• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.389-395
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• 2016

Objectives: Acute methanol poisonings known to be typical occupational diseases occurring in developing countries broke out in sub-contract manufacturers in the early 2016. The present paper attempted to identify underlying causes which hide under apparent findings, and suggest alternative policies to prevent recurrence of similar intoxication Methods: We evaluated occupational health and safety characteristics of workers in micro-enterprises similar to workplaces with methanol poisoning by in depth-interview of employers, workers, and labor inspectors, and literature review. Results: The common findings of workplaces with methanol poisoning were addressed; First, the victims were illegal agency workers. Second, the workplaces were sub-contract micro-manufacturers with less than 5 employees. Investigators found that local ventilations did not work, while most of workers did not wear any proper personal respiratory protective equipment in the workplace. In addition, periodic environmental monitoring and medical check-ups were not done. However, these apparent findings do not appear to be root causes of methanol poisoning. Our in depth-analysis clarified a root cause; micro-enterprises with less than 5 employees are exempted with essential regulations of OSH Act, and employers do not know about OSH Act. Conclusions: We suggest occupational health policies to prevent recurrence of similar intoxication; First, government should introduce programs so that all employers should know about employers' responsibilities in OSH Act from the start of business. Second, even manufacturers with less than 5 employees should not be exempted with essential regulations of OSH Act. Finally, employers should take responsibilities for health and safety of all the workers including agency workers working in workplaces.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.572-584
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• 2002

Rapid development in molecular biology and recent advancement in recombinant technology increase identification and commercialization of potential protein drugs. Traditional forms of administrations for the peptide and protein drugs often rely on their parenteral injection, since the bioavailability of these therapeutic agents is poor when administered nonparenterally. Tremendous efforts by numerous investigators in the world have been put to improve protein formulations and as a result, a few successful formulations have been developed including sustained-release human growth hormone. For a promising protein delivery technology, efficacy and safety are the first requirement to meet. However, these systems still require periodic injection and increase the incidence of patient compliance. The development of an oral dosage form that improves the absorption of peptide and especially protein drugs is the most desirable formulation but one of the greatest challenges in the pharmaceutical field. The major barriers to developing oral formulations for peptides and proteins are metabolic enzymes and impermeable mucosal tissues in the intestine. Furthermore, chemical and conformational instability of protein drugs is not a small issue in protein pharmaceuticals. Conventional pharmaceutical approaches to address these barriers, which have been successful with traditional organic drug molecules, have not been effective for peptide and protein formulations. It is likely that effective oral formulations for peptides and proteins will remain highly compound specific. A number of innovative oral drug delivery approaches have been recently developed, including the drug entrapment within small vesicles or their passage through the intestinal paracellular pathway. This review provides a summary of the novel approaches currently in progress in the protein oral delivery followed by factors affecting protein oral absorption.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.242-249
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• 2002

The relationship between the tritium release rate from the nuclear power plant and tritium concentration in the environment around the Kori site was modeled. The tritium concentration in the atmosphere was calculated by multiplying the release rates and $\chi$/Q values, and the d3V deposition rate at each sector according to the direction and the distance was obtained using a dry deposition velocity. The area around Kori site was divided into 6 zones according to the deposition rate. The six zones were divided into 14 compartments for the numerical simulation. Transfer coefficients between the compartments were derived using site characterization data. Source terms were calculated from the dry deposition rates. Tritium concentration in surface soil water and groundwater was calculated based upon a compartment model. The semi-analytical solution of the compartment model was obtained with a computer program, AMBER. The results showed that most of tritium deposited onto the land released into the atmosphere and the sea. Also, the estimated concentration in the top soil agreed well to that measured. Using the model, tritium concentration was predicted in the case that the tritium release rates were doubled.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.28-33
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• 2010

