• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.67-80
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• 1982

In order to evaluate the psychosomatic health status of metal manufacturing industries workers and their working environments, the present study was conducted from March 1, 1981 to the end of September 1981. The data was obtained from the samples of metal manufacturing industries in Kyung-In Area and their 1, 162 employees. In addition, the 803 urban residents including students, office clerks, and general publics were sampled as control groups to compare with factory employees in psychosomatic analysis. The basic tool employed in the present study was the Todai Health Index (THI) which modified CMI and was developed by Tokyo University Research Team of Japan. The results of the present study were summarized as follows: 1. Working environments of the factories 1) The data shows that fabrication shop produced the highest noise level ranging from 91 to 96 dB (A) and iron and steel shop had the lowest noise level ranging from 81 to 86 dB (A). 2) Dust concentration was the highest in iron foundry shop ($3.8 mg/m^3$) and the lowest in fabrication shop ($1.2 mg/m^3$). 3) WBGT above threshold limit values (T.L.V.) was noted in steel shop (38$\circ$C) and iron foundry shop (34$\circ$C) 4) The concentration of Sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$)was 30.5ppm at steel shop and 12.0ppm at iron foundry shop. 5) The concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) was 140.0ppm at steel shop and 110.5ppm at iron foundry shop. 6) The atmospheric lead concentration was $0.49 mg/m^3$ at soldering shop. 2. The responses of psychosomatic complaints were much higher in steel shops group than in other manu-facturing group, except the response of aggressiveness. 3. The responses of psychosomatic complaints were much higher in industrial workers than in urban residents, except the responses of depression and aggressiveness (p < 0.01 ). 4. The psychosomatic symptoms which industrial workers and urban residents complained frequently were nervousness. agressiveness and lie scale in order. 5. The responses of psychosomatic complaints by sex were much higher in female group than in male group, except the response of aggressiveness. 6. The responses of psychosomatic complaints by age were that both the female and male group showed an increasing tendency in the all items, except the response of depression as age was increasing. 7. The responses of psychosomatic complaints by the length of services were that both the female and male group showed a tendency of increasing in physical symptoms as work years increased. 8. The responses of psychosomatic complaints were higher in unmarried group in the score of nervousness, aggressiveness, mental irritability and irregular life.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.235-240
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• 1999

Characterization of water quality was performed from March 1993 to March 1998, on the purpose of clarifying the relationships between water quality and land use types. The study sites were two reservoir basins; Kaesim and Jangchan in Iwon-myon, Okchon-gun, Chungcho'ngbukdo Province. The two basins were characterized by cultivated area (Kaesim reservoir) and mountain area (Jangchan reservoir), and divided into eleven small basins, where dynamics of pollutants, and the relationship between water quality and land use types were investigated. BOD, SS and TKN became lower and lower from up-stream to down-stream, except for the small basin G where self-purification limit was exceeded. And water quality of Jangchan reservoir basin was worse because of fish nursery. Area below altitude 200m occupied 56% in Kaesim and 44% in Jangchan reservoir basins. Especially total phosphorous (Y/sub T-P/=0.2023X＋0.0991, r=0.54) and total nitrogen increased in small basins where the proportion of cultivated and residential area was higher. The analysis of influences of pollutant discharge on water quality showed that pollution charge was very high in cultivated areas. The concentrations of pollutants were attenuated flowing into watersheds through physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological processes. The pollution level of mountain area was lower than that of cultivated areas.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.15-35
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• 2015

