• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1158-1163
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• 2006

More than 95% of lead, a environmental heavy metal, entering into blood accumulates in erythrocytes suggesting erythrocytes as an important target of lead toxicity. Recent studies reported that erythrocytes could contribute to blood coagulation via phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure in erythrocytes. However, in vivo effects of chronic lead exposure especially by drink-ing water on procoagulant activity of erythrocytes have not been studied yet. In the present study, we investigated the effects of chronic exposure of lead by drinking water on erythrocytes in rats. Groups of 40 male rats were provided with drinking water containing various concentrations of lead for 4 weeks and complete blood cell count, procoagulant activities of erythrocytes and platelets were evaluated with basic inspections on body weight and food/water consumption. The administration of lead containing drinking water increased the blood lead level (BLL) in a dose-dependent manner up to $22.39{\pm}2.26\;{\mu}g/dL$. Water consumption was significantly decreased while food consumption or body weight gain was not affected. In contrast to the previous findings with acute lead exposure, chronic lead exposure failed to increase PS exposure in erythrocytes with statistical significance although some trends of enhancement were observed. It implies that a certain adaptation might have happened in body during repeated exposure to lead, resulting in attenuation of PS exposure. With this study, we believe that a valuable information was provided for the study on the toxicological significance and the risk assessment of lead contaminated drinking water.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.331-337
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• 2008

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) derived from leakage of fossil fuels and incomplete combustion of organic materials have been considered as harmful contaminants in environments. This study evaluated the effect of benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), one of the PAHs, using the multiple biomarkers and applied the integration model with those biomarker responses. After 10 days of the exposure at the measured concentrations of BkF (6, 25, and 45 ${\mu}g\;L^{-1}$), the changes of the four biomarkers, that is, 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), DNA single-strand breaks (Comet), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and vitellogenin (VTG) in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) were observed. The standardized values of four biomarker responses were computed and integrated as star plots, representing Integrated Biomarker Respnse (IBR) values. DNA damage was induced in a dose-dependent manner, and increased significantly compared with that in the control. EROD and VTG levels were significantly elevated at low concentrations of BkF. On the other hand, AChE activities were not altered by BkF. IBR values increased as the exposure concentrations increased. Thus, the metabolic, endocrine and genetic changes of the biomarker responses in the common carp exposed to BkF should be considered in the case of the ecological risk assessment of the BkF in fish and it can be used as a biomonitoring tool in aquatic ecosystems. In addition, star plots can be used as a useful analysis tool in multibiomarker integration approach.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.923-933
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• 2016

This paper proposes a new method for evaluating Effective Load Carrying Capability(ELCC) and capacity credit(C.C.) of power system including Wind Turbine Generator(WTG) combined with Battery Energy Storage System(BESS). WTG can only generate electricity power when the fuel(wind) is available. Because of fluctuation of wind speed, WTG generates intermittent power. In view point of reliability of power system, intermittent power of WTG is similar with probabilistic characteristics based on power on-off due to mechanical availability of conventional generator. Therefore, high penetration of WTG will occur difficulties in power operation. The high penetration of numerous and large capacity WTG can make risk to power system adequacy, quality and stability. Therefore, the penetration of WTG is limited in the world. In recent, it is expected that BESS installed at wind farms may smooth the wind power fluctuation. This study develops a new method to assess how much is penetration of WTG able to extended when Wind Turbine Generator(WTG) is combined with Battery Energy Storage System(BESS). In this paper, the assessment equation of capacity credit of WTG combined with BESS is formulated newly. The simulation program, is called GNRL_ESS, is developed in this study. This paper demonstrates a various case studies of ELCC and capacity credit(C.C.) of power system containing WTG combined with BESS using model system as similar as Jeju island power system. The case studies demonstrate that not only reasonable BESS capacity for a WTG but also permissible penetration percent of WTG combined with BESS and reasonable WTG capacity for a BESS can be decided.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.2247-2254
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• 2016

