• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.52-62
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study was to find a way to improve the stability and quality of urinalysis by checking the changes in the measurement values of representative clinical chemistry test items according to the repeated freezing and thawing before the urine test and the thawing process. All subjects were 10 healthy males, and the freeze and thaw stability test was performed using their urine samples. In the case of micro-albumin and amylase, there was no statistical significance at 37℃ with time, but at 42℃ and 60℃, there was a statistically significant change in the results with time. There were statistically significant changes in BUN, creatinine, uric acid, and glucose. As a result of long-term stability, after 7 days, glucose mutation increased and amylase decreased at 60℃. In the case of glucose and amylase, there was a statistically significant change in the results over time. To obtain accurate test results, accurate standardization of urinalysis including appropriate collection, storage, and storage methods of urine samples is required and systematic study of conditions for securing stability for each biomaterial is required.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.163-169
• /
• 2022

Background: It is estimated that about 13 million artisanal and small-scale miners carry out their activities under harsh, precarious, unfriendly, and risky conditions. Yet, our understanding of the extent to which these workers use personal protective equipment (PPE) and navigate through the various risks and hazards they face is still limited. This article has two main objectives. First, it explores the extent of usage of PPE among artisanal and small-scale miners for the prevention of hazards and risks. Second, it examines the coping strategies used by these miners as a response to experiences of occupational injuries and risks Methods: A cross-sectional survey of small-scale miners was conducted in six communities across three districts in Ghana, West Africa. The mixed methods approach was adopted. A total of 148 small-scale miners participated in the study. Six focus group discussions (FGDs) were held across the six communities. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests were used to analyse the relationship between some socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, and educational background) and the usage of PPE. Open-ended questions and responses from FGDs were analysed based on the content and verbatim quotations from miners. Results: Findings suggest that 78% of the miners interviewed do not use the appropriate PPE citing reasons such as cost, and their personal discomfort associated with use of PPE. There was no significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics (i.e., sex, age, education and major mining activity) and the usage of PPE. The study further revealed four main coping strategies used by miners to handle the risks. These are rest, taking unprescribed medication and hard drugs, registration with health insurance scheme and savings and investments. Conclusion: This study shows that very few artisanal miners use PPE despite the significant hazards and risks to which they are exposed. The study recommends to the government to put in place measures to ensure that miners adhere to health and safety regulations before undertaking mining activities. This means that health and safety plans and use of PPE should be linked to the license acquisition process for miners.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.51-59
• /
• 2023

The Nakdong river is both a natural resource crucial to underwater ecosystems and a water source for its basin's residents. Industrial wastewater and domestic sewage must meet the relevant standards for discharged water before they can flow into the river. The correlation between old and new measures of organic matter was examined using water quality data from 50 monitoring locations in the main stream of the Nakdong river. The coefficient of determination (R²) for total organic carbon (TOC), the new measure of organic matter, and chemical oxygen demand (COD), the old measure of organic matter, in the main stream of the Nakdong river was 0.6134, indicating high correlation. Water quality at each location assessed using TOC and COD showed disparities that cannot be ignored: quality appeared higher when evaluating the main stream of the Nakdong river using TOC instead of COD. Therefore, there remains a need to review water quality ratings based on TOC; continuous monitoring of COD is also required. In addition, the cause of the difference should be clearly identified to help assess artificial sources of pollution and natural factors affecting organic matter. Water management of the Nakdong river will then be possible using the water quality rating.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.3-31
• /
• 2023

