A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF QUADRILATERALS TOPIC CONTENT IN MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND SOUTH KOREA

This study compares Malaysian and Korean geometry content in mathematics textbooks to help explain the differences that have been found consistently between the achievement levels of Malaysian and South Korean students in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Studies have shown that the use of textbooks can affect students’ mathematics achievements, especially in the field of geometry. Furthermore, to date, there has been no comparison of geometry content in Malaysian and Korean textbooks. Two textbooks used in the lower secondary education system in Malaysia and South Korea were referred. The topic of quadrilaterals was chosen for comparison, and the topic’s chapter in the South Korean textbook has been translated into English. The findings show four main aspects that distinguish how quadrilaterals are taught between the two countries. These aspects include the composition of quadrilaterals topics, the depth of concept exploration activities, the integration of deductive reasoning in the learning content and the difficulty level of mathematics problems given at the end of the chapter. In this regard, we recommend the Division of Curriculum Development of the Malaysian Ministry of Education reviews the geometry content of mathematics textbook used today to suit the curriculum proven to produce students who excel in international assessments

A comparative study of mathematics assessment practices between Malaysian and South Korean secondary schools mathematics teachers

This study compares the assessment practices of Malaysian and South Korean lower secondary school mathematics teachers to help explain the differences that have been found consistently between the achievement levels of Malaysian and Korean students in the TIMSS and PISA. A set of questionnaires was developed and used. It consists of item in three constructs, namely, formative, summative and diagnostic assessment. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total score of the questionnaire was 0.94. A total of 71 Malaysian respondents and 51 South Korean respondents were involved in the study. To gather richer data, the interview was done in a manner which could explain the results. A total of three lower secondary school mathematics teachers from each country participated in the interview. The findings show that mathematics teachers in both countries use open-ended and subjective questions versus multiple choice questions in implementing formative assessment. The mathematics teachers of both countries also understand the importance and purpose of implementing formative assessment in mathematics classes. Both education systems are highly oriented to examinations, but do not emphasise TIMSS and PISA assessments. In Malaysia, not all schools are chosen to be involved in those assessments. While the attitude of the students towards any tests or examinations makes South Korean students always ready to face the two assessments. Besides that, one of the aspects that Malaysia’s education system can learn is the implementation of diagnostic assessments that is highly emphasised and systematically implemented in South Korea’s education system

Gravitational-wave Electromagnetic Counterpart Korean Observatory (GECKO): GECKO Follow-up Observation of GW190425

One of the keys to the success of multimessenger astronomy is the rapid identification of the electromagnetic wave counterpart, kilonova (KN), of the gravitational-wave (GW) event. Despite its importance, it is hard to find a KN associated with a GW event, due to a poorly constrained GW localization map and numerous signals that could be confused as a KN. Here, we present the Gravitational-wave Electromagnetic wave Counterpart Korean Observatory (GECKO) project, the GECKO observation of GW190425, and prospects of GECKO in the fourth observing run (O4) of the GW detectors. We outline our follow-up observation strategies during O3. In particular, we describe our galaxy-targeted observation criteria that prioritize based on galaxy properties. Armed with this strategy, we performed an optical and/or near-infrared follow-up observation of GW190425, the first binary neutron star merger event during the O3 run. Despite a vast localization area of 7460 deg^2, we observed 621 host galaxy candidates, corresponding to 29.5% of the scores we assigned, with most of them observed within the first 3 days of the GW event. Ten transients were discovered during this search, including a new transient with a host galaxy. No plausible KN was found, but we were still able to constrain the properties of potential KNe using upper limits. The GECKO observation demonstrates that GECKO can possibly uncover a GW170817-like KN at a distance less than 200 Mpc if the localization area is of the order of hundreds of square degrees, providing a bright prospect for the identification of GW electromagnetic wave counterparts during the O4 run.Comment: 35 pages, 19 figures Accepted for publication in Ap

Regional factors affecting dental care use in Korea

Aim or Purpose: In this study, we selected regional factors that determine medical vulnerability in Korea and confirmed which regional factors actually affect the use of dental care such as implants, dentures, and scaling in Korea. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted after being confirmed by the Gangneung-Wonju National University Bioethics Committee as being exempt from deliberation. This study was conducted in 229 cities in Korea. 27 indicators of regional population, economy and environment, transportation and geography, dental resources, accessibility, and oral health level based on national statistical data were converted into T-score. And then the association between these regional indicators and dental care use by region were analyzed by multiple linear regression model using PASW Statistics 25.0. Results: The use of implants and dentures was higher in areas with higher local income taxes and with more dental clinics per area (p<0.001). The use of scaling increased as the adult population ratio increased, local income tax, and the number of dental clinics per area increased (p<0.05). The use of dentures tended to decrease as the number of people unable to access dental clinics within 40 minutes increased (p<0.05). Conclusion: The vulnerability of the region affects the use of dental care at various levels and determines the level of oral health of the local residents. In order to resolve oral health inequality in vulnerable areas, public dental care policies that utilize the expansion and relocation of dental personnel and the private dental care system should be developed based on an understanding of the vulnerabilities of dental care in the region

Depression in Adolescence and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

Copyright © 2022 Lee, Shin, Song and Chang.The incidence of depression among adolescents has been rapidly increasing in recent years. Environmental and genetic factors have been identified as important risk factors for adolescent depression. However, the mechanisms underlying the development of adolescent depression that are triggered by these risk factors are not well understood. Clinical and preclinical studies have focused more on adult depression, and differences in depressive symptoms between adolescents and adults make it difficult to adequately diagnose and treat adolescent depression. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is known to play a critical role in the pathophysiology of many psychiatric disorders, including depression. However, there are still few studies on adolescent depression. Therefore, in this review paper, the causes and treatment of adolescent depression and the function of BDNF are investigated.11Nsciescopu

