As holistic care gains prominence in nursing, spiritual care has emerged as a core dimension of patient-centered practice. However, undergraduate nursing curricula in South Korea have not sufficiently incorporated spiritual care education. This study examined nursing students’ perceptions, experiences, and educational needs regarding spiritual care using a mixed-methods approach. A total of 254 junior and senior nursing students completed an online survey assessing their educational experiences, perceived necessity of spiritual care, and levels of understanding and practice. To complement these findings, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven students from a Christian nursing college. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequency analysis, the t-test, the chi-square test, and Pearson correlation coefficients, whereas qualitative data were thematically analyzed based on Giorgi’s phenomenological method. Results showed that more than half of participants had never received formal education on spiritual care, yet most recognized its importance and expressed strong preferences for required coursework and experiential learning. Students perceived spiritual care not solely as religious or end-of-life support but as empathetic, emotionally attuned care applicable across diverse clinical settings. Integration of structured and experiential approaches, such as role-play and simulation, was consistently emphasized. These findings highlight a significant gap between current curricula and clinical expectations, underscoring the urgent need for systematic integration of spiritual care education to strengthen holistic and patient-centered nursing competencies.

Background: We aimed to investigate the moderating effects of obesity, age, and sex on the association between sleep duration and the development of diabetes in Asians. Methods: We analyzed data from a cohort of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study conducted from 2001 to 2020. After excluding shift workers and those with diabetes at baseline, 7,407 participants were stratified into three groups according to sleep duration: ≤5 hoursight, >5 to 7 hoursight (reference), and >7 hoursight. The Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Subgroup analyses were performed according to obesity, age, and sex. Results: During 16 years of follow-up, 2,024 cases of T2DM were identified. Individuals who slept ≤5 hight had a higher risk of incident diabetes than the reference group (HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.33). The subgroup analysis observed a valid interaction with sleep duration only for obesity. A higher risk of T2DM was observed in the ≤5 hoursight group in non-obese individuals, men, and those aged <60 years, and in the >7 hoursight group in obese individuals (HRs were 1.34 [95% CI, 1.11 to 1.61], 1.22 [95% CI, 1 to 1.49], and 1.18 [95% CI, 1.01 to 1.39], respectively). Conclusion This study confirmed the effect of sleep deprivation on the risk of T2DM throughout the 16-year follow-up period. This impact was confined to non-obese or young individuals and men. We observed a significant interaction between sleep duration and obesity.

Purpose: We aimed to assess the humoral response to and reactogenicity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination according to the vaccine type and to analyze factors associated with immunogenicity in actively treated solid cancer patients (CPs). Materials and Methods: Prospective cohorts of CPs, undergoing anticancer treatment, and healthcare workers (HCWs) were established. The participants had no history of previous COVID-19 and received either mRNA-based or adenovirus vector–based (AdV) vaccines as the primary series. Blood samples were collected before the first vaccination and after 2 weeks for each dose vaccination. Spike-specific binding antibodies (bAbs) in all participants and neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) wild-type, Delta, and Omicron variants in CPs were analyzed and presented as the geometric mean titer. Results: Age-matched 20 HCWs and 118 CPs were included in the analysis. The bAb seroconversion rate and antibody concentrations after the first vaccination were significantly lower in CPs than in HCWs. After the third vaccination, antibody levels in CPs with a primary series of AdV were comparable to those in HCWs, but nAb titers against the Omicron variant did not quantitatively increase in CPs with AdV vaccine as the primary series. The incidence and severity of adverse reactions post-vaccination were similar between CPs and HCWs. Conclusion CPs displayed delayed humoral immune response after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. The booster dose elicited comparable bAb concentrations between CPs and HCWs, regardless of the primary vaccine type. Neutralization against the Omicron variant was not robustly elicited following the booster dose in some CPs, implying the need for additional interventions to protect them from COVID-19.

Ectopic pancreas is defined as an abnormally located pancreatic tissue not sufficiently connected with the normal pancreas, which rarely occurs in neonates. To our knowledge, only a few cases of ectopic pancreas have been reported in newborns in South Korea. We report a case of ectopic pancreas as the cause of intussusception and jejunal atresia in a newborn. This clinical association is extremely rare, and this is the first report in South Korea.

Ectopic pancreas is defined as an abnormally located pancreatic tissue not sufficiently connected with the normal pancreas, which rarely occurs in neonates. To our knowledge, only a few cases of ectopic pancreas have been reported in newborns in South Korea. We report a case of ectopic pancreas as the cause of intussusception and jejunal atresia in a newborn. This clinical association is extremely rare, and this is the first report in South Korea.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cognitive training refers to a series of standardized tasks with inherent challenges that target specific cognitive domains. Positive outcome of cognitive training in persons with Alzheimer's disease has been reported. In this study, the objective was to design sets of cognitive training program, “Gipum-seo” which is combined cognitive training, consists of different levels of difficulty using predesigned paper-and-pencil exercises. Also, to evaluate the effects of the cognitive training on patients' with early stage of Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: The subjects for this study were forty participants who were diagnosed with early stage of Alzheimer's dementia. To test the efficacy of paper-based cognitive training programs to cognition, all patients were randomly grouped to either an intervention group (n=20) or a control group (n=20). The intervention group regularly received 24 sessions of paper-based cognitive training over a 12-week period. Neuropsychological examinations were conducted before and after this training period. RESULTS: After the 12 weeks, the intervention group showed a significant change in Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (25.90±3.8), compared to the control group (23.7±2.8) (p=0.042). The training group also showed a significant improvement in language, attention and executive function, as compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: Paper-based cognitive training might have beneficial effects on the general cognitive functions in the early stage of Alzheimer's dementia.
Alzheimer Disease ; Cognition ; Cognitive Therapy ; Dementia ; Education ; Executive Function ; Exercise ; Humans ; Neurocognitive Disorders ; Neuropsychological Tests