As a part of license renewal for the continued operation of Wolsong unit 1, the periodic safety review report was submitted near the end of design lifetime, 2012, and now is under reviewing. Major components of primary system such as pressure tubes, feeder pipes and so on are being replaced and many components of secondary system are also being repaired. So the license renewal of Wolsong unit 1 is expected to be acquired without significant issues. But on the other hand, steam generators of Wolsong unit 1 had the good performance and therefore the replacement and repair for the steam generator are not needed. Recently it is reported that some cracks were detected in a few of european steam generator with Alloy 800 tubes and the cause of cracks was the outer diameter stress corrosion cracking(ODSCC) due to the concentration of chemical impurities on the outer surface of tube. Accordingly the overall review on this issue was performed. The long-term operation is likely to results to form the concentration mechanism for the tube corrosion as the sludge build-up in the secondary side of steam generator and the crack in the crevice between tube and tube-sheet and expansion transitions is apt to be occurred. In this paper, the history of steam generator inspection and operation of Wolsong unit 1 are reviewed and the reliability of steam generator tube is evaluated and the steam generator aging management program for Wolsong unit 1 is introduced.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.27-37
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• 2007

Background Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) are systematically developed statements to assist practitioners and patients on healthcare decisions. They provide recommendations for the average patient, which should take into account individual clinical judgment and the patient's values and expectations. Ephedra has sympathomimetic effect and has been used for weight loss worldwide. However, its safety is controversial especially in autonomic and cardiovascular systems. Therefore, the need of appropriate CPG for ephedra prescription in obesity was advocated in Korean Traditional Medicine. Methods The committee comprised of specialists of obesity, oriental herbology, oriental cardiology, constitutional medicine. The committee collected all relevant references about adverse effect and safety of ephedra in the forms of meta-analysis, systematic review, randomized controlled trial, case-control study and observational study from international and domestic databases and paper journals. 11 English- and 5 Korean-language references were gathered and categorized by PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) method. We could not complete strength of recommendation which should be clarified according to the evidence grade estimation. Result The first version of CPG for ephedra prescription in obesity was issued by Korean Oriental Association for Study of Obesity. It includes topics of introduction, pharmacokinetics, side effects and adverse events, constitutional aspect and recommendations for dose, indication and contraindication. Conclusion There should be periodic upgrade of this CPG from now on. Although there are some drawbacks in this version of CPG, it has significance as the first CPG in Korean Traditional Medicine.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.163-169
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• 2015

In many nuclear power plant sites in Korea, high density storage racks were installed in the spent fuel pool to expand the spent fuel storage capacity. Nevertheless, the capability of the Hanbit nuclear site will be saturated by 2024. Also, 10 NPPs will reach their design life expiration date by 2029. In the case of the US, SFPI (Spent Fuel Pool Island) operated temporarily as a spent fuel storage option before spent nuclear fuels were transported to an interim storage facility or a final disposal facility. As a spent fuel storage option after shutdown during decommissioning, the SFPI concept can be expected to have the following effects: reduced occupational exposure, lower cost of operation, strengthened safety, and so on. This paper presents a case study associated with the regulations, operating experiences, and systems of SFPI in the US. In conclusion, the following steps are recommended for applying SFPI during decommissioning in Korea: confirmation of design change scope of SFPI and expected final cost, the submission of a decommissioning plan which is reflected in SFPI improvement plans, safety assessment using PSR, application of an operating license change for design change, regulatory body review and approval, design change, inspection by the regulatory body, education and commissioning for SFPI, SFPI operation and periodic inspection, and dismantling of SFPI.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.293-299
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• 2014

Although the functional ingredient has been evaluated based on scientific evidence by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), the levels of scientific evidence and consistency of the results might vary according to the emerging data. Therefore, a periodic re-evaluation may be needed in some functional ingredients. In this study, we re-evaluated the scientific evidence for the joint health of glucosamine as a functional ingredient in health functional food. Literature searches were conducted using Pubmed, Cochrane, KISS, and IBIDS databases with the search term of glucosamine in combination with osteoarthritis. The search was limited to human studies published in English, Korean and Japanese. Using the MFDS's evidence based evaluation system for scientific evaluation of health claims, 34 human studies were identified and reviewed in order to evaluate the strength of the evidence supporting the relation between glucosamine and joint health. Among the 34 studies, significant effects for joint health were reported in 28 studies, and their daily intake amount was 1.5 to 2 g. Eleven out of 34 studies were identified, excluding severe radiographic osteoarthritis, and ten from those eleven studies reported significant effects for joint health. Based on this systematic review, we concluded that there was possible evidence to support a relation between glucosamine intake and joint health.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.455-460
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• 2010

