• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.53-71
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• 1997

Across sectional study was performed to evaluate the chronic effects on central nerve system(CNS) of cumulative exposure of complex organic solvents, using neurobehavioral test. Subjects were 66 (male) dock yard painters of some large ship industry which is located in Ulsan. The neurobehavioral test battery used in this study was NCTB (Neurabehavioral Core Test Battery recommended by WHO(World Health Organization), which consisted of 7 items-Profile of mood states (POMS), Simple reaction time, Santa Ana dexterity test. Digit span, Digit symbol, Benton visual retention test and Pursuit aiming. The subjects were classified by 3 groups according to duration of employment(group 1 ; less than 9 years, group 2 ; 10-14 years, group 3 ; more than 15 years). The results of performance were analyzed considering of work duration, age, educational level, alcohol drinking, smoking and testing time as confounding factors. Benton visual retention test, pursuit aiming correct dot and sum of dot showed significant differences among the groups, and decreased with increasing work duration. It indicated that the mean scores of performance ability were lowering according to work duration. Besides, the tests that didn't show statistical significances but showed linear trends were depression-dejection, vigor, fatigue of POMS, slowest time of simple reaction time and digit span forward. Most of the neurobehavioral test items were correlated with age and educational level. After controlling of confounding factors-age and educational level, the results followed ; digit span backward was different significantly. Tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility of POMS, SD and slowest time of simple reaction time, Santa Ana dexterity test non-preferred hand, digit span forward, Benton visual retention test and pursuit aiming correct dot decreased with increasing of work duration. The correlation analysis was done in order to find out the relationship between subjective symptom and the scores of neurobehavioral core test battery. According to the results of analysis there were no items that had statistical significant relationship(p<0.05).

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.42-55
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• 1999

The purposes of this study were to understand health-promoting behavior of client visiting health-promoting center, to identify the major subscales affecting performance in health promoting behavior to facilitate nursing intervention for health promoting of this population and to test Pender's Health Promotion Model. The subjects for this study were 177 sampled among clients from health-promoting center in General Hospital at Teajon. Data was collected by self-reported questionnaires from February 11 to May 22, 1998. Analysis of the data was done by frequency, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation Coefficient, Stepwise multiple regrssion using SPSS-PC. The results of the study were summarized as follows : 1. The mean score of performance in the health-promoting behavior was 109.22 and range was 71 to 170. The subscale of the highest mean score was self-actualization(30.77) and the subscale of the lowest mean score was exercise(10.50). 2. The most important variable in the health promoting behavior was the perceived self-efficacy. The perceived self-efficacy explained 15.8% of the variance in health promoting behavior. The combination of perceived self-efficacy, perceived barriers, religion, perceived benefits, perceived symptom, and age explained 43.5% of the variance in health promoting behavior. 3. In the relationships between individual characteristics and experience and health promoting behavior, age, religion, the significant differences in the subscale of the health promoting behavior ; sex, educational state, previous occupation, monthly income, marrital state, perceived symptom, and visiting plan of health-promoting center. 4. The health promoting behavior was statistically significant correlated with perceived benefits, perceived barriers, affect related to action, and perceived self-efficacy.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.275-283
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance status of the ligal examination of risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs). The study was based on in-depth interviews with the persons in charge of the examination in 63 sampled companies, which are various in location, type of industry and size. The interviews were carried out based on detail questions as well as a predefined checklist. The main findings are as follows: 1) More than half of the companies did not properly comply with the laws in performing the examination of MSDs risk factors; 2) In about 60% of the companies, the examination has been carried out by their own persons; 3) 38% of the companies conducting the survey of musculoskeletal symptoms did not diagnosed musculoskeletal symptoms based on the survey; 4) Most companies performed the prevention activities for MSDs such as education/training, stretching, etc.; 5) It was revealed that the 11 high-risk tasks were not considered to be properly defined by the people in the industries, which results in some difficulties such as ambiguity in defining the 11 tasks and unit tasks; 6) The period of the examination of risk factors, classification of periodic and occupational examinations and legalization of employers' obligation for preventing MSDs are considered to be acceptable or desirable, while it was pointed out that regulations for the method of the risk assessment and the person who in charge of the examination need to be modified.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2021

