• International Journal of Safety
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2010

We measured the concentrations of air pollutants at several residential sites, roadside sites and industrial sites in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. And the concentration distributions of air pollutants were estimated by atmospheric dispersion model using air emissions data. Based on those results, we calculated environmental risk of air pollutants emitted in Iwate Prefecture. As a result, it was found that the surround of factories with high emissions and highly toxic chemicals and the roadsides were high risk area, benzo(a)pyrene, formaldehyde and ozone exceeded the $10^{-5}$ risk level. Moreover, we tried to use "Loss of life expectancy: LLE" for an index to explain those risk to general public intelligibly. The total LLE of the carcinogenic chemicals was about 8.6 hours. Moreover, LLE of ozone was about 9.2 hours. Ozone has a big influence compared with the carcinogenic chemicals.

• Proceedings of the Safety Management and Science Conference
• /
• 2005.05a
• /
• pp.379-392
• /
• 2005

The size of state in Korea is like Israel, this country's venture capital is ruled by government. This venture capital's character is below: the concentration on research of venturer affect positively at quality of products. This paper lies with venture capital's risk character & performance. The results show that Korean venture capitals have lager unsystematic risk than systematic risk, which implies they specialize in specific business and/or regional areas instead of diversification. The Sharpe & Jensen measures reveal that the performances of Korean venture capitals are very low relative to even the market portfolio(Kospi) and Kosdaq Venture Index. Contrary to this, Venture firm's performance according to Entrepreneurship will cause to push up stock price.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.189-199
• /
• 2002

This study is intended to propose a systematic procedure for the development of the conditional assessment based on the safety of structures and the cost effective performance criteria for designing and upgrading of bridge structures. As a result, a set of cost function models for a life cycle cost analysis of bridge structures is proposed and thus the expected total life cycle costs (ETLCC) including initial (design, testing and construction) costs and direct/indirect damage costs considering repair and replacement costs, human losses and property damage costs, road user costs, and indirect regional economic losses costs. Also, the optimum safety indices are presented based on the expected total cost minimization function using only three parameters of the failure cost to the initial cost (${\tau}$), the extent of increased initial cost by improvement of safety (${\nu}$) and the order of an initial cost function (n). Through the enough numerical invetigations, we can positively conclude that the proposed optimum design procedure for bridge structures based on the ETLCC will lead to more rational, economical and safer design.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.80 no.6
• /
• pp.677-688
• /
• 2021

The building design codes and standards in many countries usually are either fully or partially adopted from the international codes. However, regional conditions like the quality of construction industry and different statistical parameters of load and resistance have essential roles in the code calibration of building design codes. This paper presents a probabilistic approach to assess the reliability level of adopted national building codes by simulating design situations and considering all load combinations. The impact of the uncertainty of wind and earthquake loads, which are entirely regional condition dependent and have a high degree of uncertainty, are quantified. In this study, the design situation is modeled by generating thousands of numbers for load effect ratios, and the reliability level of steel elements for all load combinations and different load ratios is established and compared to the target reliability. This approach is applied to the Iranian structural steel code as a case study. The results indicate that the Iranian structural steel code lacks safety in some load combinations, such as gravity and earthquake load combinations, and is conservative for other load combinations. The present procedure can be applied to the assessment of the reliability level of other national codes.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.63 no.5
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2021

Soil moisture plays a critical role in hydrological processes, land-atmosphere interactions and climate variability. It can limit vegetation growth as well as infiltration of rainfall and therefore very important for agriculture sector and food protection. Recently, due to the increased damage from drought caused by climate change, there is a frequent occurrence of shortage of agricultural water, making it difficult to supply and manage stable agricultural water. Efficient water management is necessary to reduce drought damage, and soil moisture management is important in case of upland crops. In this study, soil moisture was calculated based on the water balance model, and the suitability of soil moisture data was verified through the application. The regional soil moisture was calculated based on the meteorological data collected by the meteorological station, and applied the Runs theory. We analyzed the spatiotemporal variability of soil moisture and drought impacts, and analyzed the correlation between actual drought impacts and drought damage through correlation analysis of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The soil moisture steadily decreased and increased until the rainy season, while the drought size steadily increased and decreased until the rainy season. The regional magnitude of the drought was large in Gyeonggi-do and Gyeongsang-do, and in winter, severe drought occurred in areas of Gangwon-do. As a result of comparative analysis with actual drought events, it was confirmed that there is a high correlation with SPI by each time scale drought events with a correlation coefficient.

• Journal of Korean Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.430-440
• /
• 2018

Background : Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disturbance in hospitalized patients and has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Tolvaptan, a vasopressin receptor antagonist, is increasingly used for the treatment of euvolemic and hypervolemic hyponatremia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of tolvaptan for the management of hyponatremia. Methods : This study was a retrospective evaluation of 106 patients who received at least one dose of tolvaptan for hyponatremia at a single tertiary academic hospital between January 2014 and June 2015. The primary endpoint was the change in serum sodium concentration after tolvaptan administration within 24 hours, with secondary endpoints of overcorrection and adverse effects. Results : The mean initial dose of tolvaptan was $20.2{\pm}7.2mg$ and the median duration of treatment was 15 days (range, 1-261 days). The maximal changes in sodium levels at 24 and 48 hours were $8.2{\pm}4.7mmol/L$ and $10.5{\pm}15.3mmol/L$, respectively. Of 99 patients in whom sodium concentrations were followed up, sodium overcorrection was observed in 26 (26.3%) patients, which was associated with concomitant use of an enzyme inhibitor (odds ratio [OR] = 4.80, 95% Cl: 1.27-18.15). However, sex, body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, a daily dose of tolvaptan, and concomitant use of hypertonic saline did not show any significant difference in overcorrection. The most commonly reported adverse effects were mild and related to aquaresis, such as polyuria, thirst, and constipation. However, severe adverse effects such as hyperkalemia, hypotension, and one death related to osmotic demyelination were also reported. Conclusions : Tolvaptan is effective for treating hyponatremia. Nevertheless, the drug should be used cautiously due to serious adverse effects related to sodium overcorrection.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.63 no.3
• /
• pp.13-26
• /
• 2021

