• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.158-164
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• 2017

Objectives: To identify bacterial contamination rates of laryngoscope blades and handles stored in emergency crash carts by hospital and area according to the frequency of intubation attempts. Methods: One hundred forty-eight handles and 71 blades deemed ready for patient use from two tertiary hospitals were sampled with sterile swabs using a standardized rolling technique. Samples were considered negative (not contaminated) if no colonies were present on the blood agar plate after an 18-hour incubation period. Samples were stratified by hospital and according to the frequency of intubation attempts (10 attempts per year) using the ${\chi}^2-test$ and Fisher exact test. Results: One or more species of bacteria were isolated from 4 (5.6%) handle tops, 20 (28.2%) handles with knurled surfaces, and 27 (18.2%) blades. No significant differences were found in microbial contamination levels on the handle tops and blades between the two hospitals and two areas according to the frequency of intubation attempts. However, significant differences were found between the two hospitals and two areas in the level of microbial contamination on the handles with knurled surfaces (p<0.05). Conclusions: Protocols and policies must be reviewed to standardize procedures to clean and disinfect laryngoscope blades and handles; handles should be re-designed to eliminate points of contact with the blade; and single-use, one-piece laryngoscopes should be introduced.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.57-64
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• 2013

Objectives: Skin exposure to diisocyanates may be an important risk factor for respiratory sensitization to leading asthma. However little is known about the extent of worker's diisocyanates skin exposure and the effectiveness of personal protective equipments in polyurethane foam manufacturing companies. This study provides data on diisocyanates skin exposure, surface diisiocyantes contamination of foams and the effectiveness of personal protective gloves in five polyurethane foam manufacturing companies. Materials and methods Colorimetric SWYPE pads are used for the determination of diisocyanates on surfaces of workers skin and polyurethanes foams. Results: The forearms, necks and faces of workers in polyurethane foam manufacturing companies were found to be contaminated with diisocyanates. Heavy contamination with uncured diisocyanates at large block foams surfaces were found. Personal gloves of workers for skin protection showed significant penetrations by diisocyanates. Conclusions: We found that all workers in polyurethane foam manufacturing companies could be exposed to diisocyanates by skin exposure. Also further researches which would better quantify skin exposure are needed.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.279-285
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• 2015

This study studied samples taken off surfaces at three sites (Unit chairs, light handles, cuspidors) of 19 dental hospitals and 28 clinics located in Gyeonggi-do and Incheon, South Korea. The bacterial contamination levels of surfaces were $44.82{\times}10^3CFU/mL$ in cuspidors, higher than in unit chairs ($5.47{\times}10^3CFU/mL$) and light handles ($16.28{\times}10^3CFU/mL$). The values were statistically higher at dental hospitals than at dental clinics, the greater number of patients being associated with the higher bacterial cell count in the cuspidors. The results of identifying the strains isolated purely from surfaces at dental clinic showed Gram positive 47.3% and Gram negative 52.7%. Among Gram positive, the most numberous bacteria were Micrococcus luteus (10.9%), Bacillus pumilus (3.6%), and Staphylococcus aureus (3.6%). Among Gram negative, the most numberous bacteria were Acinetobacter ursingii (5.5%), Brevundimonas diminuta (4.5%), Chryseobacterium (Flavo.) indologenes (CDC IIb) (4.5%), and Methylobacterium sp. (4.5%). This study measures the level of bacterial contamination and identifies the strains isolated in dental clinics. It recognizes the importance of infection control, and the results of the study may be considered as the basis for establishing specific plans for prevention of infection.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2007

