Critical Policy Analysis: Investigating ‘Missing’ Values in the Lifelong Education System of South Korea

This paper illustrates that ‘critical policy analysis’ (CPA) can uncover meaningful ‘missing’ values within the highly structured, centralized South Korean lifelong education policies and institutions

From the Margins to the Mainstream and Back Again: A Comparison of Lifelong Learning in South Korea and the United States

This paper compares the development of lifelong learning in South Korea and the United States. The paper examines how and why lifelong learning has achieved mainstream status in Korea while remaining on the margins in the US

Building Communities into Lifelong Learning Cities: The Case of the Republic of Korea

The purpose of this paper was to explore the implications and strategies for building Lifelong Learning Cities in Korea by 1) examining the rationale behind the movement; 2) reviewing the results and accomplishments; and 3) drawing lessons for constructing Lifelong Learning Cities in other parts of the globe

Learning experiences and college access of American workers: Evidence from PIAAC

Using the U.S. data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), this study aims to explore how work-related learning experiences of working adults influence their sub-baccalaureate or baccalaureate degree-seeking in higher education institutions (HEIs). Given many jobs in the U.S. that require higher education credentials, we examined how formal and informal work-related learning experiences are associated with the college access of working adults who have a high school diploma. The multinomial logistic regression results show that work flexibility, distance learning, and private learning experience are positively related to working adults’ college access. Based on the findings, implications for policy and practice were discussed on how industry and organizations could support working adults’ learning opportunities in the workplace and HEIs

Critical Review of Credit Bank System in South Korea: A New Mediator for Lifelong Learning?

This study critically analyzes Credit Bank System (CBS) as an emerging open higher education system in South Korea by using critical theory. Specifically, it examines the meaning of CBS degree in Korean credentialism circumstances and reflects CBS meeting needs rationale assumption. Based on the findings, conclusions and implications are discussed

Application of Virtual and Augmented Reality to the Field of Adult Education

This research reviews the extant literature and web resources on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) to provide new insights and future direction of adult learning. Based on the review, we discuss implications for research and practice on the use of VR and AR in the field of Adult Education

High-dose clevudine impairs mitochondrial function and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in INS-1E cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Clevudine is a nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor that exhibits potent antiviral activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV) without serious side effects. However, mitochondrial myopathy has been observed in patients with chronic HBV infection taking clevudine. Moreover, the development of diabetes was recently reported in patients receiving long-term treatment with clevudine. In this study, we investigated the effects of clevudine on mitochondrial function and insulin release in a rat clonal β-cell line, INS-1E.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number and the mRNA levels were measured by using quantitative PCR. MTT analysis, ATP/lactate measurements, and insulin assay were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both INS-1E cells and HepG2 cells, which originated from human hepatoma, showed dose-dependent decreases in mtDNA copy number and cytochrome c oxidase-1 (Cox-1) mRNA level following culture with clevudine (10 μM-1 mM) for 4 weeks. INS-1E cells treated with clevudine had reduced total mitochondrial activities, lower cytosolic ATP contents, enhanced lactate production, and more lipid accumulation. Insulin release in response to glucose application was markedly decreased in clevudine-treated INS-1E cells, which might be a consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggest that high-dose treatment with clevudine induces mitochondrial defects associated with mtDNA depletion and impairs glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in insulin-releasing cells. These findings partly explain the development of diabetes in patients receiving clevudine who might have a high susceptibility to mitochondrial toxicity.</p

Biobanking for glomerular diseases: a study design and protocol for KOrea Renal biobank NEtwoRk System TOward NExt-generation analysis (KORNERSTONE)

Abstract Backgrounds Glomerular diseases, a set of debilitating and complex disease entities, are related to mortality and morbidity. To gain insight into pathophysiology and novel treatment targets of glomerular disease, various types of biospecimens linked to deep clinical phenotyping including clinical information, digital pathology, and well-defined outcomes are required. We provide the rationale and design of the KOrea Renal biobank NEtwoRk System TOward Next-generation analysis (KORNERSTONE). Methods The KORNERSTONE, which has been initiated by Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, is designed as a multi-centre, prospective cohort study and biobank for glomerular diseases. Clinical data, questionnaires will be collected at the time of kidney biopsy and subsequently every 1 year after kidney biopsy. All of the clinical data will be extracted from the electrical health record and automatically uploaded to the web-based database. High-quality digital pathologies are obtained and connected in the database. Various types of biospecimens are collected at baseline and during follow-up: serum, urine, buffy coat, stool, glomerular complementary DNA (cDNA), tubulointerstitial cDNA. All data and biospecimens are processed and stored in a standardised manner. The primary outcomes are mortality and end-stage renal disease. The secondary outcomes will be deterioration renal function, remission of proteinuria, cardiovascular events and quality of life. Discussion Ethical approval has been obtained from the institutional review board of each participating centre and ethics oversight committee. The KORNERSTONE is designed to deliver pioneer insights into glomerular diseases. The study design allows comprehensive, integrated and high-quality data collection on baseline laboratory findings, clinical outcomes including administrative data and digital pathologic images. This may provide various biospecimens and information to many researchers, establish the rationale for future more individualised treatment strategies for glomerular diseases. Trial registration NCT03929887

Interfacially synthesized chlorine-resistant polyimide thin film composite (TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) membranes

Chlorine-resistant polyimide thin film composite (TFC) RO membranes were prepared via interfacial polymerization of m-phenylene diamine (MPD) and 1,2,4,5-benzene tetracarbonyl chloride (BTC) and subsequent thermal imidization. Thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that the use of a tertiary amine catalyst allowed the preparation of the polyimide films at below the glass transition temperature of the polysulfone support sublayer, thus preventing its degradation. The effects of annealing on the membranes performance were investigated. Increasing temperature and duration during the thermal treatment accelerated the imidization of the poly(amic acid) membranes and converted their amorphous structures to semi-crystalline structures, deteriorating their performance. The addition of a cross-linking agent, trimesoyl chloride (TMC), during the interfacial polymerization improved the membrane&apos;s performance. The polyimide thin film composite, reverse osmosis membranes prepared from MPD, BTC and TMC showed significantly enhanced chlorine resistance due to the elimination of chlorine-sensitive sites by the replacement of amide linkage with imide linkage.close3