• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.322-326
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• 2014

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA) recently it was reported that the children (< 5 year-old children) were more susceptible to Foodborne-illness. Confectionery products should be strictly controlled because they are children-preferred foods. Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS, South of Korea) tried to monitor contamination of organisms in confectionery products (such as biscuits, candies, chewing gums and ice candies) distributed in South Korea. MFDS evaluated the levels of indicator organisms: total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli as well as the levels of food-borne illness organisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens. Experimental plans for microbiological test were in accordance with the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Food (ICMSF). For this study, 1,005 samples were collected and from Seoul and Gyeongin region, South Korea. The average level of total aerobic bacteria in 1,005 samples was 1.7 log Colony Forming Unit(CFU)/g and the detection rate was 26.8%. The average level of Bacillus cereus was detected in 1.7 log CFU/g and the rate was 0.9%. There was no detection of coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens. The results of this study will be provided as the basic data to set the reasonable microbiological criteria of Korea Food Code.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.193-200
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• 2019

The study was conducted surveying ultrasound room workers on hospital infection awareness in Daejeon and Choong-chunng region. The contamination of ultrasonic probes used in clinical trials was measured using ATP, and the results were verified after using 70% alcohol sterilization. It was measured on the group's general characteristics and the specific categories such as academic background, job type, having professional certificate and infection education. After the examination, the gel removal and method, disinfection status of the probe and variable correlation analysis were performed to analyze the recognition of the ultrasonic probe disinfection. After examination in ultrasound room, it was found that towels were used the most for cleaning, and the gel container was not replaced for more than three months. After 70% alcohol disinfection, ATP contamination was reduced from $1055.4{\pm}944.2$ to $133.5{\pm}93.2$ and the result was analyzed to be statistically significant.(${\rho}<0.01$) The found bacteria were CNS, Gram positive bacillus, and Micrococcus specs. In order to solve this problem, 70% alcohol sterilization was applied and the bacteria were not detected after the treatment. The research shows that regular training on infection control and efforts to prevent infection are necessary, and that 70% alcohol is effective in disinfect the bacteria. Therefore, the medical institution should provide active hospital infection control education to improve the awareness of hospital infection among workers and contribute to the prevention of patient infection. It is also understood that proper use of the results of this study will help prevent infection by means of ultrasonic probes.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.5-13
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• 2012

For the last decade the amount of waste has rapidly been increased in South Korea and many waste landfills have been built according to government guidelines specifying required systems such as landfill liner, leachate collecting facilities, final cover system, etc. This effort has led the recently constructed landfills to be under well managed sanitary condition. In a meanwhile closed waste-landfill sites in the past before the adoption of the government guidelines exits under unsanitary condition. In these cases untreated leachate flew out to the surroundings due to the absence of liner and leachate collecting facilities and caused groundwater and soils to be contaminated. Waste generated odor and gas also brought civil complaints. Because environmental influences bring serious problems nearby sites, it is required to have unsanitary waste-landfills to be appropriately treated and managed. A study to evaluate environmental influence and contamination level of surroundings nearby and on the unsanitary landfills is necessary before the establishment of "Management guide of closed landfill site." This paper presents an environmental evaluation for the closed site, Doil-dong landfill, according to "Closed landfill management regulation" by Ministry of Environment. "D" landfill, located in Pyeongtaek city, has possobility to contaminate surrounding surfacewater and groundwater by leakage of leachate. The in-situ stabilization carried out to build the DMW(deep soil mixing cutoff wall) wall and drainage systems.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.183-187
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• 2008

