• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.20 no.2 s.49
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• pp.167-178
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• 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.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.61-71
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• 2020

Purpose: This mixed method study aimed to investigate patients' level of anxiety and their experience of this before undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Methods: A total of 125 patients answered a questionnaire assessing their pre-EGD level of anxiety, and a total of 17 patients participated in individual interviews regarding their experience of EGD-related anxiety. The SPSS Software program was used for survey data analysis and content analysis was used for qualitative data. Results: The mean anxiety score was 40.00±9.86 and the factors related to anxiety levels were being female (p<.001) and being a relatively young age (20-30 years old, p=.004). There were no significant differences shown in level of anxiety according to the purpose EGD was performed for: screening, diagnosis, or disease follow-up. In the qualitative analysis, however, patients who underwent a follow-up procedure as a result of stomach cancer exhibited more complicated feelings of anxiety and helplessness than others. For those who underwent EGD for diagnostic reasons, they worried about the test results and were concerned about possible life changes after diagnosis. Those for whom EGD was performed for screening purposes expressed concern only in the event of EGD complications. Conclusion: This study explored the nature of pre-EGD anxiety according to the purpose of the procedure. Nurses and doctors should be aware that patients undergoing EGD may have different levels and experiences of pre-procedure anxiety.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.127-135
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• 2017

Consumers tend to feel concern about disclosure of personal information and, at the same time, to avoid inconvenience of procedural complexity caused by the privacy protections. The purpose of current paper is to investigate relationships between opt-in procedural complexity and shopping behavior using smart phones, moderating by the amount of visual attentions using eyetrackers. Therefore, we created a virtual mobile Web-site in which the complexity of opt-in procedures in our experiment is manipulated and measured. Also, we measured the dwell-time of area of interest using SMI-RED 250 instrument for tracking the real eye movement. Results indicated that the levels of procedural complexity are related to repurchase, indicating a moderating effect of the amount of visual attentions. Finally, we discussed several theoretical and practical implications of management for mobile commerce.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.112-117
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• 2015

The analytical method for ethyl carbamate (EC) in maesil (Prunus mume) extract was developed with deuterium-labeled ethyl carbamate as an internal standard. Samples were neutralized with an addition of 1 N sodium hydroxide solution, followed by a solid phase extraction with a Chem Elut cartridge. A standard curve exhibited a good linearity with correlation coefficient of 0.9991. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 2.91 ng/g and 8.83 ng/g, respectively. The recovery rate of EC ranged from 91.40% to 120.90%. The precision never exceeded 12.57% (intra-day) and 11.03% (inter-day). Samples were comprised of 24 home-made and 7 commercially-available maesil extracts. Eight home-made samples contained EC at levels between 3.39 and 75.76 ng/g. Three commercially-available samples had EC at levels between 11.67 and 20.16 ng/g. Average daily intakes of EC from maesil extracts for consumers were 0.23 g/kg of body weight. Based on a benchmark dose confidence limit ($BMDL_{10}$) of 0.25 mg/kg of body weight/day, the margin of exposure (MOE) of EC in maesil extract for consumers was 94,150, which is not of concern. Considering that a daily intake of maesil extract has been increasing, further studies on the formation of EC in maesil extract is needed.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2016

Objectives: Alumina nanoparticles ($Al_2O_3$, Al-NPs) are used for various purposes, including as coating agents and paint additives. Their potential toxicity has raised concern for human health. This study focuses on exploring the toxic effects on the brain and kidneys caused by Al-NPs exposure in rats. Methods: The animals were orally administered Al-NPs at 10, 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight for 28 days following OECD TG 407. To determine the targeted toxicity of Al-NPs, histopathological examination and gene expression analysis were conducted on the rats. Results: The Al-NPs treatment induced kidney tubular dilatation. In the rat cerebrums, the expression levels of 126 genes experienced two-fold or greater increases in response to Al-NPs, including other genes encoding proteins involved in cell differentiation, transcription and signal transduction. In the rat kidneys, the expression levels of 152 genes also showed two-fold or greater increases in response to Al-NPs, including other genes encoding proteins involved in apoptosis, transcription and signal transduction. Conclusion: These results suggest that exposure to Al-NPs influences cellular signal pathways of kidney and cerebrum, and it can be a toxic indicators of nanometrials.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1667-1673
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• 2017

Antibiotics have long been of great benefit for people, both in the medical treatment of human disease and in animal food where they improve the growth performance and feed utilization during animal production. Antibiotics as in-feed supplements affect all stages of pork production, including the gestation, nursing, growing, and finishing stages, although the effects show stage-dependent differences. However, the use of antibiotics in animal feed has become a worldwide concern. This review describes why sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotic additives in animal feed have become an integral part of animal feeding programs for more than 70 years, particularly in pork production. It also discusses the threat of the long-term use of sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics in pork production. In recent years, the effectiveness of in-feed antibiotics has tended to decrease. This review analyzes this change from various perspectives. First, the equipment used at pig farms has improved dramatically and is more sanitary. Worldwide, more pig farms use pig farrowing crates, gestation crates, piglet nursery crates, flooring devices, piggery ventilation and cooler systems, automatic pig feeders, piggery heating equipment, and artificial insemination systems. In addition, scientists have replaced the use of antibiotics with organic acids, fermented mash, probiotics, prebiotics, minerals, oligosaccharides, enzymes, herbs/flavors, and protein/amino acids, and have improved management and husbandry techniques. In addition, animal welfare legislation has been aimed at improving the quality of the floors and living space, ensuring that animals have permanent access to fresh water, and setting a minimum weaning age. Finally, the prospects and the possibility of replacing antibiotics in pork production are described, in line with recent research results.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.21-30
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• 2013

