• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.634-643
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• 2023

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), one of the leading causes of death worldwide, is caused by repeated exposure to harmful matter, such as cigarette smoke. Although Lilium longiflorum Thunb (LLT) has anti-inflammatory effects, there is no report on the fermented LLT bulb extract regulating lung inflammation in COPD. Thus, we investigated the protective effect of LLT bulb extract fermented with Lactobacillus acidophilus 803 in COPD mouse models induced by cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and porcine pancreas elastase (PPE). Oral administration of the fermented product (LS803) suppressed the production of inflammatory mediators and the infiltration of immune cells involving neutrophils and macrophages, resulting in protective effects against lung damage. In addition, LS803 inhibited CSE- and LPS-induced IL-6 and IL-8 production in airway epithelial H292 cells as well as suppressed PMA-induced formation of neutrophil extracellular traps in HL-60 cells. In particular, LS803 significantly repressed the elevated IL-6 and MIP-2 production after CSE and LPS stimulation by suppressing the activity of the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B (NFκB) in mouse peritoneal macrophages. Therefore, our results suggest that the fermented product LS803 is effective in preventing and alleviating lung inflammation.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.261-273
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• 2024

This paper is an experimental study on the improvement of smoke and flame detection from different materials with YOLO. For the study, images of fires occurring in various materials were collected through an open dataset, and experiments were conducted by changing the main factors affecting the performance of the fire object detection model, such as the bounding box, polygon, and data augmentation of the collected image open dataset during data preprocessing. To evaluate the model performance, we calculated the values of precision, recall, F1Score, mAP, and FPS for each condition, and compared the performance of each model based on these values. We also analyzed the changes in model performance due to the data preprocessing method to derive the conditions that have the greatest impact on improving the performance of the fire object detection model. The experimental results showed that for the fire object detection model using the YOLOv5s6.0 model, data augmentation that can change the color of the flame, such as saturation, brightness, and exposure, is most effective in improving the performance of the fire object detection model. The real-time fire object detection model developed in this study can be applied to equipment such as existing CCTV, and it is believed that it can contribute to minimizing fire damage by enabling early detection of fires occurring in various materials.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.492-501
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• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of self-reported cigarette smoking status and investigate factors associated with the accuracy self-reported and measured urinary cotinine in Korean adults. Methods: We used data from the $1^{st}$ Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2009-2011) among adults aged ${\geq}19$ years (N=6,246). The survey examined self-reported smoking status, and urinary cotinine was regarded as the biomarker of exposure to tobacco smoke. Urinary cotinine was analyzed using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS version 20.0, which uses the sample weight and calculates variance estimates to adjust for the unequal probability of selection into the survey. Results: We calculated a cut-off point (53.3 ug/L) by using a ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve. The smoking prevalence was 24.6% based on self-reported data and 28.2% based on urinary cotinine concentrations. When we assessed the agreement between self-reported and urinary cotinine, we found an average agreement of 97.7% among self-reported smokers and 94.5% among self-reported non-smokers. Among self-reported smokers, factors affected the discrepancy were age, household economic status and average number of cigarettes smoked per day. On the other hand, gender, former smoking experience, and exposure to SHS (second hand smoke) were associated with discrepancies among self-reported non-smokers. Conclusion: These results suggest that self-reported data on smoking status provide a valid estimate of actual smoking status. In future research, we will conduct a continuous monitoring study for reliability verification of the data to reduce potential interpretation errors.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.7
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• pp.245-250
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• 2015

Purpose: Wheezing following viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children <2 years of age is an important risk factor for the development of asthma later in life; however, not all children with viral LRTIs develop wheezing. This study investigated risk factors for the development of wheezing during viral LRTIs requiring hospitalization. Methods: The study included 142 children <2 years of age hospitalized for LRTIs with at least one virus identified as the cause and classified them into children diagnosed with LRTIs with wheezing (n=70) and those diagnosed with LRTIs without wheezing (n=72). Results: There were no significant differences in the viruses detected between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, after adjusting for potentially confounding variables including sex and age, the development of wheezing was strongly associated with parental history of allergic diseases (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 20.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.22-126.48), past history of allergic diseases (aOR, 13.95; 95% CI, 1.34-145.06), past history of hospitalization for respiratory illnesses (aOR, 21.36; 95% CI, 3.77-120.88), exposure to secondhand smoke at home (aOR, 14.45; 95% CI, 4.74-44.07), and total eosinophil count (aOR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.01-1.02). Conclusion: Past and parental history of allergic diseases, past history of hospitalization for respiratory illnesses, exposure to secondhand smoke at home, and total eosinophil count were closely associated with the development of wheezing in children <2 years of age who required hospitalization for viral LRTIs. Clinicians should take these factors into consideration when treating, counseling, and monitoring young children admitted for viral LRTIs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.161-166
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• 2016

