• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• 제11권3호
• /
• pp.240-246
• /
• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Folic acid supplementation before pregnancy is known to significantly reduce the risk of having a baby with neural tube defects (NTDs). Therefore, it is important for women to be aware of the effects of folic acid supplementation before pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness and preconceptional use of folic acid and to assess the current knowledge about folic acid among low-income pregnant women in Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2012. Five hundred pregnant women were selected from the waiting list for the Nutriplus program implemented in public health centers using a multistage clustered probability sampling design. Data from 439 women were analyzed after excluding ones with incomplete answers. RESULTS: Among women who responded to the questionnaire, 65.6% had heard of folic acid before pregnancy, and 26.4% reported on the preconceptional use of folic acid. Women with a university degree or higher education were more likely to be aware of folic acid and to take folic acid in the preconception period. In a multivariate logistic regression, when age, education level, household income, employment status, gravidity, parity, and folic acid awareness were included in the model, folic acid awareness was a strong predictor of preconceptional folic acid use. As of interview, 85.4% and 77.7% of women were aware of the NTD-preventive role of folic acid and the appropriate time to take folic acid, respectively. The main sources of information on folic acid were healthcare professionals (41.2%), friends and family members (31.2%), and the media (26.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that public health strategies are needed to increase the preconceptional use of folic acid among Korean women.

• 한국산업보건학회지
• /
• 제24권2호
• /
• pp.193-200
• /
• 2014

Objectives: To develop domestic charcoal tubes with good adsorption capacity, breakthrough experiments were performed on four types of activated charcoal. Materials: The adsorption capacity and the adsorption rate were determined using a modified Wheeler equation after the breakthrough experiment. For four types of charcoal (J, K, S and SKC Inc. 226-01), 100 mg were used in the breakthrough experiment. The test was done on benzene, toluene, n-hexane, and acetone in a dynamic chamber. Results: K charcoal had the greatest surface area and the highest micropore volume. J charcoal had a similar surface area and micropore volume to SKC charcoal. S charcoal had the lowest surface area and micropore volume. J charcoal had the highest adsorption capacity at 101, 252 and 609 ppm of benzene. The gap in benzene adsorption capacity among the types of charcoal was the least at 609 ppm and the greatest at 101 ppm. J charcoal showed the highest adsorption capacity at 54, 106, 228 and 508 ppm of toluene. J charcoal and SKC charcoal had a similar adsorption capacity for acetone. J charcoal had the highest adsorption capacity for n-hexane. In the experiment featuring 10% breakthrough volume, 10% breakthrough occurred at 18 liters at $2065.9mg/m^3$ for J charcoal and at 20 liters at $1771.2mg/m^3$ for K charcoal. It was difficult to judge adsorption capacity by surface area and micropore volume of charcoal. J charcoal, which was similar to SKC charcoal in surface area and micropore volume, showed good adsorption capacity at common workplace concentrations. Conclusions: The adsorption capacity of J and K charcoal was superior compared with SKC charcoal. J and K charcoal can be considered appropriate for use as sampling media based on this result.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• 제20권2호
• /
• pp.167-178
• /
• 2005

This study was carried out to evaluate the temporal, spatial, and seasonal variations of VOC, and to characterize the VOC concentrations in two large industrial complexes located in Pohang and Gumi cities. Twenty -four hours continuous sampling of selected VOC was made with STS 25 sequential tube samplers and double-bed adsorbent tubes. Air samples were collected every three hour interval for 7 consecutive days in each site during summer and winter. VOC were determined by thermal desorption coupled with GC/MS. A total of 27 VOCs of environmental concern were determined, including aliphatic, aromatic and halides. Generally. concentrations of toxic VOC were higher in Gumi than Pohang, and VOC levels in industrial areas were typically several-fold higher than those in residential areas. The most abundant VOC appeared to be toluene for both cities. However, chlorinated VOC were higher in Gumi than Pohang, while aromatic VOC were more abundant in Pohang than in Gumi. Two cities showed relatively different variations of VOC concentrations within a day. It is likely that traffic related sources are major factors affecting the VOC in Pohang, and industrial solvents usages are important sources in Gumi. These results imply that the occurrence and levels of atmospheric VOC are strongly dependent on the type of industries in each city. Therefore, in order to develop any control strategies or to establish the priority rankings for VOC in large industrial complexes, the type of industries and the occurrence of VOC in the atmosphere should be taken into consideration.

