• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.683-692
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• 2009

On-site remote sensing technique by using single lens reflex(SLR) digital camera will be expected as the useful tool for the vegetation measurement field such as a crop growth management, the monitoring of revegetation slope and the evaluation of environment. We reviewed the availability of the vegetation measurement using a digital camera which is sailed for general-purpose. As a result, we could analysis relationship with the illuminance of image plane and incidence energy of multitemporal observation images by doing gamma correction and exposure compensation. And also, we proposed the model formulas for the correction of influences of capturing angle and illuminance. In addition, we obtained high correlation of normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) between digital camera and spectral photometer.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.409-420
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• 2018

Objectives: An outbreak of humidifier disinfectant-related respiratory disease has not only been a massive disaster for end users, but it is also a concern for the workers of the manufacturers. This study presents the results of a questionnaire survey on the health effects among workers involved in the manufacture of humidifier disinfectants. Methods: Seven sites where humidifier disinfectants were manufactured were identified. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the physical symptoms experienced by workers related to humidifier disinfectants. Among a total of 177 workers, 42 subjects were available for the survey. Results: Twenty-one of the 42 respondents reported that they experienced respiratory or skin and mucosal irritation symptoms during work. Of the respondents who experienced symptoms, 14 believed that their symptoms were related to the work process and reported that the symptoms were experienced while working. However, no respondents reported ongoing symptoms or sequelae during the investigation period, and this result could not minimize selection bias due to low response rates. We then compared the characteristics of the group who experienced suspicious symptoms with those of the group without any symptoms. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups. Conclusions: We could not find significant health effects related to the humidifier disinfectant manufacturing process, although 21 respondents experienced stimulant symptoms and 14 respondents believed that the symptoms were related to the work process. Due to the long period of time after occupational exposure and the lack of data, there were many limitations to this study. However, this is one of the few follow-up investigations of workers related to this large-scale disaster in South Korea and the limitations of this study highlight the need to follow up with a nationwide database rather than an occasional survey.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.120-127
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• 2016

In order to acquire digital x-ray images, developing radiography detectors have been recently conducted based on the DR (digital radiography) technology. The noise property of the radiography detector can be observed from measuring the NNPS (normalized noise power spectrum) using uniform exposure images. Here, the image difference of two images is used to remove the fixed pattern noise in measuring the detector NNPS. In this paper, two average images are first calculated using several images and then their difference is used to calculate an NNPS value. Here, the obtained NNPS value is usually lower than the true detector NNPS due to the average. Hence, a compensation constant, which is a function of the number of used images, is also proposed to compensate the NNPS value to obtain the true detector NNPS. Furthermore, another measurement method, in which the ratio of the average images is used, is proposed. Through NNPS measuring experiments using real x-ray images, it is observed that the proposed method can provide further accurate NNPS measurements.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.106-112
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• 2013

Objective : Several reports have found abnormal levels of androgen in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients. This abnormality in androgen is hypothesized to due to chronic psychological stress effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) system. The present study was conducted to estimate serum testosterone levels in PTSD patients in comparison with normal subjects. Methods : Seventy-five male Korean veterans of the Vietnam War volunteered for the study, of which eleven were excluded because of incomplete psychological assessment. To measure basal serum testosterone, blood samples were collected between 8.00 and 9.30 a.m. The clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS), the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus (Korean version of MINI-Plus), CES-K (Korean version of combat exposure scale). Results : The serum testosterone level of PTSD patients ($5.4{\pm}2.5ng/mL$) was higher than that of a control group ($3.1{\pm}1.7ng/mL$, p<0.001). Testosterone levels were significantly correlated with CAPS (r=.38, p<.01), HAM-A (r=.35, p<.01) and HAM-D (r=.28, p<.01) in all subjects. Conclusion : The results of the present study suggest that chronic psychological stress affects the HPG system.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.37-56
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• 2015

