• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.625-637
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• 2003

This study was performed to examine the relationship between air pollution exposure and mortality in Seoul for the years of 1998∼2001. Daily counts of death were analyzed by general additive Poisson model, with adjustment for effects of seasonal trend, air temperature, humidity, and day of the week as confounders in a nonparametric approach. Daily death counts were associated with CO (current day),O$_3$ (current day), PM$_{10}$ (current day), NO$_2$ (1 day before), SO$_2$ (1 day before). Increase of 41.71 $\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ (interquartile range) in PM$_{10}$ was associated with 1.3% (95% CI = 0.7∼1.9％) increase in the daily number of death. $O_3$ concentrations resulted in an increased risk of 1.3% for 23.86 ppb in all-aged mortality [RR = 1.013 (1.004-1.023)1. This effect was greater in children (less than 15 aged) and elderly (more than 65 aged). After ozone level exceeds 25 ppb, the dose-response relationship between mortality and ozone was almost linear. We concluded that Seoul had 1∼5％ increase in mortality in association with IQR (interquartile range) in air pollutants. Daily variations in air pollution within the range currently occurring in Seoul might have an adverse effect on daily mortality. These findings also support the hypothesis that air pollution, at levels below the current ambient air quality standards of Korea, is harmful to sensitive subjects, such as children or elderly.rly.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.447-456
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• 2008

Limonene, pinene, and isoprene are abundant and ubiquitous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are found in various natural products and also produced from various manufacture processes. Limonene and pinene are major components of food additives and household products for enrichment of good flavors and elimination of malodors, and isoprene is a basal motif of monoterpenes such as limonene and pinene. They have shown many beneficial effects such as chemopreventive, chemotherapeutic, and antioxidant activities. Upon certain conditions, however, adverse effects of these compounds on human health have also been reported. Although they do not seem to have acute and severe toxicity to human, they can easily generate secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) when they react with oxygen and/or ozone, which have shown certain toxic effects on experimental animal models as well as on humans. Numerous household and scented products containing limonene, pinene, and isoprene are widely used in these days. However, biological consequences upon exposure to these products are largely unknown. The aim of this review is to summarize and analyze the current understanding on the biological effects of VOCs, in particular limonene, pinene, and isoprene, as well as their SOAs.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.227-234
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• 2003

2-Bromopropane (2-BP), a halogenated propane analogue, is a substitute for chlorofluorocarbones (CFCs) which have a great potential to destroy the ozone layer and to warm the earth's environment. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the potential adverse effects of 2-BP on pregnant dams and embryo-fetal development after maternal exposure during the gestational days (GD) 6 through 17 in ICR mice. The test chemical was administered subcutaneously to pregnant mice at dose levels of 0, 313, 625 or 1,250 mg/kg/day. All dams were subjected to caesarean section on GD 18 and their fetuses were examined for external, visceral and skeletal abnormalities. In the 1,250 mg/kg group, maternal toxicity included an increase in the incidence of abnormal clinical signs and a decrease in the maternal body weight, body weight gain, and corrected body weight. Developmental toxicity included a decrease in the fetal body weight, a reduction in the placental weight, an increase in the fetal skeletal variation and ossification delay. There were no adverse effects on either pregnant dams or embryo-fetal development in the 313 and 625 mg/kg groups. These results suggest that a 12-day subcutaneous dose of 2-BP is embryotoxic at a maternally toxic dose (i.e., 1,250 mg/kg/day) in ICR mice. In the present experimental condition, the no-observed-adverse-effect level of 2-BP is considered to be 625 mg/kg/day for dams and embryo-fetuses, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.172-183
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• 1995