This study was designed to investigate whether or not onion peel extract can lower blood lipid levels in rats exposed to cigarette smoke (CS) extract with a high-fat diet. Initially, male Sprague-Dawley rats were housed individually in a stainless steel, wire-bottomed cage with free access to AIN-93G diet. Rats were weight-matched and assigned to the following five groups: 1) control rats (CT) fed standard AIN-93G diet alone, 2) control rats exposed to CS extract (CT+CS), 3) high-fat group (HF) fed standard AIN-93 diet supplemented with 3% lard and 0.2% cholesterol, 4) high-fat group exposed to CS extract (HF+CS) fed standard AIN-93 diet supplemented with 3% lard and 0.2% cholesterol plus CS extract, and 5) high-fat plus onion peel (OP) extract group exposed to CS extract (HF+CS+OP) fed standard AIN-93 diet supplemented with 3% lard, 0.2% cholesterol, and onion peel extract (20 mg/17 g diet) plus CS extract. Using this feeding protocol, all animals completely consumed their respective diets throughout the 6 week duration. Blood was collected via the orbital sinus at weeks 0, 3, and 6, following overnight food deprivation. OP extract feeding resulted in significant reductions in blood triglyceride, total cholesterol, and non-HDL-cholesterol. Further, serum activities of aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase were significantly reduced by OP extract at 6 weeks. These results provide clear evidence that onion peel extract has a profound inhibitory effect on blood lipids in rats exposed to CS extract. These findings suggest that OP extract can be used as an effective means in alleviating the serum lipid concentration after CS exposure.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2018

After signing the WHO FCTC in 2003, South Korea ratified the FCTC in 2005. This study was conducted to provide data on toxic constituents that can be used as useful information for the level of exposure to Korean smokers. Emissions data from five brands of cigarettes were tested under the ISO and "Canadian Intense (HCI)" smoking regimes, respectively. We conducted an analysis of 25 compounds containing nicotine, tar, carbonyls, phenolics, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and semi-VOC cigarette smoke. Tar and nicotine showed levels of 4.3 to 5.8 mg/cig and 0.4 to 0.5 mg/cig, respectively, which are within the range of tolerance presented in ISO 8243. In the case of carbonyls, formaldehyde was detected within a range of 8.2 to $14.3{\mu}g/cig$, and acetaldehyde was present within a range of 224.7 to $327.2{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO smoke regime. Crotonaldehyde was not detected under the ISO regime, and all of the carbonyls showed values 2.3 to 4.5 times higher under the HCI regime than those under the ISO regime. Catechol, which showed a level of 47.0 to $80.5{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO regime and 117.5 to $184.7{\mu}g/cig$ under the HCI regime, was the highest constituent among the phenols. The amount of isoprene was 91.7 to $158.3{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO regime and 221.0 to 377.0 under the HCI regime. To summarize, most of the constituents showed a tendency to be detected at levels 2 to 4 times higher under the HCI regime than under the ISO regime. Above all, these results represent the first analysis in Korea from an independent institute of tobacco companies under accreditation of ISO 17025.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2010

