Objective: : Although Republic of Korea is an advanced country in medical technology with a successful treatment rate for serious diseases, such as cancer, and has improved technology for highly difficult surgery, many excellent medical doctors and physicians are struggling due to the recent unreasonable medical environment. Specialization in brain tumor surgery also faces challenges in Republic of Korea, including low financial incentives, legal threats, and limited career prospects. In response, the Korean Brain Tumor Society (KBTS) formed the Future Strategy Committee to assess these obstacles and propose solutions. Methods: : A survey was conducted among the KBTS members to understand their perceptions and concerns across different career stages. Results: : The findings revealed a decline in interest among chief residents in brain tumor surgery, owing to limited job opportunities and income prospects. Neurosurgical fellows expressed neutral satisfaction but highlighted challenges, such as low patient numbers and income. Faculty members with varying levels of experience echoed similar concerns, emphasizing the need for improved financial incentives and job stability. Despite these challenges, the respondents expressed dedication to the field and suggested strategies for improvement. Conclusion : The KBTS outlines a vision that focuses on practical excellence, comprehensive research, professional education, responsibilities, and member satisfaction. Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts among healthcare institutions, professional societies, and policymakers to support brain tumor specialists and enhance patient care.

Objective: : Although Republic of Korea is an advanced country in medical technology with a successful treatment rate for serious diseases, such as cancer, and has improved technology for highly difficult surgery, many excellent medical doctors and physicians are struggling due to the recent unreasonable medical environment. Specialization in brain tumor surgery also faces challenges in Republic of Korea, including low financial incentives, legal threats, and limited career prospects. In response, the Korean Brain Tumor Society (KBTS) formed the Future Strategy Committee to assess these obstacles and propose solutions. Methods: : A survey was conducted among the KBTS members to understand their perceptions and concerns across different career stages. Results: : The findings revealed a decline in interest among chief residents in brain tumor surgery, owing to limited job opportunities and income prospects. Neurosurgical fellows expressed neutral satisfaction but highlighted challenges, such as low patient numbers and income. Faculty members with varying levels of experience echoed similar concerns, emphasizing the need for improved financial incentives and job stability. Despite these challenges, the respondents expressed dedication to the field and suggested strategies for improvement. Conclusion : The KBTS outlines a vision that focuses on practical excellence, comprehensive research, professional education, responsibilities, and member satisfaction. Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts among healthcare institutions, professional societies, and policymakers to support brain tumor specialists and enhance patient care.

Objective: : Although Republic of Korea is an advanced country in medical technology with a successful treatment rate for serious diseases, such as cancer, and has improved technology for highly difficult surgery, many excellent medical doctors and physicians are struggling due to the recent unreasonable medical environment. Specialization in brain tumor surgery also faces challenges in Republic of Korea, including low financial incentives, legal threats, and limited career prospects. In response, the Korean Brain Tumor Society (KBTS) formed the Future Strategy Committee to assess these obstacles and propose solutions. Methods: : A survey was conducted among the KBTS members to understand their perceptions and concerns across different career stages. Results: : The findings revealed a decline in interest among chief residents in brain tumor surgery, owing to limited job opportunities and income prospects. Neurosurgical fellows expressed neutral satisfaction but highlighted challenges, such as low patient numbers and income. Faculty members with varying levels of experience echoed similar concerns, emphasizing the need for improved financial incentives and job stability. Despite these challenges, the respondents expressed dedication to the field and suggested strategies for improvement. Conclusion : The KBTS outlines a vision that focuses on practical excellence, comprehensive research, professional education, responsibilities, and member satisfaction. Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts among healthcare institutions, professional societies, and policymakers to support brain tumor specialists and enhance patient care.

Objective: : Although Republic of Korea is an advanced country in medical technology with a successful treatment rate for serious diseases, such as cancer, and has improved technology for highly difficult surgery, many excellent medical doctors and physicians are struggling due to the recent unreasonable medical environment. Specialization in brain tumor surgery also faces challenges in Republic of Korea, including low financial incentives, legal threats, and limited career prospects. In response, the Korean Brain Tumor Society (KBTS) formed the Future Strategy Committee to assess these obstacles and propose solutions. Methods: : A survey was conducted among the KBTS members to understand their perceptions and concerns across different career stages. Results: : The findings revealed a decline in interest among chief residents in brain tumor surgery, owing to limited job opportunities and income prospects. Neurosurgical fellows expressed neutral satisfaction but highlighted challenges, such as low patient numbers and income. Faculty members with varying levels of experience echoed similar concerns, emphasizing the need for improved financial incentives and job stability. Despite these challenges, the respondents expressed dedication to the field and suggested strategies for improvement. Conclusion : The KBTS outlines a vision that focuses on practical excellence, comprehensive research, professional education, responsibilities, and member satisfaction. Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts among healthcare institutions, professional societies, and policymakers to support brain tumor specialists and enhance patient care.

