• Title/Summary/Keyword: Safety and Health Levels

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Development of QI Activity Evaluation Framework Based on PDCA and Case Study on Quality Improvement Activities (PDCA 모형에 기초한 QI활동 평가틀 개발 및 사례분석)

  • Park, Yeon-Hwa;Lee, Myung-Ha;Jeong, Seok-Hee
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.222-233
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    • 2012
  • Purpose: This study was conducted to develop an evaluation framework for QI activity in medical institutions and to analyze QI activity cases by applying the developed evaluation framework. Method: A four-phase process was employed to develop the evaluation framework, and a descriptive survey was used for the QI case study. Data were collected in April, 2010 by examining 157 QI activity cases presented at conferences and published in Journal of Korean Society of Quality Assurance in Health Care over the past three years. Developed QI activity evaluation instruments were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 18.0 for Windows program. Result: A QI Activity Evaluation Framework was developed. This framework consisted of 45 items. The department with the highest level of QI participation was the nursing department. The most frequent QI activity theme was patient safety. QI activity levels in Korean medical institutions are relatively equalized without significant differences according to institution characteristics. Conclusions: From the quality aspect of QI activity, more systematic and scientific approaches are required to upgrade QI activity. This study could provide methodological guidelines for QI activity and be useful in setting goals and directions for QI activity in medical institutions in Korea.

Problems in the Dietary Exposure Assessment of Pesticide Residues (식품중 잔류농약에 의한 인체피폭 평가에서의 문제점)

  • Lee, Mi-Gyung;Lee, Su-Rae
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.255-263
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    • 1993
  • The demand of safety assessment for pesticide residues in foods is growing in Korea. In order to assess the actual dietary exposure toward pesticide residues, the problems in utilization of pesticide residue data were reviewed and optimization of food factors applicable to Korean population was conducted. The problems and current status in setting pesticide residue tolerance-domestic and foreign-in foods were also argued. The conclusion is summarized as follows: (1) Anticipated residue estimates(ARE) calculated from field trial residue data, the percentage of crop treated, and the effects of cooking or processing should be utilized for dietary exposure assessment in a real sense. (2) Average daily intake of total foods per person in Korea was 1,104g in 1970's and 1,240g in 1980's. Much variation was observed between the two decades by food commodities. (3) Pesticide residue tolerances in Korea have been established at relatively lower levels in comparison with FAO/WHO or western countries. More extensive studies and data accumulation as related to tolerance setting are called for in future for the sake of health protection and smooth interstate trade.

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Monitoring moisture content of timber structures using PZT-enabled sensing and machine learning

  • Chen, Lin;Xiong, Haibei;He, Yufeng;Li, Xiuquan;Kong, Qingzhao
    • Smart Structures and Systems
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.589-598
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    • 2022
  • Timber structures are susceptible to structural damages caused by variations in moisture content (MC), inducing severe durability deterioration and safety issues. Therefore, it is of great significance to detect MC levels in timber structures. Compared to current methods for timber MC detection, which are time-consuming and require bulky equipment deployment, Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT)-enabled stress wave sensing combined with statistic machine learning classification proposed in this paper show the advantage of the portable device and ease of operation. First, stress wave signals from different MC cases are excited and received by PZT sensors through active sensing. Subsequently, two non-baseline features are extracted from these stress wave signals. Finally, these features are fed to a statistic machine learning classifier (i.e., naïve Bayesian classification) to achieve MC detection of timber structures. Numerical simulations validate the feasibility of PZT-enabled sensing to perceive MC variations. Tests referring to five MC cases are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Results present high accuracy for timber MC detection, showing a great potential to conduct rapid and long-term monitoring of the MC level of timber structures in future field applications.

Effect of Wastewater from the in-water Cleaning Process of Ship Hull on Marine Organisms - A Review

  • Jae-Sung Rhee;Seong Hee Mun;Jee-Hyun Jung
    • Journal of Marine Life Science
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.1-8
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    • 2024
  • Over the past decade, there has been global expansion in the advancement of underwater cleaning technology for ship hulls. This methodology ensures both diver safety and operational efficiency. However, recent attention has been drawn to the harmful effects of ship hull-cleaning wastewater on marine animals. It is anticipated that this wastewater may have various impacts on a wide range of organisms, potentially leading to populationand ecosystem-relevant alterations. This concern is especially significant when the wastewater affects functionally important species, such as aquaculture animals and habitat-forming species living in coastal regions, where underwater cleaning platforms are commonly established. Despite this, information on the ecotoxicological effects of this wastewater remains limited. In this mini review, we discuss the adverse effects of wastewater from in-water cleaning processes, as well as the current challenges and limitations in regulating and mitigating its potential toxicity. Overall, recent findings underscore the detrimental effects posed by sublethal levels of wastewater to the health status of aquatic animals under both acute and chronic exposure.

