• Laboraroty Animal Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.270-278
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• 2018

This study was conducted to compare the anesthetic effects of 2,2,2-tribromoethanol (TBE, $Avertin^{(R)}$) in ICR mice obtained from three different sources. TBE (2.5%) was intraperitoneally injected at three doses: high-dose group (500 mg/kg), intermediate-dose group (250 mg/kg), and low-dose group (125 mg/kg). Anesthesia time, recovery time, end-tidal peak $CO_2$ ($ETCO_2$), mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation ($SpO_2$), body temperature, pH, $PCO_2$, and $PO_2$ of the arterial blood were measured. Stable anesthesia was induced by all doses of TBE and the anesthesia time was maintained exhibited dose dependency. No significant differences in anesthetic duration were found among the three different strains. However, the anesthesia time was longer in female than in male mice, and the duration of anesthesia was significantly longer in female than in male mice in the high-dose group. The recovery time was significantly longer for female than male mice in the intermediate- and high-dose groups. In the ICR strains tested, there were no significant differences in the mean arterial blood pressure, $SPO_2$, arterial blood $PCO_2$, and $PO_2$, which decreased after TBE anesthesia, or in heart rate and $ETCO_2$, which increased after TBE anesthesia. In addition, body temperature, blood biochemical markers, and histopathological changes of the liver, kidney, and lung were not significantly changed by TBE anesthesia. These results suggested that ICR mice from different sources exhibited similar overall responses to a single exposure to TBE anesthesia. In conclusion, TBE is a useful drug that can induce similar anesthetic effects in three different strains of ICR mice.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 2008

We evaluated the relationship between birth weight and mercury exposure levels in Seoul, Korea, by following a cohort of pregnant women and the outcomes of their pregnancies between 2001-2005. Eighty-five pregnant women were recruited into this study after obtaining informed consent. Samples were collected at delivery from normal pregnant women who were living in the city of Seoul, Korea. Mercury concentrations in 85 sets of maternal and cord blood samples were measured using a gold-amalgam collection method. We used multiple regression analysis to analyze the effect of mercury exposure on birth weight. The mean levels of total mercury concentrations were 5.41(ppb) in maternal blood of pregnant women and 3.58(ppb) in umbilical cord blood. The mean concentration of umbilical cord blood mercury exposures was higher than the level recommended by WHO. There was a significant correlation between maternal and cord blood mercury concentrations. Mercury concentrations of umbilical cord blood was associated with birth weight. In addition, after adjusting for potential confounding factors, we found that mercury exposure may reduce the birth weight. This study suggests that exposure to mercury concentration during pregnancy contributes to the risk of low birth weight. Therefore, prenatal and environmental education for various and possible sources of mercury exposure might be necessary for the good health of babies. The finding of this study supports the construction of national policy for environmental health management.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.95-110
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• 1992

