• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.272-278
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• 2008

The carbon-ion beam (CIB) generated by the heavy-ion medical accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) was targeted to 7-day-old rice. Physiological parameters such as growth, and gene expression profiles were examined immediately after CIB irradiation. Dose-dependent growth suppression was seen three days post-irradiation (PI), and all the irradiated plants died by 15 days PI. Microarray (Agilent rice 22K) analysis of the plants immediately after irradiation (iai) revealed effects on gene expression at 270 Gy; 353 genes were up-regulated and 87 down-regulated. Exactly the same set of genes was affected at 90 Gy. Among the highly induced genes were genes involved in information storage and processing, cellular processes and signaling, and metabolism. RT-PCR analysis confirmed the microarray data.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7693-7702
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• 2014

Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) occurs in women of all age groups, and causes cervical, anal, vaginal, vulvar, penile and oropharyngeal cancers. The aim of the study was to discover what nurses know about HPV infection, testing and vaccination and to determine vaccine practice of their daughters and perceived barriers. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and prospective study was carried out nurses who have worked in a hospital between January and June 2014. Pre-test and post-test were used to evaluate the nurses' knowledge about HPV infection, testing and vaccination. This study was performed with nurses who had girls between 9 and 26 years of age for evaluating the behavior of vaccination after three months of education. Results: The mean of pre-test and post-test scores about HPV infection, which included 22 items, were $8.2{\pm}5.6$ and $19.2{\pm}1.5$, respectively. Before education the HPV testing knowledge score was remarkably poor ($1.9{\pm}1.7$ over 5), after education it increased to $4.8{\pm}0.5$. The mean HPV vaccine knowledge score were $3.7{\pm}2.7$ (pre-test) $7.3{\pm}0.8$ (post-test) on a 0-8 scale. The difference between mean total pre-test ($13.9{\pm}9.1$) and post-test ($31.3{\pm}1.9$) scores was statistically significant (p<0.001). After three months of education, only two of the nurses' daughters were vaccinated. The main reason was noted by nurses were not willing to be vaccinated was cost, doubts about safety and efficacy related to the vaccine. About one-third of nurses declared that they would receive the vaccine for their daughter later. Conclusions: Nurses have a crucial role in the prevention, treatment, increasing public awareness and care for population. The education of the nurses about HPV infection, test and vaccination will play an important part decreasing cancer mortality and morbidity.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2006

There are many counting rules for analyzing man-made mineral fibers. The representatives are the NIOSH Method 7400 A and B counting rules. The two rules have different rules of length-to-width ratio(aspect ratio) and diameter. The A rule counts only fibers $>5{\mu}m$ in length, and only fibers with aspect ratio >3:1. The B rule counts only ends of fibers $>5{\mu}m$ in length and $<3{\mu}m$ in diameter, and only fibers with aspect ratio ${\geq}5:1$. The A counting rule had been used before the B counting rule was introduced. The purpose of this study is to compare the A and B counting rules for airborne fibers from various man-made mineral fibers(glass wool fibers, rock wool fibers, refractory ceramic fibers, and continuous filament glass fibers) industries. There were significantly differences between the paired counts of A and B rules in all types of fibers(p<0.05). A rule counts/B rule counts(A/B ratios) were 1.52 for glass fibers, 1.53 for rock wool fibers, 1.19 for RCF, and 1.82 for continuous filament glass fibers. The counting results by A and B counting rules were highly correlated in glass wool fibers, rock wool fibers and refractory ceramic fibers(RCF) samples (r=0.96 for all types of fibers) except continuous filament glass fibers(r=0.82). Regression equations to correct for the differences between counting rules were presented in this paper.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.198-215
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• 2018

Bronchodilators provide improvements in lung function and reductions in symptoms and exacerbations, and are the mainstay of pharmacological management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease strategy recommends the use of a combination of long-acting ${\beta}_2-agonist$/long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LABA/LAMA) as the first-line treatment option in the majority of symptomatic patients with COPD. This review provides an indirect comparison of available LABA/LAMA fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) through discussion of important efficacy and safety data from the key literature, with the objective of providing physicians with a framework for informed decision-making. LABA/LAMA FDCs provided greater benefits compared with placebo and similar or greater benefits compared with tiotropium and salmeterol/fluticasone in improving lung function, dyspnea, health-related quality of life, reducing rescue medication use and preventing exacerbations, although with some variability in efficacy between individual FDCs; further, tolerability profiles were comparable among LABA/LAMA FDCs. However, there is a disparity in the amount of evidence generated for different LABA/LAMA FDCs. Thus, this review shows that all LABA/LAMA FDCs may not be the same and that care should be taken when extrapolating individual treatment outcomes to the entire drug class. It is important that physicians consider the efficacy gradient that exists among LABA/LAMA FDCs, and factors such as inhaler devices and potential biomarkers, when choosing the optimal bronchodilator treatment for long-term management of patients with COPD.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1123-1134
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• 2009