Ethics involves distinguishing between what is right or wrong thereby making a correct choice. An organization should treat its internal as well as external stakeholders ethically. This research gives valuable insights on the prevailing ethical climate and potential organizational challenges in institutionalizing ethics and its management in the manufacturing sector. The present study is designed to analyze four parameters of ethical climate in the manufacturing sector with reference to different managerial levels, to identify the critical factor of the ethical code of conduct and to find correlations between four parameters of ethical climate. Descriptive research has been used and data are collected from 200 employees of three Indian companies of manufacturing sector using a well designed questionnaire. Analyzing data with SPSS, It has been found that overall good number of people believe that MBE (Management of Business Ethics) process is well implemented. People are well aware and trained and involved in the ethical process. Senior management is very much committed to promote the ethical environment in the organization and thus company values are well communicated to the employees. Concern resolution mechanism is well established in the organization. MBE in the organization is more prevalent in higher-level employees. Senior management commitment and reinforcement is very critical for CoC (code of conduct). Correlation between all the 4 parameters is positive and significant. But the parameters are not highly correlated with each other. Organizations need to work upon these parameters to promote an ethical climate in the organization by awarding or felicitating exemplary ethical behavior. More emphasis should be given on senior management commitment and reinforcement of the ethical behavior across all levels.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.127-132
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• 2015

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are persistent environmental pollutants, extremely stable, and possibly adversely affect human health. They are widely used in many industries and consumer goods, including sunscreen products. These substances are stable chemicals made of long carbon chains, having both lipid- and water-repellent qualities. The research objectives are (1) to find the most effective method for the preparation of semi-liquid samples by comparing solid phase extraction (SPE) and centrifugation after Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), and (2) to determine the contamination levels of PFOS and PFOA in waterproof sunscreen samples. All sunscreen samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Sunscreen samples were purchased from domestic and international brands sold in Thailand. Special chemical properties were considered for the selection of samples, e.g., those found in waterproof, sweat resistant, water resistant, and non-stick products. Considering the factors of physical properties, e.g., operation time, chemical consumption, and recovery percentage for selecting methods to develop, the centrifugation method using 2 mL of extracted sample with the conditions of 12,000 rpm and $5^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour after PLE was chosen. The highest concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were detected at 0.0671 ng/g and 21.0644 ng/g, respectively. Even though present concentrations are found at ng/g levels, the daily use of sunscreen products is normally several grams. Therefore, a risk assessment of PFOS and PFOA contamination in sunscreen products is an important concern, and more attention needs to be paid to the long-term effects on human health.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.317-324
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• 2001

Short-term effect of phosphogypsum on soil properties including acidification, salinity and metal availability were investigated under laboratory and field conditions. Phosphogypsum and mixtures of phosphogypsum and compost were added to soil and incubated in a laboratory condition with 15% moisture content. Phosphogypsum treatments were 2.5 and 5.0 g/kg soil and in the treatments of phosphogypsum and compost mixture 10 g of compost was added additionally. After the 30 days of incubation, an additional phosphogypsum and/or compost were added to the remaining soils at the same rates of the first treatments. pH, electrical conductivity, and available hazardous elements were measured periodically during the incubation. Field experiment was conducted in a plastic film house of mellon with four treatments of phosphogypsum and compost mixtures - 25+125, 50+125, 50+250 and 100+250 kg/165 $m^2$. pH, electrical conductivity, and hazardous elements in soil and total hazardous elements in leaf were measured. In the laboratory experiment, after 30 days of the first phosphogypsum application, soil pHs were lowered by 0.7-0.8 units. After the second treatment of phosphogypsum 0.2 units of additional acidification occurred. However, acidification was not observed in the soils treated with mixtures of phosphogypsum and compost. In the laboratory experiment, phosphogypsum treatments increased electrical conductivity very significantly. In field experiment, pH and electrical conductivity of soils treated with phosphogypsum were nearly the same as those of soil not treated with phosphogypsum. Since soil condition in the field study was an open system, the free acids and salts derived from phosphogypsum could be diffused down with water leaching through the soil profile and then any significant acidification or salt accumulation in the topsoil could not be observed. In both laboratory and field experiments, levels of available hazardous elements in soils treated with phosphogypsum were quite low and not different from the levels found in the control soil. Results obtained from this study suggest that application of phosphogypsum at appropriate rates on agricultural land appears of no concern in terms of acidity, salinity and hazardous element content of soil.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.157-165
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• 2009

Human erythropoietin (EPO) is a leading product in the biopharmaceutical market, but functional EPO has only been produced in mammalian cells, which limits its application and drives up the production costs. Using plants to produce human proteins may be an alternative way to reduce the cost. However, a recent report demonstrated that overexpression of the human EPO gene (EPO) in tobacco or Arabidopsis rendered males sterile and retarded vegetative growth, which raises concern whether EPO might interfere with hormone levels in transgenic plants. In the present study, we demonstrated that overexpressing EPO with additional 5'-His tag and 3' ER-retention peptides in tobacco did not cause any developmental defect compared to GUS plants. With our method, all 20 transgenic plants grew on selective medium and, further confirmed by PCR, were fertile. Most of them grew similarly compared to GUS plants. Only one transgenic plant (EPO2) was shorter in plant height but had twice the life span compared to other transgenic plants. When 11 randomly selected EPO plants, along with the abnormal plant EPO2, were subjected to RT-PCR analysis, all of them had detectable EPO transcripts. However, their protein levels varied considerably; seven of them had detectable EPO proteins analyzed by western blot. Our results indicate that overexpressing human EPO protein in plants does not have detrimental effects on growth and development. Our transformation systems allow us to further explore the possibility of glycoengineering tobacco plants for producing functional EPO and its derivatives.