• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.411-417
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• 2016

Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine the indoor level of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and to assess the implementation rate of smoke-free laws at hospitality venues around a university campus by measuring particulate matter smaller than $2.5{\mu}m$ ($PM_{2.5}$) as an indicator of ETS. Materials and Methods: We measured indoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations at 20 PC game rooms, 20 pubs, and 20 billiards halls using Sidepak AM510, a direct reading portable real time monitor, from October to December 2015. Results: Smoking was observed in 65% of the PC game rooms, 10% of pubs, and 85% of billiards halls. The average $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations were $98.2{\mu}g/m^3$, $29.0{\mu}g/m^3$, and $134.2{\mu}g/m^3$ at PC game rooms, pubs, and billiards halls, respectively. $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in PC game rooms and billiards halls were 2 to 2.7 times higher than the 24-hour exposure standard for outdoor $PM_{2.5}$ ($50{\mu}g/m^3$) by the Ministry of Environment. Conclusions: Although a smoking ban has been implemented for PC rooms and pubs, smoking is still taking place in many of these places. More stringent legal action is required for successfully protecting patrons and workers from secondhand smoke exposure. A ban on smoking in billiards halls should be introduced as quickly as possible.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.13-22
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• 2016

The long term plan for apartment housing has a important role to make a decision making whether a repair work should be done or not. But, items for repair works are so various that field workers could not understand the context or plan the repair cost and time. These difficulties are drawn from the number of repair items, duplicated application and meaning, new material application and technology time-gap. Therefore, it needs to change or coordinate the repair items to improve the repair condition, reflecting the current material level or repair technologies. In this paper, it aimed at coordination of the repair items through the repair recording sheet which was surveyed in 22 metropolitan areas of Seoul, conducted between 2011 and 2014. The surveyed data are classified into six categories such as building exterior, building interior and so on, according to long term repair plan and the number of data are 1,918. It analyzed the appearing word for repair-concerned and compared the existing items of the long term plan. Items of building exterior are proposed as roof, exterior wall and painting. Building interior has a little meaning to propose the repair items. The water supply facilities are proper to keep the existing repair items. Items of the outdoor facilities could not need a sign board, drainage root and PVC sheath. Through this study, we can coordinate the repair items in apartment and provide the repair item and cost level.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.165-170
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• 2015

The topic of this paper is the advanced absolute altitude determination for 3-D positioning using barometric altimeter and the reference station. Barometric altimeter does not provide absolute altitude because atmosphere pressure always varies over the time and geographical location. Also, since Global Navigation Satellites system such as GPS, GLONASS has geometric error, the altitude information is not available. It is the reason why we suggested the new method to improve the altitude accuracy. This paper shows 3-D positioning algorithm using absolute altitude determination method and evaluates the algorithm by real field tests. We used an accurate altitude from RTK system in Seoul as a reference data and acquired the differential value of pressure data between a reference station and a mobile station equipped in low cost barometric altimeter. In addition, the performance and advantage of the proposed method was evaluated by 3-D experiment analysis of PNS and CNS. We expect that the proposed method can expand 2-D positioning system 3-D position determination system simply and this 3-D position determination technique can be very useful for the workers in the field of fire-fighting and construction.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2013

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic parasitic infection in the Mediterranean region, including Libya and its Al-jabal Al-gharbi province. We aimed at studying the occupational relevance as well as other epidemiological aspects of CL. We investigated 140 CL cases who attended at Gharyan outpatient polyclinic during a period of 6 months in 2009. CL infection was clinically diagnosed and confirmed by demonstration of Leishmania parasites on smears from lesions. Our findings showed that males were more affected than females (P=0.04), and people above 10-years were more affected than younger ones (P=0.0001). A significant percent of CL cases belonged to Al-Kawasem subprovince (P=0.0001). Farm-related activities were the most frequent occupations among CL cases (P=0.04). In addition to farm workers, housewives and students are at risk groups since they are engaged at farm activities. Moreover, those who have occupations that require staying outdoors for a part of night, e.g., policemen, are also at risk. Compared to children, adult CL patients had multiple lesions (P=0.001) that were more prevalent in their upper and lower extremities than the face (P=0.0001). We conclude that CL is a major health problem in Al-jabal Al-gharbi province of Libya. The presence of rodents and sandflies makes it a suitable environment for Leishmania to spread in an endemic epidemiological pattern. Being engaged in farming activities or outdoor occupations increases the risk of infection. Various clinical patterns of CL suggest the presence of more than 1 species of Leishmania at Al-jabal Al-gharbi province. We propose that the 2 species responsible for CL in this area are L. major and L. tropica. Further investigations to identify the leishmanial species responsible for CL at Al-jabal Al-gharbi together with adoption of preventive and control programs are needed.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.227-234
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• 2022

