Objectives: Moral sensitivity and moral judgment are key factors influencing ethical decision-making in the clinical practice of dental hygienists. This study utilized a dilemma discussion in a dental hygiene ethics class to assess changes in the moral sensitivity and moral judgment of students and to examine the implications of these changes. Methods: The study included 46 sophomore students from the Department of Dental Hygiene who were enrolled in a dental hygiene ethics course during the second semester of 2021. The class employed the dilemma discussion method in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model-based Development Beyond Learning (DBL) dental hygiene ethics curriculum. This approach aimed to help dental hygienists develop professional ethics and make sound ethical judgments. To evaluate the degree of change in moral perception before and after the dilemma discussion class, a predesigned questionnaire was administered twice—once in the first week and again in the 15th week of the course. Results: Moral sensitivity increased following the dental hygiene ethics course. Although moral judgement did no show a statistically significant change, students demonstrated a noticeable shift toward deeper consideration in their ethical reasoning. Conclusions Dental hygiene programs should explore diverse instructional designs and activities to foster ethical competencies. This study provides insights that may contribute to improving the ethical thinking skills of future dental hygienists.

Objectives: Moral sensitivity and moral judgment are key factors influencing ethical decision-making in the clinical practice of dental hygienists. This study utilized a dilemma discussion in a dental hygiene ethics class to assess changes in the moral sensitivity and moral judgment of students and to examine the implications of these changes. Methods: The study included 46 sophomore students from the Department of Dental Hygiene who were enrolled in a dental hygiene ethics course during the second semester of 2021. The class employed the dilemma discussion method in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model-based Development Beyond Learning (DBL) dental hygiene ethics curriculum. This approach aimed to help dental hygienists develop professional ethics and make sound ethical judgments. To evaluate the degree of change in moral perception before and after the dilemma discussion class, a predesigned questionnaire was administered twice—once in the first week and again in the 15th week of the course. Results: Moral sensitivity increased following the dental hygiene ethics course. Although moral judgement did no show a statistically significant change, students demonstrated a noticeable shift toward deeper consideration in their ethical reasoning. Conclusions Dental hygiene programs should explore diverse instructional designs and activities to foster ethical competencies. This study provides insights that may contribute to improving the ethical thinking skills of future dental hygienists.

Objectives: Moral sensitivity and moral judgment are key factors influencing ethical decision-making in the clinical practice of dental hygienists. This study utilized a dilemma discussion in a dental hygiene ethics class to assess changes in the moral sensitivity and moral judgment of students and to examine the implications of these changes. Methods: The study included 46 sophomore students from the Department of Dental Hygiene who were enrolled in a dental hygiene ethics course during the second semester of 2021. The class employed the dilemma discussion method in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model-based Development Beyond Learning (DBL) dental hygiene ethics curriculum. This approach aimed to help dental hygienists develop professional ethics and make sound ethical judgments. To evaluate the degree of change in moral perception before and after the dilemma discussion class, a predesigned questionnaire was administered twice—once in the first week and again in the 15th week of the course. Results: Moral sensitivity increased following the dental hygiene ethics course. Although moral judgement did no show a statistically significant change, students demonstrated a noticeable shift toward deeper consideration in their ethical reasoning. Conclusions Dental hygiene programs should explore diverse instructional designs and activities to foster ethical competencies. This study provides insights that may contribute to improving the ethical thinking skills of future dental hygienists.

Objectives: Moral sensitivity and moral judgment are key factors influencing ethical decision-making in the clinical practice of dental hygienists. This study utilized a dilemma discussion in a dental hygiene ethics class to assess changes in the moral sensitivity and moral judgment of students and to examine the implications of these changes. Methods: The study included 46 sophomore students from the Department of Dental Hygiene who were enrolled in a dental hygiene ethics course during the second semester of 2021. The class employed the dilemma discussion method in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model-based Development Beyond Learning (DBL) dental hygiene ethics curriculum. This approach aimed to help dental hygienists develop professional ethics and make sound ethical judgments. To evaluate the degree of change in moral perception before and after the dilemma discussion class, a predesigned questionnaire was administered twice—once in the first week and again in the 15th week of the course. Results: Moral sensitivity increased following the dental hygiene ethics course. Although moral judgement did no show a statistically significant change, students demonstrated a noticeable shift toward deeper consideration in their ethical reasoning. Conclusions Dental hygiene programs should explore diverse instructional designs and activities to foster ethical competencies. This study provides insights that may contribute to improving the ethical thinking skills of future dental hygienists.

Purpose: This report offers a detailed examination of the inception and current state of the Heavy-ion Therapy Center (HITC) at the Yonsei Cancer Center (YCC), setting it apart as the world’s first center equipped with a fixed beam and two superconducting gantries for carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT). Materials and Methods: Preparations for CIRT at YCC began in 2013; accordingly, this center has completed a decade of meticulous planning and culminating since the operational commencement of the HITC in April 2023. Results: This report elaborates on the clinical preparation for adopting CIRT in Korea. It includes an extensive description of HITC’s facility layout at YCC, which comprises the accelerator and treatment rooms. Furthermore, this report delineates the clinical workflow, criteria for CIRT application, and the rigorous quality assurance processes implemented at YCC. It highlights YCC’s sophisticated radiation therapy infrastructure, collaborative initiatives, and the efficacious treatment of >200 prostate cancer cases utilizing CIRT. Conclusion This manuscript concludes by discussing the prospective influence of CIRT on the medical domain within Korea, spotlighting YCC’s pioneering contribution and forecasting the widespread integration of this groundbreaking technology.

