• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.331-337
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• 2023

Physiological disorders in pear fruit are mainly caused by problems during the growing season, such as lack of calcium in the soil, poor drainage, low porosity, vigorous pruning, and excessive fruiting. In this study, soil physicochemical properties and leaf characteristics were analyzed in pear orchards in four regions of Korea where chlorosis symptoms occurred to determine the causes of chlorosis. The color of chlorotic leaves was diagnosed using the naked eye or SPAD and Hunter values. The soil of the chlorotic orchard had a significantly higher soil pH than that of the regular orchard. Although adequate soil depth was not significantly associated with chlorosis, combined with over-fertilization of the soil with lime, it could potentially impair plant iron uptake. Chlorotic leaves had significantly lower iron and calcium contents and significantly higher magnesium contents than those of regular leaves. Therefore, the intensive occurrence of chlorosis during secondary shoot development around June and July when it is hot and humid may be due to impaired iron and calcium absorption, leading to physiological disorders. To solve this problem, avoiding the over-application of lime and applying foliar fertilizers containing chelated iron is recommended.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.57-71
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• 2024

This study aims to develop an evaluation method for solar power facilities considering disaster impacts and to analyse the vulnerabilities of existing facilities. Haenam-gun in Jeollanam-do, where the reassessment of existing facilities is urgent, was selected as the study area. To evaluate the vulnerability from a more objective perspective, principal component analysis and entropy methods were utilised. Seven vulnerability assessment indicators were selected: maximum hourly rainfall, maximum wind speed, number of typhoon occurrence days, number of rainfall days lasting more than five days, maximum daily rainfall, impermeable area ratio, and population density. Among these, maximum hourly rainfall, maximum wind speed, maximum daily rainfall, and number of rainfall days lasting more than five days were found to have the highest weights. The overlay of the derived weights showed that the southeastern regions of Haenam-eup and Bukil-myeon were classified as Grade 1 and 2, whereas the northern regions of Hwawon-myeon, Sani-myeon, and Munnae-myeon were classified as Grade 4 and 5, indicating differences in vulnerability. Of the 2,133 facilities evaluated, 91.1% were classified as Grade 3 or higher, indicating a generally favourable condition. However, there were more Grade 1 facilities than Grade 2, highlighting the need for countermeasures. This study is significant in that it evaluates solar power facilities considering urban disaster resilience and is expected to be used as a basic resource for the installation of new facilities or the management and operation of existing ones.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.838-848
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• 2023

Objective: To quantitatively analyze the cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) characteristics of chemotherapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) and explore their prognostic value for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Materials and Methods: A total of 145 patients (male:female = 76:69, mean age = 63.0 years) with cancer and heart failure who underwent CMR between January 2015 and January 2021 were included. CMR was performed using a 3T scanner (Siemens). Biventricular functions, native T1 T2, extracellular volume fraction (ECV) values, and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) of the left ventricle (LV) were compared between those with and without CTRCD. These were compared between patients with mild-to-moderate CTRCD and those with severe CTRCD. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between the CMR parameters and MACE occurrence during follow-up in the CTRCD patients. Results: Among 145 patients, 61 had CTRCD and 84 did not have CTRCD. Native T1, ECV, and T2 were significantly higher in the CTRCD group (1336.9 ms, 32.5%, and 44.7 ms, respectively) than those in the non-CTRCD group (1303.4 ms, 30.5%, and 42.0 ms, respectively; P = 0.013, 0.010, and < 0.001, respectively). They were not significantly different between patients with mild-to-moderate and severe CTRCD. Indexed LV mass was significantly smaller in the CTRCD group (65.0 g/m² vs. 78.9 g/mm²; P < 0.001). According to the multivariable Cox regression analysis, T2 (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.27; P = 0.028) and quantified LGE (HR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01-1.13; P = 0.021) were independently associated with MACE in the CTRCD patients. Conclusion: Quantitative parameters from CMR have the potential to evaluate myocardial changes in CTRCD. Increased T2 with reduced LV mass was demonstrated in CTRCD patients even before the development of severe cardiac dysfunction. T2 and quantified LGE may be independent prognostic factors for MACE in patients with CTRCD.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.38.1-38.10
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• 2023