We evaluated the inappropriateness of metformin use in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic medical conditions to identify the frequency of the prescription metformin in violation of the food and drug administration (FDA) black box warning. We reviewed medical records of 307 outpatients who received metformin at endocrinology department in a hospital setting between January 1, 2005 and August 30, 2009. Of the 307 outpatients, 25 discontinued treatment of metformin due to elevated serum creatinine level (Scr${\geq}$1.5 mg/dl in male, Scr${\geq}$1.4 mg/dl in female), cancers, and/or liver disease. 5 were lost to follow-up. 89 (29.0%) of the patients had cardiovascular disease, 54.1% for hypertension, 9.8% for liver disease, and 60 (20.8%) for chronic kidney disease. 12 patients (3.9%) with chronic kidney disease and/or elevated serum creatinine level, and 1 patient (0.3%) with lactic acidosis were contraindicated to metformin use. Metformin should be avoided in 7 outpatients (2.3%) with active hepatitis and 1 patient (2.6%) with liver cirrhosis. Of the 307 outpatients, 13 (4.2%) patients who received metformin at the first visit and 16 (8.7%) patients who received metformin at the last visit violated to black box warning. 8 (2.6%) of the patients were in precautionary conditions to metformin use. Adjusted mean difference of serum creatinine was -0.16 mg/dl [95% CI: -0.22 to -0.11 (p<0.05)] and adjusted mean difference of alanine aminotransferase was 4.46 IU/l [95% CI: 2.47 to 6.44 (p<0.05)] between the first visit and the last visit. Critical number of elderly patients who are at the high risks of drug-disease and drug-laboratory interaction is exposed to the inappropriate metformin use in violation of black box warning. The periodic evaluation of metformin use and monitoring prescription through drug utility review (DUR) system is needed to improve patients' safety and to reduce adverse drug events.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2003

The periodic safety review of operational nuclear power plants requires that the plants should keep a well organized environmental monitoring program. The past records of environment monitoring data were analyzed. and the tritium concentrations of the samples in the surface and ground water around Kori site were measured. It was shown that the tritium concentrations around the Kori site were slightly higher than that of natural background. The change of background tritium concentration was estimated through a numerical modeling. Two different versions of 7 compartments model - the world and the northern hemisphere - defined in NCRP-62 were modeled for the global tritium cycling. The numerical solution of the model was obtained using a computer program, AMBER. The four cases of tritium source-terms into the atmosphere were considered. The results showed that the tritium concentration in the surface soil water was higher than that in sea water or surface stream water. Also, it was shown that the tritium produced by the interaction between cosmic rays and the gases were the major source of tritium, and the tritium produced by nuclear weapon test decreased considerably.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.243-256
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• 2012

Developing efficient and reliable energy storage system is as important as exploring new energy resources. Energy storage system can balance the periodic and quantitative mismatch between energy supply and energy demand and increase the energy efficiency. Industrial waster heat and renewable energy such as solar energy can be stored by the thermal energy storage (TES) system at high and low temperatures. TES system using underground rock carven is considered as an attractive alternative for large-scale storage, because of low thermal conductivity and chemical safety of surrounding rock mass. In this report, the development of available thermal energy storage methods and the characteristics of storage media were introduced. Based on some successful applications of cavern storage and high-temperature storage reported in the literature, the applicabilities and practicabilities of storage media and technologies for large-scale cavern thermal energy storage (CTES) were reviewed.