• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.222-230
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• 2019

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate water quality in terms of microorganisms and identify the antibiotic resistance of Enterococci isolated from the recycling water in floor fountains at three parks and one reservoir in the Gwangju area. Methods: Water samples were analyzed for Enterococci using membrane Enterococcus indoxyl ${\beta}$ d glucoside agar (mEI) as described in USEPA Method 1600. The vancomycin-resistant Enterococci with VanA and VanB were identified by PCR. An examination of the antibiotic resistance of isolates against 14 antibiotics was performed by the disk diffusion method. Results: The drinking water quality criterion was exceeded for total colony counts in 68% of all recycling water samples. The average concentration of total califorms and fecal coliforms was 139,325 and 413 CFU/100 mL, respectively. VanA and VanB were not detected from the isolates. We found the antibiotic resistant Enterococci strains to be E. faecalis, E. faecium, E. durans, E. mundtii, E. hirae, and E. thailandicus. The isolates were resistant to Rifampin (50%), Erythromycin (25.8%), Tetracycline (10.2%), Nitrofurantoin (8.1%), Minocycline (3.1%), Erythromycin (1.2%), Penicillin (0.7%), Norfloxacin (0.5%), and Teicoplanin (0.5%) among the 14 antibiotics tested. Antibiotic resistance tests for Enterococci from the recycling water of floor fountains resulted in 30.2% showing resistance to two or more antibiotics. Conclusions: These results showed that the multi-antibiotic resistance of Enterococci, E. coli, and others should be investigated continuously in each environment field.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.23-35
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• 2021

In order to measure the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of a sample which is too large to use commercially available chamber, a stainless steel vacuum chamber (VC) (with an internal diameter of 205 mm and a height of 50 mm) was manufactured and the temperature of the chamber was controlled using an oven. After concentrating the volatiles of the sample in the chamber by helium gas, it was made possible to remove residual volatile substances present in the chamber under reduced pressure ((2 ± 1) × 10-2 mmHg). The chamber was connected to a purge & trap (P&T) using a 6 port valve to concentrate the VOCs, which were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after thermal desorption (VC-P&T-GC-MS). Using toluene, the toluene recovery rate of this device was 85 ± 2 %, reproducibility was 5 ± 2 %, and the detection limit was 0.01 ng L-1. The method of removing VOCs remaining in the chamber with helium and the method of removing those with reduced pressure was compared using Korean drinking water regulation (KDWR) VOC Mix A (5 μL of 100 ㎍ mL-1) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT, 2 μL of 500 ㎍ mL-1). In case of using helium, which requires a large amount of gas and time, reduced pressure ((2 ± 1) × 10-2 mmHg) only during the GC-MS running time, could remove VOCs and BHT to less than 0.1 % of the original injection concentration. As a result of analyzing volatile substances using VC-P&T-GC-MS of six types of cell phone case, BHT was detected in four types and quantitatively analyzed. Maintaining the chamber at reduced pressure during the GC-MS analysis time eliminated memory effect and did not affect the next sample analysis. The volatile substances in a cell phone case were also analyzed by dynamic headspace (HT3) and GC-MS, and the results of the analysis were compared with those of VC-P&T-GC-MS. Considering the chamber volume and sample weight, the VC-P&T configuration was able to collect volatile substances more efficiently than the HT3. The VC-P&T-GC-MS system is believed to be useful for VOCs measurement of inhomogeneous large sample or devices used inside clean rooms.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.436-445
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• 2008

