• Title/Summary/Keyword: Impacts on human health

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Sources, Effects, and Control of Noise in Indoor/Outdoor Living Environments

  • Kim, KyooSang
    • Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.265-278
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    • 2015
  • Objective:To study the sources of indoor noise, its effects on human health, noise assessment and regulation through the use of standards, and techniques used to reduce noise. Background: Noise significantly affects the living environment, and there are an increasing number of reports of its impacts on human health. Method: We reviewed domestic and foreign data regarding environmental noise, and examined its effects and the standards used to regulate noise levels. Results: We describe the major sources of indoor noise and suggest possible legal standards, as well as recommended criteria for the control of noise. Conclusion: South Korea has higher legal standards of environmental noise than international standards in terms of threshold values. People in Korea are exposed to various sources of noise, and therefore the reduction of noise is urgently required. Application: Depending on the features of indoor spaces, an appropriate degree of indoor noise can be determined and techniques to reduce excess noise are required.

Toxicity of Nanomaterials and Strategy of Risk Assessment (나노물질의 독성과 위해성평가 전략)

  • Park, Kwang-Sik
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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    • v.20 no.4 s.51
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    • pp.259-271
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    • 2005
  • Engineered nanoparticles exhibit a variety of unique and tunable chemical and physical properties. These unique properties make the nanoparticles central components and widespread potential applications in nanoindustry. However, the potential toxicities of nanoparticles have not been fully evaluated. Recently, the impacts of nanoparticles to human and environment became the emerging issue of toxicology. In this article, physicochemical properties and toxicities of carbon nanotube, fullerene, quantum dots, and other types of nanomaterials were reviewed and the strategy of risk assessment were suggested based on the frame of chemical assessment.

Human Health Risk Assessment Due to Air Pollution in the Megacity Mumbai in India

  • Maji, Kamal Jyoti;Dikshit, Anil Kumar;Chaudhary, Ramjee
    • Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.61-70
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    • 2017
  • This study evaluated the human health risk in terms of the excess number of mortality and morbidity in the megacity Mumbai, India due to air pollution. AirQ software was used to enumerate the various health impacts of critical pollutants in Mumbai in past 22 years during 1992-2013. A relationship concept based on concentration-response relative risk and population attributable-risk proportion was employed by adopting World Health Organization (WHO) guideline for concentrations of air pollutants like $PM_{10}$, $SO_2$ and $NO_2$. For the year 1992 in Mumbai, it was observed that excess number of cases of total mortality, cardiovascular mortality, respiratory mortality, hospital admission due to COPD, respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease were 8420, 4914, 889, 149, 10568 and 4081 respectively. However, after 22 years these figures increased to 15872, 9962, 1628, 580, 20527 and 7905 respectively, but all of these reached maximum in the year 2006. From the result, it is also noted that except COPD morbidity the excess number of cases from 1992-2002 to 2003-2013 increased almost by 30%; and the excess number of mortality and morbidity is basically due to particulate matter ($PM_{10}$) than due to gaseous pollutants.

The Impact of Air Pollution on Human Health in Suwon City

  • Jeong, Sang Jin
    • Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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    • v.7 no.4
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    • pp.227-233
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    • 2013
  • Scientific evidence shows that ambient air quality is one of the major environmental issues related to human health. The aim of this paper was to provide quantitative data on the short-term impact of air pollution on the mortality and morbidity of people living in Suwon city. There are some studies that have conducted health impacts of the air pollution in Seoul, Korea. However, there are few studies of the health effects on air pollution conducted in satellite cities of the Seoul Metropolitan area. For this reason, we investigated the health effects of air pollution in Suwon city, one of the highly populated satellite cities of Seoul. In order to estimate the short-term mortality impact of air pollution, this study applied the approach suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO), using AirQ2.2.3 software. Daily concentrations of $PM_{10}$, $O_3$, $NO_2$, and $SO_2$ were used to assess human exposure and health effects, in terms of attributable proportion of the health outcome, annual number of excess cases of mortality for all causes, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Among the four considered air pollutants, $PM_{10}$ had the highest health impact on the 1,118,000 inhabitants of Suwon city, causing an excess of total mortality of 105 out of 4,254 in a year. Sulfur dioxide had the least health impact. Ozone and nitrogen dioxide each caused 42.7 and 81.3 excess cases of total mortality in a year. The results are also in line with those of other international studies that apply AirQ software.

Toxicological Evaluations of Rare Earths and Their Health Impacts to Workers: A Literature Review

  • Rim, Kyung Taek;Koo, Kwon Ho;Park, Jung Sun
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.12-26
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    • 2013
  • In concert with the development of new materials in the last decade, the need for toxicological studies of these materials has been increasing. These new materials include a group of rare earths (RE). The use of RE nanotechnology is being considered in some green applications, to increase their efficiency by using nano-sized RE compounds, and therefore hazard evaluation and risk assessment are highly recommended. This review was conducted through an extensive contemplation of the literatures in toxicology with in vitro and in vivo studies. Major aspects reviewed were the toxicological evaluations of these elements and metallic compounds at the molecular and cellular level, animal and human epidemiological studies and environmental and occupational health impacts on workers. We also discuss the future prospect of industries with appliances using RE together with the significance of preventive efforts for workers' health. To establish a safe and healthy working environment for RE industries, the use of biomarkers is increasing to provide sustainable measure, due to demand for information about the health risks from unfavorable exposures. Given the recent toxicological results on the exposure of cells, animals and workers to RE compounds, it is important to review the toxicological studies to improve the current understanding of the RE compounds in the field of occupational health. This will help to establish a sustainable, safe and healthy working environment for RE industries.

