Cryopreserved umbilical cord blood (CB) for transplantation is occasionally exposed to room temperature during storage in cord blood banks. We evaluated the effect of room temperature exposure on the quality of cryopreserved CB. Forty frozen CB units stored in liquid nitrogen tanks were exposed to room temperature until they reached a target temperature of –130°C (group I), –60°C (group II), –40°C (group III), or –25°C (group IV) (N = 10 in each group) and then re-stored. After re-thawing, the quality of the frozen CB was assessed based on the recovery rates of cell count, cell viability, and colony-forming unit granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) content. The mean exposure times required to reach the target temperature were 0.83 ± 0.14, 5.92 ± 0.88, 10.28 ± 1.0, and 16.0 ± 1.62 mins for groups I–IV, respectively. CD34+ cell viability was significantly lower in group IV than in the other groups (P = 0.009). The recovery rates of cell counts, cell viability except CD34+cells, and CFU-GM did not significantly differ among the groups. Short-term exposure to room temperature for routine procedures and a temperature rise of up to −40°C during storage do not negatively affect the quality of cryopreserved CB.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine nursing management competencies among nurses working in national specialized hospitals, to identify competency development needs and influencing factors, and to provide foundational data for the development of educational and competency-enhancement programs. Methods: A mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected via an online survey of 162 nurses from five national specialized hospitals from January 10 to February 10, 2025, and qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews with 20 participants from March 7 to April 16, 2025. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, analysis of variance, importance–performance analysis, the Borich Needs Assessment, the Locus for Focus model, and multiple regression analysis. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis with ATLAS.ti. Results: The mean performance score for nursing management competencies was 3.56±0.71 on a 5-point scale. Customer orientation received the highest score (4.03±0.78), whereas business and marketing received the lowest score (2.92±1.03). Across needs-assessment models, leadership, nursing ethics and law, quality improvement, and standard development consistently emerged as high-priority areas. In multiple regression analysis, the nursing work environment was the only factor significantly associated with nursing management competency performance (β=.33, p<.001). Qualitative content analysis corroborated these findings and identified three facilitator themes and three barrier themes. Conclusion Nursing management competency performance among nurses in national specialized hospitals was associated with the nursing work environment, including organizational conditions. These findings underscore the importance of organizational support and suggest that competency-based education should be redesigned to prioritize high-need competency areas. This study provides a foundation for developing educational interventions and programs to enhance nursing management capacity.

This study explored the influence of family support, self-care performance and symptom cluster on quality of life (QoL) among individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 132 participants who were over 40 years old and diagnosed with PD from a tertiary hospital in Seoul between September 5 and November 7, 2024. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, t-tests, ANOVA, correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Results: The explanatory power of the final regression model was 71% (F=17.72, p<.001). The most significant factors affecting QoL were motor symptom clusters (t=4.38, p<.001), emotional/emotion regulation clusters (t=2.90, p=.004), time since diagnosis (t=-3.11, p=.002), having a spouse as the primary caregiver (t=2.55, p=.012), self-care performance in the daily life management domain (t=-2.35, p=.020), and self-care performance in the diet domain (t=-2.01, p=.046). Conclusion: Symptom-cluster–informed, family-centered nursing—integrating motor & emotional management, dietary and daily-life self-care coaching, and early diagnostic pathways with caregiver education—is essential to improve QoL in PD.

