Korean Nurses Association

Nurses providing care to patients with end-of-life or terminal illnesses often encounter ethically challenging situations leading to moral distress. However, existing quantitative studies have examined moral distress using instruments that address general clinical situations rather than those specific to end-of-life care. Furthermore, qualitative studies have often been limited to participants from a single unit or those experiencing moral distress-induced circumstances. A comprehensive and integrated understanding of the overarching process of moral distress is vital to discern the unique circumstances surrounding end-of-life care and its consequential impacts. To explore the moral distress experiences of nurses who are frequently involved in caring for patients with end-of-life or terminal illnesses and apply it to two existing theories: the model of moral distress and the ecological model. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed. Seven focus group interviews involving 30 nurses were performed. The subsequent transcriptions underwent rigorous content analysis. We obtained Institutional Review Board approval from a university. Focus group interviews were conducted with nurses who agreed to participate and signed the consent form. The moral distress-inducing factors and nurses' perceived impact of moral distress were identified and categorized based on moral distress theories and ecological models. A total of 15 categories and 30 subcategories across the following 4 domains were derived: (1) intrapersonal, (2) interpersonal, (3) organizational, and (4) structural factors. End-of-life-specific circumstances induced moral distress among nurses, with both negative and positive impacts identified. Effective organizational and policy support is essential to manage conflicts, form a healthy organizational culture, provide training, and prevent unnecessary expenses due to the negative consequences of moral distress.

This study investigates the impact of soft drink consumption on adolescent mental health using data from the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey. Analyzing responses from a large sample of adolescents, the study explores the association between soft drink consumption and indicators of mental health, including depressive symptoms and suicide attempts. Results reveal a significant correlation between frequent soft drink consumption and adverse mental health outcomes among adolescents. The findings underscore the importance of considering dietary habits in adolescent mental health interventions and highlight the need for targeted public health initiatives aimed at promoting healthier beverage choices among youth.

Energy harvesting through motion caused by wind is a unique way of finding an alternative energy source for several electronic devices. Piezo-electronic sensors, which harvest energy from small vibrations and movements, are investigated by many researchers nowadays. This paper conducted an experimental study to find an alternative energy source for diverse electronics with forced oscillations from a fan. The relations between the force applied by wind and the oscillation of a paper strip were studied.

Numerous microorganisms accumulate polyesters classified as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) as carbon and energy storage material when the growth condition is unfavorable in the presence of excess carbon source. Natural PHAs typically consist of various (R)-hydroxycarboxylic acids, and exhibit different material properties depending on the monomer composition. Such diversity comes from different metabolic pathways operating in the cell, and thus generating different monomers. Even more diverse PHAs can be produced by metabolically engineered microorganisms, which leads to the biosynthesis of non-natural polyesters containing lactate as a monomer. In order to make PHAs as useful polymers in our daily life, their production cost should be significantly lowered and material properties should be compatible with those produced by petrochemical industries. Metabolic engineering can address these issues by developing microbial strains capable of producing PHAs of desired material properties with high productivity and yield from inexpensive carbon sources. This commentary aims at peeking into the future of PHAs, focusing on the possible metabolic engineering strategies to be taken to achieve these goals.

Background: Prehypertension is common in Korea and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The present study estimated the current prevalence of prehypertension and its association with clustering of other modifiable cardiovascular risk factors among women who are registered in Korean Nurses Association as a part of Korean Nurses’ Health study (KNHS). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 10 000 nurses aged 20 to 69 years was carried out between September 2011 and December 2011. Questionnaire data and information on blood pressure, anthropometric characteristics, and life style patterns were collected. Results: The age-standardized prevalence of prehypertension was 19.7% among women registered in Korean Nurses. The prevalence of obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, current smoking and physical inactivity was higher in participants with prehypertension (1.8%, 1.0%, 12.7%, 4.3% and 18.2%, respectively) as compared with normotensive participants (0.2%, 0.2%, 6.1%, 4.3% and 15.8%, respectively), and in participants with hypertension (3.2%, 3.6%, 28.2%, 3.6% and 11.42%, respectively) as compared with those with prehypertension. Overall, 34.0%, 3.7%, and 0.13% of prehypertensive women had 1 or more, 2 or more, and 3 or more cardiovascular risk factors (obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, current smoking, and physical inactivity). These proportions were higher than those in normotensive women (24.6%, 1.9%, and 0.1%) and lower than those in women with hypertension (41.1%, 7.3%, and 0.5%). Conclusions: A high prevalence of prehypertension and clustering of other modifiable CRFs are common among prehypertensive adults in women registered in Korean Nurses’ Association. More-effective population-based lifestyle modifications are required to prevent progression to hypertension and reduce the increasing burden of cardiovascular disease in Korea.

Many hospitals would benefit from a reduction in the length of inpatient hospital stays; in this regard, nursing approaches require complementation to ensure optimized nursing care. Such action is particularly important in general hospitals in Korea, where the ratio of patients to nurses is more than 10:1. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a unit-coordinator system in complementing primary nursing in general hospitals as a means of reducing inappropriate hospital stays. The unit-coordinator system was implemented in seven wards in a hospital in Seoul for 8 weeks. The existing primary nursing system was maintained, and newly placed unit-coordinators organized the activities within each ward. The numbers of early admissions and early discharges were determined by assessing the electronic administrative records of the hospital. Further, the number of patients who had undergone check-ups and chemotherapy on the day of admission was confirmed from the daily reports of each ward. The effect of the unit-coordinator system on nurse satisfaction was assessed through direct interviews. Early-discharge and early-admission numbers increased significantly after implementation of the unit-coordinator system. Early admission allowed check-ups and treatments to be performed on the day of admission. Thus, this system reduced the length of hospital stay by 1 day, and the total reduction of inappropriate hospital stays over the 8-week study period was 66 days. Further, the unit-coordinator system also increased nurse satisfaction. The unit-coordinator system is an effective method of complementing primary nursing and reducing inappropriate hospital stays.

This article reports a comparative study of the phase separation process in a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal, based on a Metropolis Monte Carlo simulation study of three lattice systems. We propose a model for the different processes occurring in the formation of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs). The mechanism of PDLC is studied as a function of quench temperature, concentration and degree of polymerization of liquid crystals and polymers. The obtained resultant phase diagrams of the three systems are approximated and compared with the Flory-Huggins theory, and show a good agreement. It has been observed in the simulation results that among all the three systems, the 40 × 40 × 40 lattice showed the most accurate, reliable and stable results.

The stereoselective hydrolysis of racemic ethyl 4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyrate (ECHB) was performed by using Novozym 435 lipase in an aqueous phase. It was found that racemic ECHB was hydrolysed to (R)-ECHB and (S)-3-hydroxy-gamma-butyrolactone (HGBL) via (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyric acid. From this result, (R)-ECHB (99%ee) was produced in a good yield on a preparative scale.