A model for radiological dose assessment in an urban environment, METRO-K has been developed. Characteristics of the model are as follows ; 1) mathematical structures are simple (i.e. simplified input parameters) and easy to understand due to get the results by analytical methods using experimental and empirical data, 2) complex urban environment can easily be made up using only 5 types of basic surfaces, 3) various remediation measures can be applied to different surfaces by evaluating the exposure doses contributing from each contamination surface. Exposure doses contributing from each contamination surface at a particular location of a receptor were evaluated using the data library of kerma values as a function of gamma energy and contamination surface. A kerma data library was prepared fur 7 representative types of Korean urban buildings by extending those data given for 4 representative types of European urban buildings. Initial input data are daily radionuclide concentration in air and precipitation, and fraction of chemical type. Final outputs are absorbed dose rate in air contributing from the basic surfaces as a function of time following a radionuclide deposition, and exposure dose rate contributing from various surfaces constituting the urban environment at a particular location of a receptor. As the result of a contaminative scenario for an apartment built-up area, exposure dose rates show a distinct difference for surrounding environment as well as locations of a receptor.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.491-495
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• 1999

In this study, we focus on Ca contaminant which affects on the roughness Si substrate after thermal process. The initial Si substrates were contaminated intentionally by using a standard Ca solution. The contamination levels of Ca impurity were measured by TXRF and the chemical composition of that was analyzed by AES. Then we gre the thermal oxide to investigate the effect of Ca contaminants. The microroughness of the Si surface, the thermal oxide surface, and the surface after removing the thermal oxide were measured to examine the electrical characteristics. The initial substrates that were contaminated with the standard solution of Ca exhibited the contamination levels of 10\ulcorner~10\ulcorneratoms/$\textrm{cm}^2$ which was measured by TXRF. The Ca contaminants were detected by AES and exhibited the peaks of Ca, SI, C and O.After intentional contamination, the surface microroughness of this initial substrate was increased from $1.5\AA$ to 4$\AA$ as contamination levels became higher. The microroughness of the thermal oxide surfaces of both contaminated and bare Si substrates exhibits similar values. But the microroughness of the contaminated$ Si/SiO_2$ interface was increased as contamination increased. The thermal oxide of contaminated substrate exhibited the small minority carrier diffusion length, low breakdown voltage, and slightly high leakage current.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.359-367
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• 2005

This study was carried out to understand the contamination patterns of Listeria in pork processing plants. A total of 402 samples were collected from carcass, pork during processing, surfaces of equipment and environment, and 238 isolates of Listeria species were identified. L. innocua was found in 64.7% of the isolates, L. monocytogenes in 33.2%, and L. welshimeri in 2.1%. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis performed to investigate the origin and routes of Listeria contamination, showed 21 composite types of L. monocytogenes and 26 composite types of L. innocua. It was confirmed that Listeria contamination begins with contaminated incoming carcass and ever-present contaminants in the processing environments. The persistence and dissemination of the same strain of L. monocytogenes and L. innocua throughout the processing line revealed that the sanitation standard operating procedure should be implemented to minimize the risk of colonization in the workplace. Molecular subtyping of L. innocua allowed us to tracing the possibility of cross-contamination during processing.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.317-321
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• 2021

As the large-scale renewable energy power plant increases, the high-capacity and compact Energy Storage System (ESS) is required. However, this trend could reduce the insulation reliability of ESS. In this study, the surface flashover characteristics for four types of solid insulators are investigated in the uniform electric field with AC and Lightning Impulse (LI) voltage waveforms under various contamination levels. In addtion, insulator surfaces are compared based on the contact angle before and after surface flashover. The experimental results show that AC flashover voltage is dependent on the materials and the contamination level, but LI flashover voltage is only associated with the contamination level. Especially, AC flashover voltage of PC (PolyCarbonate) is higher than that of other insulators, which is associated with the unique and sequential creepage discharge propagation pattern of PC. The localized discharges on the surface of PC form corresponding tracking points. Then, the interconnected trackings result in the complete flashover. This flashover patterns degrade the surface of PC much more than that of epoxy and Bulk Molding Compoud (BMC). Thus, the contact angle of PC is significantly reduced compared to that of other insulators. The increased hydrophilicity in the surface of PC enhances the insulator surface conductivity.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.85-92
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• 2015