Background: The incidence of breast cancer is rising in Oman, and the disease is diagnosed at late stages, when treatment success is limited. Omani women might benefit from better awareness, so that breast cancer can be detected early and treated. This study was conducted to assess Omani women's levels of breast cancer awareness and early detection practice, and explore factors which might influence these levels. Materials and Methods: A mixed methods study was conducted in 2014, including a quantitative survey of 1,372 and a qualitative assessment of 19 Omani women, aged ${\geq}20years$ from five Omani governorates using convenient sampling. Demographic information and scores for awareness levels were used in a multivariate regression model to investigate factors associated with awareness. Thematic analysis and interpretive description were used to analyse the qualitative data. Results: The overall means for early detection and general awareness scores were 0.58 (SD 0.24) and 0.46 (SD 0.21), respectively. General awareness was significantly associated with age, education, income and familiarity with cancer patients (p<0.05), while early detection was significantly associated with age, marital status and education. A majority of women (59.5%) agreed with a belief in 'evil eye' or envy as a risk factor for breast cancer. Women discussed various factors which may empower or inhibit awareness, including the cultural-religion-fatalistic system, personal-familial-environmental system, and healthcare-political-social system. Conclusions: The overall low scores for awareness and early detection, and the survey of local beliefs highlight a severe necessity for a contextually-tailored breast cancer awareness intervention programme in Oman.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2015

Recently, some researchers have been carried out risk assessment of vehicles exhaust on human health. Especially, some of VOCs which is non-controlled, was classified to hazardous pollutant, such as 1,3-Butadiene and BTEX(Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene). Therefore, the profile on non-controlled pollutant may be needed in the future, because it would be critical data or information to control them. Additionally, with increasing amount of motorcycle, the source profiling is essential for estimating emission factor and amount on motorcycle exhaust. For these, in this study, imported motorcycles (8 vehicles) were selected as a test model while considering the increasing ratio on sales volume between 2013 and 2014; it was also compared with domestic motorcycles on those. The experiment was conducted by driving mode, UDC and ECE+EUDC that made from EURO III. In addition, it was performed at cold start driving mode without effect by displacement, for evaluating only correlation of BTEX with HC. In order to apply the ratio (m,p-Xylene/o-Xylene) as a marker, the ratio was compared with those of tunnel, road side and residential area. As a result, it showed best correlation ($R^2=0.98$) among those. In the future, it has to be considered as a marker for effect evaluation to atmospheric environment by exhaust emission.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.681-690
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• 2013

Watershed models have been increasingly used to support an integrated management of land and water, non-point source pollutants, and implement total daily maximum load policy. However, these models demand a great amount of input data, process parameters, a proper calibration, and sometimes result in significant uncertainty in the simulation results. For this reason, uncertainty analysis is necessary to minimize the risk in the use of the models for an important decision making. The objectives of this study were to evaluate three different uncertainty analysis algorithms (SUFI-2: Sequential Uncertainty Fitting-Ver.2, GLUE: Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation, ParaSol: Parameter Solution) that used to analyze the sensitivity of the SWAT(Soil and Water Assessment Tool) parameters and auto-calibration in a watershed, evaluate the uncertainties on the simulations of runoff and sediment load, and suggest alternatives to reduce the uncertainty. The results confirmed that the parameters which are most sensitive to runoff and sediment simulations were consistent in three algorithms although the order of importance is slightly different. In addition, there was no significant difference in the performance of auto-calibration results for runoff simulations. On the other hand, sediment calibration results showed less modeling efficiency compared to runoff simulations, which is probably due to the lack of measurement data. It is obvious that the parameter uncertainty in the sediment simulation is much grater than that in the runoff simulation. To decrease the uncertainty of SWAT simulations, it is recommended to estimate feasible ranges of model parameters, and obtain sufficient and reliable measurement data for the study site.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.173-183
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• 2014

Purpose: This study examined the effects of exercise programs on the pain and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Electronic bibliographic databases of KiSTi, KoreaMed, KISS and KERIS were searched to identify studies of randomized controlled trials and non-randomized controlled trials. As a result, 1213 publications identified and 16 studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria. All studies examined for quality assessment of studies using Cochrane's risk of bias. Results: The 16 studies were eligible for inclusion criteria, then the meta-analysis was conducted to examine effectiveness of exercise programs on pain and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The meta- analysis based on the random effect model showed that the exercise program was beneficial in decreasing pain (effect size .69; 95% confidence interval 0.45~0.91). Also, the exercise programs have been shown to be effective in significantly improving the quality of life. However, it was not statistically significant due to severe deviations of studies (effect size 1.06; 95% confidence interval -0.34~2.46). Conclusion: Exercise programs had positive effects on pain relief and improvement of the quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis, although the quality of life was not statistically significant due to severe deviations of studies.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2020