Stroke is a serious disease despite recent improvements in the medical treatments available. Thirty-six stroke patients were interviewed as case and 36 non-stroke patients were interviewed as controls between February 2005 and August 2005 at Daegu S Medical Center. Information regarding the subjects' food habits was collected using the recall method from 5 years before the onset of stroke. Using interview techniques, we investigated how dietary habits and attitude influence nutrient intake. These results were analyzed by the $X^2$, Student's t-test and Chi-square test using the SPSS 12.0 program. This case-control study was performed to demonstrate the relationships among general quality factors (BMI, WHR, and family history of stroke) and lifestyle factors (smoking, exercise and alcohol drinking). The results were as follows. Analysis of the percentage of nutrient intake in terms of meal pattern showed that WHR was significantly higher in the case group than in the control group. Hypertension and diabetes were the most common preceding diseases associated with the risk of stroke. The frequencies of smoking, alcohol consumption (p<0.001) and exercise (p<0.05) were higher in the cases than in the controls. Thus, the findings of this study are consistent with those of previous studies and suggest that people should be advised to control hypertension, smoking, alcohol drinking and obesity in order to prevent the occurrence of stroke as these factors are major risk factors for stroke.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.151-161
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• 2006

This study was made to find out how health practice affect on nutrition status of the college freshmen in male and female. 400 freshmen students in 4year colleges were surveyed. Questionnaire and blood analysis were made. The contents of questionnaire contained general characteristics, health practice behavior, and food intake. The physical measurement included height, weight and blood pressure. The questions for health practice were about drinking, smoking, BMI, skipping breakfast and sleeping. Nutrient intake was expressed by DDS(Dietary Diversity Score by 5 food groups) and DVS (Dietary Variety Score) and 24-hrs recall method was used to find out the quantity of daily food intake. EAR% was calculated and NAR and MAR were produced. The results are as follows: 1) BMI was $22.77kg/m^2$ for males and $20.42kg/m^2$ for females. The ratio maintaining normal weight indicated by BMI of 18.5-23 was higher(p<0.001) for female students(63.2%) than males(56.5%). The ratio of overweight with over $23kg/m^2$ of BMI was 28.5% for males and 8.8% for females(p<0.001). 2)The ratio of drinking students was 59.4% for males and 40.6% for female(p<0.001). And the ratio of smoking students was 95.2% for males and 4.8% for females(p<0.001). 3) The ratio of poor health practice group was 35.7% for males and 25.5% for females, and that of excellent one was 25.4% for males and 33.1% for females(p<0.05). 4) In NAR, the lowest ratio was observed for the intake of Ca, Fe, Vitamin C and Vitamin $B_2$. The intake of Fe, Vitamin $B_2$ and phosphorus were different significantly according to sexuality. For Fe, female students showed lower level than male students(p<0.001). For Vitamin $B_2$, and phosphorus female students showed higher level(p<0.001). 5) In MAR, there was no difference according to sexuality in almost all of the ingredients. 6) For energy intake, male and female students showed 59% and 66% of EAR and it was insufficient for them. 7) For protein, more than 100% was obtained. The lowest ratio was observed for the intake of vitamin C 50.8%, Ca 53.6% and Fe 65.1% of EAR were obtained. The lowest intake ratio and for the intake of Fe female students obtained just 37.5% of EAR showing high risk of anemia. The intake of energy(p<0.001), phosphorus(p<0.01), niacin(p<0.05), Fe(p<0.001), and Vitamin $B_2$ (p<0.001) were different significantly according to sexuality. For Fe, female students showed lower level than male students(p<0.001). For energy, phosphorus, niacin, and Vitamin $B_2$ female students showed higher level(p<0.001) than male students. 8) For blood pressure, male students showed normal level of 120.7/79.1 mmHg, however, female students showed 114.5/75.4 mmHg lower than male (p<0.001). 9). In blood, for hemoglobin female students showed significantly lower level than that of male(p<0.001). T-Cholesterol and HDL-Cholesterol female students showed higher level than males (p<0.001), And for triglyceride male students showed higher level than females(p<0.001). Ca and Fe female students showed lower level (p<0.001).