Much progress has been made in understanding the subcellular events of the human lung injuries after acute exposure to environmental air pollutants. Host of those events represent oxidative damages mediated by reactive oxygen species such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and the hydroxy, free radical. Recently, nitric oxide (NO) was found to be endogenously produced by endothelial cells and cells of the reticulo-endothelial system as endothelialderived relaxation factor (EDRF) which is a vasoactive and neurotransmitter substance. Together with superoxide, NO can form another strong oxidant, peroxonitrite. The relative importance of exogenous sources of $N0/N0_2$ and endogenous production of NO by the EDRF producing enzymes in the oxidative stresses to the heman lung has to be elucidated. The exact events leading to chronic irreversible damage are still yet to be known. From chronic exposure to oxidant gases, progressive epithelial and interstitial damages develop. Type I epithelial cells become thicker and cover a smaller average alveolar surface area while thee II cells proliferate instead. Under acute damages, the extent of loss of the alveolar epithelial cell lining, especially type II cells appears to be a good predictor of the ensuing irreversible damage to alveolar compartment. Interstitial matrix undergo remodeling during chronic exposure with increased collagen fibers and interstitial fibroblasts. However, Inany of these changes can be reversed after cessation of exposure. Among chronic lung injuries, genetic damages and repair responses received particular attention in view of the known increased lung cancer risks from exposure to several air pollutants. Heavy metals from foundry emission, automobile traffics, and total suspended particulate, especially polycystic aromatic hydrocarbons have been positively linked with the development of lung cancer. Asbestos in another air pollutant with known risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma, but asbestos fibers are nonauthentic in most bioassays. Studies using the electron spin resonance spin trapping method show that the presence of iron in asbestos accelerates the production of the hydroxy, radical in vitro. Interactions of these reactive oxygen species with particular cellular components and disruption of cell defense mechanisms still await further studies to elucidate the carcinogenic potential of asbestos fibers of different size and chemical composition. The distribution of inhaled pollutants and the magnitude of their eventual effects on the respiratory tract are determined by pollutant-independent physical factors such as anatomy of the respiratory tract and level and pattern of breathing, as well as by pollutant-specific phyco-chemical factors such as the reactivity, solubility, and diffusivity of the foreign gas in mucus, blood and tissue. Many of these individual factors determining dose can be quantified in vitro. However, mathematical models based on these factors should be validated for its integrity by using data from intact human lungs.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.185-196
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• 2005

Although medical exposure from diagnostic radiology procedures such as conventional x-rays, CT and PET scans is necessary for healthcare purposes, understanding its characteristics and size of the resulting radiation dose to patients is much of worth because medical radiation constitutes the largest artificial source of exposure and the medical exposure is in a trend of fast increasing particularly in the developed society. Annual collective doses and per-caput effective doses from different radiology procedures in Korea were estimated by combining the effective dose estimates per single medical procedure and the health insurance statistics in 2002. Values of the effective dose per single procedure were compiled from different sources including NRPB reports, ICRP 80, MIRDOSE3.1 code and independent computations of the authors. The annual collective dose reaches 27440 man-Sv (diagnostic radiology: 22880 man-Sv, nuclear medicine: 4560 man-Sv) which is reduced to the annual per-caput effective dose of 0.58 mSv by dividing by the national population of 47.7 millions. The collective dose is far larger than that of occupational exposures, in the country operated 16 nuclear power plants in 2002, which is no more than 70 man-Sv in the same year. It is particularly noted that the collective dose due to CT scans amounts 9960 man-Sv. These results implies that the national policy for radiation protection should pay much more attention to optimization of patient doses in medicine.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.447-460
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• 2013

Dietary supplement use is prevalent and represents an important source of nutrition. This study was conducted in order to assess the dietary maximum exposure of vitamins and minerals from various sources including regular diet, vitamin mineral supplements for non-prescription drug (VMS-NPD), vitamin mineral supplements for health functional foods (VMS-HFF), and fortified foods (FF). A total of 1,407 adolescent boys and girls attending middle or high schools were chosen from various cities and rural communities in Korea. Users of vitamin and mineral supplements (n = 60, 15-18 years of age) were chosen from the above 1,407 students. Intake of vitamins and minerals from a regular diet and FF was assessed by both food record method and direct interview for three days of two weekdays and one weekend, and those from VMS-NPD and VMS-HFF were assessed by both questionnaire and direct interview, and compared with the recommended nutrient intake (RNI) and the tolerable upper intake level (UL) for Korean adolescents. Daily average exposure range of vitamins and minerals from a regular diet was 0.3 to 4.4 times of the RNI. Some subjects had an excessive exposure to the UL in the following areas: from regular diets, vitamin A (1.7%) and niacin (5.0%); from only VMS-NPD, vitamin C (9.1%) and iron (5.6%); and from only VMS-HFF, niacin (8.6%) > vitamin $B_6$ (7.5%) > folic acid (2.9%) > vitamin C (2.3%). Nutrients of daily total intake from regular diet, VMS-NPD, VMS-HFF, and FF higher than the UL included nicotinic acid for 33.3% of subjects, and, then, in order, vitamin C (26.6%) > vitamin A (13.3%), iron (13.3%) > zinc (11.7%) > calcium (5.0%) > vitamin E (1.7%), vitamin $B_6$ (1.7%). Thus, findings of this study showed that subjects may potentially be at risk due to overuse of supplements, even though most of them took enough vitamins and minerals from their regular diet. Therefore, we should encourage adolescents to have sound health care habits through systematic and educational aspects.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.75.1-75.1
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• 2015