Background: Hearing loss (HL) is linked to an elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The pathogeneses of HL and CVD commonly involve inflammatory responses. Previous studies investigated elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers in subjects with HL, however, their findings did not demonstrate statistical significance. In our cross-sectional and longitudinal study, we investigated the correlation between HL and increased high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels to determine how HL is associated with CVDs. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with workers aged over 18 years who underwent health check-ups at our institution between 2012 and 2018 (n = 566,507), followed by conducting a longitudinal study of workers aged > 18 who underwent health checkups at least twice at our institution between 2012 and 2018 (n = 173,794). The definition of HL was as an average threshold of ≥ 20 dB in pure-tone air conduction at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 kHz in both ears. The incidence of increased hsCRP levels throughout the follow-up period was defined as a level exceeding 3 mg/L. Logistic regression and generalized estimating equations were performed to estimate the risk of increased hsCRP levels according to the occurrence of HL in groups stratified by age. Results: In the cross-sectional study, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR) was 1.17 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.34); the OR was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.80-1.22) in those under 40 and 1.28 (1.08-1.53) in those over 40. In the longitudinal study, the multivariable-adjusted OR was 1.05 (95% CI: 0.92-1.19); the OR was 1.10 (95% CI: 0.90-1.35) in those under 40 and 1.20 (1.01-1.43) in those over 40. Conclusions: This cross-sectional and longitudinal study identified an association between HL and increased hsCRP levels in workers aged over 40 years.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.30.1-30.13
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• 2023

Background: Dysmenorrhea and menstrual cycle changes occur in women working shifts. Circadian rhythm disruption and sleep disturbances associated with shift work leads to health problems. We identified chronotypes and the occurrence of insomnia among newly employed university hospital nurses and investigated the association of these factors with menstrual problems. Methods: We conducted pre-placement health examinations for shift workers using self-reported questionnaires between 2018 and 2020. A total of 463 nurses were included in the study. Sociodemographic data, shift work experience, and information on insomnia were collected from health examination data. In addition, details regarding chronotype, dysmenorrhea, irregular and abnormal menstrual cycles, amenorrhea, and contraceptive use were obtained from the questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to study the association between chronotype, insomnia, and menstrual problems after controlling for age, body mass index, contraceptive use, amenorrhea, and prior shift work. Results: The prevalence rates of dysmenorrhea, irregular menstrual cycles, and longer menstrual cycles were 23.8%, 14.9%, and 4.1%, respectively. The risk of dysmenorrhea increased in the evening-type (odds ratio [OR]: 3.209; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.685-6.113) and those with insomnia (OR: 1.871; 95% CI: 1.074-3.261). Additionally, the risk of an irregular menstrual cycle (OR: 2.698; 95% CI: 1.167-6.237) increased in the evening-type, and the risk of a longer menstrual cycle (OR: 4.008; 95% CI: 1.354-11.864) increased in individuals with insomnia. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that dysmenorrhea is promoted in the evening-type and insomnia individuals. There may be an increased risk of irregular menstrual cycles among evening-type nurses and an increased risk of longer menstrual cycles among those with insomnia. Therefore, factors such as evening-type and insomnia should be considered for the prevention of menstrual problems in women performing shift work.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.50.1-50.11
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• 2023

Background: The rise in telecommuting or non-face-to-face work owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has fueled conversations regarding the "right to disconnect." Although evidence suggests that receiving work-related communications through telecommunication devices outside of work hours may lead to various symptoms and illnesses, limited research has been undertaken on these symptoms. This study therefore aims to investigate the correlation between receiving work communications through telecommunication devices after work hours and the occurrence of work-related headaches and eyestrain in full-time, non-shift white-collar workers. Methods: This study used data from the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey. The frequency of using telecommunication devices for work purposes outside of working hours was divided into five categories: "Every day," "Several times a week," "Several times a month," "Rarely," and "Never." Work-related headaches and eyestrain were categorized based on a "yes" or "no" response to the survey questions. Descriptive statistics, χ² tests, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS 27.0. Results: After adjusting for sex, age, income level, education, occupation, workplace size, work hours, and sleep disorders, the odds ratio (OR) of work-related headaches and eyestrain based on frequency of telecommunication device usage were as follows: "rarely" (OR: 1.292; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.111-1.503), "several times a month" (OR: 1.551; 95% CI: 1.249-1.926), "several times a week" (OR: 1.474; 95% CI: 1.217-1.784), and "every day" (OR: 1.548; 95% CI: 1.321-1.813). Conclusions: Employees who use telecommunication devices for work after regular hours are more susceptible to experiencing work-related headaches and eyestrain compared to those who do not. However, there is a dearth of research examining the physical and mental health impacts of using telecommunication devices for after-hours work. Furthermore, the existing preventative measures in Korea are insufficient. Consequently, it is imperative to develop effective measures and conduct additional research to address this issue.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.261-269
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• 2023

