Agendas on Nursing in South Korea Media: Natural Language Processing and Network Analysis of News From 2005 to 2022.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, Korean society has increasingly recognized the importance of nurses in the context of population aging and infectious disease control. However, nurses still face difficulties with regard to policy activities that are aimed at improving the nursing workforce structure and working environment. Media coverage plays an important role in public awareness of a particular issue and can be an important strategy in policy activities. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed data from 18 years of news coverage on nursing-related issues. The focus of this study was to examine the drivers of the social, local, economic, and political agendas that were emphasized in the media by the analysis of main sources and their quotes. This analysis revealed which nursing media agendas were emphasized (eg, social aspects), neglected (eg, policy aspects), and negotiated. METHODS: Descriptive analysis, natural language processing, and semantic network analysis were applied to analyze data collected from 2005 to 2022. BigKinds were used for the collection of data, automatic multi-categorization of news, named entity recognition of news sources, and extraction and topic modeling of quotes. The main news sources were identified by conducting a 1-mode network analysis with SNAnalyzer. The main agendas of nursing-related news coverage were examined through the qualitative analysis of major sources' quotes by section. The common and individual interests of the top-ranked sources were analyzed through a 2-mode network analysis using UCINET. RESULTS: In total, 128,339 articles from 54 media outlets on nursing-related issues were analyzed. Descriptive analysis showed that nursing-related news was mainly covered in social (99,868/128,339, 77.82%) and local (48,056/128,339, 48.56%) sections, whereas it was rarely covered in economic (9439/128,339, 7.35%) and political (7301/128,339, 5.69%) sections. Furthermore, 445 sources that had made the top 20 list at least once by year and section were analyzed. Other than "nurse," the main sources for each section were "labor union," "local resident," "government," and "Moon Jae-in." "Nursing Bill" emerged as a common interest among nurses and doctors, although the topic did not garner considerable attention from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Analyzing quotes showed that nurses were portrayed as heroes, laborers, survivors of abuse, and perpetrators. The economic section focused on employment of youth and women in nursing. In the political section, conflicts between nurses and doctors, which may have caused policy confusion, were highlighted. Policy formulation processes were not adequately reported. Media coverage of the enactment of nursing laws tended to relate to confrontations between political parties. CONCLUSIONS: The media plays a crucial role in highlighting various aspects of nursing practice. However, policy formulation processes to solve nursing issues were not adequately reported in South Korea. This study suggests that nurses should secure policy compliance by persuading the public to understand their professional perspectives.

Hexagonal Boron Nitride as an Intermediate Layer for Gallium Nitride Epitaxial Growth in Near-Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes.

We introduce the development of gallium nitride (GaN) layers by employing graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as intermediary substrates. This study demonstrated the successful growth of GaN with a uniformly smooth surface morphology on h-BN. In order to evaluate the crystallinity of GaN grown on h-BN, a comparison was conducted with GaN grown on a sapphire substrate. Photoluminescence spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction confirmed that the crystallinity of GaN deposited on h-BN was inferior to that of GaN grown on conventional GaN. To validate the practical applicability of the GaN layer grown on h-BN, we subsequently grew an NUV-LED structure and fabricated a device that operated well in optoelectrical performance experiments. Our findings validate the potential usefulness of h-BN to be a substrate in the direct growth of a GaN layer.

Determinants of Working Practice Location for Clinicians According to High School, Medical School, and Resident Training Locations in Korea.

Although several regulations have been implemented for medical school admission, such as a quota system, the uneven distribution of healthcare personnel across regions is an unresolved problem in Korea. This study explores the distribution and retention rate of clinicians across regions according to the degree of experience staying in the current clinical area during high school/medical school/resident training using 2016 Korean Physician Survey data. Both in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, clinicians who completed high school, medical school, and resident training in the current practice region (Subgroup D) accounted for the largest proportion (Metro, n = 1611, 46.1%; non-metro, n = 1917, 52.9%). The retention rate was the highest in Subgroup D both in metropolitan (84.3%) and non-metropolitan areas (Chungcheong 86.2%, Jeolla 79.9%, Daegu/Gyeongbuk 81.6%, Busan/Ulsan/Gyeongnam 93.3%) except Gangwon and Jeju. The second, third, and fourth highest retention rates were observed in cases where clinicians completed their high school and resident training, medical school and resident training, and resident training only, respectively, in all regions, although the ranking differs by region. To increase the retention rate of physicians, this study shows that it is necessary for a student to seek ways to continue training in the same region in which they graduated from medical school.

Leathesia difformis Extract Inhibits α-MSH-Induced Melanogenesis in B16F10 Cells via Down-Regulation of CREB Signaling Pathway.

Leathesia difformis (L.) Areschoug (L. difformis) is a species of littoral brown algae of the class Phaeophyceae. Only a few studies on the apoptotic, antiviral, and antioxidant properties of L. difformis have been reported, and its inhibitory effect on melanin synthesis has not been studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-melanogenic effect of L. difformis extract on α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-induced B16F10 melanocytes and its mechanism of action. L. difformis was extracted using 80% ethanol (LDE) and then fractioned between ethyl acetate (LDE-EA) and water (LDE-A). Our data demonstrated that LDE-EA significantly inhibited melanin level and cellular tyrosinase activity in α-MSH-stimulated B16 cells. In addition, the expression of genes associated with melanin synthesis, such as microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf), tyrosinase (Tyr), tyrosinase-related protein-1 (Trp-1), dopachrome tautomerase (Dct), and melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) was down-regulated by LDE-EA treatment. Moreover, LDE-EA decreased p-CREB levels, which suggests that the inhibition of the cAMP/PKA/CREB pathways may be involved in the anti-melanogenic effect of LDE-EA. Thus, this study revealed that LDE-EA is an effective inhibitor of hyperpigmentation through inhibition of CREB pathways and may be considered as a potential therapeutic agent for hyperpigmentation disorders.