• 대한조선학회논문집
• /
• 제51권4호
• /
• pp.311-320
• /
• 2014

Test uncertainty of a towed underwater Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) system was assessed in a towing tank. To estimate the systematic error and random error of mean velocity and turbulence properties measurement, velocity field of uniform flow was measured. Total uncertainty of the axial component of mean velocity was 1.45% of the uniform flow speed and total uncertainty of turbulence properties was 3.03%. Besides, variation of particle displacement was applied to identify the change of error distribution. In results for variation of particle displacement, the error rapidly increases with particle movement under one pixel. In addition, a nominal wake of a model ship was measured and compared with existing experimental data by five-hole Pitot tubes, Pitot-static tube, and hot wire anemometer. For mean velocity, small local vortex was identified with high spatial resolution of SPIV, but has serious disagreement in local maxima of turbulence properties due to limited sampling rate.

• Child Health Nursing Research
• /
• 제16권4호
• /
• pp.352-359
• /
• 2010

Purpose: To explore premature infants' pain response to routine procedures in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: The participants were 56 preterm infants who showed 149 pain responses to 8 high frequency routine procedures which were evaluated using the Premature Infant Pain Scale (PIPS). Videotaped recording was used for data collection. Data were analyzed with descriptive analysis, paired t-test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: PIPS scores for each procedure were as follows; for removal of central catheter dressing, 6.17 (2.04), venous sampling, 6.12 (2.87), intramuscular injection, 6.05 (2.38), insertion of a peripheral line, 5.38 (2.16), insertion of feeding tube, 4.40 (1.34), heel stick, 4.33 (1.23), insertion of central line, 4.00 (2.12), and endotracheal suctioning, 2.90 (1.25). PIPS score was negatively correlated with gestational age (r=-.218, p=.007) and birth weight (r=-.249, p=.002) among general characteristics of the infants. Conclusion: The majority of 8 routine procedures were found to be painful for premature infants in the NICU. Therefore, adequate pain management related to procedures should be provided to premature infant in the NICU.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 대한기계학회 2002년도 학술대회지
• /
• pp.385-388
• /
• 2002

The researches of a two-phase atomizers have been carried out in the field of automotive and aerospace industries in order to improve the atomization performance of the liquid droplets ejecting from these nozzles. The smaller droplets have the advantages of the reduction of environmental pollution matter and effective use of energy through the improvement of heat and mass transfer efficiency. Thus, to propose the basic information of two-phase flow, an internal mixing atomizer was designed, its shape factor was 0.6 and the liquid feeding hole was positioned at the center of the mixing tube which was used to mix the air and liquid. The experimental work was performed in the field after the nozzle exit orifice. The measurement of the liquid droplets was made by PDPA system. This system can measure the velocity and size of the droplets simultaneously. The number of the droplets used in this calculation was set to 10,000. The flow patterns were regulated by ALR (Air to Liquid mass Ratio). ALR was varied from 0.1024 to 0.3238 depending on the mass flow rate of the air. The analysis of sampling data was mainly focused on the spray characteristics such as flow characteristics distributions, half-width of spray, RMS, and turbulent kinetic energy with ALR.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• 제8권2호
• /
• pp.220-225
• /
• 2017

Background: Benzene is a known occupational and environmental pollutant. Its urinary metabolite trans, trans-muconic acid (tt-MA) has been introduced by some environmental and occupational health regulatory associations as a biological index for the assessment of benzene exposure; however, recently, doubts have been raised about the specificity of tt-MA for low-level benzene exposures. In the present study, we investigated the association between urinary levels of tt-MA and inhalational exposure to benzene in different exposure groups. Methods: Benzene exposure was assessed by personal air sampling. Collected benzene on charcoal tube was extracted by carbon disulfide and determined by a gas chromatograph (gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector). Urinary tt-MA was extracted by a strong anion-exchange column and determined with high-performance liquid chromatography-UV. Results: Urinary levels of tt-MA in intensive benzene exposure groups (chemical workers and police officers) were significantly higher than other groups (urban and rural residents), but its levels in the last two groups with significant different exposure levels (mean = 0.081 ppm and 0.019 ppm, respectively) showed no significant difference (mean = $388{\mu}g/g$ creatinine and $282{\mu}g/g$, respectively; p < 0.05). Before work shift, urine samples of workers and police officers showed a high amount of tt-MA and its levels in rural residents' samples were not zero. Conclusion: Our results suggest that tt-MA may not be a reliable biomarker for monitoring low-level (below 0.5 ppm) benzene exposures.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제15권2호
• /
• pp.725-729
• /
• 2014