Objectives: Non-traditional materials are used for mask construction to address personal protective equipment shortages during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Reusable masks made from surgical sterilization wrap represent such an innovative approach with social media frequently referring to them as "N95 alternatives." This material was tested for particle filtration efficiency and breathability to clarify what role they might have in infection prevention and control. Methods: A heavyweight, double layer sterilization wrap was tested when new and after 2, 4, 6, and 10 autoclave sterilizing cycles and compared with an approved N95 respirator and a surgical mask via testing procedures using a sodium chloride aerosol for N95 efficiency testing similar to 42 CFR 84.181. Pressure testing to indicate breathability was also conducted. Results: The particle filtration efficiency for the sterilization wrap ranged between 58% to 66%, with similar performance when new and after sterilizing cycles. The N95 respirator and surgical mask performed at 95% and 68% respectively. Pressure drops for the sterilization wrap, N95 and surgical mask were 10.4 mmH2O, 5.9 mmH2O, and 5.1 mmH2O, respectively, well below the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health limits of 35 mmH2O during initial inhalation and 25 mmH2O during initial exhalation. Conclusions: The sterilization wrap's particle filtration efficiency is much lower than a N95 respirator, but falls within the range of a surgical mask, with acceptable breathability. Performance testing of non-traditional mask materials is crucial to determine potential protection efficacy and for correcting misinterpretation propagated through popular media.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 2021

Background: In this study, the association of work and demographic characteristics with different traffic offenses committed by food delivery riders in Greece was examined. Previous research has identified various factors related to risky driving however, there is a need for exploring the complex interrelationship of work-related factors underlying risky driving behavior. Materials and Methods: A 2-items uestionnaire was used exploring delivery riders demographic characteristics, terms of employment, issues of concern during work and type of traffic offenses committed. In total, uestionnaires were analyzed using logistic regression in order to identify characteristics independently associated with serious traffic offenses, namely, red-light running and helmet non-use. Results: The analysis showed that: (i) typical health and safety measures had no effect on serious traffic offenses, (ii) young age was related to both offenses however (iii) different sets of work conditions were associated with reports of red-light running (i.e. low work experience, use of personal vehicle for work, and payment by hour) and helmet non-use respectively (i.e. intense work pace, high tip income per day and low concern about vehicle condition). Conclusion: The above findings provide evidence that serious traffic offenses are manifestations of underlying conflict experienced by the riders between safety and various performance criteria. Each one of the two offenses is related to different rider profiles aiming to satisfy different goals, namely, those mainly trying to maximize profit non-helmet users and those, mostly inexperienced ones, trying to cope with work pressure red light runners. Potential regulatory measures to alleviate risky practices are discussed.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.343-349
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• 2022

Background: In the United States, the dairy product manufacturing industry has consistently had higher rates of work-related nonfatal injuries and illnesses compared to the national average for industries in all sectors. The selection and implementation of appropriate safety performance indicators are important aspect of reducing risk within safety management systems. This study examined the leading safety indicators implemented in the dairy product-manufacturing sector (NAICS 3115) and their perceived effectiveness in reducing work-related injuries. Methods: Perceptions were collected from individuals with safety responsibilities in the dairy product manufacturing facilities. OSHA Incident Rate (OIR) and Days away, restricted and transferred (DART) rates from 2013 to 2018 were analyzed. Results: The perceived most effective leading were safety observations, stop work authority, near miss reporting, safety audits, preventative maintenance, safety inspections, safety training attendance, and job hazard analysis/safety analysis, respectively. The 6-year trend analysis showed that those implementing all eight top indicators had a slightly lower rates than those that did not implement all eight. Production focused mentality, poor training, and lack of management commitment were perceived as the leading causes of injuries in this industry. Conclusion: Collecting leading indicators with the unique interest to meet the regulatory requirements and to document the management system without the actual goal of using them as input to improve the system most probably will not lead to an effective reduction of negative safety outcomes. For leading indicators to be effective, they should be properly selected, executed, periodically evaluated and actions are taken when necessary.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.42-52
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• 2024