PURPOSE. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of cleaning solutions on saliva-contaminated zirconia in comparison to air-abrasion in terms of resin bonding. MATERIALS AND METHODS. For saliva-contaminated air-abraded zirconia, seven cleaning methods)-no contamination (NC), water-spray rinsing (WS), additional air-abrasion (AA), and cleaning with four solutions (Ivoclean [IC]; 1.0 wt% sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS], 1.0 wt% hydrogen peroxide [HP], and 1.0 wt% sodium hypochlorite [SHC])-were tested. The zirconia surfaces for each group were characterized using various analytical techniques. Three bonded resin (Panavia F 2.0) cylinders (bonding area: $4.5mm^2$) were made on one zirconia disk specimen using the Ultradent jig method [four disks (12 cylinders)/group; a total of 28 disks]. After 5,000 thermocycling, all specimens were subjected to a shear bond strength test with a crosshead speed of 1.0 mm/minute. The fractured surfaces were observed using an optical and scanning electron microscope (SEM). RESULTS. Contact angle measurements showed that groups NC, AA, IC, and SHC had hydrophilic surfaces. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed similar elemental distributions between group AA and groups IC and SHC. Groups IC and SHC showed statistically similar bond strengths to groups NC and AA (P>.05), but not groups SDS and HP (P<.05). For groups WS, SDS, and HP, blister-like bubble formations were observed on the surfaces under SEM. CONCLUSION. Within the limitations of this in vitro study, some of the cleaning solutions (IC or SHC) were effective in removing saliva contamination and enhancing the resin bond strength.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.107-114
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the shear bond strength of two self-etching primer systems to primary teeth contaminated with saliva and blood. Clearfil SE Bond and AQ Bond were evaluated. One hundred specimens were made by seventy-five deciduous teeth(fifty anterior and twenty-five posterior teeth) and divided randomly into ten groups. Small flat dentinal surfaces were prepared by grinding the buccal, lingual and labial areas. Specific surface treatments were applied to each group: (1) a self-etching primer application(control group), (2) saliva contamination followed by primer(Group I), (3) primer curing followed by saliva contamination (Group II), (4) blood contamination followed by primer(Group III), (5) primer curing followed by blood contamination(Group IV). After bonding of composite resin(Z100, 3M, USA) to contaminated sample surfaces and thermocycling(1,000 cycles), shear bond strengths were measured using Universal Testing Machine(Zwick Z020, Zwick Co., Germany). The results were as follows; 1. Group I showed lower shear bond strength than control group but no statistically significant difference was found(P>0.05). 2. Group II and blood contamination group(Group III & IV) showed significantly lower shear bond strength than control group(P<0.01). 3. The shear bond strength of Clearfil SE Bond was significantly higher than that of AQ Bond(P<0.05).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.72-78
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• 2009

Exposure to HDI(hexamethylene di-isocyanate) commonly used in vehicle crash repair workshops remains a leading cause of occupational asthma. Although skin and eye contamination are considered as absorption routes, there are no occupational exposure standards for skin and ocular exposure. This is the reason why there are more empirical data should be provided. Therefore this study was to determine contamination levels of HDI on the skin, eyes, work surfaces, respirators and eye protectors. There was evidence of contamination on a variety of work surfaces, for example, door handles, bench top and spray gun, etc. A high proportion(47~80%) of skin wipe samples from neck, forehead, back hand, palm and wrist was positive for HDI contamination, even though spray time was relatively brief. The contamination levels from spraying inside spray booth were generally higher than outside booth due to poor work practices and inappropriate personal protective use like safety gloves. Apprentices had higher exposure levels than the qualified painters, likely due to lack of the recognition of safety and hygiene. The extent of contamination inside the PPE might provide an indication of the potential for respiratory & skin exposure and ocular exposure. Eye fluid samples from 4 out of 14 workers had the positive detection of HDI contamination, due to poor work practices like no or inappropriate eye protection. Considering the potential for dermal & ocular exposure to contribute to possible health symptoms including respiratory sensitization, the empirical data point to a need for improving work practices and appropriate PPE selection, use and maintenance.