Understanding the Role of Inter-Individual Variability in Fatigue Monitoring of Construction Workers

  • Emmanuel C. KIMITO;Junhee JUNG;Seohyun YANG;Eric J. NYATO;Dongmin LEE;Chansik PARK
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2024.07a
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    • pp.471-478
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    • 2024
  • Effective physical fatigue monitoring is crucial for ensuring the health, safety, and productivity of construction workers, given the physically demanding nature of their work and the challenging environment in which they operate. In recent years, wearable sensors have shown growing potential for physical fatigue monitoring among construction workers. However, such fatigue assessment methods exhibit a significant gap as they often overlook the impact of inter-individual variability, such as differences in height, weight, and body mass index, on physiological signals that indicate physical fatigue. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of personal factors in altering physiological responses, thereby improving the reliability and accuracy of fatigue monitoring using wearable physiological sensors. To explore the impact of these inter-individual factors, we experimentally analyzed the relationship between personal characteristics, physiological signals, and physical fatigue. Our findings reveal that although the inter-individual factors may not be directly correlated with fatigue levels, they significantly affect fatigue through their influence on physiological signals. Incorporation of these factors into a random forest predictive model significantly enhanced its predictive performance. Furthermore, integrating personal features with other variables to create new features in the physical fatigue prediction model notably improves its accuracy, highlighting the potential for developing personalized fatigue detection systems.

Influences of pH on Heavy Metal Leaching in Water Supply Pipelines (상수도관내 중금속 용출에 대한 수소이온농도의 영향 평가 연구)

  • Lee, Jeongwon;Noh, Yoorae;Park, Joonhong
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.37 no.1
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    • pp.73-82
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    • 2017
  • In Korea, previous certification of water supply infrastructure was mainly focused on economical and physical aspects. Recently, hygienic safety of water supply service has become a sensitive and important issue to our people for evaluating the water quality with growth of economy and education system. According on water quality in 497 Korean water supply facilities, pH values in the supplied water have ranged between 5.8-8.5. However, little is known about metal leachability at the pH conditions observed in the real water supply systems because a fixed pH condition (pH 7.0) has been used in the current standard method, 'Hygienic Safety Testing Method', in water supply. In this work, we examined the effects on heavy metal leachability with pH differences in the water supply pipes which are typically used in Korea. As a result, the amounts of metal leachability were tended to increase when pH levels were decreased. Especially at pH 5.8, Cu leachability from Cu pipes was found to exceed the public health standard level even after applying a normalization factor (NF) given by the current Korea standard method. The Cr and Cu leached from stainless steel pipes, Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn from Cu-based pipe fittings, and Zn from Zn-based pipe fittings were exceeded the Korean hygienic safety standards while, after applying the NF, concentrations of the leached metals were satisfied with the current Korean standard. The findings from this work provide implications on the needs of reforming the current hygienic safety standard methodology.

Embryo lethality and teratogenicity of 2-Bromopropane in the Sprague-Dawley rat (Sprague-Dawley 랫드에서 2-Bromopropane의 배자치사 및 최기형성 효과)

  • Kim, Jong-Choon;Oh, Ki-Seok;Shin, Dong-Ho;Kim, Sung-Ho;Kim, Hyeon-Yeong;Yun, Hyo-In;Jiang, Cheng-Zhe;Heo, Jeong-Doo;Chung, Moon-Koo
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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    • v.43 no.4
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    • pp.657-666
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    • 2003
  • The present study was undertaken to evaluate the potential adverse effects of 2-BP on pregnant dams and embryo-fetal development after maternal exposure during the gestational days (GD) 6 through 19 in Sprague-Dawley rats. The test chemical was administered subcutaneously to pregnant rats at dose levels of 0, 375, 750 and 1250 mg/kg/day. During the test period, clinical signs, mortality, body weights and food consumption were examined. All dams were subjected to caesarean section on GD 20 and their fetuses were examined for external, visceral and skeletal abnormalities. At above 750 mg/kg, toxic effects including signs of toxicity, suppressed body weight, decreased gravid uterine weight and reduced food intake were observed in pregnant dams. An increase in the fetal deaths, a decrease in the litter size, a reduction in the fetal body weight and an increase in the incidence of fetal morphological alterations were also found. There were no adverse effects on either pregnant dams or embryo-fetal development at a dose level of 375 mg/kg. These results suggest that a 14-day subcutaneous dose of 2-BP is embryolethal and teratogenic at above 750 mg/kg/day in pregnant rats. In the present experimental condition, the no-observed-adverse-effect level of 2-BP is considered to be 375 mg/kg/day for dams and embryo-fetuses, respectively.

