• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.31 no.5 s.86
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• pp.398-403
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• 2005

This study is undertaken to find the optimal method to make the decision on the degree of water pollution by comparison of K-WQI, KOE-WQI that is made for index with the water quality index and water quality environment standard of the Frame Act on Environment Policy as the result of survey for water quality reality on the major point of the Yeongsan river from 2002 to 2004. The water quality of major rivers has some differences depending on seasons. however, under the water quality standard by the $BOD_5$ density, most of rivers displayed the water quality level of $II{\sim}III$ grading, and on K-WQI that is classified by indexing for 10 categories of pH, DO, $BOD_5,\;COD,\;SS,\;T-N,\;NH_3-N,\;NO_{3^-}$ N, T-P, and E-Coli and classified into 5 groups from 100 points to 40 points, they displayed the score distribution of the first grade in water quality for $85{\sim}100$ points to the second grade in water quality for $70{\sim}84$ points. On KOE-WQI that is classified by indexing for 5 categories of pH, DO, $BOD_5$, COD and T-coli and classified into 5 groups from 90 points or above for outstanding and 29 points or below for very bad, and the water quality distribution is made ranged from the first grade in water quality for 90 points or more to the third grade in water quality for $69{\sim}50$ points. In addition, for the contribution of the water quality decline, the Environmental standard has significant dependency on the $BOD_5$ density, with K-WQI contributing in various water quality decline depending on the environment around the river area of $BOD_5,\;T-N,\;NH_3-N,\;NO_3-N,\;T-P$, and E-Coli, and KOE-WQI acting os the factor contributing to lower the water quality decline by $BOD_5$, COD, and T-coli. As such, the current water quality environment standard has high dependency on $BOD_5$ and KOE-WQI excludes some nitrogen and phosphorus that considers the river environment that the grade in water quality is set by some category, and K-WQI reflected well of the ecology environment of rivers with the diversity of the assessment factor as well as to have the low dependency of specific factor to be objective.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.265-271
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• 2019

In general, specific gravity (SG) and urinary creatinine (CR) have been used to adjust urinary cadmium (Cd) concentrations. However, the validity of correction methods has been controversial. We compared the two adjustments to evaluate associations between urinary Cd and various renal damage markers and to evaluate the relationship between urinary Cd concentration and renal disease markers, such as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), in a relatively large general population sample. Among the 1,086 volunteers who were enrolled in this study, 862 healthy volunteers who did not have kidney disease were included in the final analysis. Urinary Cd, malondialdehyde (MDA), and N-acetyl-${\beta}$-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) concentrations were measured, the creatinine-based eGFR was calculated, and the relationships between these markers were subsequently analyzed. This study showed the use of urinary Cd concentration adjusted with SG rather than with urinary creatinine may be appropriate in studies evaluating renal function based on Cd exposure. Urinary Cd concentration adjusted with SG had a positive correlation with urinary MDA levels and a negative correlation with eGFR. This relationship was relatively stronger in women than in men. This study showed that urinary Cd level was associated with decreased eGFR in the general population, and oxidative stress was likely to act as an intermediator in this process. These results suggest that eGFR can be a very good indicator of kidney damage caused by Cd exposure in the general population.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.601-614
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• 2013

The commercial charcoal kiln was projected the largest source of biomass burning sector in Korea. Commercial charcoal kiln was operated to emit air pollutants into the air without any air pollution prevention equipment. The object of this field survey was to understand characteristics of air pollutants concentration and emission factors and to provide preliminary data for effective processor from oak charcoal manufacturing process. As result of field survey, TSP, $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ concentration from charcoal kiln were 400~37,000 $mg/m^3$. These values were over the 100 $mg/m^3$ in TSP, this value was effluent quality standard of Clean Air Conservation Act. The average concentration of CO, $SO_2$ and TVOC were 2~5%. 0~110 ppm and 820~10,000 ppm respectively. The emission factors were 42.4 g-PM/kg-oak in TSP, 40.3 g-PM/kg-oak in $PM_{10}$, 38.2 g-PM/kg-oak in $PM_{2.5}$, 182.5 g-CO/kg-oak, 1.0 g-NO/kg-oak, $SO_2$ 0.2 g-$SO_2/kg$-oak and 104.4 g-TVOC/kg-oak. The part of commercial charcoal kiln had air pollution prevention equipment but it was difficult to work properly. Much wood tar excreted in exhaust emissions from oak charcoal manufacturing process. This wood tar was cause of many troubles sticking in the air pollutant prevention equipment. For handling particulate matters and gaseous air pollutants from oak charcoal manufacturing process in biomass burning, air pollutant prevention equipment design and management needs preprocessor for removal wood tar.