The objective of this study was to assess the level of contamination of dental equipment surfaces by Staphylococcus aureus and to obtain basic information for the prevention against cross infection between students and outpatients. Human samples were collected by rubbing the oral cavity, anterior noses, and lip of students and outpatients with sterile cotton swabs. Environmental samples were collected from 11 sites at practical laboratory, 4 sites at seminar room, and 5 sites at sterilizing room before, during, and after clinical procedures. These samples were cultured on brain-heart infusion agar at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours. Gram-stained and identified as S. aureus colonies were counted each period and these results were analyzed by t-test and ANOVA test. In human, oral cavity showed the greatest S. aureus counts and there were no statistically significant differences between students and outpatient. Practical laboratory revealed the greatest S. aureus among all environmental groups. The greatest number of S. aureus was observed during clinical procedures (P < 0.05) and light handles, chair head, and spittoon showed a high level of statistically significant differences. In conclusion, S. aureus was dispersed in human and dental clinical environment and increased their number during clinical procedures.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.81-97
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to evaluate hazard factors in the steps of production, holding and assembly and service of jabchae that were served by contracted management in school meal foodservice. And method of control with the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)program was suggested. The hazard factors in jabchae product had come from the temperature, time, growth of microbiological equipment and utensils. Almost of raw materials, prepreparation and storage, cooking, holding, serving established the critical control point. It has shown that the microbiological quality of raw materials for jabchae was a little inferior at the time of receiving based on the total plate count(10$^3$∼10 $^{5}$ ), coliform(0∼10$^3$). However microbiological quality become acceptable level by washing and a few disinfection method. Microbiological growth has increased in 3hr at room temperature up to 5.1${\times}$10$^2$ after preparation of jobchae. In conclusion, it is extremly important to reduce hoiding and serving time and to avoid treating food within the danger zone for food safeness. In addition, the prevention of cross-contamination during mixing the ingredients with improper equipment and with insanitary treatments by workers was also important to keep the food safe in this foodservice facility.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.464-472
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• 2014

The Codex Committee of Contaminants in Food (CCCF) has been discussing a new standard for arsenic (As) in rice since 2010 and a code of practice for the prevention and reduction of As contamination in rice since 2013. Therefore, our current studies focus on setting a maximum level of As in rice and paddy soil by considering bioavailability in the remediation of As contaminated soils. This study aimed to select an appropriate single chemical extractant for evaluating the mobility of As in paddy soil and the bioavailability of As to rice. Nine different extractants, such as deionized water, 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$, 0.1 M HCl, 0.2 M $C_6H_8O_7$, 0.43 M $HNO_3$, 0.43 M $CH_3COOH$, 0.5 M $KH_2PO_4$, 1 M HCl, and 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ were used in this study. Total As content in soil was also determined after aqua regia digestion. The As extractability of the was in the order of: Aqua regia > 1 M HCl > 0.5 M $KH_2PO_4$ > 0.43 M $HNO_3$ > 0.2 M $C_6H_8O_7$ > 0.1 M HCl > 0.43 M $CH_3COOH$ > deionized water > 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ > 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$. Correlation between soil extractants and As content in rice was in the order of : deionized water > 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$ > 0.43 M $CH_3COOH$ > 0.1 M HCl > 0.5 M $KH_2PO_4$ > 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ > 0.2 M $C_6H_8O_7$ > 0.43 M $HNO_3$ > 1M HCl > Aqua regia. BCF (bioconcentration factor) according to extractants was in the order of : 0.01M $Ca(NO_3)_2$ > 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ > deionized water > 0.43 M $CH_3COOH$ > 0.1 M HCl > 0.43 M $HNO_3$ > 0.2 M $C_6H_8O_7$ > 0.5 M $KH_2PO_4$ > 1 M HCl > Aqua regia. Therefore, 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$ ($r=0.78^{**}$) was proven to have the greatest potential for predicting As bioavailability in soil with higher correlation between As in rice and the extractant.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.359-369
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• 2018

An essential measure to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAI) is to develop a consistent system of surveillance, thereby promoting a reliable situation diagnosis to perform efficient control for the problem. Patient-to-patient transmission of pathogens within the hospital plays a substantial role in the epidemiology of HAIs. Contamination of healthcare environments commonly occurs, including facilities surfaces (e.g., bed rails, bedside tables), drinking water, cooling tower water, endoscopic instruments, food, airborne, endotoxin test, sterile test and medical equipment, with pathogenic organisms. In addition, epidemiological analysis is performed by multi locus sequence tying, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis for active surveillance. Therefore, an environmental surveillance culture test for prevention improves patient safety and blocks infection agents. Effective infection control and increased safety are possible by controlling the national infection control system. In conclusion, this study contributes to an effective infection control system through the standardization of active surveillance culture laboratory and secure expertise as infection control specialist. The primary objective of the standardization is to improve the safety of the nation's healthcare system by reducing the rates of HAIs.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.237-243
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• 2020