Purpose: This report offers a detailed examination of the inception and current state of the Heavy-ion Therapy Center (HITC) at the Yonsei Cancer Center (YCC), setting it apart as the world’s first center equipped with a fixed beam and two superconducting gantries for carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT). Materials and Methods: Preparations for CIRT at YCC began in 2013; accordingly, this center has completed a decade of meticulous planning and culminating since the operational commencement of the HITC in April 2023. Results: This report elaborates on the clinical preparation for adopting CIRT in Korea. It includes an extensive description of HITC’s facility layout at YCC, which comprises the accelerator and treatment rooms. Furthermore, this report delineates the clinical workflow, criteria for CIRT application, and the rigorous quality assurance processes implemented at YCC. It highlights YCC’s sophisticated radiation therapy infrastructure, collaborative initiatives, and the efficacious treatment of >200 prostate cancer cases utilizing CIRT. Conclusion This manuscript concludes by discussing the prospective influence of CIRT on the medical domain within Korea, spotlighting YCC’s pioneering contribution and forecasting the widespread integration of this groundbreaking technology.

Purpose: Endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy (E-NSM) is a minimally invasive surgical technique that shows good results in patients with breast cancer. The authors compared 3 different types of commercial energy devices to examine their efficacy and safety in E-NSM performed with breast reconstruction. Methods: A total of 36 cases of E-NSM were conducted with either Sonicision (S group, n = 11), Harmonic (H group, n = 6), or Thunderbeat (T group, n = 19). The clinicopathologic factors and postoperative complications, including nipple or skin necrosis and surgical site seroma volume, were evaluated for 3 months after surgery. Results: The surgical duration of E-NSM was significantly shorter in the S group than in the H group (P = 0.043) and T group (P = 0.037). However, the total surgical duration including E-NSM and breast reconstruction, and the total and daily drainage volume of postoperative seroma did not differ significantly among the 3 groups. Even when the energy devices were compared according to their working principle, i.e., ultrasonic (S and H) vs. hybrid (T), the total breast surgery duration and total and daily drainage volume of seroma showed no difference between the 2 groups. Although surgeon satisfaction did not significantly differ when using 3 devices for E-NSM (P = 0.428), surgeon’s fatigue was found to be lowest in the S group, though it was not significant (P = 0.064). Conclusion Any energy device can be safely used for E-NSM with breast reconstruction without causing any major complications. However, cordless ultrasonic energy devices allow greater mobility for the surgeon and, therefore, may shorten surgical time in breast surgery.

Objectives: With the rapid aging of the Korean population, interest in oral health is increasing among older adults. However, information and communication technology (ICT)-based programs for oral function rehabilitation exercises (OFRE), that are closely related to the systemic and cognitive health of older adults, are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the applicability of ICT-based OFRE programs by identifying the demand from elder-care facility workers, who are the main providers, and to establish a basic plan for system development. Methods: This study was conducted using a Google Form questionnaire for approximately one month in September 2022 for workers at a day-and-night care center in Korea. Frequency analysis and chi-square tests were performed to identify the oral-health perceptions of center workers, and logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the need for ICT-based OFRE programs. Results: First, in patients undergoing oral function-related activities at the center, the need for OFRE was high, especially for mastication exercises (P<0.05). Second, participants with experience in using ICT-based rehabilitation programs were more positive about the usefulness of the new programs (P<0.001). Third, ease of use and simplicity of the program content were highly desirable, and group delivery was preferred. Conclusions This study confirmed the usefulness of ICT-based OFRE programs in facilities for older adults. The study findings are expected to be a basis for further development.

Objectives: Estimating the number of deaths caused by smoking is crucial for developing and evaluating tobacco control and smoking cessation policies. This study aimed to determine smoking-attributable mortality (SAM) in Korea in 2020. Methods: Four large-scale cohorts from Korea were analyzed. A Cox proportional-hazards model was used to determine the hazard ratios (HRs) of smoking-related death. By conducting a meta-analysis of these HRs, the pooled HRs of smoking-related death for 41 diseases were estimated. Population-attributable fractions (PAFs) were calculated based on the smoking prevalence for 1995 in conjunction with the pooled HRs. Subsequently, SAM was derived using the PAF and the number of deaths recorded for each disease in 2020. Results: The pooled HR for all-cause mortality attributable to smoking was 1.73 for current men smokers (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53 to 1.95) and 1.63 for current women smokers (95% CI, 1.37 to 1.94). Smoking accounted for 33.2% of all-cause deaths in men and 4.6% in women. Additionally, it was a factor in 71.8% of men lung cancer deaths and 11.9% of women lung cancer deaths. In 2020, smoking was responsible for 53 930 men deaths and 6283 women deaths, totaling 60 213 deaths. Conclusions Cigarette smoking was responsible for a significant number of deaths in Korea in 2020. Monitoring the impact and societal burden of smoking is essential for effective tobacco control and harm prevention policies.

Purpose: This report offers a detailed examination of the inception and current state of the Heavy-ion Therapy Center (HITC) at the Yonsei Cancer Center (YCC), setting it apart as the world’s first center equipped with a fixed beam and two superconducting gantries for carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT). Materials and Methods: Preparations for CIRT at YCC began in 2013; accordingly, this center has completed a decade of meticulous planning and culminating since the operational commencement of the HITC in April 2023. Results: This report elaborates on the clinical preparation for adopting CIRT in Korea. It includes an extensive description of HITC’s facility layout at YCC, which comprises the accelerator and treatment rooms. Furthermore, this report delineates the clinical workflow, criteria for CIRT application, and the rigorous quality assurance processes implemented at YCC. It highlights YCC’s sophisticated radiation therapy infrastructure, collaborative initiatives, and the efficacious treatment of >200 prostate cancer cases utilizing CIRT. Conclusion This manuscript concludes by discussing the prospective influence of CIRT on the medical domain within Korea, spotlighting YCC’s pioneering contribution and forecasting the widespread integration of this groundbreaking technology.