Background: Workplace loneliness affects employees’ emotional distress and job performance yet validated measurement tools for Korean workers remain limited. This study aims to translate and validate the Loneliness at Work Scale (LAWS) into Korean. Methods: LAWS was translated according to international guidelines as follows: forward translation, reconciliation, back translation and review, and cognitive debriefing. For validation, 1,000 full-time Korean employees proportionally distributed across sex, age, and occupational type were surveyed in November 2024 with a four-week follow-up (N = 200). Internal consistency and test—retest reliability were examined. The validity of the measure was tested by correlational analyses and confirmatory factor analysis. Results: LAWS-K demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach α overall = 0.936, emotional deprivation = 0.933, social companionship = 0.902) and satisfactory test—retest reliability (r = 0.780).The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the revised two-factor model provided the best fit (comparative fit index = 0.916, Tucker—Lewis index = 0.897, root mean square error of approximation = 0.126, standardized root mean square residual = 0.045). Correlations with the SingleItem Workplace Loneliness Question (r = 0.612) and the Three-Item Loneliness Scale at Work (r = 0.682) demonstrated strong criterion validity. Correlations with occupational stress (r = 0.531), psychological distress (r = 0.543), work performance (r = -0.337), engagement (r = -0.462), and wellbeing (r = -0.490) supported convergent validity. Conclusion LAWS-K adapted for the Republic of Korea demonstrated robust reliability and validity. It provides Korean researchers and practitioners with a validated tool for assessing workplace loneliness, enabling targeted interventions and research initiatives to address this occupational health concern.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected all Canadian families, with some impacted differently than others. Our study aims to: (1) determine the prevalence and transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among Canadian families, (2) identify predictors of infection susceptibility and severity of SARS-CoV-2, and (3) identify health and psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study builds upon the CHILD Cohort Study, an ongoing multi-ethnic general population prospective cohort consisting of 3,454 Canadian families with children born in Vancouver, Edmonton, Manitoba, and Toronto between 2009 and 2012. During the pandemic, CHILD households were invited to participate in the CHILD COVID-19 Add-On Study involving: (1) brief biweekly surveys about COVID-19 symptoms and testing; (2) quarterly questionnaires assessing COVID-19 exposure and testing, vaccination status, physical and mental health, and pandemic-driven life changes; and (3) in-home biological sampling kits to collect blood and stool. In total, 1,462 households (5,378 participants) consented to the CHILD COVID-19 Add-On Study: 2,803 children (mean±standard deviation [SD], 9.0±2.7 years; range, 0-17 years) and 2,576 adults (mean±SD, 43.0±6.5 years; range, 18-85 years). We will leverage the wealth of pre-pandemic CHILD data to identify risk and resilience factors for susceptibility and severity to the direct and indirect pandemic effects. Our short-term findings will inform key stakeholders and knowledge users to shape current and future pandemic responses. Additionally, this study provides a unique resource to study the long-term impacts of the pandemic as the CHILD Cohort Study continues.

OBJECTIVE: Notch is known as a transmembranous receptor family with four homologous forms - Notch 1, Notch 2, Notch 3, and Notch 4 and related to cell fate regulation and angiogenesis. The purpose is to investigate the effect of follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) on the Notch 1 expression and proliferation in ovarian cancer cells. METHODS: Human ovarian cancer cell line, SK-OV-3 and FSH were used. XTT cell proliferation and cell migration assay were carried out with FSH 100 mIU/mL and Notch 1 siRNA. Western blots and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) were carried out to determine the expression level of the Notch 1 protein and mRNA with FSH treatment in 0, 1, 5, 10, 100, 200, 300 mIU/mL concentrations. Immunofluorescent (IF) stains were performed in SK-OV-3 cell cultures with FSH 100 mIU/mL. Student-t tests were used in statistical analyses. RESULTS: The SK-OV-3 have Notch 1 receptors in their natural status. FSH stimulated SK-OV-3 cells in XTT cell proliferation and cell migration assays and notch 1 siRNA inhibited. The expression level of Notch 1 protein and mRNA were increased in a dose dependent pattern according to FSH concentrations compared to untreated cells. IF stains also showed brighter Notch1 expressions in the FSH treated cells compared to the control cells. CONCLUSION: FSH enhances proliferation & migration and Notch 1 signaling in SK-OV-3 cells. The Notch signaling probably supports one of the cell proliferating mechanisms of FSH in ovarian cancer cells.
Blotting, Western ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Line ; Cell Migration Assays ; Cell Proliferation ; Coloring Agents ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; RNA, Messenger ; RNA, Small Interfering

No abstract available.
Humans ; Rehabilitation*