Objectives This study was performed to investigate the effects of Bujasasim-tang ethanol extract (BST) on oxidative stress, inflammation and osteoarthritic rat model. Methods To ensure safety of BST, heavy metal levels were measured and cytotoxicity test was done. In vitro, To evaluate antioxidative effects of BST, total phenolic contents, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) scavenging activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were measured. Also, to evaluate anti-inflammatory effects of BST treated group, total nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6, TNF-${\alpha}$) levels were measured in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. In vivo, We injected MIA $50{\mu}l$ (60 mg/ml) into knee joints of rats to induce osteoarthritis. Rats were divided into total 3 groups (normal, control, BST treated group, each n=7). Normal group was not treated at all without inducing osteoarthritis and taken normal diet. Control group was induced osteoarthritis by MIA and taken with 2 ml of distilled water once a day for 4 weeks. BST treated group was induced osteoarthritis by MIA and taken BST 2 ml (200 mg/kg/mouse) once a day for 4 weeks. We evaluated dynamic weight bearing with the Incapacitance Test Meter. At the end of experiment, the rats were sacrificed to observe the functions of liver and kidney, changes of WBC, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte levels in blood, to evaluate the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, tissue inhibitor of metallopreteinases-1 (TIMP-1), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$), leukotriene $B_4$ ($LTB_4$) within serum. We observed change of articular structures by Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E), safranin-O staining method and measured amount of cartilage by micro CT-arthrography. Statistical analysis was done by unpaired student's t-test with significance level at p<0.05 in SPSS 11.0 for windows. Results 1. Safety of the BST was identified. 2. AST, ALT, BUN, creatinine levels of BST treated group were within normal limit. In vitro, 1. DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging activities of BST showed dose-dependent increase. 2. ROS production were significantly decreased. 3. Total nitric oxide (NO) and IL-$1{\beta}$ production were decreased. 4. IL-6 and TNF-${\alpha}$ production were significantly decreased. In vivo, 1. Weight bearing ability was significantly increased. 2. WBC, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte levels in blood were decreased. 3. IL-$1{\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ levels in serum were significantly decreased. and the IL-6 level was decreased. 4. TIMP-1, MMP-9, $LTB_4$, $PGE_2$ levels in serum were significantly decreased. 5. Cartilage volume of BST treated group was significantly increased. Also changes of cartilage, synovial membrane, fibrous tissue were suppressed. Conclusions The results obtained in this study Bujasasim-tang have effects of antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, relieve pain and protection of cartilage. Therefore we expect that Bujasasim-tang is effective treatment for osteoarthritis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2017

Objectives: Radon may be second only to smoking as a cause of lung cancer. Radon is a colorless, tasteless radioactive gas that is formed via the radioactive decay of radium. Therefore, radon levels can build up based on the amount of radium contained in construction materials such as phospho-gypsum board or when ventilation rates are low. This study provides our findings from evaluation of radon gas at facilities and offices in an industrial complex. Methods: We evaluated the office rooms and processes of 12 manufacturing factories from May 14, 2014 to September 23, 2014. Short-term data were measured by using real-time monitoring detectors(Model 1030, Sun Nuclear Co., USA) indoors in the office buildings. The radon measurements were recorded at 30-minute intervals over approximately 48 hours. The limit of detection of this instrument is $3.7Bq/m^3$. Also, long-term data were measured by using ${\alpha}-track$ radon detectors(${\alpha}-track$, Rn-tech Co., Korea) in the office and factory buildings. Our detectors were exposed for over 90 days, resulting in a minimum detectable concentration of $7.4Bq/m^3$. Detectors were placed 150-220 cm above the floor. Results: Radon concentrations averaged $20.6{\pm}17.0Bq/m^3$($3.7-115.8Bq/m^3$) in the overall area. The monthly mean concentration of radon by building materials were in the order of gypsum>concrete>cement. Radon concentrations were measured using ${\alpha}-track$ in parallel with direct-reading radon detectors and the two metric methods for radon monitoring were compared. A t-test for the two sampling methods showed that there is no difference between the average radon concentrations(p<0.05). Most of the office buildings did not have central air-conditioning, but several rooms had window- or ceiling-mounted units. Employees could also open windows. The first, second and third floors were used mainly for office work. Conclusions: Radon levels measured during this assessment in the office rooms of buildings and processes in factories were well below the ICRP reference level of $1,000Bq/m^3$ for workplaces and also below the lower USEPA residential guideline of $148Bq/m^3$. The range of indoor annual effective dose due to radon exposure for workers working in the office and factory buildings was 0.01 to 1.45 mSv/yr. Construction materials such as phospho-gypsum board, concrete and cement were the main emission sources for workers' exposure.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 1985