The airborne concentrations of the welding fumes produced during $CO_2$ arcwelding process at shipbuilding, shiprepairing, container manufacturing and car accessary manufacturing industry were investigated. The effects how much reduced the welding fume were checked when the portable fan was used. The results were as follows; 1.The geometric mean of welding fume concentration in shipbuilding factory was $10.05mg/m^3$. This exposure concentration was higher than other 3 manufacturing industries at 95% confidence level. 2. The sampling filters for welding fume could be digested with acid within 1 hour by microwave oven. The recoveries for investigated metal elements were all over 95%. 3. The optimal wavelength could be selected for the simultaneous analysis of 8 metal elements by ICP(Inductively Coupled Plasma). 4. Noxious gases($O_1,NO_2$) produced during $CO_1$ gas arc welding process were detected that the concentration of ozone($O_1$) was less than 0.01 ppm and that of nitrogen dioxide($NO_2$) was 0.01-0.03 ppm. 5. The geometric mean of welding fume particle diameter was $1.26{\mu}m$ and geometric standard deviation was 1.51 for the counts when particle an analyzer(ELZONE) had been used. 6. When the portable fan had been used,the reduced percent of total welding fume for workers was about 47.8% when portable fan was applied to blow and 71.7% when to exhaust.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.220-226
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• 2005

We investigated the effect of $O_3$ on the photosynthetic characteristics of oriental plane (Platanus orientalis L.) that is used as a side tree or ornamental tree in Korea. Two-year-old oriental plane seedlings were transplanted to pots and transferred into a closed $O_3$ chamber, Photosynthetic pigment content and photosynthetic characteristics of leaves were measured every three weeks during 100 ppb $O_3$ fumigation. There was no visible foliar injury by $O_3$ exposure and the content of photosynthetic pigments did not show significant differences between control and $O_3$-treated seedlings. But photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and water use efficiency in leaves of $O_3$-treated seedlings were reduced after six weeks of ozone fumigation. In addition, reduction of carboxylation efficiency and photochemical efficiency was observed in leaves of $O_3$-treated seedlings after three weeks and six weeks. In accordance with our results, carboxylation efficiency, the most sensitive parameter to $O_3$ stress, was considered to be a suitable indicator of $O_3$ sensitivity.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.391-407
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• 2013

Micropollutants emerge in surface water through untreated discharge from sewage and wastewater treatment plants (STPs and WWTPs). Most micropollutants resist the conventional systems in place at water treatment plants (WTPs) and survive the production of tap water. In particular, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors (ECDs) are micropollutants frequently detected in drinking water. In this review, we summarized the distribution of micropollutants at WTPs and also scrutinized the effectiveness and mechanisms for their removal at each stage of drinking water production. Micropollutants demonstrated clear concentrations in the final effluents of WTPs. Although chronic exposure to micropollutants in drinking water has unclear adverse effects on humans, peer reviews have argued that continuous accumulation in water environments and inappropriate removal at WTPs has the potential to eventually affect human health. Among the available removal mechanisms for micropollutants at WTPs, coagulation alone is unlikely to eliminate the pollutants, but ionized compounds can be adsorbed to natural particles (e.g. clay and colloidal particles) and metal salts in coagulants. Hydrophobicities of micropollutants are a critical factor in adsorption removal using activated carbon. Disinfection can reduce contaminants through oxidation by disinfectants (e.g. ozone, chlorine and ultraviolet light), but unidentified toxic byproducts may result from such treatments. Overall, the persistence of micropollutants in a treatment system is based on the physico-chemical properties of chemicals and the operating conditions of the processes involved. Therefore, monitoring of WTPs and effective elimination process studies for pharmaceuticals and ECDs are required to control micropollutant contamination of drinking water.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.227-233
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• 2013

Scientific evidence shows that ambient air quality is one of the major environmental issues related to human health. The aim of this paper was to provide quantitative data on the short-term impact of air pollution on the mortality and morbidity of people living in Suwon city. There are some studies that have conducted health impacts of the air pollution in Seoul, Korea. However, there are few studies of the health effects on air pollution conducted in satellite cities of the Seoul Metropolitan area. For this reason, we investigated the health effects of air pollution in Suwon city, one of the highly populated satellite cities of Seoul. In order to estimate the short-term mortality impact of air pollution, this study applied the approach suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO), using AirQ2.2.3 software. Daily concentrations of $PM_{10}$, $O_3$, $NO_2$, and $SO_2$ were used to assess human exposure and health effects, in terms of attributable proportion of the health outcome, annual number of excess cases of mortality for all causes, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Among the four considered air pollutants, $PM_{10}$ had the highest health impact on the 1,118,000 inhabitants of Suwon city, causing an excess of total mortality of 105 out of 4,254 in a year. Sulfur dioxide had the least health impact. Ozone and nitrogen dioxide each caused 42.7 and 81.3 excess cases of total mortality in a year. The results are also in line with those of other international studies that apply AirQ software.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2001