Subacute Oral Toxicity and Bacterial Mutagenicity Study of a Mixture of Korean Red Ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) and Salvia plebeia R. Br. Extracts

  • Seo, Hwi Won;Suh, Jae Hyun;Kyung, Jong-Soo;Jang, Kyoung Hwa;So, Seung-Ho
    • Toxicological Research
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    • v.35 no.3
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    • pp.215-224
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    • 2019
  • As various populations are rapidly becoming an aging society worldwide and interest in health issues has increased, demand for functional foods including herbal products has increased markedly to maintain a healthy state which has led to safety issues about their intake as an inevitable result. The objective of this study was to identify the safety profile of a Korean red ginseng and Salvia plebeia R. Br. extract mixture (KGC-03-PS) which is a valuable ingredient that can be used as a functional food. In the present study, the subacute oral toxicity and bacterial reverse mutagenicity of KGC-03-PS were evaluated. Sprague Dawley rats were administered KGC-03-PS orally for 28 days by gavage. Daily KGC-03-PS dose concentrations were 0, 500, 1,000, or 2,000 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day. Bacterial reverse mutation test with KGC-03-PS dose levels ranging from 312.5 to $5,000{\mu}g/plate$ was carried out by OECD test guideline No. 471. Five bacterial strains (Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1537, and Escherichia coli WP2) were tested in the presence or absence of metabolic activation by plate incorporation method. There were no toxicological effects related with test substance in the clinical evaluation of subacute oral toxicity test including clinical signs, body weight, and food consumption. Moreover, no toxicological changes related to KGC-03-PS were observed in the hematological and serum biochemical characteristics as well as in the pathological examinations, which included organ weight measurements and in the gross- or histopathological findings. KGC-03-PS did not induce an increase in the number of revertant colonies in all bacterial strains of the bacterial reverse mutation test. The no-observed-adverse-effect level of KGC-03-PS is greater than 2,000 mg/kg bw/day, and KGC-03-PS did not induce genotoxicity related to bacterial reverse mutations under the conditions used in this study.

A comparison of metabolomic changes in type-1 diabetic C57BL/6N mice originating from different sources

  • Lee, Seunghyun;Kwak, Jae-Hwan;Kim, Sou Hyun;Yun, Jieun;Cho, Joon-Yong;Kim, Kilsoo;Hwang, Daeyeon;Jung, Young-Suk
    • Laboraroty Animal Research
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    • v.34 no.4
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    • pp.232-238
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    • 2018
  • Animal models have been used to elucidate the pathophysiology of varying diseases and to provide insight into potential targets for therapeutic intervention. Although alternatives to animal testing have been proposed to help overcome potential drawbacks related to animal experiments and avoid ethical issues, their use remains vital for the testing of new drug candidates and to identify the most effective strategies for therapeutic intervention. Particularly, the study of metabolic diseases requires the use of animal models to monitor whole-body physiology. In line with this, the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation (NIFDS) in Korea has established their own animal strains to help evaluate both efficacy and safety during new drug development. The objective of this study was to characterize the response of C57BL/6NKorl mice from the NIFDS compared with that of other mice originating from the USA and Japan in a chemical-induced diabetic condition. Multiple low-dose treatments with streptozotocin were used to generate a type-1 diabetic animal model which is closely linked to the known clinical pathology of this disease. There were no significantly different responses observed between the varying streptozotocin-induced type-1 diabetic models tested in this study. When comparing control and diabetic mice, increases in liver weight and disturbances in serum amino acids levels of diabetic mice were most remarkable. Although the relationship between type-1 diabetes and BCAA has not been elucidated in this study, the results, which reveal a characteristic increase in diabetic mice of all origins are considered worthy of further study.

A Study on Elderly Households′ Needs for Affordance of Interior Design (재가노인 단독세대의 실내디자인 지원성에 관한 요구 -광주광역시 노인을 중심으로 -)

  • Moon Hee-Jeong;Kim Mi-Hee
    • Journal of the Korean housing association
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.65-74
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    • 2004
  • As the advent of an aging society, housing for the elderly has been of great concern. Because the majority of the elderly prefers living in their own familiar homes rather than moving to new ones, this study is concerned with the ways use and maintenance of the existing houses from the viewpoint of their independent living. The data was analyzed with frequency, percentage, mean, correlation, and multiple regression by using the SPSS 10.0 for Windows. The findings from the study were: Needs for Affordance of interior design(AID) were required slightly above the average. Among the items of AID, physiological maintenance was the most demanding, and social facilitation, behavioral facilitation, and perceptual maintenance were sequentially followed in the level of needs. The elements that should be considered in housing environment plans for the elderly household ire: (a) use of slip-proof tiles for the floor of the bathroom, (b) installation of safety bars in the bathroom, and (c) installation of emergency buttons. It also turned out that educational levels and health status were the most significant factors on the needs for AID.