• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2018

Background: According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) accounted for 32% of all nonfatal injury and illness cases in 2014 among full-time workers. Our objective was to review and summarize the evidence linking occupational exposures to vibration and awkward posture with MSDs of the shoulder and neck. Methods: A literature search was conducted using the terms musculoskeletal disorders, vibration, and awkward posture. All types of observational epidemiologic studies, with the exception of case reports, published during 1998-2015 were included. Databases searched were MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Scopus, Ergonomic Abstracts, NIOSHTIC-2, and Health and Safety Science Abstracts. Results: Occupational exposures to whole-body or hand-arm vibration were significantly associated with or resulted in MSDs of the shoulder and neck. Awkward postures while working were also associated with MSDs in these locations. These findings were consistent across study designs, populations, and countries. Conclusion: Occupational exposure to vibration and awkward posture are associated with shoulder and neck MSDs. Longitudinal studies are required to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for these associations, and intervention studies are warranted.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.221-227
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• 2008

Bordetella pertussis is pathogenic bacteria causing pertussis, a infectious respiratory disease for the infants. The incidence rate of pertussis was significantly decreased after introduction of vaccine. However, increased pertussis cases are recently reported in several countries with high vaccine coverage. One of the inferred reasons is genotype or serotype variation between circulating strains and vaccine strains. Therefore, it is required to confirm the variation status of the isolates by genotype or serotype analysis and the possibility of pertussis outbreak in Korea should be estimated. For this, the serotype variations of the isolates from $1999\sim2006$ were investigated in agglutinogen and fimbriae. As the result, the most frequent serotype in the isolated strains was agglutinogen 1 and fimbriae 2 serotypes. Moreover, serotype transition from vaccine serotypes to non-vaccine serotypes was observed. Especially, the transition pattern of agglutinogen serotype was directed to increase a different type (agg 1) from the vaccine type (agg 1,2). However, in case of fimbriae, the same type (fim 2) with vaccine strain was increased. These results were also observed in other countries with increasing incidence of pertussis. For more predictable results to know increasing possibility of pertussis incidence in Korea, the studies on genetic variations of antigenic determinant genes and prevalence of antibody titer in normal population should be performed in the further.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1749-1759
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• 2018

Recombinant (rec) prion protein (PrP) is an extremely useful resource for studying protein misfolding and subsequent protein aggregation events. Here, we report mass production of high-purity rec-polypeptide encoding the C-terminal globular domain of PrP; (90-230) for human and (89-231) for murine PrP. These proteins were expressed as His-tagged fusion proteins in E. coli cultured by a high cell-density aerobic fermentation method. RecPrPs recovered from inclusion bodies were slowly refolded under reducing conditions. Purification was performed by a sequence of metal-affinity, cation-exchange, and reverse-phase chromatography. The current procedure yielded several dozens of milligrams of recPrP per liter with >95% purity. The purified recPrPs predominantly adopted an ${\alpha}$-helix-rich conformation and were functionally sufficient as substrates to measure the seeding activity of human and animal prions. Establishment of a procedure for high-level production of high-purity recPrP supports the advancement of in vitro investigations of PrP including diagnosis for prion diseases.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.117-127
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• 2009

Objectives: The primary objective of the study is to analyze the utilization patterns of provincial patients discharged from hospitals located in Seoul area. Methods: For the analysis, the study employed the nationwide data on 'Survey of Injured Patients Discharged from Hospitals' conducted by KCDC (Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The statistical methodology used in the measurement model is a logistic regression model. Results: The study has three major findings. First, compared to other disease groups, the discharged on both 'neoplasm(cancer)' and 'congenital malformation, deformity and chromosomal abnormalities' disease groups are more likely to utilize hospitals in Seoul area. Second, as for 'neoplasm(cancer)' disease group, patients with 'bones and articular cartilage' areas are more likely to utilize hospitals in Seoul area. Finally, Hospitals with more than 1,000 beds was primary factor in selecting Seoul-based hospitals by the discharged in provincial areas. Conclusion: In sum, the study showed that patients in provincial areas are more likely to utilize hospitals located in Seoul area regardless of the severity of their cases. Local authority, therefore, is required to monitor local hospitals on regular basis, as well as support them to establish specialized medical centers by providing human and physical resources.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.639-643
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• 2010