An immunoassay may be defined as an analytical procedure involving the competitive reaction between a limiting concentration of specific antibody and two populations of antigen, one of which is labelled or immobillized. The advent of immunoassay has revolutionised our knowledge of reproductive physiology and the practice of veterinary and clinical medicine. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was the first of these methods to be developed, which meausred the analyte with good sensitivity, accuracy and precision (1,2). The essential components of RIA are:-(i) a limited concentration of antibodies, (ii) a reference preparation, and (iii) an antigen labelled with a radioisotope (usually tritium or iodine-125). Most procedures invelove isolating the antibody-bound fraction and measuring the amount of labelled antigen. Good facilities are available for scintilltion counting, data reduction nd statistical analysis. RIA is undergoing refinement through:-(i) the introduction of new techniques to separate the antibody-bound and free fractions which minimize the misclassification of labelled antigen into these compartments, and the amount of non-specfic binding. (3), (ii) the development of non-extration for the measurement of haptens (4), (iii) the determination of a, pp.rent free (i.e. non-protein bound) analytes (5), and (iv) the use of monoclonal antibodies(6). In 1968, Miles and Hales introduced in important new type of immunoassay which they termed immunora-diometric assay (IRMA) based on t도 use of isotopically labelled specific antibodies(7) in a move from limited to excess reagent systems. The concept of two-site IRMAs (with a capture antibody on a solid-phase, and a second labelled antibody to a different antigenic determinant of the analyte) has enabled the development of more sensitive and less-time consuming methods for the measurement of protein hormones ovar wide concentration of analyte (8). The increasing use of isotopic methos for diverse a, pp.ications has exposed several problems. For example, the radioactive half-life and radiolysis of the labelled reagent limits assay sensitivity and imposes a time limit on the usefulness of a kit. In addition, the potential health hazards associated with the use and disposal of radioactive cmpounds and the solvents and photofluors necessary for liquid scientillation counting are incompatable with the development of extra-laboratory tests. To date, the most practical alternative labels to radioisotopes, for the measurement of analytes in a concentration > 1 ng/ml, are erythrocytes, polystyrene particiles, gold sols, dyes and enzymes or cofactors with a visual or colorimetric end-point(9). Increased sensitivity to<1 pg/ml may be obtained with fluorescent and chemiluminescent labels, or enzymes with a fluorometric, chemiluminometric or bioluminometric end-point. The sensitivity of any immunoassay or immunometric assay depends on the affinity of the antibody-antigen reaction, the specific activity of the label, the precision with which the reagents are manipulated and the nonspecific background signal (10). The sensitivity of a limited reagent system for the measurement of haptens or proteins is mainly dependent upon the affinity of the antibodies and the smalleest amount of reagent that may be manipulated. Consequently, it is difficult in practice to improve on the sensitivity obtained with iodine-125 as the label. Conversely, with excess reagent systems for the measurement of proteins it is theoretically possible to increase assay sensitivity at least 1000 fold with alternative luminescent labels. To date, a 10-fold improvement has been achieved, and attempts are being made to reduce the influence of other variables on the specific signal from the immunoreaction.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.979-995
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• 1999