This thesis aimed to determine the effecting factors(eating pattern, working condition, stress, health care) that help maintain the health of the cosmetologists' digestive system and the diseases involved (acid reflux, indigestion, gastritis, constipation & diarrhea). The research methods included survey and statistical analysis. The survey was conducted on 242 cosmetologists from August 30 to October 30 2014. The data analysis included frequency, cross table, ${\chi}^2$-test, and regression with SPSS(V. 14). The results were as follows ; (1) The cosmetologists' health of digestive system and eating pattern are related. Regular and enough meal times cause less digestive disease. Acid reflux, indigestion, gastritis, constipation and diarrhea are differently related with the type of usual eating pattern, especially, instant food is not good for digestive health. (2) The cosmetologists' health of digestive system and working condition are related. Longer daily working hours and exposure time to chemical odors are more likely to be associated with digestive diseases; whereas, longer time of standing and talking with colleagues are less likely to be associated with digestive diseases. (3) The cosmetologists' health of digestive system and stress are related. Headache, boredom, conflict of pay and compensation, and insomnia are not good for digestive health. (4) The cosmetologists' health of digestive system and health care are related. Periodical medical examination and usual body stretching are correlated with digestive diseases; whereas, people who do regular exercise and bowel movement are less likely to have digestive diseases.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2001

Objectives : To elucidate the transient effects on the risk of occupational injuries as acute events and establish so alternative proposal. Methods : The study population comprised a total of 302 workers randomly selected from applications for occupational injury compensation reported to the Inchon local labor office from January 1. 1999 to December 31. A case-crossover design, where each case serves its own control, was applied to this study. Through a telephone interview, workers provided useful data concerning five job related stressful events such as company transfer, work load change, overtime work, exchange duty, and work-part transfer. They were asked whether there were stressful events within a week of the occurrence of injury and the degree of stress. Exposure status from one year prior was used as control information. In the end, the data provided by 158 of selected persons was used for the analysis based on the quality of the data provided by the participants. A conditional logistic regression was used to discover the transient effects on the risk of occupational injuries as acute events. Results : The effects a company transfer and work load change on occupational injury was statistically significant on the risk of occupational Injuries as an acute event(RR=5.5, 95% CI=2.501-12.428; RR=3.1, 95% CI=1.963-5.017, respectively). Other stressful events were found to elevate the risk factor for the occurrence of occupational jujury, but were not significant. Conclusions : Our results suggested that transient stressful events elevated the risk factor for the occurrence of occupational injury.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.75-78
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• 2018

Background: To identify work sectors with high risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in Korean men and women. Methods: We analyzed nationwide data to identify ergonomic risk factors in Korean employees. In particular, we analyzed data on exposure to five ergonomic risk factors (painful/tiring postures, lifting/moving heavy materials, standing/walking, repetitive hand/arm movements, and hand/arm vibration) according to employment sector, sex, and age, using the 2014 Fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey. We also used workers' compensation data on work-related MSDs in 2010, which is available by sex. Results: The different work sectors had different gender distributions. "Manufacturing" (27.7%) and "construction" (11.3%) were dominated by males, whereas "human health and social work activities" (12.4%), "hotel and restaurants" (11.7%), and "education" (10.4%) were dominated by females. However, "wholesale and retail trade" and "public administration and defense" employed large numbers of males and females. Furthermore, the work sectors with a greater proportion of work-related MSDs and with multiple ergonomic risk factors were different for men and women. For men, "construction" and "manufacturing" had the highest risk for work-related MSDs; for women, "hotel and restaurants" had the highest risk for work-related MSDs. Conclusion: Ergonomic interventions for workers should consider gender and should focus on work sectors with high risk for MSDs, with multiple ergonomic risk factors, and with the largest number of workers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.234-237
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• 2014

