• Toxicological Research
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• v.17
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• pp.323-327
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• 2001

March 19, 1999, the renovation qf the runway of the Bo-Fai ai1field in Hua Hin, Prachubk-erikhan, Thailand, unearthed chemicals which were left over from the project "anch Hand Operation" held during the Vietnam war era. The chemical mixtures were analyzed by the US EPA, the Department oj Medical Sciences (DMSc), Ministry oj Public Health (MoPH) and the Pollution Control Department (PCD), the Ministry oj Science Technology and Environment (MOSTE) of Thailand, The samples were found to contain several defoliants used in the operation. They were 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, Dicamba, Cocydelic acid, and Dioxins. Due to the complexity of the issue, the multiplicity of possible health effects, and the socio-economic implications for imports and exports, the Thai Society of Toxicology submitted a proposal to request World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva. The assistance is for the area of chemical safety and called for immediate action to explore the magnitude qf risk involved with Dioxins. In this paper we present our approach to health risk assessment which takes into an account the epidemiological studies of high-risk group exposed to the Ranch Hand operation. Dioxins are endocrine disruption chemicals which public concerns are developed due to presumption that a hazard exists (www.eva.gov/dioxins/html) for which current methodologies are deemed insufficient. The recent concepts of how oxidative stress toxicants may affect health end points and biomarkers of exposure of exposed individuals are discussed. While research activities are undergoing, The Thai Society of Toxicology do not anticipate significant risk to local residents and the environment due to our concurrence with opinion from the international experts invited by the World Health Organization proposed to the local experts at a workshop in Bangkok.n Bangkok.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2005

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is recognized as a byproduct of industrialization that took place in the 20th century. The great attention to IAQ has been gained since 1980s, and led to numerous research studies that have mainly made in the developed countries. As the development of residential environment in Korea enters in the process of qualitative growth, IAQ has viewed as one of the core issues in the society, and research in relation to IAQ has been implemented until now in the fields of engineering and medical science. It is widely known that the sources and effects of indoor air pollution have been various, and IAQ research with multidisciplinary approaches is required. Nevertheless, few research embedded into a socio-behavioral approach to identifying interventive measures of residents and analyzing their choices is made. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of an interactive measure of residents in apartments that is air purification with phytoncide available in the market, and to investigate their self-reported effects of the air purifying substance on sick building syndrome symptoms. This study utilizes a field experiment design with pre-test and post-test, and the experiment is conducted in a natural field setting. A total of 87 test subjects from 32 households with already sick building syndrome are drawn via internet, and the participation is solely voluntary. The participants receive and use the air purifying substance, and are asked to use it continuously for two weeks and identify their self-reported symptoms of before- and after-use. The research findings indicate that air purification using phytoncide is effective to alleviate their symptoms in relation to sick building syndrome. Also it is noted that the participants report that the use of the air purification causes the positive impacts on their daily life. Further research is needed that compares the group with only humidifier and evaluates the mid-term and long-term use of the air purification and its effects.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.532-540
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• 2013

Background: Exposure factors for consumer products have been developed since the 1980s. Such exposure factors are important in risk assessment. Since the exposure/use patterns of consumer products in a country may reflect its respective cultural, meteorological, and socio-economic circumstances, unique Korean exposure factors for consumer products are needed. Such exposure factors are required for newly-enacted chemical regulations in Korea. For this review, published papers and survey reports on exposure factors of consumer products were examined for their assessment methodologies. Results: Investigation into exposure factors for consumer products used a variety of methods: home visit, online, telephone, and mail surveys using questionnaires; face to face interviews; modeling using a constructed database; and direct measurement. To collect more accurate exposure information or to check the reliability of the sampling method, some studies were repeated using the same questionnaire, in-home observation, direct measurement of usage, and videotaping. In Korea, nationwide exposure surveys were conducted five times over five years to obtain Korean exposure factors. However, with the exception of the $5^{th}$-year study, the surveys were online questionnaires and only the $5^{th}$-year study validated the accuracy of exposure information by re-visits and direct measurement. Conclusion: Accurate exposure factors are an essential part of risk assessment to assure safe use of consumer products. For better and safer management of consumer products, accurate exposure factors in Korea should be assessed for various exposure pathways.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.205-218
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• 2017