There has been a significant decline in the number of rail accidents in Korea since system safety management activities were introduced. Nonetheless, analyzing and preventing human error-related accidents is still an important issue in railway industry. As a railway system is increasingly automated and intelligent, the mechanism and process of an accident occurrence are more and more complicated. It is now essential to consider a variety of factors and their intricate interactions in the analysis of rail accidents. However, it has proved that traditional accident models and methods based on a linear cause-effect relationship are inadequate to analyze and to assess accidents in complex systems such as railway systems. In order to supplement the limitations of traditional safety methods, recently some systemic safety models and methods have been developed. Of those, FRAM(Functional Resonance Analysis Method) has been recognized as one of the most useful methods for analyzing accidents in complex systems. It reflects the concepts of performance adjustment and performance variability in a system, which are fundamental to understanding the processes of an accident in complex systems. This study aims to apply FRAM to the analysis of a rail accident involving human errors, which occurred recently in South Korea. Through the application of FRAM, we found that it can be a useful alternative to traditional methods in the analysis and assessment of accidents in complex systems. In addition, it was also found that FRAM can help analysts understand the interactions between functional elements of a system in a systematic manner.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.159-163
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• 2018

Background: Fatigue and sleepiness are inter-related and common among road transport drivers. In this study, sleep deprivation and fatigue among chemical transportation drivers were examined. Methods: A cross-sectional study surveying 107 drivers from three hazardous types of chemical production and transportation industries (nonflammable gases, flammable gases, and flammable liquids) was conducted. Data on sleep deprivation were collected using questionnaires of the Stanford Sleeping Scale and the Groningen Sleep Quality Scale. Fatigue was assessed using an interview questionnaire and a flicker fusion instrument. Results: Chemical drivers had a mean sleeping scale (Stanford Sleeping Scale) of 1.98 (standard deviation 1.00) and had a mean score of 1.89 (standard deviation 2.06) on the Groningen Sleep Quality Scale. High-risk drivers had higher scores in both the Stanford Sleeping Scale and the Groningen Sleep Quality Scale with a mean score of 2.59 and 4.62, respectively, and those differences reached statistical significance (p < 0.05). The prevalence of fatigue, as assessed through a critical flicker fusion analyzer, subjective fatigue question, and either of the instruments, was 32.32%, 16.16%, and 43.43%, respectively. Drivers who slept <7 hours and had poor sleep quality were found to have more fatigue than those who slept enough and well. Drivers who had a more sleepiness score resulted in significantly more objective fatigue than those who had a less sleepiness score. Conclusion: Sleep quality and sleeping hour can affect a driver's fatigue. Optimization of work-rest model should be considered to improve productivity, driver retention, and road safety.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.15-35
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• 2012

Mercury (Hg) is a global environmental pollutant that has been the cause of many public concerns. One particular concern about Hg in aquatic systems is its trophic transfer and biomagnification in food chains. For example, the Hg concentration increases with the increase of food chain level. Fish at the top of food chain can accumulate high concentrations of Hg (especially the toxic form, methylmercury, MeHg), which is then transferred to humans through seafood consumption. Various biological and physiochemical conditions can significantly affect the bioaccumulation of Hg-including both its inorganic (Hg(II)) and organic (MeHg) forms-in fish. There have been numerous measurements of Hg concentrations in marine and freshwater fish worldwide. Many of these studies have attempted to identify the processes leading to variations of Hg concentrations in fish species from different habitats. The development of a biokinetic model over the past decade has helped improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the bioaccumulation processes of Hg in aquatic animals. In this review, I will discuss how the biokinetic modeling approach can be used to reveal the interesting biodynamics of Hg in fish, such as the trophic transfer and exposure route of Hg(II) and MeHg, as well as growth enrichment (the increases in Hg concentration with fish size) and biomass dilution (the decreases in Hg concentration with increasing phytoplankton biomass). I will also discuss the relevance of studying the subcellular fates of Hg to predict the Hg bioaccessibility and detoxification in fish. Future challenges will be to understand the inter- and intra-species differences in Hg accumulation and the management/mitigation of Hg pollution in both marine and freshwater fish based on our knowledge of Hg biodynamics.