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Cloud Computing in Healthcare Organizations: A Systematic Review

  • Qiu, Hong;Shen, Beimin;Wang, Yuhao;Mei, Yu;Gu, Wenjie
    • KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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    • v.16 no.12
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    • pp.3960-3975
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    • 2022
  • To analyze and compare the most influencing factors on cloud computing adoption (CCA) in the healthcare organization, a systematic review and meta-analyses of studies was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Cochrane collaboration recommendations. A search of PubMed, ScienceDirect, Springer, Wiley Online, and Taylor & Francis Online digital libraries (From inception to January 19, 2022) was performed. A total of 17 studies met the defined studies' inclusion and exclusion criteria. Statistical significance difference favoring most influencing factors on CCA were (MD 0.76, 95% CI -1.48 - 3.01, p <0.00001, I2 = 90%), (MD 1.40, 95% CI -4.76 - 7.55, p < 0.00007, I2 = 97%) (MD 0.17, 95% CI -2.69 - 3.03, p<0.00001, I2 = 96%) for technology vs. organizational, technology vs. environmental and business vs. human factors, respectively. Organizational and environmental factors had greater impacts on CCA compared with technological factors. Moreover, business factors were more influential than the human factors.

Principles of Environmental Economic Analysis for Evaluating Low Input Agriculture (저투입 농업의 환경경제적 평가방법론에 관한 소고)

  • Kwon, Yong Dae
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.26 no.1
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    • pp.100-108
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    • 1999
  • This paper reviews some methods on evaluating the impacts of low input farming on profitability, environments and human health. Measuring diverse effects of low input farming on the environmental economic aspects of agriculture poses a challenge because of difficulty in placing the objective value judgement on those impacts. This Study attempts to identify the individual attributes of low input agriculture and to examine the method of consturcting a simple index after assessing its marketed or non-marketed values in numerical terms. Validity of integrating socio-economic value of low input agriculture, which might be measured by multiple criteria approach, into a single index can be criticized. However, it might be meaningful in that this study suggest the guidance for how to assess the environmental and economic value of low input agriculture by single criteria and the possibility of overcoming the controversial subjectivity in weighing the different impact criteria.

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Microplastics in the Marine Environment and Their Impacts on Human Health (해양 환경의 미세 플라스틱과 인간의 건강에 미치는 영향)

  • Bak, Jia;Kang, Hyun Bon;Choi, Yun-Sik
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.442-451
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    • 2021
  • Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic with a size less than 5 mm. Ocean pollution by microplastics is now a worldwide concern in relation to marine ecosystems and human health. The widespread contamination by microplastics means that they can be ingested by and accumulated in diverse species of wildlife, such as fish, mussels, oysters, clams, and scallops. Once ingested, the microplastics can be observed in the intestines, liver, and kidney, and even in the brain. Seafood is one of the major sources of protein intake in humans; therefore, seafood consumption could be pathway for human microplastics exposure. Accumulating evidence indicates that repeated oral exposure to microplastics induces pathologic and functional changes in the reproductive, cardiac, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and even nervous systems of rodents. Maternal exposure to microplastics during gestation and lactation alters metabolic homeostasis in the offspring. Given that seafood provides more than 20% of the total protein intake by over 310 million people worldwide, a reasonable assumption is that microplastics could be substantially accumulated in the human body and impair physiological function. In this review, we have summarized the current status of microplastics contamination in the ocean, their accumulation and toxicities in marine animals and rodents, their exposure to humans, and their potential impacts on human health.

Socio-Economic, Parental-Health, and Family Functioning Differentials in Children's Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics: Comparison between Children with Disability Families and Children with Non-Disability Families

  • Sohn, Byoung-Duk
    • International Journal of Human Ecology
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.75-84
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    • 2006
  • Internalizing and externalizing behavior problems may be more common in children with disability families but rarely known is the magnitude of the problem and the risk factors compared to those in children with non-disability families. This study was undertaken to examine if socio-economic factors, parental health, and family functioning affect children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors differently between two comparison groups. The research literature on childhood behaviors was briefly reviewed. The data was derived from the Mental Health of Children and Young People in Great Britain, 2004. Regression analyses provide evidence that the family type, economic status, and income level are uniquely associated with an increased risks of internalizing or externalizing behavior problems in children with disability families, whereas sex, age, family size, parental health, and family functioning factors have similar impacts on the child's internalizing or externalizing variances between two groups. Intervention is desirable to address the concerns influencing internalizing and externalizing performances among children with disability or non-disability families.

Respiratory Microbiome in Children (소아의 호흡기 미생물군 유전체)

  • Kim, Dong Hyun
    • Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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    • v.26 no.3
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    • pp.129-139
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    • 2019
  • The human respiratory tract hosts both pathogenic and commensal bacteria. The development of well-conserved 16S rRNA sequencing and culture-independent techniques has enabled many achievements in the study of the human microbiome. Microbial composition of the respiratory tract in early childhood has been shown to correlate to respiratory health in later stages of life. This review highlights current understandings of respiratory microbiota development in healthy children, examples of microbial interactions, impacts on the host immune system, and the relationship between respiratory tract microbiome and respiratory health.