Background and Purpose: In 2021, lung cancer in school food workers was first recognized as an occupational cancer. The classification of the carcinogenicity of cooking fumes by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) was based on Chinese epidemiological data. This study aimed to determine the hazard levels of school cooking fumes in Korea. Materials and Methods: Based on public school cafeterias in one area, 25 locations were selected for the survey according to the number per school type, ventilation states, and environmental pre-assessments of cafeterias. Two inside cooking areas using a heat source and one outside cooking area were selected as control measurement points. Measurements of CO, CO₂, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), including benzene, formaldehyde, and particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, PM1, respectively), were taken. The concentrations and patterns of each substance in the kitchens were compared with the outdoor air quality. Result: Known carcinogens, such as the concentrations of PAHs, formaldehyde, TVOC (benzene), and particulate matter in school cooking fumes, were all detected at similar or slightly higher levels than those found outside. Additionally, substances were detected at relatively low concentrations compared to the Chinese cooking fumes reported in the literature. However, the short-term exposure to high concentrations of CO (or composite exposure with CO₂) and PM2.5 in this study were shown. Conclusion: The school cooking fumes in South Korea was a relatively less harmful than Chinese cooking fumes, however short-term, high exposure of toxic substances can cause a critical health effect.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.1431-1438
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• 2022

In this study, natural radioactivity concentrations and dosimetric values of fly ash samples were evaluated for the landfill area of the coal-fired power plant (CFPP) complex at Binh Thuan, Vietnam. The average activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were 93, 77, 92 and 938 Bq kg^-1, respectively. The average results for radon dose, indoor external, internal, and total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) were 5.27, 1.22, 0.16, and 6.65 mSv y^-1, respectively. The average emanation fraction for fly ash were 0.028. The excess lifetime cancer risks (ELCR) were recorded as 20.30×10^-3, 4.26×10^-3, 0.62×10^-3, and 25.61×10^-3 for radon, indoor, outdoor exposures, and total ELCR, respectively. The results indicated that the cover of shielding materials above the landfill area significantly decreased the gamma radiation from the ash and slag in the ascending order: Zeolite < PVC < Soil < Concrete. Total dose of all radionuclides in the landfill site reached its peak at 19.8 years. The obtained data are useful for evaluation of radiation safety when fly ash is used for building material as well as the radiation risk and the overload of the landfill area from operation of these plants for population and workers.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2019

This study was designed to examine agro-healing services and programs provided and operated by farms in Korea. The results of the analysis of the agro-healing programs and operation of farms were as follows. The purpose of the operation of farms was to raise productivity by managing farms in a cooperative way through agricultural production, education and healing, and to raise income by processing and selling agricultural products. It was difficult to access farms by public transport and thus visitors had to use their own cars. The size of farms varied. The main resources utilized in the surveyed programs were plants, rural environments and landscapes, and agricultural products. The programs were conducted using resources that were commonly found in rural areas. Facilities on each farm were equipped with facilities (indoor and outdoor learning place, gardens, vegetable gardens, orchards, etc.) and convenience facilities (parking lots, drinking fountains, kiosks, etc.) to support program operation. However, facilities for the handicapped and accommodation facilities were insufficient. The programs operated on each farm utilized agricultural resources, farm produce, and rural resources and were classified into activities such as making, feeling, and growing. The average number of people who operated the family-centered program was 2-3, having qualifications such as welfare horticultural therapists, forest interpreters, experience instructors, and social workers. In addition, they had expertise in medicinal food, dietary life, and social welfare, and they also had essential expertise required to operate programs.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.629-638
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• 2023