Prosthodontic treatment is being performed for morphology and functional restoration due to damage and loss of teeth. As the aesthetic demands of patients increase, interest in ceramic materials with shades and translucency similar to natural teeth has increased.Recently, the manufacturing and processing technology of ceramic materials has greatly improved, and the market for dental ceramic materials is growing rapidly. The purpose of this literature review and evaluation is to provide information on the classification and properties of dental ceramic materials with excellent aesthetics and fracture resistance. In this article, it is classified as follows: I) Dental porcelain; II) Sinterable all-ceramic; III) Glass-ceramic for casting; IV) Glass-infiltrated alumina ceramic; V) Glass-ceramic ingots for heat-pressing technique; Vl) Blocks for CAD/CAM; Vll) Ceramic for CAD/3D printing. Dental ceramic materials and their restoration manufacturing methods have evolved significantly over the past decade. As a result, the manufacturing method of restorations has progressed from the layered firing technique of powdered materials or heat-pressing technique to the cutting and processing of single and multi-layer blocks using CAD/CAM technology, leading to the introduction of CAD/3D printing technology. In this manuscript, we will review the types of ceramic materials used in the fabrication of dental restorations and their advantages and disadvantages.

We conducted a cohort study to assess vaccine effectiveness (VE) of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine combinations on severe acute respirator y syndrome coronavirus 2 critical infection and death among elderly population in Korea. From Januar y to August 2022, VE against death for 4 doses mRNA recipients was 96.1%, whereas 1-dose viral vector + 3-dose mRNA recipients had VE of 90.8%.

Purpose: Delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU) poses a significant safety and socioeconomic burden to patients and caregivers.However, invasive interventions for managing delirium have severe drawbacks. To reduce unnecessary interventions during ICU hospitalization, we aimed to investigate the features of delirium among ICU patients according to the occurrence of hypoactive symptoms, which are not expected to require invasive intervention. Materials and Methods: Psychiatrists assessed all patients with delirium in the ICU during hospitalization. Patients were grouped into two groups: a “non-hypoactive” group that experienced the non-hypoactive motor subtype once or more or a “hypoactive only” group that only experienced the hypoactive motor subtype. Clinical variables routinely gathered for clinical management were collected from electronic medical records. Group comparisons and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: The non-hypoactive group had longer and more severe delirium episodes than the hypoactive only group. Although the non-hypoactive group was prescribed more antipsychotics and required restraints longer, the hypoactive only group also received both interventions. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, BUN [odds ratio (OR): 0.993, pH OR: 0.202], sodium (OR: 1.022), RASS score (OR: 1.308) and whether restraints were applied [OR: 1.579 (95% confidence interval 1.194–2.089), p<0.001] were significant predictors of hypoactive only group classification. Conclusion Managing and predicting delirium patients based on whether patients experienced non-hypoactive delirium may be clinically important. Variables obtained during the initial 48 hours can be used to determine which patients are likely to require invasive interventions.

Titanium mesh is commonly employed to reinforce missing alveolar ridges and promote bone regeneration around implants. However, the bioinertness of titanium mesh must be improved. This study evaluated the effect of improving bioactivity and bone regeneration by loading a calcium phosphate coating layer and ibandronate onto a titanium mesh with a nanotube-structured TiO2 layer. The surface treatment of titanium mesh was divided into four groups: (1) No treatment; (2) Formation of nanotube TiO2 layer; (3) Cyclic calcification pretreatment (calcium phosphate coating layer) after the formation of a nanotube TiO2 layer; (4) Calcium phosphate coating and ibandronate loading after the formation of a nanotube TiO2 layer. The release amount of ibandronate was analyzed using a UV spectrophotometer, and bioactivity was assessed through XRD, EDS, and HR FE-SEM to observe changes in the surface layer after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). Hydroxyapatite was uniformly distributed on the surface of the (4) group immersed in SBF, and calcium and phosphorus content also increased over time. This result supported that bioactivity was improved. The continuous release of ibandronate over 10 days may contribute to realizing a mechanism that improves osseointegration between bone and titanium mesh. These results showed that bioactivity was improved as calcium phosphate precipitated on the surface of the nanostructured titanium mesh. Additionally, it is believed that combined ibandronate can effectively increase the stability of titanium mesh and promote bone regeneration.

Recently, a new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (B.1.1.529) Omicron variant originated from South Africa in the middle of November 2021. SARS-CoV-2 is also called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19. Several studies already suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant would be the fastest transmissible variant compared to the previous 10 SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, interest, and alert. Few clinical studies reported the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant but there is insufficient time to perform actual experiments to prove it, since the spread is so fast. We analyzed the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, which revealed a very high rate of mutation at amino acid residues that interact with angiostatin-converting enzyme 2. The mutation rate of COVID-19 is faster than what we prepared vaccine program, antibody therapy, lockdown, and quarantine against COVID-19 so far. Thus, it is necessary to find better strategies to overcome the current crisis of COVID-19 pandemic.