This study was designed to evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively the pollutant compositions, which were emitted from three types of mosquito repellents(MRs)(mat-, liquid-vaporized, and coil-type) by utilizing a 50-L environmental chamber. A qualitative analysis revealed that 42 compounds were detected on the gas chromatography/mass spectrometer system, and that the detection frequency depended upon chemical types. Nine of the 42 compounds exhibited a detection frequency of 100%. Four aromatic compounds(benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene, and xylene) were detected in all test MRs. The concentration equilibriums in the environmental chamber were achieved within 180 min after sample introduction. The coil-type MR represented higher chamber concentrations as compared with the mat- or liquid-vaporized-type MR, with respect to the target compounds except for naphthalene. In particular, the chamber concentrations of ethyl benzene, associated with the use of coil-type MR, were between 0.9 and $65\;mg\;m^{-3}$ whereas those of mat- and liquid-vaporized-type MRs we~e between 0.5 and $2.0\;mg\;m^{-3}$and 0.3 and $1.4\;mg\;m^{-3}$, respectively. However, naphthalene concentrations in the chamber, where a liquid-vaporized-type MR was placed, were measured as between 17.8 and $56.3\;mg\;m^{-3}$, but not detected in the chamber, where a mat- or coil-type MR was placed. The empirical model fitted well with the time-series concentrations in the environmental chamber(in most cases, determination coefficient, $R^2$ ≿ 0.9), thereby suggesting that the model was suitable for testing emissions. In regards to the target compounds except for benzene, although they were emitted from the MRs, health risk from individual exposure to them were estimated not to be significant when comparing exposure levels with no observed adverse exposure levels or lowest observed adverse exposure levels of corresponding compounds. However, it was concluded that the use of MRs could be an important indoor source as regards benzene.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.154-159
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• 2018

Intentional releases occur frequently during maintenance in gas supplying companies, which may result in unpleasant odors, and the possible mistaken belief of a gas accident. Therefore, this study developed a chemical process for effective odorant removal in natural gas using an active chemical that is released intentionally during maintenance and inspection. To develop an effective treatment process for removing the odorant from released natural gas, the effluent concentrations of the odorant in the released gas were measured after a chemical oxidation reaction with a sodium hypochlorite solution in a compact gas scrubbing equipment newly devised in this study. The device was based on a mixed gas vent after the solution inject odorant in the gas through the energy of the venting gas. The cascade combination of a venturi pipe and mixing chamber was developed to remove the odorant effectively from the purposely-released natural gas using an oxidative reaction between the mercaptan compounds (odorant) and the sodium hypochlorite solution. On the other hand, the developed method could be applied limitedly to a relatively small gas release from a low-pressure source. Further studies will be needed to apply the developed process to a large-scale gas release from a high-pressure source.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.91-93
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• 2003

It has been estimated that the equivalent of approximately $US 50 billion has been spent on research on the behavior and fate of pesticides in the environment since Rachel Carson published “Silent Spring” in 1962. Much of the resulting knowledge has been summarized explicitly in computer algorithms in a variety of empirical, deterministic, and probabilistic simulation models. These models describe and predict the transport, degradation and resultant concentrations of pesticides in various compartments of the environment during and after application. In many cases the known errors of model predictions are large. For this reason they are typically designed to be “conservative”, i.e., err on the side of over-prediction of concentrations in order to err on the side of safety. These predictions are then compared with toxicity data, from tests of the pesticide on a series of standard representative biota, including terrestrial and aquatic indicator species and higher animals (e.g., wildlife and humans). The models' predictions are good enough in some cases to provide screening of those compounds which are very unlikely to do harm, and to indicate those compounds which must be investigated further. If further investigation is indicated a more detailed (and therefore more complicated) model may be employed to give a better estimate, or field experiments may be required. A model may be used to explore “what if” questions leading to possible alternative pesticide usage patterns which give lower potential environmental concentrations and allowable exposures. We are currently at a maturing stage in this research where the knowledge base of pesticide behavior in the environmental is growing more slowly than in the past. However, innovative uses are being made of the explosion in available computer technology to use models to take ever more advantage of the knowledge we have. In this presentation, current developments in the state of the art as practiced in North America and Europe will be presented. Specifically, we will look at the efforts of the ‘Focus’ consortium in the European Union, and the ‘EMWG’ consortium in North America. These groups have been innovative in developing a process and mechanisms for discussion amongst academic, agriculture, industry and regulatory scientists, for consensus adoption of research advances into risk management methodology.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 2007