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.341-351
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• 2010

The dietary habits of 156 female college students in the Department of Food and Nutrition (n=79) and other departments (n=77) at Sahmyook University, Nowon-gu, Seoul were evaluated from September to December, 2009. All participants completed a questionnaire designed to determine the mini dietary assessment score, as well as to evaluate nutrient intake, healthrelated questions and to determine a physical score. The students in the department of food and nutrition tended to consume more vegetables than Kimchi for each meal (39.2%), fried foods twice a week (38.0%) (p<0.05) and less fruits and fruit juices (29.1%). In addition, 15.2% of students ate Samgyeopsal and Galbi less than two times a week (p<0.05). The subjects in the department of food and nutrition took less vitamin $B_1$ and more vitamin C and E than the subjects in the other departments (p<0.05). All subjects regularly exercised for 30 minutes to 1 hour (45.7%), one or two times weekly (43.5%). The subjects in the other departments consumed more nutrient supplements. Overall, 69.1% of the subjects consumed nutrient supplements. A total of 87.8% of the subjects in the other departments consumed alcoholic beverages and all subjects began to drink when they were in high school (50.4%). The primary reason given to continue drinking was to maintain good relationships with friends (76.7%). Overall, the results of this study indicate that students in the department of food and nutrition of Sahmyook university have better dietary habits and nutrient intake than those in other departments. The results highlight the necessary to introduce a practical method of inducing good dietary habits to the everyday life of students. One approach may be to provide greater opportunity for students in other departments to attend classes in the department of food and nutrition.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.556-566
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• 2010

A new kinetic spectrophotometric method is developed for the measurement of Mn(II) in natural water samples. The method is based on the catalytic effect of Mn(II) with the oxidation of Gallocyanin by $KIO_4$ using nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) as an activation reagent at 620 nm. The optimum conditions obtained are $4.00{\times}1^{-5}\;M$ Gallocyanin, $KIO_4$, $1.00{\times}10^{-4}\;M$ NTA, 0.1 M HAc/NaAc buffer of pH = 3.50, the reaction time of 5 min and the temperature of $30^{\circ}C$. Under the optimum conditions, the proposed method allows the measurement of Mn(II) in a range of $0.1\;-\;4.0\;ng\;mL^{-1}$ and with a detection limit of down to $0.025\;ng\;mL^{-1}$. The recovery efficiency in measuring the standard Mn(II) solution is in a range of 98.5 - 102%, and the RSD is in a range of 0.76 - 1.25%. The newly developed kinetic method has been successfully applied to the measurement of Mn(II) in both some environmental water samples and certified standard reference river water sample, JAC-0031 with satisfying results. Moreover, few cations and anions interfere with the measurement of Mn(II). Compared with the other catalytic-kinetic methods and instrumental methods, the proposed kinetic method shows fairly good selectivity and sensitivity, low cost, cheapness, low detection limit and rapidity. It can easily and successfully be applied to the real water samples with relatively low salt content and complex matrices such as bottled drinking water, cold and hot spring waters, lake water, river water samples.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.361-364
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• 2002

This study was performed to establish a simple and accurate method for the determination of oxygen that is a processing aid in various beverage. The quantitative determination of dissolved oxygen (DO) contents in 30 cases of samples were performed by traditional titration method and polarography. As a result of the study, the analysis of DO contents in fruit-extract beverages containing oxygen by titration method was time consuming and large sample volumes were needed. Besides, serious interferences with compounds such as hydroxylamine and nitric oxide were observed, leading to false response. Although the polarography is easily affected by $H_2S$, proteins, and various organic compounds, it is a simple and practical method that provides inexpensive and relatively rapid analysis. The polarography is best suited to the routine determination of DO in a large number of samples and it is expected that the polarography can directly be applied to the quality control of the beverages containing added oxygen. The analysis results of DO contents in various fruit-extract beverages with oxygen and without oxygen were as follows: 23.10 ppm to 32.60 ppm for various frutis extract beverages with oxygen, 0.70 pp to 2.54 ppm for mixed beverages without oxygen, 7.63 ppm to 8.28 ppm for drinking water.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.384-389
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• 2010

