback upon the hypothalamus, we adopted an estrogen sterilized rat (ESR) model where 100 ng of 17$\eta$-estradiol were administered into neonatal pubs for 7 days after birth. To identify genes involved in the onset of female puberty, we applied PCR differential display using RNA samples derived from ESR and control rat hypothalami. About 100 out of more than 1000 RNA species examined displayed differential expression patterns between a 60-day old control rat and ESR. Sequence analysis of differentially amplified PCR products showed homology with genes such as mouse kinesin superfamily-associated protein 3 (KAP3) and several cDNAs previously described by others in mouse and human tissues. Several gene products such as 2-1 and 8-1 corresponded to novel DNA sequences. We analyzed mRNA levels of KAP3, 2-1 and 8-1 genes in the hypothalami derived from neonatal, 6-, 28-, 31-, and 40-day old rats. Northern blot analysis showed that mRNAs of KAP3, 2-1 and 8-1 genes were markedly increased before the initiation of puberty. Neonatal treatment of estrogen clearly inhibited prepubertal increases in KAP3, 2-1 and 8-1 mRNA levels. Therefore, these genes may play important roles in the initiation of hypothalamic puberty. In addition, intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of antisense KAP3 oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) clearly delayed puberty initiation determined by vaginal opening, which further confirmed that KAP3 plays an important role in the regulation of puberty initiation.

• Journal of Photoscience
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.240-242
• /
• 2002

In Drosophila melanogaster, it is known that the circadian clock consists of an autoregulatory feedback loop, which includes so-called clock genes, such as per, tim, dClk and cyc and produces periodical expression of per. It is recently suggested, however, that the circadian oscillation without the rhythmical expression of per is involved in the regulation of circadian locomotor rhythms. In the present study, we examined the existence and the property of the possible per-less oscillation using arrhythmic clock mutant flies carrying per$^{01}$, tim$^{01}$, dClk$^{Jrk}$ or cyc$^{01}$. When temperature cycles consisting of 25$^{\circ}$Ｃ and 30$^{\circ}$Ｃ with varying periods (T = 8~32 hr) were given, they showed rhythms synchronizing with the given cycle under constant darkness (DD). per$^{01}$ and tim$^{01}$ flies always showed a peak around 7 hr after the onset of thermophase irrespective of Ts of temperature cycles, while dClk$^{Jrk}$ and cyc$^{01}$ flies did not. In addition, several days were necessary to establish a clear temperature entrainment in per$^{01}$ and tim$^{01}$ flies, when they were transferred from a constant temperature to a temperature cycle under DD. These results suggest that per$^{01}$ and tim$^{01}$ flies have a temperature-entrainable weak oscillatory mechanism. The fact that dClk$^{Jrk}$ and cyc$^{01}$ flies did not show any sign of the endogenous oscillation suggests that the per-less oscillatory mechanism may require CLK and CYC.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.227-254
• /
• 2006

Under the recent trend of telecommunications and broadcasting convergence, much more various forms of new convergence broadcasting services are being introduced than ever before. Owing to the unique advantages, new convergence broadcasting services are expected to bring drastic changes to the current broadcasting service market. In this research, we attempt to examine what kind of attributes critically affect the competition among new convergence broadcasting services, and how much competitive they will be, based on the quantitative information about consumer preferences for the important attributes of new convergence broadcasting services. Conjoint survey was used in order to obtain stated preference data of consumers. From the results, some implications are obtained as follows. First, even though new convergence broadcasting services have many unique advantages, still price is the most important for the consumers. Second, it is expected that considerable consumer valuation exists for the unique advantages of new convergence broadcasting services like mobility and dual-way interactivity, which will add the competitiveness of those services in the future. Third, since midterm advertising puts negative utility on consumers, broadcasting services with midterm advertising will not be preferred to those with neither advertising nor midterm advertising. Fourth, service coverage and the number of consumers using the same broadcasting service have a significant feedback effect on the competition between broadcasting services from the dynamic aspect. Lastly, the consumer preference can be affected by demographic variables like age and gender, and broadcasting service usage patterns such as channel switchover for escaping advertisement and frequency of using other recorded media. Main findings of our research might become useful information for both telecommunication and broadcasting companies, contents providers, advertisers, and policy and regulation makers to cope with the uncertain environment of telecommunication and broadcasting convergence.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.250-255
• /
• 2015

Purpose: To compare audio-only biofeedback to conventional audiovisual biofeedback for regulating patients' respiration during four-dimensional radiotherapy, limiting damage to healthy surrounding tissues caused by organ movement. Materials and Methods: Six healthy volunteers were assisted by audiovisual or audio-only biofeedback systems to regulate their respirations. Volunteers breathed through a mask developed for this study by following computer-generated guiding curves displayed on a screen, combined with instructional sounds. They then performed breathing following instructional sounds only. The guiding signals and the volunteers' respiratory signals were logged at 20 samples per second. Results: The standard deviations between the guiding and respiratory curves for the audiovisual and audio-only biofeedback systems were 21.55% and 23.19%, respectively; the average correlation coefficients were 0.9778 and 0.9756, respectively. The regularities between audiovisual and audio-only biofeedback for six volunteers' respirations were same statistically from the paired t-test. Conclusion: The difference between the audiovisual and audio-only biofeedback methods was not significant. Audio-only biofeedback has many advantages, as patients do not require a mask and can quickly adapt to this method in the clinic.