연구목적: 본 연구는 일반인의 비직업적 노출에 대한 혈중 16종의 다환방향족탄화수소(PAHs) 의 농도르 분석하여 PAHs의 백그라운드 노출 농도를 평가하는 것이다. 내용 및 방법: 농촌지역에 거주(비직업적 노출로서 16종 다환방향족탄화수소가 특정한 환경오염을 받지 않은 지역에 거주)하는 156명의 연구 참여자의 혈중 16가지 다환방향족탄화수소 농도의 기하평균치를 간접흡연군, 구운 음식물섭취군과 각대조군을 비교 하였다. 혈중 16종의 다환방향족탄화수소의 농도는 질량분석기를 장착한 가스크로마토그라피법과 헤드스페이스 마이크로고체상 추출법에 의하여 분석하였다. 결과: 연구참여자 중, 간접흡연자들에서 4종의 다환방향족탄화수소 아세나프틸렌(p<0.01), 아세나프텐(p<0.1), 플로렌(p<0.01), 피렌(p=0.05)가 대조군 보다 유의하게 높았다. 또한 구운육류와 생선 섭취군에서는 벤조(a)피렌(p<0.1)이 대조군 보다 유의하게 높았다. 결론: 간접흡연과 구운음식물 섭취는 비직업적 노출에서 다환방향족탄화수소 노출원의 가능성이 높다고 추정된다. 혈중 다환방향족탄화수소는 한국일반인의 비직업적 노출 농도로 사용 가능하다고 생각된다.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.114-119
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the reference values and factors influencing blood lead levels among Korean adolescents. Methods: The study population consisted of 1,585 adolescents (801 males, 784 females; aged 10-19 years) who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010-2013. We analyzed blood lead concentrations in relation to demographic/lifestyle characteristics for all participants. "Reference values" of blood lead levels were calculated as the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval of the 95th percentile. Results: The average "reference value" for blood lead concentrations among Korean adolescents was $2.25{\mu}g/dL$ ($2.49{\mu}g/dL$ for males, $2.07{\mu}g/dL$ for females), and the geometric mean of the blood lead concentrations was $1.34{\mu}g/dL$. Males had higher blood lead concentrations than females (male, $1.48{\mu}g/dL$; female, $1.19{\mu}g/dL$; P<0.001). Elementary school students had higher blood lead concentrations than junior and senior high school students ($1.44{\mu}g/dL$ vs. $1.31{\mu}g/dL$, P<0.001). Participants living in detached houses had higher blood lead concentrations than those living in apartments (P<0.001) and current smokers had higher concentrations than nonsmokers or participants with secondhand smoke exposure (P<0.05). Additionally, participants with excessive alcohol consumption had higher levels than non-drinkers (P<0.001). Conclusion: This study provides national reference data on blood lead concentrations stratified by demographic and lifestyle factors among Korean adolescents. Further studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between increased lead exposure and demographic factors including type of housing.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.139-146
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• 2013

Objectives: Cigarette smoking prevalence among adolescent males in rural areas of Korea has increased in recent years. The aim of this study was to explore the factors related to increasing trends in cigarette smoking among adolescent males living in rural areas. Methods: The raw data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey from 2006 to 2009 were used. Data were analyzed by using the method of complex survey data analysis considering complex sampling design. Multiple logistic regression models were used to explore the factors affecting cigarette smoking. We evaluated the linear time trends in the prevalence of factors that were related to current smoking status and the linear time trends in cigarette smoking in groups stratified by the exposure to each factor using logistic regression models. Finally, we examined the contributions of the factors to the time trends in cigarette smoking by adjusting for each of those factors in the baseline regression models and changes in the adjusted odds ratio by survey year. Results: A statistically significant increasing trend in smoking was observed after adjusting for the factors affecting cigarette smoking. Significant factors related to cigarette use were perceived stress, experience with depression, current alcohol drinking, exposure to secondhand smoke, and academic performance. The factor related to increasing trends in cigarette smoking was academic performance. Conclusions: Stress about academic performance is an important factor affecting the increase in cigarette smoking among adolescent males in a rural area of Korea.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.85-92
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• 1999

Indoor air quality tends to be the dominant contributor to personal exposure because most people spend over 90% of their time indoors. For some contaminants, exposure to indoor air poses a potentially greater health threat than outdoor air exposures. Indoor nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) levels are mainly affected gas range, flue gas spillage, kerosene heaters, wood-burning appliances and cigarette smoke. In addition, indoor $NO_2$ levels are influenced by such house characterization as surface reaction and air exchange rate. In this study, the measurements of indoor and outdoor $NO_2$ concentrations were taken using identical protocols, and information was collected on housing characteristics using identical questionnaires in 14 houses out of 15 houses for daily 30 daily 30 days in Brisbane, Australia.The usage of gas range was the most contributing factor in indoor $NO_2$ concentration in relation to house characteristics. Average indoor and outdoor ratios of NO2 concentration in electronic and gas cooking houses were $0.6{\pm}0.1$ and $0.9{\pm}0.2$, respectively. The frequency distributions of $NO_2$ concentration in each house were approximately log-normal Geometric mean of indoor $NO_2$ concentrations of electronic and gas cooking houses for daily 30 days ranged from 2.5 ppm to 11.5 ppm with a mean 6.8 and from 4.7 ppm to 28.6 ppm with a mean 15.6 ppm, respectively. The $NO_2$ concentrations between electronic and gas cooking houses were significantly different (p<0.05). Since each house has different life-style and house characteristics, sampling interval to measure the $NO_2$ levels was recommended above 7 days.