This review examines Medical Women in the Japanese Empire: Sources and Critique (2025), edited by Hiro Fujimoto, Aya Homei, and Ellen Gardner Nakamura, situating it within the recent historiography on gender and medicine in East Asia. The volume explores how women entered and developed careers in a wide range of health-related professions across the Japanese Empire, drawing on a broad geographical scope that includes Japan, its colonies, and adjacent regions. Rather than offering a fixed definition, the editors employ the flexible category of “medical women,” foregrounding a diverse set of actors and practices.
A central contribution of the book lies in its source-oriented structure, which combines translated primary materials with contextual commentaries. This approach facilitates access to multilingual archives while emphasizing the recovery of individual voices, thereby aligning with oral and biographical methodologies in the history of medicine. The volume proposes three analytical axes—femininity as a double-edged construct, marginality and mobility, and family background—as key factors shaping women’s professional trajectories. Through a range of case studies, these concepts are not only applied but also complicated, revealing internal tensions and the limits of existing interpretive frameworks.
This review argues that the book’s significance lies in their elaboration through case studies and in the methodological insights that emerge from this process. At the same time, it identifies several limitations, including the underdeveloped conceptualization of “medical women,” the uneven applicability of femininity across different professions, and the absence of Christian medical missions as a crucial factor in the training of female practitioners in East Asia. Despite these shortcomings, the volume offers a productive framework for reinterpreting existing scholarship and suggests new directions for the study of women, medicine, and empire in the region.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the long-term trajectory of pulmonary function test (PFT) and CT findings in COVID-19 survivors. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search of PubMed and EMBASE was performed to identify studies published from January 2020 to June 2024 reporting PFT and/or chest CT outcomes at ≥6 months post-COVID-19, up to 36 months. The reference lists of relevant articles were also manually reviewed. Two investigators independently extracted study characteristics, patient demographics, and PFT and CT outcomes at prespecified follow-up intervals (6, 12, 24, and 36 months). Multivariate meta-analyses were conducted to evaluate temporal trends in lung function and radiological abnormalities. Sensitivity analyses, including stratification by disease severity and pooled analyses of studies with multiple follow-up time points, were performed to confirm the robustness of the findings. Results: In total, 152 studies (n = 25,766; mean age, 56.7 ± 13.2 years; 14,999 men) were included: 133 reporting PFT outcomes and 80 reporting CT findings. Diffusion capacity (DLCO) impairment was the most common abnormality, showing gradual improvement from 42% at 6 months to 35% at 36 months (P = 0.008) with a corresponding increase in the % predicted DLCO. Similarly, the prevalence of forced vital capacity (FVC) impairment decreased over time, accompanied by an increase in the % predicted FVC. On chest CT, the proportion of patients with no relevant findings remained stable at 30%–40% (P = 0.14).The prevalence of ground-glass opacities (GGO) decreased from 32% at 6 months to 20% at 36 months (P = 0.01), while that of fibrosis persisted at 27%–47% without a significant change (P = 0.28). Subgroup analysis based on disease severity revealed similar temporal trends in both low-severity and high-severity cohorts. Conclusion DLCO, FVC, and GGO findings improved gradually up to 36 months post-COVID-19; however, over one-third of the patients continued to exhibit reduced DLCO. Fibrosis persists with limited evidence of resolution over a 3-year period, suggesting a stable but nonprogressive pattern.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Dietary supplement use is common among breast cancer survivors, but studies on Asian populations remain limited. This study investigated dietary supplement use among Korean breast cancer survivors, distinguishing between vitamin/ mineral (VM) and non-vitaminon-mineral (NVNM) supplements. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 1,136 stage I–III breast cancer survivors from 12 Korean hospitals, who survived more than 6 mon post-surgery. The participants completed a questionnaire on post-diagnostic dietary supplement use. Stepwise logistic regression was applied, calculating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to identify the demographic and clinical factors associated with VM and NVNM use. RESULTS: Seventy percent of survivors reported supplement use, with 25% using a single product. The most common VM supplements were multivitamins/minerals, vitamin D, and vitamin C, while the most common NVNM supplements included omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and ginseng. Survivors with higher education and greater physical activity were more likely to use VM supplements (ORs [95% CIs], 2.74 [1.76–4.25] for college graduates or above vs. middle school or below; 1.38 [1.02–1.88] for the most active group vs. the least active group). NVNM use was associated with higher education, greater physical activity levels, and a history of smoking (ORs [95% CIs], 2.29 [1.46–3.58] for college graduates or above vs. middle school or below; 1.52 [1.13–2.06] for the most active group vs. the least active group; 2.00 [1.23–3.25] for ever smokers vs. never smokers). Survivors who had undergone chemotherapy were also more likely to use NVNM supplements than those who had not (OR [95% CI], 1.37 [1.02–1.84]). CONCLUSION Seventy percent of Korean breast cancer survivors used dietary supplements in this study. VM use was associated with higher education and physical activity, while higher NVNM use was associated with higher education, greater physical activity, a history of smoking, and chemotherapy.