Outbreak of contagious diseases to livestock animals is becoming prevalent worldwide and consequently, tremendous numbers of the infected or culled stocks are buried on the ground as the most common disposal method. The buried animals can generate a wide range of detrimental components such as leachate, nutrient salts, and pathogenic bacteria, consequently contaminating the surround environment. This implies that regular investigations are required to monitor any possible detrimental environmental aspect occurred around burial sites. Therefore, the current study was conducted to investigate whether the soil and groundwater nearby the burial sites had been contaminated by the substances originated from the burial sites, which can be applied for the establishment of the ideal burial site construction design and post management scheme. For this, two different burial sites located in Cheonan and Pyeongtaek were selected. Cheonan and Pyeongtaek sites were constructed in 2004 and 2008, respectively and both contained dead poultry infected by avian influenza (AI). Soil and groundwater samples were collected around the sites followed by determination of the nutrient concentrations and bacteria (Salmonella, Camphylobacter, and Bacillus) existence in both soil and groundwater. Some of the soil samples showed higher EC, $NH_4$-N, $NO_3$-N concentration compared to those of the background (control) soils. Also the concentration of $NH_4$-N in some of the groundwater samples appeared to exceed the USEPA guideline value for drinking water (10 mg $L^{-1}$). These results indicated that the soil and groundwater were influenced by the burial site originated nutrients. In the soil, Bacillus was isolated in most soil samples while there were no detections of Salmonella and Camplylobacter. Due to the Bacillus existing mainly as a spore in the soils, it was considered that the frequent detection of Bacillus in the soil samples was attributed to the nutrients originated from the burial sites.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2013

Leakage of leachate from animal carcass disposal is a significant issue because disease can easily spread to humans and other livestock. In this study, we analyzed the physicochemical properties of leachate and tested for the presence of aerobic bacteria in leachate using molecular biology methods, for 16 animal carcass disposals in the first stage (after burial for 5 months). Leachate physicochemical analysis revealed higher total coliforms, TOC, $NH^{4+}$, and $NO^{3-}$ concentrations compared with previously published data. In most leachate samples, the concentrations of $NH^{4+}$ and $NO^{3-}$ exceeded the Korean guideline values for drinking water. In 16S rRNA sequence analysis of the distribution of leachate under aerobic conditions, Bacillus pumilus, Lysinibacillus sphaericus, and B. sphaericus were observed with high frequency, whereas no food-poisoning-related bacteria such as B. cereus or Salmonella were detected. The present findings improve our knowledge of the transport of leachate from animal carcass disposal sites through geologic media, and are useful in risk analysis and for subsequent studies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.547-555
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• 2014

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the association between subjective distress symptoms and argon welding among workers in Gyeongnam Province shipyard. Method: 31 argon and 29 non-argon welding workers were selected as study subjects in order to measure concentrations of personal dust, welding fumes and other hazardous materials such as ZnO, Pb, Cr, FeO, MnO, Cu, Ni, $TiO_2$, MgO, NO, $NO_2$, $O_3$, $O_2$, $CO_2$, CO and Ar. An interviewer-administered questionnaire survey was also performed on the same subjects. The items queried were as follows: age, height, weight, working duration, welding time, welding rod amounts used, drinking, smoking, and rate of subjective distress symptoms including headache and other symptoms such as fever, vomiting and nausea, metal fume fever, dizziness, tingling sensations, difficulty in breathing, memory loss, sleep disorders, emotional disturbance, hearing loss, hand tremors, visual impairment, neural abnormality, allergic reaction, runny nose and stuffiness, rhinitis, and suffocation. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, version 18. Data are expressed as the mean ${\pm}SD$. An ${\chi}^2$-test and a normality test using a Shapiro wilk test were performed for the above variables. Logistic regression analysis was also conducted to identify the factors that affect the total score for subjective distress symptoms. Result: An association was shown between welding type (argon or non-argon welding) and the total score for subjective distress symptoms. Among the rate of complaining of subjective distress symptoms, vomiting and nausea, difficulty breathing, and allergic reactions were all significantly higher in the argon welding group. Only the concentration of dust and welding fumes was shown to be distributed normally after natural log transformation. According to logistic regression analysis, the correlations of working duration and welding type (argon or non-argon) between the total score of subjective distress symptoms were found to be statistically significant (p=0.041, p=0.049, respectively). Conclusion: Our results suggest that argon welding could cause subjective distress symptoms in shipyard workers.