This study introduces an innovative approach to monitor the whereabouts of workers within indoor construction settings. While traditional modalities such as GPS and NTRIP have demonstrated efficacy for outdoor localizations, their precision dwindles in indoor environments. In response, this research advocates for the adoption of Aruco markers. Leveraging computer vision technology, these markers facilitate the quantification of the distance between a worker and the marker, subsequently pinpointing the worker's instantaneous location with heightened accuracy. The methodology's efficacy was rigorously evaluated in a real-world construction scenario. Parameters including system stability, the influence of lighting conditions, the extremity of measurable distances, and the breadth of recognition angles were methodically appraised. System stability was ascertained by maneuvering the camera at a uniform velocity, gauging its marker recognition prowess. The impact of varying luminosity on marker discernibility was scrutinized by modulating the ambient lighting. Furthermore, the camera's spatial movement ascertained both the upper threshold of distance until marker recognition waned and the maximal angle at which markers remained discernible.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.139-148
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• 1987

The community health practitioners (CHP) play an important role in primary health care services to the underserved population in rural area. Time and motion study of 26 CHPs in Kyungpook Province was conducted through work diary method for 6 consecutive days from the time they arrived until they left the primary health post(PHP) during the past 3 weeks from November 16 to December 5, 1987. The allocation of activity time by working category, service category, location of activity and CHP's function was analyzed according to the characteristics of CHPs i. e., age, marital status and experience as CHP. The major findings are as follows : The mean activity time per CHP in a week was 2,918 minutes. The length of their working hours was longer for older, married and more experienced CHPs than others. About 80% of the CHP's activities took place within the PHP and only about 20% occured outside of the PHP. Working hours for the outdoor activities were longer for younger, single and less experienced CHPs than others. The allocation of activity time by working category showed 46.3% in the technical work and 18.7% in the administrative work. Working hours for the technical activities were longer for younger, single and less experienced CHPs than others. The percentage of activity time revealed greatest as much as 63.1% for direct patient care in technical work and 61.6% for record keeping in administrative work. Of the total working hours in a week, direct patient care and public health activities accounted for 29.2% and 16.2%, respectively. Of the indoor activities, working hours for direct patient care were longer than those for public health activities. However, of the outdoor activities, working hours for public health activities were longer than those for direct patient care. The allocation of activity time by CHP's function showed 49.7% in management of common disease, 31.8% in management of PHP and technical supervision of village health workers, 9.5% in MCH and family planning, 6.6% in community health management and 2.4% in community approach. Based on these findings, it was found that CHPs were mainly working in the PHP with a majority of their time being spent for direct patient care rather than preventive and promotive health cares. To enhance the preventive and promotive health services of the CHPs and to involve the activities for community development, refresher course for CHPs should be reinforced and supervision mechanism of the CHPs should be established and operated in Gun- and province-level.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.437-446
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• 2017

70 percent of Korea's territory is covered with mountains, whose difficult conditions can cause damage to facilities. Recently, the demand for facilities related to outdoor activities including monorails has been on the rise, and such facilities are much more likely to become damaged. For this reason, a monitoring system applying IoT to mountainous areas was developed and its applicability is evaluated in this study. The current status of the existing mountainous facilities and monitoring systems were reviewed, and the current wired monitoring technology was analyzed. A scenario for IoT-based monitoring was developed, and then sensor nodes were developed, which include an RF-communication module and interface, power-supply and solar-cell. A testbed was set up at K University. The same data was collected by the wireless system as had been collected by the wired one. The study findings are as follows. Firstly, by using the wireless system, it is estimated that the construction duration can be reduced by about 25 percent, while the construction costs can be reduced by about 3~52 percent. Secondly, the safety of the construction workers can be improved by making the working conditions less dangerous, such as by eliminating the need to transport cables.