This study was investigated to observe the effect of Treponema denticola cell sonicates(TDC) and Treponema lecithinolyticum cell sonicates(TLC) on cytokine secretion and matix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2) activation of cultured human gingival fibroblast. Several experiments were performed including $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 ELISA for the effect on the $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 secretion of human gingival fibroblast. Also gelatinase zymography and gelatin dissolubility test for the activation of MMP-2 secreted by gingival fibroblast. The results were as follows. 1. The effect of TDC and TLC on IL-6 secretion of human gingival fibroblast showed statistically significant increase of IL-6 secretion in the TDC and TLC treated group compared to no treatment group(p<0.05) . 2. The amount of $IL-1{\beta}$ secretion was below the lower limit and there was no difference in the $IL-1{\beta}$ secretion of gingival fibroblast between TDC, TLC treated group and no treatment group. 3. The active form of pro MMP-2 with 72 kDa molecular weight was activated in both TDC and TLC treated group and clear band was appeared at 62kDa site on the zymography. 4. Gelatin dissolubility of MMP-2 secreted by gingival fibroblast was higher in TDC and TLC treated group compared to no treatment group(p<0.05). 5. In the TDC treated group, serine protease of T. denticola affect gelatin dissolubility. But in the TLC treated group gelatin was degraded by only MMP secreted by gingival fibroblast. Regarding to the above results, TDC and TLC have an effect on the IL-6 secretion increase of human gingival fibroblast and appears to activate pro MMP-2 which degrades collagen.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.190-197
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• 2001

Noise-induced hearing loss(NIHL) was the highest rate (43.5%~58.5% from 1996 to 1998) of positive findings through specific medical program in Korea. There were much more NIHL at workers of automobile manufacturing factories than other manufacturing factories. The specific aim of the present study was to determine the noise exposure of automobile press lines, according to their job titles, press line types(auto, semiauto), dosimeter parameters setting. There were a total 11 press lines sampled at a automobile manufacturing company. Among those press lines, 10 press lines were autolines with acoustic enclosure, one semiauto press line was no aucostic enclosure Noise exposure data were sampled for an work shift using noise dosimeter, which recorded both time-weighted average(TWA) and 1-min average. The mean OSHA TWA(Korea TWA with threshold 90) was $80.7dB(A){\pm}4.7dB(A)$ for leader, $82.8dB(A{\pm}4.5dB(A)$ for pallette man, $76.7dB(A){\pm}4.3dB(A)$ for press operators, $76.6dB(A){\pm}5.6dB(A)$ for crane operators, $77.1dB(A){\pm}2.8dB(A)$ for forklift drivers, whereas the mean NIOSH TWA was $88.9dB(A){\pm}1.7dB(A)$ for leader, $89.6dB(A){\pm}2.1dB(A)$ for pallette man, $86.7dB(A){\pm}1.8dB(A)$ for press operators, $88.5dB(A){\pm}2.0dB(A)$ for crane operators, $87.7dB(A){\pm}1.0dB(A)$ for forklift drivers. While L10 for NIOSH TWA samples was 84.8 dB(A) ~ 87.3 dB(A), L10 for OSHA TWA samples was 69.5 dB(A) ~ 77.4 dB(A). L10 means that the TWA for 90% of the samples exceeded L10. Among OSHA TWA(Korea TWA with threshold 90) samples for pallette man, 7.7 % exceeded 90 dB(A), the OSHA permissible exposure level, but OSHA TWA samples for the other job titles didn't. Among NIOSH TWA samples, the samples over 85 dB(A), the NIOSH recommended exposure limit, was 100% (leaders), 83.3 %(operators), 97.4%(palletteman), 100%(forklift drivers), 91.7 %(crane operator). The results of One-way random effects analysis of variance models shows that the difference between job titles was significant by OSHA TWA(p<0.05), but not significant by NIOSH TWA(p>0.05). NIOSH TWA samples were significantly higher than OSHA TWA samples(P<0.05). Regression analysis was used to obtain relationships between OSHA TWA samples and NIOSH TWA samples. In this case the coefficient of determination = 0.90, which shows the high degree association between two methods. Regression equation, NIOSH TWA = 0.552 * OSHA TWA + 42.13 dB(A), shows that if OSHA TWA is known, NIOSH TWA can be predicted by the equation. The mean TWA difference between threshold 80 dBA and 90 dBA was significant(p<0.01). While the TWA noise exposures were 7.7% above the Korea(OSHA) PEL, they were more than 83.3% over NIOSH REL. Automobile workers were exposed to noise level that could be potentially damaging to their hearing. It found that there is approximately 25% excess risk of hearing loss even if a worker is protected to the PEL in according to NIOSH study.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.282-289
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• 2000