Purpose: Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness in children, which is usually mild and self-limiting. However, in recent epidemics of HFMD in Asia, enterovirus 71 (EV71) has been recognized as a causative agent with severe neurological symptoms with or without cardiopulmonary involvement. HFMD was epidemic in Korea in the spring of 2009. Severe cases with complications including death have been reported. The clinical characteristics in children with neurologic manifestations of EV71 were studied in Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital. Methods: Examinations for EV71 were performed from the stools, respiratory secretion or CSF of children who presented neurologic symptoms associated with HFMD by realtime PCR. Clinical and radiologic data of the patients were collected and analyzed. Results: EV71 was isolated from the stool of 16 patients but not from respiratory secretion or CSF. Among the 16 patients, meningitis (n=10) was the most common manifestation, followed by Guillain-Barre syndrome (n=3), meningoencephalitis (n=2), poliomyelitis-like paralytic disease (n=1), and myoclonus (n=1). Gene analysis showed that most of them were caused by EV71 subgenotype C4a, which was prevalent in China in 2008. Conclusion: Because EV71 causes severe complications and death in children, a surveillance system to predict upcoming outbreaks should be established and maintained and adequate public health measures are needed to control disease.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.53-59
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• 2020

Jeju Province has unique geographical and climatologic characteristics compared with other areas in Korea. Thus it needs to evaluate the status of nationwide notifiable infectious diseases(NND) continuously. The aim was to conduct a descriptive study for NNDs in Jeju Province, 2001~2019. The source of data was on the Infectious Disease Statistics System operated by Centers for Diseases Control & Prevention in Korea between 1 September 2001 and 31 August 2019. When calculating the proportion of the sum of years showing a higher incidence in Jeju province than nationwide divided by the sum of comparing years, the NDD with the proportion of the sum of years over 75% in 2001~2019 included varicella and syphilis. The results support significant evidence to plan strategies and distribute community resources for the control and prevention of NND in Jeju Province, Korea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.285-288
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• 2012

Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- was a monophasic variant of Salmonella (S.) Typhimurium and notorious for re-emerging candidate which would replace S. Typhimurium DT104 for antibiotic resistance. Recently, isolation rate was increased on human and industrial animals but there was no case in domestic animals but human in Korea. This was first isolation case from domestic animals in Korea. The five isolates from feces of duck (n = 3), chicken (n = 1), and wild bird (n = 1) showed antibiotic resistance against cephems and aminoglycosides. These means that the spread of emerging bacterial pathogens to domestic animals and the need of systemic management for Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2014

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the predominant cause of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). The antiviral activity of hederasaponin B from Hedera helix against EV71 subgenotypes C3 and C4a was evaluated in vero cells. In the current study, the antiviral activity of hederasaponin B against EV71 C3 and C4a was determined by cytopathic effect (CPE) reduction method and western blot assay. Our results demonstrated that hederasaponin B and 30% ethanol extract of Hedera helix containing hederasaponin B showed significant antiviral activity against EV71 subgenotypes C3 and C4a by reducing the formation of a visible CPE. Hederasaponin B also inhibited the viral VP2 protein expression, suggesting the inhibition of viral capsid protein synthesis.These results suggest that hederasaponin B and Hedera helix extract containing hederasaponin B can be novel drug candidates with broad-spectrum antiviral activity against various subgenotypes of EV71.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1151-1156
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• 2015

In this study, the accuracy duplication and register rate of the vaccination registration data in National Immunization Registry Information System were evaluated and analyzed. Through which undocumented vaccination status data, duplicate data, missing data, errors data into the vaccination registration data were analyzed. In addition, the quality control for the vaccination registration database quality improvement, were proposed for standard error checking. In this paper, we propose an efficient validation of a quality management system of the database.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.144-157
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• 2013

Purpose: Health management programs should provide comprehensive health services for students and staffs at schools. Health management programs are critical for helping students become adults with physically, mentally, and socially good health conditions. The aim of this study was to identify the past and present history of health management programs and health laws to help schools develop future health plans. Methods: This study was conducted by analyzing reference data collected using data from Ministry of Education and Science Technology, Korean Educational Development Institute, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Statistical Office as well as legal documents from the Legislative Office related to school health from 2001 to 2010. Results: Health management programs in schools included three sections: disease prevention and control, physical examinations, and prevention of communicable diseases. Disease prevention and controls consisted of obesity control, drug abuse prevention and control,and management of students' mental health. Various strategies and services were developed to improve health status of students for 10 years from 2001 to 2010. School health laws and systems have been established for disease prevention, physical examinations and communicable disease control as well, to improve students' health as well. Conclusion: The history of health management programs has a number of implications to help design future plans for school health programs and services for students and staffs.