Objective: This study examined the correlation between variables influencing teacher sensitivity to infant classes in Educare Center teachers and teacher sensitivity, by classifying their personal psychological, socio-psychological, and work environment variables. Furthermore, it aimed to inquire the extent to which these variables influence teacher sensitivity. Methods: The study included 236 Educare Center teachers in charge of infant classes working in infant-caring facilities. Based on stepwise multiple regression analysis, a significance test was conducted for each variable. Results: Firstly, according to the correlations regarding teacher sensitivity to infant classes, for sensitive interaction, emotional stability showed significant positive correlation, while there were significant negative correlations with relationships with the director, colleagues,and parents; mean working hours in other places; and mean daily personal time. For insensitive interaction, there were significant negative correlations with emotional stability and mean daily break time, while there were significant positive correlations with relationships with the director, colleagues, and parents. Secondly, regarding the influences on teacher sensitivity to infant classes, for sensitive interaction, the most significant influences consisted in the relationships with colleagues and parents. On the other hand, for insensitive interaction, the most significant influences were the relationship with colleagues and emotional stability. Conclusion: Reducing interpersonal relationship stress and increasing the emotional stability of Educare Center teachers will increase their sensitivity level. Furthermore, the quality of care will be improved.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify factors influencing on performance of preventive actions to be exposed to infection in emergency nurses. Methods: Participants were 200 emergency nurses working in a regional emergency medical center, 4 local emergency medical centers, and 5 local emergency medical facilities in B city. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA, Scheff$\acute{e}$'s test, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression analysis using SPSS/WIN 21.0 programs. Results: There was no difference in performance of preventive actions to be exposed to infection by socio-demographic and job-related characteristics. The results of stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that levels of perception of preventive actions to be exposed to infection (${\beta}$=.40, p<.001) and protective environment on exposure to infection (${\beta}$=.22, p<.001) were significantly associated with performance of preventive actions, explaining 26.3% of the variance. Conclusion: In conclusion, improving performance of preventive actions to be exposed to infection is important to protect emergency nurses from exposure to infection. Thus, efforts to enhance protective environment on exposure to infection and to improve perceptions of preventive actions to be exposed to infection are necessary to improve the performance of preventive actions in emergency nurses.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.19 no.4 s.54
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• pp.34-47
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• 2004

Although Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) in Korea has been improved markedly over the past two decades, by enlarging the range of projects for assessment, instituting pub lic participation and environmental monitoring, and similar measures, it remains deficient in its coverage of human health in Environmental Impact Statements(EISs). Health Impact Assessment(HIA) can supply the necessary correctives. HIA is a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, programme, projects or legislative procedure may be judged for its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of these effects within it. The principle of health protection is, however, established as a primary concern in EIA processes, in practice health is scarcely mentioned or the discussion is limited to a description of effects through the biophysical environment. The whole range of possible effects on health, including those mediated by socio-economic factors is often ignored, and no effective mechanism are in place to successfully incorporating health criteria and expertise into environmental, assessment(EA) that include ElA, SEA. These are foremost among the current issues facing EIA in Korea.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.1483-1496
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• 2001

