• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2022

Objectives: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was approximately 16% in populations of over age 30 years, and deaths from diabetes mellitus became the sixth most prevalent cause of death by disease. To assess the relationship between HbA1c and heavy metal level in blood and urine, targeted residents were evaluated in a vast steel industrial complex. Methods: We selected 414 subjects for analysis after applying the following exclusion criterion: 18 persons with diabetes mellitus. They took part in a questionnaire survey and underwent blood and urinary assessments. HbA1c and lead (Pb) level were measured in blood and, cadmium (Cd), inorganic arsenic (iAs) and mercury (Hg) were evaluated in urine. Two subgroups were divided by HbA1c 6.5%. Each subgroup was divided by 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th and 90th percentile levels of biological exposure index of the heavy metals for logistic regression. Results: Odd ratios have a tendency to increase as they go from the 90th to the 10th percentile of cadmium. However, lead, arsenic and mercury did not have significant relationships with HbA1c. In correction of age, region, gender and smoking history, a higher distribution in the subgroup with cadmium above 0.8318 ㎍/g creatinine (30th percentile) was demonstrated in the subgroup with HbA1c levels above the 6.5%, with an odds ratio of 5.26 (95% C.I. ; 1.44~19.17). Conclusion: This study found a significant correlation between urinary levels of cadmium and HbA1c in correction of several factors. It is meaningful that this outcome may be used as a basis for a study to establish the acceptable limit of urinary cadmium in Korea.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.174-182
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• 2020

The permissible limit of ammonia concentration in drinking water recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 1.5 mg/L. However, in the case of groundwater in Kathmandu, Nepal, the concentration of ammonia fluctuates dramatically from 0 to 120 mg/L at different locations and groundwater depths (Chapagain et al., 2010). Such a high concentration of ammonia causes aesthetic problems in drinking water, such as bad taste and odor; hence, prior treatment is required. In Kathmandu, half of the population utilizes groundwater, which is also employed for drinking water, but owing to a lack of knowledge of household water filters, residents of Kathmandu tend to depend greatly on commercially available jar water than on the installation of a proper household filtration method. Thus, in our study, we employed adsorption and reverse osmosis (RO) as two of the most viable decentralized/household treatment options to address the issue of high contamination of ammonia in drinking water. We evaluated their performances from technical and the economic perspectives using synthetically prepared groundwater at varying ammonia concentrations (50 mg/L and 15 mg/L). Consequently, it was found that adsorption via ion exchange (IE) resin was a comparatively better ammonia removal technology than RO, with 100% ammonia removal even after regeneration; the removal by RO was limited to up to 90%. Furthermore, our study suggests that IE is the most suitable ammonia removal technology for places with lower water consumption (< 50 L/day), whereas RO seemed to be a cost-effective technology for places with higher water consumption, where the daily water demand exceeds 50 L/day. Lastly, these assessments suggest that installing a suitable household treatment system would be more efficient and sustainable from both technical and economic points of view than purchasing commercially bottled water.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.152-160
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aging process on the immunity in human subjects. In this investigation, nineteen families of three generations (daughters on college age, their mothers, and grandmothers) participated to avoid genetic variation among individuals. Dietary food records, anthropometric measurements and biochemical assessments of serum nutrients were used to evaluate the nutritional status of subjects. The immune parameters of subjects were assessed by the total and differential WBC count. Total B and T lymphocytes, and T cell subsets were quantified by flowcytometer. Serum immunoglobulin G, A, M concentrations were also measured as an index of humoral immunity. The result of this study can be summarized as follows: 1. Along with the aging process, body fat was found to be increased whereas lean body mass and total body water were diminished. Since there were no significant difference in serum vitamin E levels in all age groups, serum retinal concentrations tended to decrease as one gets old. 2. Although total number of T lymphocytes seemed to be unchanged, B lymphocytes and NK cell numbers were increased by aging. The Percentage of CD8 + lymphocytes was lower in the elderly subjects compared with the younger, resulting in higher ratio of CD4 +/CD8 + lymphocytes in the elderly. Serum Ig G and Ig A levels remained unchanged, but IgM levels were significantly decreased as the age processes continue. Taking all together, it could be suggested that the alteration of immune cell population by aging is selective and possibly nonage factors such as nutrition may be attributable to the change of immunity in the elderly. The nutritional status and aging process may selectively affect both the cell-mediated (CD8 +, CD4 + CD8 + ratio, NK cell) and humoral (B lymphocyte, Immunoglobulin M, G) immune parameters in human subjects.