• Journal of Multimedia Information System
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.147-156
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• 2020

The author Nakajima was involved in the field of disaster communications and emergency medical care as guest research scientist at the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission established by the National Diet of Japan and reviewer of the Commission's report, and Kurokawa was the chairman of this Commission. Looking back over a decade, we are on the liability issue of bureaucrats and telecom operators, so it's becoming clear what was hidden at the time. The battery of NTT DoCoMo's mobile phone repeaters had a capacity of only about 24 hours, and communication failures increased after one day. The Government also failed to issue an announcement of "Vent from reactor" under the Telecommunications Act Article No. 129. This mistake lost the opportunity to use the third-party telecommunications (e.g. taxi radios). Furthermore, as a result of LASCOM (telecommunications satellite network for local governments via GEO) and a variety of unexpected communication failures, the evacuation order "Escape!" could not be notified to the general public well. As a result, the general public was exposed to unnecessary radiation exposure. Such bureaucratic slow action in emergencies is common in the response to the 2020 coronavirus.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.29
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• pp.13.1-13.11
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• 2014

Objectives This study examined variations in the perceptions of dioxin risk among social groups defined by geographical living location, environmental education, and occupation. Dioxin risk perceptions were analyzed according to values, risk awareness, knowledge, and behavioral preferences. Methods A quasi-experimental survey was designed and conducted on individuals from seven experimental groups in Jeonju city, South Korea, including: people living near incineration facilities; people living far from incineration facilities; governmental experts; non-governmental organization members; office workers in developmental institutes or banks; students who were enrolled in environmental-related classes; and students who were enrolled in business-related classes. Results The results show variations among groups in values, awareness and behavioral preferences. Particular attention should be given to the result that groups with higher connectedness-to-nature values show higher willingness-to-act (WTA) for risk reduction. Result s can be summarized as follows. First, awareness is associated with one's geographical setting. Second, values and WTA behaviors are related to one's environmental-related education and occupation. Third, values are significantly related to WTA behaviors. Conclusions Different cultures, in terms of values or worldview, among groups influence their perceptions of dioxin risk and choices of risk reduction behaviors. It is important to consider values in communicating complicated long-term risk management involving public participation. Further research should be continuously conducted on the effects of multiple dimensions of values on one's WTA for risk reduction behaviors.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.77-86
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• 2022

The destructive impact of contagious diseases outbreaks on all life facets necessitates developing effective solutions to control these diseases outbreaks. This research proposes an end-to-end, data-driven platform which consists of multiple modules that are working in harmony to achieve a concrete goal: early detection of contagious diseases outbreaks (i.e., epidemic diseases detection). Achieving that goal enables decision makers and people in power to act promptly, resulting in robust prevention management of contagious diseases. It must be clear that the goal of this proposed platform is not to predict or forecast the spread of contagious diseases, rather, its goal is to promptly detect contagious diseases outbreaks as they happen. The front end of the proposed platform is a web-based dashboard that visualizes diseases outbreaks in real-time on a real map. These outbreaks are detected via another component of the platform which utilizes data mining techniques and algorithms on gathered datasets. Those gathered datasets are managed by yet another component. Specifically, a mobile application will be the main source of data to the platform. Being a vital component of the platform, the datasets are managed by a DBMS that is specifically tailored for this platform. Preliminary results are presented to showcase the performance of a prototype of the proposed platform.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.443-444
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• 2023

Point-of-care photography and photo sharing optimize patient outcomes and facilitate remote consultation imperative for resident surgeons. This literature review and external pilot survey study highlight the risks associated with current practices concerning patient privacy and biometric security. In a survey of 30 plastic surgeon residents and attendings, we found that the majority took photos of patients with their iPhones and shared them with colleagues via Apple iMessage. These findings corroborate previous reports and highlight a lack of physician user acceptance of secure photo-sharing platforms. Finally, we frame a successful example from the literature in the context of a postulated framework for institutional change. Prioritizing the privacy and safety of patients requires a strategic approach that preserves the ease and frequency of use of current practices.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.13.1-13.24
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• 2023

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is one of the most consequential global health crises in over a century. Since its discovery in 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to mutate into different variants and sublineages, rendering previously potent treatments and vaccines ineffective. With significant strides in clinical and pharmaceutical research, different therapeutic strategies continue to be developed. The currently available treatments can be broadly classified based on their potential targets and molecular mechanisms. Antiviral agents function by disrupting different stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection, while immune-based treatments mainly act on the human inflammatory response responsible for disease severity. In this review, we discuss some of the current treatments for COVID-19, their mode of actions, and their efficacy against variants of concern. This review highlights the need to constantly evaluate COVID-19 treatment strategies to protect high risk populations and fill in the gaps left by vaccination.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.105-162
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• 2020