Der Begriff der Heilkundeausübung ist im positiven Recht in Korea nirgends festgelegt. Der wurde jedoch indirekt durch die Auslegung der Heilkundeausübung ohne Erlaubnis gemäß § 27 Abs. 1 des "Medizingesetzes" geregelt. In der Vergangenheit beschränkte der kOGH(the Supreme Court of Korea) die Heilkundeausübung auf die "Behandlung von Krankheiten und stellte fest, dass "medizinische und technische Maßnahmen, die keine pathologischen Symptome oder Funktionsdefizite im Körper voraussetzen, nicht zur Heilkundeausübung gehören." Danach änderte der kOGH seine Rechtsprechung auf "Vorbeugung oder Behandlung von Krankheiten durch Durchführung ärztlicher Untersuchungen, Optometrie, Verschreibung, Medikation oder chirurgischer Eingriffe auf der Grundlage von Erfahrung und Fähigkeiten, die auf medizinischem Fachwissen basieren, und anderer Gesundheitsfürsorge, definiert "medizinische Maßnahmen" als "eine Handlung, die eine gesundheitliche Gefahr darstellen kann, sofern diese nicht von einem Mediziner durchgeführt wird". Der Begriff der Heilkundeausübung in der Rechtsprechung ist einerseits zu abstrakt und kann eine Leerformel sein, andererseits kann seine Einschränkung eine Gefahr für die öffentliche Gesundheit erbringen. Daher besteht Bedarf an einem Kriterium, das dar derzeitige Begriff der Heilkundeausübung entsprechend dem gesetzgeberischen Ziel reduzieren kann, das Risiko für das Leben, den Körper oder die öffentliche Gesundheit von Menschen zu verhindern, das durch die Durchführung medizinischer Arbeiten durch nichtmedizinisches Personal entstehen kann. Um ein Kriterium vorzustellen, das das aktuelle Konzept der Heilkundeausübung reduzieren kann, werden in diesem Artikel das positive Recht, Theorien und Rechtsprechung zum Begriff der Heilkundeausübung in Deutschland untersucht und nach einer Alternative gesucht.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.493-499
• /
• 2022

Background: The purpose of this study is to construct a job-exposure matrix for lead that accounts for industry and work processes within industries using a nationwide exposure database. Methods: We used the work environment measurement data (WEMD) of lead monitored nationwide from 2015 to 2016. Industrial hygienists standardized the work process codes in the database to 37 standard process and extracted key index words for each process. A total of 37 standardized process codes were allocated to each measurement based on an automated key word search based on the degree of agreement between the measurement information and the standard process index. Summary statistics, including the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, and 95th percentile level (X95), was calculated according to industry, process, and industry process. Using statistical parameters of contrast and precision, we compared the similarity of exposure groups by industry, process, and industry process. Results: The exposure intensity of lead was estimated for 583 exposure groups combined with 128 industry and 35 process. The X95 value of the "casting" process of the "manufacture of basic precious and non-ferrous metals" industry was 53.29 ㎍/m³, exceeding the occupational exposure limit of 50 ㎍/m³. Regardless of the limitation of the minimum number of samples in the exposure group, higher contrast was observed when the exposure groups were by industry process than by industry or process. Conclusion: We evaluated the exposure intensities of lead by combination of industry and process. The results will be helpful in determining more accurate information regarding exposure in lead-related epidemiological studies.

• Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology
• /
• v.6 no.8
• /
• pp.15-23
• /
• 2016

Recently the interest in secondary use of medical information has emerged. But the domestic legislation or guidelines, such as being able to say that already specialize in healthcare information, can be seen a 'national medical privacy guidelines'. However the guidelines have suggested that only a violation of privacy laws in the medical information, it does not defined clearly with respect to protected health information(PHI) for secondary use. In this paper, we learn the HIPAA(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Privacy Rule of the US legislation which provides a non-identifiable screen instructions for secondary utilization of medical information, domestic guidelines and other country's guidelines. comparing with the HIPAA, national medical privacy guidelines and the domestic studies, we propose a new domestic target non-identifying information suitable for the domestic field and present future research direction.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.141-152
• /
• 2023

Objective: We performed a meta-analysis of epidemiological results for the association between occupational exposure as a firefighter and cancer as part of the broader evidence synthesis work of the IARC Monographs program. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify cohort studies of firefighters followed for cancer incidence and mortality. Studies were evaluated for the influence of key biases on results. Random-effects meta-analysis models were used to estimate the association between ever-employment and duration of employment as a firefighter and risk of 12 selected cancers. The impact of bias was explored in sensitivity analyses. Results: Among the 16 included cancer incidence studies, the estimated meta-rate ratio, 95% confidence interval (CI), and heterogeneity statistic (I²) for ever-employment as a career firefighter compared mostly to general populations were 1.58 (1.14-2.20, 8%) for mesothelioma, 1.16 (1.08-1.26, 0%) for bladder cancer, 1.21 (1.12-1.32, 81%) for prostate cancer, 1.37 (1.03-1.82, 56%) for testicular cancer, 1.19 (1.07-1.32, 37%) for colon cancer, 1.36 (1.15-1.62, 83%) for melanoma, 1.12 (1.01-1.25, 0%) for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 1.28 (1.02-1.61, 40%) for thyroid cancer, and 1.09 (0.92-1.29, 55%) for kidney cancer. Ever-employment as a firefighter was not positively associated with lung, nervous system, or stomach cancer. Results for mesothelioma and bladder cancer exhibited low heterogeneity and were largely robust across sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: There is epidemiological evidence to support a causal relationship between occupational exposure as a firefighter and certain cancers. Challenges persist in the body of evidence related to the quality of exposure assessment, confounding, and medical surveillance bias.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.119-129
• /
• 2023