Background: The lack of headforms that accurately reflect the head characteristics of Koreans and the demographic composition of the Korean population can lead to inadequate FFR testing and reduced effectiveness of FFRs. Method: Direct measurements of 5,110 individuals and 3D measurements of 2,044 individuals, aged between 9 and 69 years, were sampled from the data pool of Size Korea surveys based on the age and gender ratios of the Korean resident demographics. Seven head dimensions were selected based on the ISO 16976-2, availability of Size Korea measurements, and their relevance to the fit performance of FFRs. A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using the direct measurements to extract the main factors explaining the head characteristics and then the main factors were standardized and remapped to 3D measurements, creating five size categories representing Korean head shapes. Lastly, representative 3D headforms were constructed by averaging five head shapes for each size category. Results: The study identified two main factors explaining Korean head characteristics by the PCA procedure specified in ISO 16976-2 and developed five representative headforms reflecting the anthropometric features of Korean heads: medium, small, large, short & wide, and long & narrow. Conclusion: This study developed representative headforms tailored to the Korean population for conducting total inward leakage (TIL) tests on filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs). The representative headforms can be used for TIL testing by employing robotic headforms to enhance the performance of FFRs for the Korean target population.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.5448-5454
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to provide preliminary data to improve the quality of vocational education program by analyzing basic occupational skills and acquired knowledge of vocational college graduates. A total of 236 graduates were sampled to examine their competency importance level - competency performance level, and study differences between competency importance level and contribution level of college education. The paired sample t-test and importance-performance analysis were employed to investigate meaningful differences between competency importance level and Competency performance level in regard to acquired knowledge and basic occupational skills. Meaningful differences were found in 12 areas at significance level of 0.01. According to importance-performance analysis, differences were presented in 4 areas in the first quadrant, 1 in the second quadrant, 4 in the third quadrant, and 3 in the fourth quadrant. In comparison study between competency importance level and college contribution level, the latter was found to be relatively less influential as differences were presented in all of 12 areas at significance level of 0.01. This research will helps to enhance the practicality and effectiveness of education program in vocational college.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.2011-2016
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• 2009

To resolve the differentiation problem of acetone and acrolein in the analysis of carbonyls by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we investigated the optimum analytical conditions for their separation. Carbonyl compounds were collected by 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH)-coated cartridges. We examined the influence of three experimental variables: temperature (25, 30, 40, 50 and 60 ${^{\circ}C}$), flow rate (1.0 and 1.2 mL/min), and relative mobile phase composition (among acetonitrile, water and tetrahydrofuran). The experimental results revealed the optimum analytical condition of a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min, temperature of 32 ${^{\circ}C}$ and mobile phase composition of acetonitrile: water: tetrahydrofuran = 34 : 52.8 : 13.2. The analysis of indoor air composition indicated that acrolein and acetone comprised 11% and 42% of all aldehydes, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.90-99
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• 1999

Fume extracting welding gun is one of the promising options for reducing the welder's fume exposure. The performance of the gun was assessed on the basis of capture efficiency. Capture efficiencies were measured in a test chamber recommended by American Welding Society. The overall capture efficiency was turned out to be above 95%. But it did not include the effect of crossdraft existing in the real work environment because all experiments were conducted in a closed chamber. It thus needs more work in the future. In addition, the future directions for improving the pres ent commercial techniques of the gun were discussed.