Background: Having been known as a virulent disease in 1970s, cancer is now onsidered a chronic disease and 64% of cancer patients live for five years after diagnosis. Home care has gradually gained more importance and it is a great burden on the shoulders of caregivers. Caregivers have to undertake the responsibility of the cancer patient's home management, and organize care and arrange health care services according to the ever-changing condition of patients. Caregivers should be prepared for home care so they can provide accurate and complete care to patients. This descriptive study aims to investigate challenges that caregivers encounter in the home care of patients and the reasons for these challenges. Materials and Methods: The research group consisted of caregivers of outpatients in a daily treatment center in a university hospital. The research sampling consisted of 137 voluntary caregivers of patients who attended the Daily Treatment Center for control, chemotherapy or other supportive cares services between January-June, 2011. Data were collected with face-to-face interviews in the Daily Treatment Center. Ethics Committee approval was taken university hospital; caregivers and their patients were informed about the research and their approval was taken as well. Results: It was found that 54.01% of caregivers help patient's nutrition, 50.36% help medicine use, 26.28% help oral hygiene, 26.28% help to meet urinary needs and 51.82% help to change clothes, 69.34% of caregivers help to change bed sheets, 38.69% help the patient to communicate with their environment and 71.53% help to bring the patient to hospital or outside. Conclusions: This study, it was found that caregivers experience challenges due to following factors: patient nutrition, medicine use, oral and body hygiene, colostomy maintenance and stomach tube feeding, concern of dropping the patient, feeling incompetency in body temperature and fever control, fatigue, and lack of personal time.

• 한국대기환경학회지
• /
• 제22권4호
• /
• pp.468-476
• /
• 2006

Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) have high toxicity and bioaccurnulation potentials into human body even inbsmall amount (levels of ng/$m^3$). As the levels of HAPs might be controversial, it has been become essential to establish the analysis method for correct results. In this study, various analysis methods of VOCs and Aldehydes were compared in order to select the proper methods in our condition. Sampling and analysis method of VOCs were followed to EPA TO-14a and TO-17. VOCs were collected in absorption tube and separated by thermal desorption unit then analyzed by GC/MSD. Aldehydes were sampled in DNPH-cartridge and extracted into solution then analyzed by HPLC as the same condition of EPA TO-13a. This study also shows the results of QA/QC system of selected methods. Some experiments could be improving the data assurance blank test, calibration check, repetition precision check, the determination of detection limit and reproducibility of the retention time. Precisions of VOCs and aldehydes were ranged in 2$\sim$9% and 1$\sim$4% RSD, respectively. Recovery rate of VOCs showed variable ranges from 60 to 133.5%. MDL of VOCs and aldehydes were 0.044$\sim$0.284 ppb and 0.14$\sim$1.02 ng, respectively.

• 한국대기환경학회지
• /
• 제22권6호
• /
• pp.767-778
• /
• 2006

This study was carried out to evaluate the temporal variations of VOCs at an urban site, and to compare the concentrations of VOCs at an urban site in Daegu with those at a suburban site in Gyeongsan. Three hourly VOC samples in the ambient air were collected using a sequential tube sampler (STS 25, Perkin Elmer) throughout two weeks during May and July representing spring and summer seasons, respectively. The VOC concentrations were determined by an automatic thermal desorption apparatus with GC/MS analysis. A total of 12 VOCs of environmental concern were determined, which are chloroform, benzene, trichloroethylene, toluene, tetra-chloroethylene, ethylbenzene, m+p-xylenes, o-xylene, styrene, 1,3,5- and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzenes. Among 12 target VOCs, the most abundant compound appeared to be toluene, being followed by xylenes. The mean concentrations at the urbn site were 1.2 pub for benzene and 20.4 ppb for toluene (n=221) while the mean levels at the suburban site were 0.9 ppb and 4.3 ppb for benzene and toluene (n=96), respectively. The urban site concentrations were typically several-fold higher than those measured at the suburban site. It was found that general trends of VOC levels were significantly dependent on traffic conditions at the sampling site since VOC concentrations were at their maximum during rush hours, i.e. $9{\sim}12a.m$ and $6{\sim}9p.m$. Statistical investigations were conducted to investigate any significant relationships between VOC concentrations and affecting factors. Calculated correlation coefficients among VOCs were positively significant at a level of 0.05 in most cases. Increased concentrations of toluene in the urban site were estimated to reflect the effect of large industrial sources, mainly from textile industry.