In many cases, trauma is overcome in a short periodtime, but for some, trauma results in long-term mental health issues such as in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Natural disasters cause different types and extent of damage, meaning the degree of stress experienced also varies. In the case of damage to a house, the impact can be considerable. Therefore, this study examined the trauma experienced by households whose homes were damaged by natural disasters and to confirm the characteristics of psychological trauma. It was confirmed that traumas was greater when a house was damaged, compared with damage to other types of items. In addition, even in the case of trauma occurring, factors that affect the pattern of change to someone's mental state vary depending on the state's classification. And In addition, health services is significantly analyzed in all variables, and it was considered that the provision of basic services related to safety after a disaster is paramount. However, while psychological counseling has a positive effect on short-term traumas that manifests as anxiety and depression, it has an adverse effect on PTSD because of the depth and complexity of the suffering in PTSD, meaning the type of psychological support needs changing.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.145-154
• /
• 2022

This study briefly compares the first-cycle certification of nursing hospitals with the second-cycle certification, reviews the changes and achievements of the second-cycle certification and the third-cycle certification, and examples of challenges and solutions in the process of preparing the third-cycle certification. In this study, it is suggested as follows. First, in order to see the practical effect of certification intended by the government, the exhibition is prepared in a short period of time before certification. Second, after the implementation of the nursing hospital certification system, research on the hospital performance of the medical institution certification system is insufficient in terms of quality and quantity. Therefore, in order to see the effect on the certification system, various research support is also required so that research on this can be actively conducted. Third, design certification standard guidelines from a long-term perspective so that the standard guidelines for certification do not change significantly, and certify not only the guidelines but also individual standards and forms that can be used by medical institutions. Fourth, in the four-cycle certification, accurate and realistic guidelines for infection control and quarantine ward operation support should be developed. The importance of managing infectious diseases will be highlighted in the future due to COVID-19. Fifth, medical institutions can improve the quality of medical care in nursing hospitals and have competitiveness if their daily activities, not short-term certification preparation, are carried out in accordance with certification standards, which affects performance. Sixth, when preparing for certification, nursing hospital officials have problems in organizing documents or processing administratively in the short term as in the past. This is also based on the certification criteria for the usual business process.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.1099-1108
• /
• 2023

The mortise view radiography procedure is an ankle joint examination and observes the presence of trauma, sprain, or dislocation suspected in the ankle joint. The auxiliary equipment used during the mortise view radiography procedure can generate artifacts in the radiograph images and is not diverse enough to be custom-made for each patient; not cost-efficient. The purpose of this study is to create a custom assistive device to support mortise view radiography procedure. This study utilized 3D printing technology to create the mortise view radiography procedure assistive device (ShinHan Device; SHD). The lengths of the tibiotalar joint (TTJ), talar calcaneal joint (TCJ), and medial joint (MJ) were measured and evaluated by five researchers using both SHD and the prototype Hologic tool. The mean ranges were found to be 39.42-39.47 mm for TTJ, 31.41-31.57 mm for TCJ, and 21.21-21.23 mm for MJ while using SHD device. On the other hand, the measurements showed mean ranges of 39.73-39.79 mm for TTJ, 31.46-31.50 mm for TCJ, and 21.31-21.35 mm for MJ while using the Hologic tool. Based on this study results, the error ranges at all positions decreased by 24% for TTJ, 17% for TCJ, and 36% for MJ when using SHD device compared to the Hologic tool. Moreover, when SHD was used, it allowed for a highly reproducible examination posture (ICC = 0.99), and it enabled the acquisition of radiograph images without artifacts, which were present in the Hologic tool.