In light of recent social concerns related to issues such as water supply pipe deterioration leading to problems like leaks and degraded water quality, the significance of maintenance efforts to enhance water source quality and ensure a stable water supply has grown substantially. In this study, scan statistic was applied to analyze water quality complaints and water leakage accidents from 2015 to 2021 to present a reasonable method to identify areas requiring improvement in water management. SaTScan, a spatio-temporal statistical analysis program, and ArcGIS were used for spatial information analysis, and clusters with high relative risk (RR) were determined using the maximum log-likelihood ratio, relative risk, and Monte Carlo hypothesis test for I city, the target area. Specifically, in the case of water quality complaints, the analysis results were compared by distinguishing cases occurring before and after the onset of "red water." The period between 2015 and 2019 revealed that preceding the occurrence of red water, the leak cluster at location L2 posed a significantly higher risk (RR: 2.45) than other regions. As for water quality complaints, cluster C2 exhibited a notably elevated RR (RR: 2.21) and appeared concentrated in areas D and S, respectively. On the other hand, post-red water incidents of water quality complaints were predominantly concentrated in area S. The analysis found that the locations of complaint clusters were similar to those of red water incidents. Of these, cluster C7 exhibited a substantial RR of 4.58, signifying more than a twofold increase compared to pre-incident levels. A kernel density map analysis was performed using GIS to identify priority areas for waterworks management based on the central location of clusters and complaint cluster RR data.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.706-711
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• 2023

At Pyropia farms, organic acid treatments have enhanced productivity and quality by removing pest algae (such as Ulva spp. and diatoms) and reducing the occurrence of diseases. Ulva spp. attaches to the Pyropia nets competing for inorganic nutrients & space and diminishing productivity. Additionally, the presence of attached contaminants (such as diatoms and middy particles) on the Pyropia nets negatively affects the quality of Pyropia. This study investigated the effects of removing Ulva linza and washing the Pyropia yezoensis nets using an activating treatment agent (organic acid and highly saline solution) with an air bubble device. The results of measuring the dead cell ratios after treatment under different conditions showed that the dead cell ratio of U. linza did not significantly increase when the air bubble device combined the activating treatment agent with the activating treatment agent alone. When washing the P. yezoensis nets, the air bubble device was about 19-37% more effective than the activating treatment agent alone. The findings of this study suggest that the air bubble device enhances the efficacy of the activating treatment agent, resulting in the effective cleaning of the Pyropia nets.

• Journal of the Health Care and Life Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.305-314
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of health behavioral factors such as general characteristics, lifestyle and disease characteristics on depression in patients with chronic diseases. To this end, among 7,359 people who participated in the 8th National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted from 2019 to 2020, chi-square test analysis between health behavior factors and depression for 1980 people aged 19 years or older with chronic diseases and no missing values in the basic survey items was performed. After that, binary logistic regression analysis was performed with the factors that were significant as independent variables. As a result of the analysis, depression was 1.49 times higher in women than men (CI: 1.086~2.044), and was 1.828 higher in smokers than in non-smokers (CI: 1.285~2.561). And the higher the income level, the lower the depression. In particular, the odds ratio was 28.034 (CI: 13.132~59.849) in 'not stressful' versus 'very stressed', which had the greatest effect when the intensity of stress was very high. And the influence of subjective health cognition and sleeping hours was also relatively high. This study is meaningful in that it identified the priority of health behavior factors that should be practiced to improve depression in patients with chronic diseases. And since the number of comorbidity was not significant in the occurrence of depression, it would be necessary to identify the extent to which each type of chronic disease affects depression and to suggest policy alternatives tailored to each patient group.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.304-319
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• 2022

Background and Objectives: De-escalation of dual-antiplatelet therapy through dose reduction of prasugrel improved net adverse clinical events (NACEs) after acute coronary syndrome (ACS), mainly through the reduction of bleeding without an increase in ischemic outcomes. Whether the benefits of de-escalation are sustained in highly thrombotic conditions such as ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is unknown. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of de-escalation therapy in patients with STEMI or non-ST-segment elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS). Methods: This is a pre-specified subgroup analysis of the HOST-REDUCE-POLYTECH-ACS trial. ACS patients were randomized to prasugrel de-escalation (5 mg daily) or conventional dose (10 mg daily) at 1-month post-percutaneous coronary intervention. The primary endpoint was a NACE, defined as a composite of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, clinically driven revascularization, stroke, and bleeding events of grade ≥2 Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) criteria at 1 year. Results: Among 2,338 patients included in the randomization, 326 patients were diagnosed with STEMI. In patients with NSTE-ACS, the risk of the primary endpoint was significantly reduced with de-escalation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48-0.89; p=0.006 for de-escalation vs. conventional), mainly driven by a reduced bleeding. However, in those with STEMI, there was no difference in the occurrence of the primary outcome (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.48-2.26; p=0.915; p for interaction=0.271). Conclusions: Prasugrel dose de-escalation reduced the rate of NACE and bleeding, without increasing the rate of ischemic events in NSTE-ACS patients but not in STEMI patients.