Small ruminants form an important economic and ecological niche in small farm systems and agriculture. Their current low level of contribution is dismal, and is not commensurate with the potential capacity for higher levels of production. The context for productivity enhancement and increased socio-economic contribution relates to large sizes of small ruminant populations; wide distribution across various agro-ecological zones and production systems; and diversity of breeds, where 66% of all goat and 57% of sheep breeds in Asia are found in China, India and Pakistan. The advantages and disadvantages of small ruminants over larger ruminants are enumerated with reference to adaptation and environment, small size, production systems and products and interactions with the environment. Discussion focuses especially on efficiency of meat production and niche markets for higher-priced goat meat, and inefficient marketing systems given an estimated 40-45% loss of income to farmers presently. Increasing the quantity of meat produced is related to live weight and the total number of animals at Slaughter, which in turn, depend on the total number of offsprings weaned and lifetime productivity. At the national level, priority attention is essential to build up numbers in concerted breeding programmes, selection for efficiency of reproduction and meat production, and improvements to make traditional markets and marketing systems to respond to the changing environmental and consumer preferences. Post-production systems are neglected and improvements are associated with collection, handling, marketing, slaughter facilities and consumer requirements. Potential opportunities to expand and benefit from integrating small ruminants into annual and perennial cropping systems remain largely unexplored. Important development imperatives include choice of species and better use of available breeds, appropriate production systems that match available feed resources, and linkages between production, products and by-products to markets. Affirmative action is necessary, backed by official policy support, institutional commitment and increased resource use, that can target poverty and directly benefit the poor, and shift subsistence production to a more market-oriented opportunity. These efforts together constitute the challenges for both the owners and producers of small ruminants in the immediate future, as also the will to accelerate increased productivity, improve their livelihoods and promote rural growth.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.487-498
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• 2015

The energy problem has occurred because of the effects of rising temperature and growing population and GDP. Prediction for the energy demand is required to respond these problems. Therefore, this study will predict heating and cooling energy consumption in residential sector to be helpful in energy demand management, particularly heating and cooling energy demand management. The AIM/end-use model was used to estimate energy consumption, and service demand was needed in the AIM/end-use model. Service demand was estimated on the basis of formula, and energy consumption was estimated using the AIM/end-use model. As a result, heating and cooling service demand tended to increase in 2050. But in energy consumption, heating decreased and cooling increased.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.149-163
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• 2017

With the intensification of urban development in Chinese cities, mixed land use in urban centers extends vertically into 3-D and expands its scale from a single building to commercial clusters. The multi-level pedestrian system in city centers also changed its role from one of traffic isolation to spatial integration, where transit nodes, street sidewalks, squares, building entrances, atriums, and corridors are interconnected, both horizontally and vertically, into a whole spatial system, within which pedestrian flows are guided and shopping facilities are arranged. This paper uses spatial configuration analysis of space syntax to examine the impacts of spatial patterns on movement distribution and the business performance of tenant mix in the multi-level commercial system of the Nanshan Commercial Cultural District in Shenzhen, China. The key objective is to better understand the interactions between the socio-economic variables and spatial design parameters of a shopping complex. The research findings point to the importance of multiplicity between syntactic variables and other spatial variables in influencing the pedestrian flows, business performance and tenant mix in highly complex commercial systems. Particularly noteworthy is the relationship between spatial accessibility measures and the location of escalators, and the ways in which individual commercial buildings are embedded into the overall spatial system. The study suggests that this may lead to the preliminary identification of the spatial qualities of effective vertical extensions of mixed land use in a high-density urban settings.

• Information and Communications Magazine
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.97-106
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• 1998

It is crucial to predict the variabilities of the near-earth space environment associated with the solar activity, which cause enormous socio-economic impacts on mankind. The geomagnetic storm prediction scheme adopted in this study is designed to predict such variabilities in terms of the geomagnetic indices, AE and Dst, the cross-polar cap potential difference, the energy dissipation rate over the polar ionosphere and associated temperature increase in the thermosphere. The prediction code consists of two parts; prediction of the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field based upon actual flare observations and estimation of various electrodynamic quantities mentioned above from the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling function 'epsilon' which is derivable through the predicted solar wind parameters. As a test run, the magnetic storm that occurred in early November, 1993, is simulated and the results are compared with the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field measured by the Japanese satellite, Geotail, and the geomagnetic indices obtained from ground magnetic observatories. Although numerous aspects of the code are to be further improved, the comparison between the simulated results and the actual measurements encourages us to use this prediction scheme as the first appoximation in forecasting the disturbances of the near-earth space environment associated with solar flares.