Recent drought events in the South Korea and the magnitude of drought losses indicate the continuing vulnerability of the agricultural drought. Various studies have been performed on drought hazard assessment at the regional scales, but until recently, drought management has been response oriented with little attention to mitigation and preparedness. A vulnerability assessment is introduced in order to preemptively respond to agricultural drought and to predict the occurrence of drought. This paper presents a method for spatial, Geographic Information Systems-based assessment of agricultural drought vulnerability in South Korea. It was hypothesized that the key 14 items that define agricultural drought vulnerability were meteorological, agricultural reservoir, social, and adaptability factors. Also, this study is to analyze agricultural drought vulnerability by comparing vulnerability assessment according to weighting method. The weight of the evaluation elements is expressed through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which includes subjective elements such as surveys, and the Entropy method using attribute information of the evaluation items. The agricultural drought vulnerability map was created through development of a numerical weighting scheme to evaluate the drought potential of the classes within each factor. This vulnerability assessment is calculated the vulnerability index based on the weight, and analyze the vulnerable map from 2015 to 2019. The identification of agricultural drought vulnerability is an essential step in addressing the issue of drought vulnerability in the South Korea and can lead to mitigation-oriented drought management and supports government policymaking.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.40-56
• /
• 2015

Objectives: To outline overall duties of quality improvement (QI) performers within a health care organization, thus describing their key tasks, including task element-related frequency, importance and difficulty in enough detail. Methods: A DACUM (Developing A CurriculUM) workshop took place to outline overall job activities of QI performers. To examine the scope of their duty and task, we performed a questionnaire survey of 338 QI performers from 111 hospitals. Results: The results of our survey showed that for the task assigned to each QI performer, there were 10 duties, 31 tasks and 119 task elements. Respondents cited a project planning as the most frequent/important duty, and a research was the highest level of difficulty in their duty. They also said that the most frequent task was index management, the most important task was a business plan, and the highest level of difficulty was a practical application of QI research. QI performers added that the most frequent task element was receipt of patient safety reporting in patient safety system, the most important task element was an analysis for patient safety and its improvement, and the highest level of difficulty was a regional influence analysis related to the patient safety and its improvement. Conclusion: To ensure that QI performers play a pivotal role as a manager to better improve patient safety and the quality of health care services, proper training program for them should be developed by reflecting the results of our study.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.587-601
• /
• 2020

Exposure to hazardous substances occurs through multiple pathways. Aggregated risk assessment, which includes all potential exposure pathways to a single toxicant, is necessary to prevent exposure to harmful substances. We aimed to estimate cadmium and lead exposure through various media, such as food, water, air, smoking, cosmetics, and female hygiene products. This study covered 10,733 subjects from the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(2016, 2017). Dietary exposure was estimated using 24-hour recall data. For water and inhalational exposure, regional variations were considered. Water was classified as tap, bottled, and public water. Inhalational exposure was estimated using the '2014 Time Use Survey' based on daily lifestyle and social status. The frequency and volume of cosmetic usage were randomly approximated by sex and age. Post-menarcheal and premenopausal women were assumed to use feminine hygiene products. Non-carcinogenic aggregated risks were estimated using the Aggregate Risk Index from EPAs and the Total Exposure Hazard Index from Korean government guidelines. For carcinogenic risk assessment, excessive cancer risk was estimated. Ingestion, especially food, was the major route for both cadmium and lead exposure. Smoking was also associated with high cadmium exposure. Exposure to lead from cosmetics was remarkable but not critical. In aggregate risk assessments, median cadmium and lead exposure did not exceed the reference value. Sex, age, smoking status, and income affected exposure levels, unlike to regional variations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.29 no.7
• /
• pp.713-723
• /
• 2023

Climate change is significantly affecting coastal areas, and its impacts are expected to intensify. Recent studies on climate change adaptation and risk assessment in coastal regions increasingly integrate the concepts of recovery resilience and vulnerability. The aim of this study is to develop a measurement model for coastal hazard recovery resilience in the context of climate change adaptation. Before constructing the measurement model, a comprehensive literature review was conducted on coastal hazard recovery resilience, establishing a conceptual framework that included operational definitions for vulnerability and recovery resilience, along with several feedback mechanisms. The measurement model for coastal hazard recovery resilience comprised four metrics (MRV, LRV, RTSPV, and ND) and a Coastal Resilience Index (CRI). The developed indices were applied to domestic coastal erosion cases, and regional analyses were performed based on the index grades. The results revealed that the four recovery resilience metrics provided insights into the diverse characteristics of coastal erosion recovery resilience at each location. Mapping the composite indices of coastal resilience indicated that the areas along the East Sea exhibited relatively lower coastal erosion recovery resilience than the West and South Sea regions. The developed recovery resilience measurement model can serve as a tool for discussions on post-adaptation strategies and is applicable for determining policy priorities among different vulnerable regional groups.