In the pandemic of infectious disease, restrictions of individual liberty have been justified in the name of public health and public interest. In March 2020, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea passed the revised bill of the 「Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.」 The revised bill newly established the legal basis for forced testing and disclosure of the information of confirmed cases, and also raised the penalties for violation of self-isolation and treatment refusal. This paper examines whether and how these individual liberty limiting clauses be justified, and if so on what ethical and philosophical grounds. The authors propose the theories of the philosophy of law related to the justifiability of liberty-limiting measures by the state and conceptualized the dual-aspect of applying the liberty-limiting principle to the infected patient. In COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the infected person became the 'Patient as Victim and Vector (PVV)' that posits itself on the overlapping area of 'harm to self' and 'harm to others.' In order to apply the liberty-limiting principle proposed by Joel Feinberg to a pandemic with uncertainties, it is necessary to extend the harm principle from 'harm' to 'risk'. Under the crisis with many uncertainties like COVID-19 pandemic, this shift from 'harm' to 'risk' justifies the state's preemptive limitation on individual liberty based on the precautionary principle. This, at the same time, raises concerns of overcriminalization, i.e., too much limitation of individual liberty without sufficient grounds. In this article, we aim to propose principles regarding how to balance between the precautionary principle for preemptive restrictions of liberty and the concerns of overcriminalization. Public health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic requires a population approach where the 'population' rather than an 'individual' works as a unit of analysis. We propose the second expansion of the harm principle to be applied to 'population' in order to deal with the public interest and public health. The new concept 'risk to population,' derived from the two arguments stated above, should be introduced to explain the public health crisis like COVID-19 pandemic. We theorize 'the extended harm principle' to include the 'risk to population' as a third liberty-limiting principle following 'harm to others' and 'harm to self.' Lastly, we examine whether the restriction of liberty of the revised 「Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act」 can be justified under the extended harm principle. First, we conclude that forced isolation of the infected patient could be justified in a pandemic situation by satisfying the 'risk to the population.' Secondly, the forced examination of COVID-19 does not violate the extended harm principle either, based on the high infectivity of asymptomatic infected people to others. Thirdly, however, the provision of forced treatment can not be justified, not only under the traditional harm principle but also under the extended harm principle. Therefore it is necessary to include additional clauses in the provision in order to justify the punishment of treatment refusal even in a pandemic.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.265-272
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• 2007

It was not until 1975 that cancer registration was initiated in Korea; voluntary registration of cancer patients of training hospitals throughout the country began under the auspices of the Korean Cancer Society(KCS). However, an official cancer registration, the Korea Central Cancer Registry(KCCR), began on July 1st, 1980. Forty-five training and two non-training hospitals throughout the country initiated registration of patients in whom neoplasms had been found. Data related to case information specified are to be sent to the KCCR at the National Medical Center(it moved at National Cancer Center in 2000). The initial cancer registration of KCS was merged to the KCCR in 1980. Although the KCCR covers most all the large training hospitals in Korea, it cannot provide incidence data. It is, however, the only of its kind in the world, being neither hospital nor population based. The first population based cancer registry(PBCR) was launched in a small county, Kangwha(it has around 80,000 inhabitants), by Yonsei University Medical College in 1983. All data were collected by active methods, and incidence statistics for 1986-1992 appeared in Vol VII of the CI5. Another PBCR, Seoul Cancer Registry(SCR), started in 1991. It was supported by a civilian foundation, the Korean Foundation for Cancer Research. The basic idea of case registration of SCR was the incorporation of KCCR data to PBCR, e. g. dual sources of case registration, i.e., from the KCCR and also including cases diagnosed in small hospitals and other medical facilities. Assessing completeness and validity of case registration of SCR, the program and methodology used by the SCR was later extended to other large cities and areas in Korea, and the PBCR in each area was established. Cancer incidence statistics of Seoul for 1993-1997, Busan for 1996-1997, and Daegu for 1997-1998, as well as Kangwha for 1993-1997, appeared eventually in Vol VIII of the CI5. The Korean or 'pillar' model for a PBCR is a new one. The KCCR data file is a reliable basis, as a pillar, for a PBCR in each area. The main framework of the model for such a registry is the incorporation of a KCCR data file with data from additionally surveyed cases; the data related to cancer deaths, medical insurance claims, and visit-and surveillance of non-KCCR medical facilities. Cancer registration has been adopted as a national cancer control program by Korean government in 2004 as the Anti-Cancer Act was enacted. Since then, some officers have tried to launch a nation-wide PBCR covering whole country. In the meantime, however, cancer registration was interrupted and discontinued for years due to the Privacy Protection Law, which was solved by an amendment of the Anti-Cancer Act in 2006. It would be premature to establish the nation-wide PBCR in Korea. Instead, continuous efforts to improve the completeness of registration of the KCCR, to progress existing PBCRs, and to expand PBCRs over other areas are still to be devoted. The nation-wide PBCR in Korea will be established eventually with summation of the PBCRs of the Korean model.