Skin is constantly exposed to air, solar radiation, ozone and other air pollutants formulating free radicals. The reactive oxygen species(ROS), formed under these conditions, are associated with skin cancers, cutaneous photoaging, and cutaneous inflammatory disorders. In this study, we sought to establish an animal model for UVB-induced skin alteration using BALB/c mice. The level of UVB irradiation used in this model was within physiological dose. BALB/c mice were exposed to a single dose of UVB ($200mJ/cm^2$ and were sacrificed at 3, 6, 24, and 48 hours following the irradiation. The effect of a single exposure to UVB irradiation on skin catalase(CAT), superoxide dismutase(SOD), and glutathione peroxidase(GPx) activities were examined. Significant decrease in the activity of all enzymes were observed at 6 hours after irradiation(p<.05). The activity of CAT decreased more sharply than those of SOD and GPx, and then remained depressed until 48 hours after UVB irradiation, whereas the activity of GPx recovered to basal level at 48 h after UVB irradiation. Our results indicate that BALB/c mouse could be an adequate animal model of UVB irradiation experiment. These results will also provide fundamental knowledge for the effective nursing strategies in reducing UV-induced skin disorders.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2019

Purpose: The study aims to provide basic data to enhance the health of paramedics responsible for patient transport and treatment by analyzing the exposure level of paramedics to electromagnetic waves generated by electric devices used in ambulances. Methods: The study measured electromagnetic waves in ambulances in N region from July to December 2018. ME3030B produced by German Gigahertz Solutions was used to measure these waves and the maximum value was selected by moving it slowly in various directions. Each measurement part was selected and the mean value was calculated by repeatedly measuring at 10-minute intervals three times in total: $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$, and $3^{rd}$ phase. Results: Among the electrical devices installed in the patient room of the ambulance measured at distances of 1 cm or 30 cm, results showed a high level of electric waves at the inverter ($26.25{\pm}39V/m$) and high level of electromagnetic waves ($564.00{\pm}31.75nT$) at the ozone sterilizer. According to measurements toward the front near the driver's seat, results indicated high levels of electric waves ($3.67{\pm}1.15V/m$) and electromagnetic waves ($450.00{\pm}19.52nT$) at the black box hard drive. Conclusion: Electromagnetic waves within the ambulance were stable and not beyond the range that might impact human health. However, in the case of the black box hard drive ($3.67{\pm}1.15V/m$, $450.00{\pm}19.52nT$) located under the passenger seat, it may have a direct effect on the human body and, thus it is necessary to move it to a storage area further away from the paramedics to minimized the impact.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2024

Perovskite solar cells have exhibited a remarkable increase in efficiency from an initial 3.8% to 26.1%, marking a significant advancement. However, challenges persist in the commercialization of perovskite solar cells due to their low stability with respect to humidity, light exposure, and temperature. Moreover, the instability of the organic charge transport layer underscores the need for exploring inorganic alternatives. In the manufacturing process of the perovskite solar cells' oxide charge transport layer, ultraviolet-ozone (UVO) treatment is commonly applied to enhance the wettability of the perovskite solution. The UVO treatment on metal oxides has proven effective in suppressing surface oxygen vacancies and removing surface organic contaminants. This study focused on the characterization of nickel oxide as the hole transport material in perovskite solar cells, specifically investigating the impact of UVO treatment on film properties. Through this analysis, changes induced by the UVO treatment were observed, and consequent alterations in the device characteristics were identified.