In vitro prediction of hepatotoxicity can enhance the performance of non-clinical animal testing for identifying chemical hazards. In this study, we assessed high-content analysis (HCA) using multi-parameter cell-based assays as an in vitro hepatotoxicity testing model using various hepatotoxicants and human hepatocytes such as HepG2 cells and human primary hepatocytes (hPHs). Both hepatocyte types were exposed separately to multiple doses of ten hepatotoxicants associated with liver injury whose mechanisms of action have been described. HCA data were obtained using fluorescence probes for nuclear size (Hoechst), mitochondrial membrane potential (TMRM), cytosolic free calcium (Fluo-4AM), and lipid peroxidation (BODIPY). Cellular alterations were observed in response to all hepatotoxicants tested. The most sensitive parameter was TMRM, with high sensitivity at a low dose, next was BODIPY, followed by Fluo-4AM. HCA data from HepG2 cells and hPHs were generally concordant, although some inconsistencies were noted. Both hepatocyte types showed mild or severe mitochondrial impairment and lipid peroxidation in response to several hepatotoxicants. The results demonstrate that the application of HCA to in vitro hepatotoxicity testing enables more efficient hazard identification, and further, they suggest that certain parameters could serve as sensitive endpoints for predicting the hepatotoxic potential of chemical compounds.
Animals ; Calcium ; Cytosol ; Fluorescence ; Hep G2 Cells ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Liver ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial

PURPOSE: We compared the ocular aberration and clinical outcome between different aspheric intraocular lenses (IOL) in both eyes. METHODS: This prospective randomized controlled study was comprised of patients with bilateral cataract who received two different aspheric IOLs implanted in both eyes: negatively aspheric Tecnis® ZCB00 and spherically neutral Akreos® MI60. Total and corneal aberrations computed by Wavescan® and Pentacam® were assessed at 6 months to investigate the effects of the IOL's spherical aberration on the eye and to analyze the incidence and degree of posterior capsule opacification. By using spherical aberration of the cornea and the IOLs, values calculated via Ray-tracing software and Wavescan® were compared. Total spherical aberration was analyzed by the MATLAB program and converting the pupil size to 6.0, 4.5, 3.0 mm. RESULTS: A total of 25 patients were included. Regarding pre-operative corneal aberration, ZCB00 group was 0.232 ± 0.119 µm while MI60 group was 0.240 ± 0.117 µm, and there was no difference between the two IOLs. At 6 months after total ocular spherical aberration, MI60 group (pupil size 6.0 mm; 0.296 ± 0.097 µm, 4.5 mm; 0.094 ± 0.032 µm, 3.0 mm; 0.019 ± 0.006 µm) had more positive values than ZCB00 group (pupil size 6.0 mm; 0.051 ± 0.105 µm, 4.5 mm; 0.009 ± 0.034 µm, 3.0 mm; 0.002 ± 0.007 µm) (p < 0.001). When calculated using the ray tracing method, based on the results after surgery, MI60 group's total spherical aberrations were higher than ZCB00 group. However, from 1 month to 6 months after surgery, the uncorrected distance visual acuity, spherical equivalent and posterior capsule opacification showed no differences between the two IOLs. CONCLUSIONS: In eyes with aspheric IOLs with negative spherical aberration, spherical aberration was lower than spherically neutral aspheric IOLs. Regarding postoperative visual acuity, spherical equivalent and posterior capsule opacification, there were no significant differences between the two groups.
Capsule Opacification ; Cataract ; Cornea ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lenses, Intraocular* ; Methods ; Prospective Studies ; Pupil ; Visual Acuity

Mycobacterium (M.) bovis causes tuberculosis and has a broad host range, including humans, livestock, and wild animals. M. bovis infection of wild boar has been reported in several European countries. We report here the first case of M. bovis infection in a domesticated wild sow in Korea. Granulomatous and necrotizing lesions with small numbers of acid-fast bacilli were observed in nodules of the lung of wild sow. Furthermore, the M. bovis isolate from the wild sow had spoligotype SB0140 and a novel MIRU-VNTR allelic profile, which is not found in cattle and deer in Korea.
Animals ; Animals, Wild ; Cattle ; Deer ; Host Specificity ; Humans ; Korea* ; Livestock ; Lung ; Mycobacterium bovis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Sus scrofa ; Tuberculosis