Background: Baricitinib is one of the front-runners among targeted agents for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). Although many studies have been conducted on the real-world use of baricitinib, the sample size is often small and data is focused primarily on Caucasians. Objective: The objective of this study was to demonstrate the real-world itch-relieving property of baricitinib in adult AD patients in South Korea. Methods: Electronic medical records of AD patients treated with baricitinib at the National Medical Center in Korea from May 2021 to April 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Seventy patients completed 16 to 52 weeks of baricitinib treatment, with most patients showing mild-to-moderate baseline lesions and moderate-to-severe baseline itch. At Week 16 of baricitinib treatment, there was a 50% reduction in Itch numerical rating scale from baseline, and 50.7% of patients showed 50% improvement in Eczema Area and Severity Index score.The efficacy of baricitinib was also reflected in the patient reported outcomes, with 55%–58% improvements in Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure, Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool, and Dermatology Life Quality Index scores seen within 2 weeks of treatment. No new safety signals were detected in this study. Conclusion Baricitinib treatment for 52 weeks in Korean patients with itch dominant AD confirmed long term effectiveness and safety.

Background: Warm ischemia is a major contributor to ischemic cholangiopathy and non-anastomotic biliary strictures (NAS) after liver transplantation, particularly in donation-after-circulatory-death grafts. However, the isolated impact of warm ischemia on peribiliary fibrosis is difficult to delineate because clinical settings involve overlapping effects of cold ischemia, reperfusion injury, and alloimmunity. This study aimed to establish a non-transplant rat model that isolates warm ischemic biliary injury and to compare the antifibrotic effects of rapamycin and tacrolimus. Methods: Warm ischemia was induced in Sprague–Dawley rats by ligating both ends of the peribiliary vascular plexus and the hepatic artery, followed by 30 minutes of portal vein clamping. Rats were randomly assigned to control, tacrolimus (1 mg/kg/day), or rapamycin (1 mg/kg/day) groups (n=15 per group). Serum alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and total bilirubin were measured serially. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Sirius red staining were performed at 1, 3, and 6 weeks. Peribiliary fibrosis was quantified using digital image analysis of collagen area fraction. Results: Warm ischemia induced acute hepatobiliary injury with transient enzyme elevations, but no significant intergroup differences were observed. Histologically, biliary epithelial proliferation and collagen deposition increased progressively and became prominent at 6 weeks. At this time point, fibrosis ratios differed significantly (overall p=0.002): controls showed the highest fibrosis (4.8%), followed by tacrolimus (2.4%) and rapamycin (1.7%). Both immunosuppressants significantly reduced fibrosis compared with controls (p<0.05), whereas the difference between tacrolimus and rapamycin was not significant. Conclusion This warm ischemia model demonstrates that isolated ischemic injury alone can induce progressive peribiliary fibrosis. Rapamycin and tacrolimus attenuated fibrosis, with rapamycin producing the lowest collagen deposition. These findings provide mechanistic insight into ischemic cholangiopathy after liver transplantation—particularly in donation after circulatory death grafts—and underscore the need for further studies using models that incorporate cold ischemia, reperfusion, and alloimmune factors.

Purpose: Weight reduction (WR) can reduce liver volume, affecting the graft-to-recipient weight ratio (GRWR). This study aimed to evaluate the decrease in liver volume after WR and analyze risk factors affecting liver volume reduction in potential liver donors with steatosis. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data of 147 potential liver donors with steatosis who participated in a WR program prior to liver transplantation between January 2016 and December 2021. Total liver volume (TLV) was measured using CT and MRI. Risk factors for large liver volume reduction (≥10%) were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Ninety-seven donors (66.0%) underwent donor hepatectomy after WR. Liver volumes showed a statistically significant decrease (from 1,399.6 ± 315.4 mL to 1,283.6 ± 271.2 mL, P < 0.05). Thirty-eight donors (42.7%) showed large liver volume reduction. There was a more significant reduction in weight, AST, and ALT in the large liver volume reduction group than in the small liver volume reduction group (all P < 0.05). WR percentage and ALT abnormalities were independent risk factors for large liver volume reduction (odds ratio, 1.184 [95% confidence interval, 1.054–1.329] and odds ratio, 5.502 [95% confidence interval, 1.660–18.229], respectively; all P < 0.05). Conclusion Potential liver donors with 7% or more WR or ALT abnormality require liver volume/GRWR remeasurement after WR to ensure adequate graft size and prevent small-for-size syndrome.