Poultry products including meat and eggs constitute a major protein source in the American diet and disease-causing pathogens represent major challenges to the poultry industry. More than 95% of pathogens enter the host through the mucosal surfaces of the respiratory, digestive and reproductive tracts and over the past few decades, the two main mechanisms used to control diseases have been the use of vaccines and antibiotics. However, in the poultry industry, there are mounting concerns over the ability of current vaccines to adequately protect against emerging hyper-virulent strains of pathogens and a lack of suitable, cost effective adjuvants. Thorough investigation of the immunogenetic responses involved in host-pathogen interactions will lead to the development of new and effective strategies for improving poultry health, food safety and the economic viability of the US poultry industry. In this paper, I describe the development of immunogenomic and proteomic tools to fundamentally determine and characterize the immunological mechanisms of the avian host to economically significant mucosal pathogens such as Eimeria. Recent completion of poultry genome sequencing and the development of several tissue-specific cDNA libraries in chickens are facilitating the rapid application of functional immunogenomics in the poultry disease research. Furthermore, research involving functional genomics, immunology and bioinformatics is providing novel insights into the processes of disease and immunity to microbial pathogens at mucosal surfaces. In this presentation, a new strategy of global gene expression using avian macrophage (AMM) to characterize the multiple pathways related to the variable immune responses of the host to Eimeria is described. This functional immunogenomics approach will increase current understanding of how mucosal immunity to infectious agents operates, and how it may be enhanced to enable the rational development of new and effective strategies against coccidiosis and other mucosal pathogens.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.705-716
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• 2011

For the efficient discovery of knowledge and information from the observed systems, data mining techniques can be an useful tool for the prediction of water quality at intake station in rivers. Deterioration of water quality can be caused at intake station in dry season due to insufficient flow. This demands additional outflow from dam since some extent of deterioration can be attenuated by dam reservoir operation to control outflow considering predicted water quality. A seasonal occurrence of high ammonia nitrogen ($NH_3$-N) concentrations has hampered chemical treatment processes of a water plant in Geum river. Monthly flow allocation from upstream dam is important for downstream $NH_3$-N control. In this study, prediction models of water quality based on multiple regression (MR), artificial neural network and data mining methods were developed to understand water quality variation and to support dam operations through providing predicted $NH_3$-N concentrations at intake station. The models were calibrated with eight years of monthly data and verified with another two years of independent data. In those models, the $NH_3$-N concentration for next time step is dependent on dam outflow, river water quality such as alkalinity, temperature, and $NH_3$-N of previous time step. The model performances are compared and evaluated by error analysis and statistical characteristics like correlation and determination coefficients between the observed and the predicted water quality. It is expected that these data mining techniques can present more efficient data-driven tools in modelling stage and it is found that those models can be applied well to predict water quality in stream river systems.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.200-210
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess the exposure to ozone and total volatile organic compounds(TVOCs) generated during welding work at a shipyard and recommend respiratory protective equipment(RPE) adequate against these hazards. Method: Ozone was collected for about 30 minutes at two-minutes intervals using a direct reading instrument, specifically an ozone analyzer(Serinus 10, Ecotech, Australia). TVOCs were collected for about 30 minutes at three-minute intervals using a portable GC (Alpha 115, Synspec BV, the Netherlands), and were determined simultaneously by area sampling at the welding plume closest to the welder's breathing zone. The total measurements were 162 for ozone($CO_2$ welding 47, TIG 60, stick 55), and 136 for TVOCs($CO_2$ 65, TIG 50, stick 21). Based on these measurements, a literature survey was conducted to assess the adequacy of RPE. Results: Relative to Korean OEL, measurements above STEL 0.2 ppm were 23.4% for $CO_2$, 63.3% for TIG and 14.5% for stick welding. There were significant differences(p=<0.0001) among welding types. Compared with ACGIH peak exposure of 0.4 ppm for ozone, which is not applied in Korea, $CO_2$ welding exceeded it by 10.6%, TIG by 40.0% and stick by 7.3%. Although it was not feasible to compare them directly since there are no Korean OEL, TVOCs had very high levels similar to the concentrations before moving into a new apartment and about 10-20 times the indoor air quality recommendations for some individual measurements. Conclusions: As ozone removal RPE has been recommended in welding environments for a long time(Lunau, 1967), this fact was demonstrated based on the results of the on-site work environment measurements(ozone and TVOCs). In conclusion, for all welding at a shipyard, gas/vapor and particulate combination RPE are recommended. If this is not possible, it should at least be present for TIG welding.