Background: Inhalation of asbestos fibers can lead to adverse health effects on the lungs. This study describes lung function profiles among individuals with nonmalignant asbestos-related disorders (ARDs). Methods: The study population was from the Workers' Compensation (Dust Diseases) Board of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Lung function measurements were conducted in males with asbestosis (n = 26), diffuse pleural thickening (DPT; n = 129), asbestosis and DPT (n = 14), pleural plaques only (n = 160) and also apparently healthy individuals with a history of asbestos exposure (n = 248). Standardized spirometric and single-breath diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide ($DL_{CO}$) measurements were used. Results: Mean age [standard deviation (SD)] was 66.7 (10.3) years for all participants. Current and ex-smokers among all participants comprised about 9.0% and 54.8%, respectively. Median pack-years (SD) of smoking for ex- and current-smokers were 22.7 (19.9). Overall 222 participants (38.6%) and 139 participants (24.2%) had forced expiratory volume in 1 second ($FEV_1$) and forced vital capacity (FVC) measurements < 80% predicted, and 217 participants (37.7%) had $FEV_1/FVC$ results < 70%. A total of 249 individuals (43.8%) had DLCO values < 80% predicted and only 75 (13.2%) had DLCO/VA results < 80% predicted. A total of 147 participants (25.6%) had peak expiratory flow (PEF) measurements < 80% predicted. The presence of ARDs lowered the lung function measurements compared to those of healthy individuals exposed to asbestos. Conclusion: Lung function measurement differs in individuals with different ARDs. Monitoring of lung function among asbestos-exposed populations is a simple means of facilitating earlier interventions.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.340-357
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• 2019

The purpose of this paper is to help develop a comprehensive understanding of the humidifier disinfectant disaster from diverse perspectives based on a critical review of the relevant academic research papers published so far in the fields of both natural and social science. The authors reviewed pertinent articles in the six academic areas of law, social science, humanities, medicine, toxicology, and environmental health. A proper understanding of the issue of humidifier disinfectant is a challenging task because diverse aspects of it have become related over the more than two decades since such products were first released to the market in 1994. Technical and esoteric issues such as the complex system for relief and compensation for health damages and the approval of chemical toxicity are known to be major impediments to viewing the bigger picture regarding this tragedy. The authors believe that experts need to consider a comprehensive perspective going beyond their individual research arena to gain a better understanding of this issue, especially since it was an alarm signal on ethics and the role of experts and scholars in Korean society. Besides the two professors arrested by the prosecutor's office, it should be remembered that medical doctors recommended patients use humidifiers and disinfectants, and the media was inactive in reporting on this issue. Furthermore, the current paucity of examination of the social and political implications of this tragedy calls for more active engagement by researchers in the humanities and social sciences. In this regard, this paper is a work of self-examination and self-criticism by the authors that could resonate with the overall academic community.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.176-184
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• 2019

Objective: This study aims to characterize airborne radon and thoron levels ($Bq/m^3$) generated from working environments in three subway stations in Seoul. Method: A radon and thoron detector (EQF3220) was used to monitor real-time airborne radon and thoron levels ($Bq/m^3$) and their daughters ($Bq/m^3$) every two hours. They were monitored not only in the driver's cabin of seven circulation lines, but also three offices, platforms, and water pump reservoirs in the three stations. Results: The average levels of radon and thoron were $67.9Bq/m^3$ (range; $7.2-619.4Bq/m^3$) and $44.4Bq/m^3$ (range; $4.3-819.2Bq/m^3$), respectively. Notably, higher than legal airborne radon levels ($600Bq/m^3$) were frequently monitored in the driver's cabin of seven circulation lines. Airborne radon levels monitored in the platforms and administrative offices were found to be over $100Bq/m^3$. The average equilibrium factors (F) were 0.12 and 0.06, respectively. The percentages detected were found to be 84.9 for radon and 72.4 for thoron, respectively. Conclusions: Significant airborne radon and thoron levels were frequently found to be generated in subway facilities including water reservoirs, platforms and driver's cabins. Further study is necessary to thoroughly investigate airborne radon and thoron in all subway stations and to devise proper measures.