This study was designed to examine the validity of HPR subscale in Korean Personality Inventory for Children(KPI-C) and Attention Problems subscale in Korean Child Behavior Checklist(K-CBCL) as diagnostic tool for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD). Nineteen ADHD-1 type, twenty-three ADHD-H type, sixteen Neurosis, and fifteen normal children with the age from 6 to12 were selected based on DSM-IV, and their responses of the KPI-C and CBCL were analyzed. Omnibus F-test results showed that there were significant differences in the F scores of HPR and Attention Problems T scores(p<.05). But in Posthoc analysis, the HPR and AP scores in three clinical groups were significantly higher than in normal group, but there was no group difference among three clinical groups(p<.05). These results shows that HPR subscale and Attention Problems subscale may be useful tools for screening clinical groups(vs normal group) but there was a limit to the clinical validity of two subscales as diagnostic tools for the subtypes of ADHD.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.287-297
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• 2013

The optimization of analytical method for the thermal desorption of seven VOCs (volatile organic compounds) by TD-GC/MS (thermal desorption-gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer) with solid phase sorbent tube, and comparative analysis for the determination of VOCs plotted by standard sorbent tubes prepared using both gas phase and liquid phase materials were investigated. The result of paired t-test showed that a liquid phase standard sorbent tube method was in agreement with a gas phase standard sorbent tube method for six species of VOCs including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-, m-, and p-xylene except for styrene at the significance level (${\alpha}=0.01$), while the 15.6% of difference in response factor between both of gas phase and liquid phase standard plotting for the determination of styrene showed that both methods were significantly different at the significance level. Therefore, the liquid phase standard plotting method was employed to reduce erroneous data for the determination of styrene including BTEX. Under the optimized analytical method by liquid phase standard sorbent tube, recovery was between $100{\pm}5%$ for 7 species of VOCs, reproducibility ranged from 0.3 to 7.7%, and method detection limit (MDL) ranged from $0.01{\mu}g/m^3$ for o-xylene to $0.27{\mu}g/m^3$ for toluene. The optimized standard method was applied to determine VOCs VOCs from indoor air of of dormitory, one bedroom apartment, and a new car.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2023

Almost all of the water from agricultural dams located to the upper of the Yeongsan river is supplied as irrigation water for farmland and thus is not discharged to the main stream of the river. Also, most of the irrigation water does not return to the river after use, adding to the lack of flow in the main stream. As a result, the water quality and aquatic health of the river have become the poorest among the four major rivers in Korea. Therefore, in this study, several strategies for water quality improvement of the river were developed considering pollution reduction and flow rate increase, and their effect analysis was performed using a water quality model. The results of this study showed that the target water quality of the Yeongsan river could be achieved if flow increase strategies (FISs) are intensively pursued in parallel with pollution reduction. The reason is because the water quality of the river has been steadily improved through pollution reduction but this method is now nearing the limit. In addition, rainfall-related FISs such as dam construction and water distribution adjustment may be less effective or lost if a megadrought continues due to climate change and then rainfall does not occur for a long time. Therefore, in the future, if the application conditions for the FISs are similar, the seawater desalination facility, which is independent of rainfall, should be considered as the priority installation target among the FISs. The reason is that seawater desalination facilities can replace the water supply function of dams, which are difficult to newly build in Korea, and can be useful as a climate change adaptation facility by preventing water-related disasters in the event of a long-term megadrought.