Listeria sp. is one of the pathogenic bacteria causes the infection listeriosis, through mainly raw food such as fishery food, dairy food and vegetables. Listeria sp. is a Gram-positive, non-spore-forming, motile, and facultative anaerobic bacterium. Because of the tolerance of Listeria sp. to low temperature and high salt concentration, it is very difficult to prevent them contaminated in the food, which do not require heating, especially, such as raw fishery products. So prevention and removal of bacterial contamination at the food manufacturing stage is the best method. In this study, therefore, several natural products including Psidium guajava and Geranium thunbergii were screened to investigate the antibacterial activity against Listeria sp., with expectation of fewer side effects and fewer resistance problems. Significant effects of two extracts were confirmed by well diffusion assay, MIC assay, and growth inhibition assay. P. guajava and G. thunbergii showed MIC values at 64-256 ㎍/mL meaning strong antibacterial activities against 6 kind of Listeria sp. tested. And the growth of Listeria sp. in the liquid media was actually inhibited by the addition of these two extracts.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 2001

Background : The Clostridium difficile is the most important identifiable cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea and colitis, which lengthens hospital stay. Recently incidence of C. difficile has been increasing in an university hospital, and an intervention for prevention and control of C. difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) was in prompt need. Methods : Subjects were the patients in the neurosurgical intensive care unit(NCU) where C. difficile was most frequently isolated. To increase participation of various departments, we used the CQI method, because management of CDAD requires a wholistic approach including control of antibiotics, barrier precaution and environmental cleaning and disinfection. Duration of the CQI activities was 9 months from April to December 1999. Results : The identified problems were misuse and overuse of antibiotics, lack of consciousness of medical personnels and the possibility of transmission from the contaminated environment and tube feeding. Education for proper use of antibiotics and management of C. difficile infection, use of precaution stickers, supplement of handwashing equipments, emphasis on environmental disinfection, and the change of the process of tube feeding were done. The CDAD rate in NCU was significantly decreased after the CQI program (8.6 case per 1,000 patient days from January to April 1999 vs 4.8 from May to December 1999). The distribution of neurosurgical wards including NCU among the total number of isolated C. difficile from the clinical specimens dropped from 49.4% in January to April to 33,7% in May to December. The average hospital stay of the neurosurgical department changed from 19.6 days to 15.2 days. Also, the effect of the CQI activities for C. difficile may have affected the incidence of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE). Duration and dosage of certain antibiotics used in the NS department were decreased. The distribution of neurosurgical department in the number of VRE isolated patients declined from 18.4% to 11.1%. Conclusion : Infection control of resistant organisms such as C. difficile is likely to be successful when management of environmental contamination an collaborative efforts of decreasing the patients' risk factors such as antibiotics management and decreasing the length of hospital stay come simultaneously. For this work, related departments need to actively participate in the entire process under a common target through discussions for identifying problems and bringing up solutions. In this respect, making use of a CQI team is an efficient method of infection control for gathering participation and cooperation of related departments.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.310-315
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• 2007

To investigate the effect of lactic acid bacteria in Andong-Soju fermentation and traditional nuruk maturation, several lactic acid bacteria were isolated from the Andong-Soju fermentation broth and traditionally matured nuruks using Lactobacilli MRS agar containing bromocresol purple. Among the isolated bacteria, ADS-L1 showed the highest lactic acid production and was dominant species in fermentation broth. Based on physiological characteristics and 16S rDNA sequencing results, the ADS-L1 was identified as Pediococcus acidilactici. The ADS-L1 grew well at $50^{\circ}C$, and under the acidic conditions at pH 4, whereas the ADS-L1 failed to grew by treatments of 12% (w/v) ethanol or 0.01N HCl. Considering the high temperature of nuruk above $50^{\circ}C$ during nuruk maturation and the high ethanol concentration of broth above 12% at the end-stage of Andong-Soju fermentation, these results suggested that the ADS-L1 is popular in matured nuruks and plays role in the early-stage of fermentation. Analysis of pH, brix, reducing sugar content, lactic acid production, and cell growth during the cultivation of ADS-L1 further suggested that the ADS-L1 may contribute the prevention of contamination by rapid and steady acidification of broth, and do not cause problems by rapid death at the end-stage of fermentation.