Environments (field, galaxy groups, and galaxy clusters) can affect galaxy evolution due to galaxy interaction which is controlled by different galaxy number densities and velocity dispersions. Since the galaxy interaction or merger triggers both star formation and AGN, AGN fraction can be used to understand the effect of environment. We detected X-ray AGN fraction in a nearby galaxy cluster, Abell 133, using Chandra X-ray image and optical spectra. We found ~600 X-ray point sources in the field of Abell 133 using the 2.8 Msec exposure Chandra images. We determined 3 cluster members based on the redshifts derived from optical spectra obtained from Magellan IMACS observation. The AGN fraction in Abell 133 is similar to that of other environments, i.e., COSMOS and CDFS. We will discuss the results by comparing Abell 133 with other environments.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1177-1184
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• 2011

One of the main objectives of noise control act is to define and ensure application and respect of noise exposure limits. Most advanced countries have prepared a legal framework for noise limits either by national laws, ordinances or municipal by-laws. A large number of advaced countries have adopted the Leq index for the main sources of noise(road, railway, industry). The exception is aircraft noise for which regulatory practice is highly disparate. These differences in the indices adopted, the periods and areas to which regulations apply, definitions of measurement conditions and ways in which noise levels are calculated make it difficult to compare the current advanced countries standards. This study presents the current noise abatement policy of the advanced countries and proposes the improvement of the current noise abatement policy of Korea to catch up with it of the advanced countries.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.47-55
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• 1999

Recently, noise from personal cassette players (PCP) poses growing concerns together with occupational noise-induced hearing loss. Eighteen male and female volunteer subjects participated to determine preferred noise levels for PCP usage before, during, and after 2-hour subway riding according to sources (types) of PCP listening (language/news, soft music, and hard music). Audiometric tests were conducted before and after the 2-hour exposure of PCP noise under subway riding. Statistical analyses showed some significant hearing losses with the greatest loss of more than 6 dB at 4000 Hz for both ears, indicating that serious noise-induced hearing loss would potentially occurred due to prolonged use of PCPs. Practical safety countermeasures against PCP noise are further discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2010.04a
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• pp.41-44
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• 2010

Hazardous air pollutants such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), benzene, formaldehyde have been concerned about the adverse health effect of long-term exposure. Contour map is useful for finding high-concentration region, emission source, and distributions of HAPs in the ambient air. To make a contour map, we have developed simple analytical method for selected HAPs; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as BaP, benzene and its derivatives such as toluene and xylene, and aldehydes and ketones. We have applied these methods to investigate air pollution by HAPs in some cities in Japan. The results show that these methods reveal actual emission sources if the PRTR emission report was not submitted.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.525-544
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• 1999

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were one of the first airborne pollutants to be identified as being carcinogenic. This class of compounds is ubiquitous in the urban atmosphere, and has therefore undergone considerable scrutiny for the last three decades. PAH can be formed in any incomplete combustion or high temperature pyrolytic process involving materials containing carbon and hydrogen, such as fossil fuels. In this paper, the literature on the occurrence, ambient levels, and atmospheric fate and behaviour of airbonrne PAH has been reviewed, with a particular emphasis on the role of automobile sources in PAH emissions. Sampling and analytical techniques for the determination of PAH in air have also been examined. In addition, health implications and legislative aspects of human exposure to airborne PAH have been briefly reviewed. Finally, future requirements for better understanding of the atmospheric behaviour of PAH recommended.