Improving mental health and daytime function in adult insomnia patients predict cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia effectiveness: A case-control study

Objective: This study investigated demographic, sleep related symptoms and mental health status as predictors of clinically significant treatment responses to cognitive behavioral therapy in adults who have good adherence for the cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) program in primary insomnia. Methods: A total of 42 adults with primary insomnia disorder were treated with CBT-I at a university hospital from June 2020 to January 2021. Demographic variables were surveyed and sleep-related symptoms were measured using self-reported questionnaires before and after the intervention, comprising a 6-week interval. The treatment responder group was defined as patients with an Insomnia Severity Index change score >7 compared to baseline. Logistic regression and paired t-test examined whether these factors predicted treatment outcomes for CBT-I. Results: Demographic variables did not predict treatment outcomes. Higher levels of anxiety were associated with a higher likelihood of treatment response (odds ratio [OR] = 1.234; confidence interval [CI]: 1.008–1.511). More severe insomnia at baseline was associated with a greater likelihood of treatment response (OR = 1.450; CI: 1.121–1.875). The lesser the dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, the more effective the treatment response (OR = 0.943; CI: 0.904–0.984). Unlike the group of treatment responders, daytime function, depressive mood, and anxiety status did not improve in the group of treatment non-responders after CBT-I intervention. Conclusions: Patients with severe insomnia and anxiety at baseline should be treated more aggressively with CBT-I. During treatment, patients’ mental health problems and daytime activities should be continuously monitored, in order to help improve these problems which might strengthen the effectiveness of CBT-I

Association of Late Marriage and Low Childbirth with Cervical Cancer Screening among Korean Women: Results from a Nationwide Survey

This study aimed to identify the association of marriage and childbirth with the adherence to cervical cancer screening among young adult women. Data across four years (2017–2020) of the cross-sectional Korean National Cancer Screening Survey were used. For measuring the adherence to cervical cancer screening, we used the cervical cancer screening rate with recommendation, which was defined as the percentage of women in the population eligible for screening who have had a cervical cancer screening within the past two years. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the association between marriage and adherence to cervical cancer screening. Overall, 3925 women aged 20–39 years were analyzed. Of these, 39.1% were screened for cervical cancer (26.6% unmarried and 57.1% married women). The married women had significantly higher adherence to cervical cancer screening than unmarried women (adjusted odds ratio = 2.80, 95% CI: 2.99–3.44). Compared with unmarried women, adherence to cervical cancer screening was significantly more likely to increase (p for trend, <0.001) in married women with an increased number of births. Our study confirmed that marriage and childbirth influence adherence to cervical cancer screening, suggesting that unmarried women may be vulnerable to cervical cancer

Changes in eating behaviors according to household income in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

OBJECTIVES To assess social inequalities in changes in dietary behaviors among adolescents during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we compared changes in dietary behavior indicators by household income. METHODS Using cross-sectional data from the 2019 and 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the prevalence of dietary behaviors in adolescents (12–18 years old) was estimated and changes in dietary behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated. We assessed changes in dietary behaviors with a household income (as a measure of socioeconomic status, SES) disparity. RESULTS During the COVID-19 pandemic, the average consumption of vegetables decreased and food insecurity worsened. Adolescents were more likely to skip breakfast than before COVID-19 (33.1 and 37.4%). Soft drink consumption also increased in 2020 from 2019 (7.6 and 14.8%), especially among boys. Average sugar intake and sodium intake showed a tendency to decrease only in girls, but there was no significant difference according to SES level. Skipping breakfast was particularly evident in the low-SES group, and the difference according to household income level (high vs. low) was greater during COVID-19 than before. The prevalence of soft drink consumption increased significantly in the low-SES group, but the rate of increase did not differ by SES level. CONCLUSIONS We found that the social disparity in skipping breakfast was further aggravated during the COVID-19 pandemic. To reach a better understanding of the dietary behaviors of adolescents, continuous monitoring is necessary

Multimorbidity adjusted years lost to disability rates calculated through Monte-Carlo simulation in Korea

OBJECTIVES To efficiently utilize limited health and medical resources, it is necessary to accurately measure the level of health, which requires estimating the multimorbidity-corrected burden of disease. METHODS This study used 2015 and 2016 data from the National Health Insurance Service, and employed the list of diseases defined in a Korean study of the burden of disease, the criteria for prevalence, and the “cause–sequelae–health state” disease system. When calculating the years lost to disability (YLD), multimorbidity was corrected using Monte-Carlo simulation. RESULTS Correcting for multimorbidity changed YLD at all ages in Korea by −1.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], −24.1 to 3.6) in males and −12.4% (95% CI, −23.0 to 0.3) in females in 2015, and by −10.8% (95% CI, −24.1 to 4.6) in males and −11.1% (95% CI, −22.8 to 1.7) in females in 2016. The YLD rate for non-communicable diseases in males decreased more than that of other disease groups in both years, by −11.8% (95% CI, −19.5 to 3.6) and −11.5% (95% CI, −19.3 to −3.0), respectively. The overall YLD rate changed by −1.3% in the 5-year to 9-year age group, and the magnitude of this change remained similar until the 10–19-year age group, gradually decreased after 20 years of age, and steeply increased to more than 10% in those aged 60 and older. CONCLUSIONS Calculations of YLD should adjust for multimorbidity, as the disease burden can otherwise be overestimated for the elderly, who tend to exhibit a high prevalence of multimorbidity