• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.395-402
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• 2023

Objectives: Microbial contamination of face masks used by healthcare professionals can vary depending on the degree of exposure to bioaerosols in various healthcare environments. However, research on this topic is limited. Therefore, we analyzed microbial contamination of N95 respirators used in hospital offices, wards, and outpatient settings. Methods: Samples isolated from N95 respirators worn for 2, 4, and 6 hours were incubated at a temperature of 35-37℃ or 25-28℃ for 24 hours or for 3-7 days, and colony-forming units were counted in chocolate agar, tryptic soy agar, and Sabouraud dextrose agar plates. Total indoor airborne bacteria were also measured in the healthcare environments. Finally, microbial species were identified using Gram staining with a microscopic speculum. Results: The three types of environments did not deviate from the maintenance of standard indoor air quality. There was no difference between the microbial species identified in the healthcare environment and mask contamination. However, the number of bacteria in the masks worn in each environment differed, and the degree of contamination increased with mask-wearing time (p<0.05). Conclusions: Therefore, care must be taken to avoid recontamination of masks due to improper use and exposure to biological hazards in healthcare environments. In conclusion, scientific evidence is necessary for safe mask-wearing times. Based on the results of this study, we hope to conduct further research to establish guidelines for the safe use of face masks during respiratory disease epidemics.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.48-56
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• 2024

Objectives: The coronavirus pandemic that began in 2019(COVID-19) has been one of the worst pandemics of the 21st century. Masks have been used to prevent COVID-19, but there are currently no standards for the long-term use of masks in the Republic of Korea. This study was conducted to assess the microbiological safety of KF94(Korea Filter 94) disposable face masks according to wearing duration by evaluating the bacterial filtration efficiencies of masks worn by research participants. Methods: A commercially available KF94 mask certified by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety(MFDS) in the Republic of Korea was selected as the test mask. The research participants(n = 15) wore masks for the durations of one, three, and seven days. Participants also reported several parameters, including wearing time, makeup frequency, and storage. Bacterial filtration efficiencies of the worn masks were measured by a mask bioaerosol filtration tester. Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus) was used as the test bacteria and quantitatively measured through the cultivation method. Then, bacterial filtration efficiency was calculated using the formula suggested by the MFDS. Results: All worn masks showed over 99.98% of mean bacterial filtration efficiency for S. aureus. There were no significant differences among bacterial filtration efficiencies of face masks according to wearing duration. There was also no significant difference among bacterial filtration efficiencies among participants. There was no correlation between the results of bacterial filtration efficiencies and reported parameters from participants. Conclusions: In the absence of significant external damage to the mask, the bacterial filtration efficiency of the mask can be maintained even after seven days of wearing. This result suggests that KF94 masks certified by the MFDS can be used repeatedly for about a week without loss of bacterial filtration efficiency.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.113-125
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• 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the normalization of mask-wearing worldwide, and young children are particularly vulnerable to respiratory diseases. Children's masks come in various sizes and shapes, causing confusion among consumers who struggle to find products that can accommodate their child's unique physical conditions. This research aims to analyze the shape and dimensions of health masks designed for young children. A total of 67 mask varieties were collected, and 58 were subjected to analysis. The masks were found to have two primary shapes: foldable and beak-like, with sizes categorized as small and extra-small. The majority of masks were manufactured in Korea, and the size labeling systems varied among manufacturers. The mask materials were non-woven fabric or polypropylene, and there was diversity in terms of the adjustable earbands and the use of additional accessories. The dimensions of the masks varied depending on their shape, with significant differences in the weight and the length of the wire holes. Subsequent research should focus on conducting wearability evaluations to verify the dimensional suitability of commercially available children's health masks based on shape and size. Additionally, this study aims to provide foundational data that can assist in the development of children's masks with size ranges that differentiate them from adult masks and cater to specific age groups.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.319-331
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• 2022

The latest global COVID-19 pandemic has made the use of facial masks an important aspect of our lives. People are advised to cover their faces in public spaces to discourage illness from spreading. Using these face masks posed a significant concern about the exactness of the face identification method used to search and unlock telephones at the school/office. Many companies have already built the requisite data in-house to incorporate such a scheme, using face recognition as an authentication. Unfortunately, veiled faces hinder the detection and acknowledgment of these facial identity schemes and seek to invalidate the internal data collection. Biometric systems that use the face as authentication cause problems with detection or recognition (face or persons). In this research, a novel model has been developed to detect and recognize faces and persons for authentication using scale invariant features (SIFT) for the whole segmented face with an efficient local binary texture features (DLBP) in region of eyes in the masked face. The Fuzzy C means is utilized to segment the image. These mixed features are trained significantly in a convolution neural network (CNN) model. The main advantage of this model is that can detect and recognizing faces by assigning weights to the selected features aimed to grant or provoke permissions with high accuracy.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.435-448
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• 2022

Objectives: As the time spent wearing masks has increased with spread of COVID-19, various research related to masks have been reported. However, there are still few experiments on the physiological response of the body to wearing industrial dust masks in South Korea. Considering the actual working hours at the work site, it is necessary to investigate the comfort of industrial dust masks. Therefore, this study aims to confirm the change in subjective discomfort level according to the wearing time for industrial dust masks in South Korea that have been certified for safety by KCS. Methods: This study evaluated subjective discomfort level over four hours. The experimental conditions were five types: not worn (control group), special grade, first grade, second grade (with valve), and second grade (without valve). The subjective discomfort levels were classified for breathing, warmth (body and face) and wetness (body and face). Subjects recorded their discomfort level on a checklist every one hour. Results: In special grade and second grade (without valve), the discomfort level in terms of breathing, warmth (face), and wetness (face) was significantly higher than that of the control group. However, the effects of all kinds of industrial dust masks on the discomfort level in the body were low. Conclusions: Since this study was conducted on subjects working in an office with a comfortable working environment, it is difficult to apply it to workers at actual industrial sites. However, it is considered meaningful as the first clinical study to evaluate the subjective level of discomfort over a long time for domestic industrial dust masks that have been certified for safety by KCS.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.364-371
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• 2022

Background: Respiratory masks can provide healthcare workers with protection from biological hazards when they have good performance. There is a direct relationship between the visual specifications of a mask and its efficacy; thus, the aim of this study was to develop tools for qualitative assessment of the performance of masks used by healthcare workers. Methods: A mixed-methods design was used to develop a qualitative assessment tool for medical face masks (MFM) and particle filtering half masks (PFHM). The development of domains and items was undertaken using observation and interviews, the opinions of an expert panel, and a review of texts and international standards. The second phase evaluated the psychometric properties of tools. Finally, the validated Mask Qualitative Assessment Tools (MQAT) were used to assess six samples from 10 brands of the two types of masks. Results: MQAT-MFM and MQAT-PHFM shared 42 items across seven domains: "cleanliness," "design," "marking, labeling and packaging," "mask layers," "mask strap," "materials and construction," and "nose clip." MQAT-MFM included one additional item. MQAT-PHFM included another nine items associated with an eighth "Practical Performance" domain, and the valve version had another additional "Exhalation Valve" domain and six items. The evaluation indicated 80% compliance for MFM and 71% compliance for PFHM. "Marking, labeling and packaging" and "Layers" were associated with the least compliance in both types of masks and should be checked carefully for defining mask quality. Conclusion: MQAT can be used for immediate screening and initial assessment of MFM and PHFM through appearance, simple tools, and visual inspection.

• Korean Architects
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• s.625
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• pp.110-111
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• 2021

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.731-740
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• 2021

This study applied LDA topic modeling analysis to collect and analyze news media big data related to face masks in the three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea. The results empirically show that media reports focused on mask production and distribution policies in the first wave and the mandatory mask wearing in the second wave. In contrast, more reports on trivial, gossipy events consist of the media coverage in the second and third waves. The findings imply that Korea's governmental interventions to address the shortage of face masks and to regulate mask wearing were successful relatively in a short time. In contrast, the study also reports that there may be relative less number of science-based news reports like the ones on the effectiveness of face masks or different levels of filter types. This study exemplifies how a big data analysis can be applied to evaluate and enhance public health communication.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.549-560
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• 2021

Purpose: This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Face Mask Use Scale (K-FMUS) among community-dwelling adults. Methods: The participants of the study were community-dwelling adults in Korea using face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The English FMUS was translated into Korean using forward and backward translation procedures. The construct validity and reliability of the K-FMUS were evaluated using the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and the internal consistency reliability test. Results: The K-FMUS comprised 6 items divided into 2 factors. The variance of the factors was approximately 79.1%, which suggested that the scale indicated the effectiveness of face mask usage. The two factors were labeled as face mask use in society (4 items) and face mask use at home (2 items). Cronbach's α value for the overall scale was .88. Conclusion: The K-FMUS is a valid and reliable scale that can be used to measure face mask usage among community-dwelling adults in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.15-26
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to research development process of commedia dell'arte and Korean masque that have similar figure, grasp similarity and difference and find the meaning of masque and costume in both theatrical arts. Italian commedia dell'arte and Korean masque are performed by wearing standardized mask and costume depending on the role. As common points, first, the characters have unique names and possess unique features of character, costumes, masks and playing styles. Through the feature, the audiences can understand role of actor and the actors can devote themselves to their role by wearing masks and costumes. Second, although background plays an important role in commedia dell'arte, the role of costume is more important. Because masque speaks for poverties of general people indirectly, the costumes of general people were used as they are. As different point, first, most of Korean masks cover entire face, restricting speech of actor but masks of commedia dell'arte cover only upper part of face and expos mouth and chin of actor, enabling actors to express various emotions depending on the character. Second, priority is given to personality of actor and origin area and current silhouette, material and color that changed by century is reflected in the costume of commedia dell'arte but silhouette, material and color of the Age of Joseon Dynasty were adopted in Korean masque.