• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.123-128
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• 2011

The notion that dental amalgam is a potential source of mercury exposure remains a controversial issue. However, there are few epidemiological analyses that have addressed whether this occurs in children. We aimed in our current study to identify the relationship between dental amalgam filling surfaces and the blood mercury levels in a cohort of 711 South Korean children aged between 8-9 years. Oral examinations were conducted to detect the number of amalgam filling surfaces on the teeth of these individuals. Blood samples were also taken from these children to assess the levels of mercury accumulation in the body. The amalgam filling surfaces were classified into four groups based on their number: 0 (n = 368), 1-5 (n = 219), 6-10 (n = 89), and 11+ (n = 35). The blood mercury levels in the children with more than 10 amalgam surfaces was 0.47 ${\mu}g$/L higher on average than those with no amalgam surfaces after adjusting for the frequency of fish or seafood consumption, age, and gender (P < 0.05). We found from our data that a higher number of dental amalgam fillings correlated with a higher blood mercury level in Korean children. Further studies are needed to investigate whether these elevated mercury levels exert neurotoxic or nephrotoxic effects.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.454-460
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• 2009

The subway is the major public transportation system in Seoul with 2.2 million people using it everyday. Indoor air pollution in the subway can be a significant part of population exposure because of the number of people using the subway, time spent in transit and potentially high exposure for certain pollutants. The Korea Ministry of Environment has established the level 2 of recommended standards of $PM_{10}$ and $CO_2$ in subway trains. The aims of this study were to determine the airborne levels of $PM_{10}$, $CO_2$ and any correlation between pollutant levels and number of passenger in a subway train. The airborne $PM_{10}$ and $CO_2$ were measured on the inside of trains on line #4 for 4 different days from October to November in 2008. Average $PM_{10}$ and $CO_2$ levels were $113{\pm}25{\mu}g/m^3$ and $1402{\pm}442$ ppm, respectively. These levels did not exceed the level 2 of recommended standards of $250{\mu}g/m^3$ for $PM_{10}$ and 3500 ppm for $CO_2$. $PM_{10}$ level was not correlated with the number of passengers, while $CO_2$ levels were positively correlated with the number of passengers. The findings suggested that $PM_{10}$ in subway trains may have sources other than those directly associated with the number of passengers.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 2024

Objective: People vaccinated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 [SARS-CoV-2]) mRNA vaccine have reported experiencing various adverse effects. For instance, reproductive-age women have presented with complaints of abnormal uterine bleeding or menstrual cycle changes. We speculated that differences in basal sex hormone levels before and after vaccination may be present in women who experienced irregular bleeding or menstrual cycle changes; thus, this study aimed to investigate the differences in basal sex hormone levels of women before and after two doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination. Methods: This retrospective study included patients who received SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines between January 2021 and February 2022 at a single center. In an outpatient setting, patients were queried regarding their menstrual cycle, the date of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination, vaccination type, and vaccination side effects. Differences in basal hormone levels (menstrual cycle days 2-3, follicle-stimulating hormone [FSH], luteinizing hormone [LH], and estradiol) before and after vaccination were compared. Results: Among the 326 patients, patients with no laboratory records of the hormones were excluded. The median time interval between SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination and the laboratory test day was 79 days (interquartile range, 44 to 127). A comparative analysis of these hormones before and after vaccination revealed no significant differences. Subgroup analyses based on age and reported adverse events also found no statistically significant differences. Conclusion: This study showed no significant differences in basal hormone levels (FSH, LH, and estradiol) before and after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.147-161
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• 1991

The purpose of this study was to investigate the following contents： 1. Relationship between clothing behavior(modesty, conformity, importance) and clothing regulations of school girls. 2. The differences between middle school girls and high school girls in clothing behavior and in attitude toward clothing regulations. 3. The differences between students herself norms and subiective norms(the students thoughts which would be parents opinions and teachers opinions) in attitude toward clothing regulations. Questionnaires were designed and administered to 300 middle school girls and 302 high school girls in Inchon. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficients, t-test, F-test, and Duncan test. The results of the study were summarized as follows： 1. As tho the differences in responses between school levels, the high school girls showed higher interest in conformity. But there is no differences in Modesty and Importance by school levels. 2. As tho the differences in responses between school levels, there were no differences in attitude toward clothing regulations. But according by types of clothing regulations, high school girls showed higher desire in shoes and sack. 3. In correlation coefficients between the variables on clothing behaviors and the attitudes toward clothing regulations of school girls, modesty is the most related toward clothing regulations of school girls and conformity, importance the next. The higher the school girls are in modesty, the more follow the clothing regulations. And the higher the school girls are in conformity and importance, the lower follow the clothing regulations. 4. The differences between students herself norms and subjective norms(the students thoughts which would be parents opinions and teachers opinions), students and parents showed lower scores than teachers. That is tho say, teachers put more restrictions on students clothing than parents do.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2012

This study determines what affects the academic achievement of senior high school students in the context of the individual, family, and school environment. The sample selection consisted of 1484 high school seniors in Korea. The following are the results of this study: First, female students scored higher in academic achievement than male students. Second, academic achievement by male students was related to levels of school satisfaction, academic motivation, and family strength, while academic achievement by female students was related to levels of parents' education, family income, ego-resiliency, school satisfaction, academic motivation, and family strength. Third, the most important predictor of academic achievement for male and female students is academic motivation, followed by school satisfaction. The present study highlighted the necessity to develop academic achievement improvement programs appropriate for both genders of senior high school students.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to survey the high school students' concern levels on decision-making problems based on biology, This study is a exploratory research to develop teaching strategies and curriculum of the common science for the enhancement of the students' decision-making ability in problems involved biological knowledges. The survey subjects were 101 first graders of the high school in Seoul area. The survey instrument developed was 5-point scale of Likert type consisted of 24 question items. The survey results showed that the concern level on selection of method for learning was the highest. The concern levels on selection of method for sports or diet which are the individual faced problems were high, and concern levels on the problems social issued such as decisions about standard for noise, pros and cons of approval for brain death or artificial abortion were high, too. The students' concern levels on problems individual context were significantly higher than concern levels on problems social context (p<0.01). The males' concern levels were higher than females' on 'AIDS', 'incinerator for rubbish', 'atomic power plant', 'protection policy for decreasing species', 'standard for noise' (p<0.05), And the males' concern levels were higher than females' on domain of 'ecosystem and environment pollution'. But the females had higher concern levels than males on 'diet' and 'surrogate mother' (p<0.05). The analyzed results were discussed in respects of implication for teaching strategies and curriculum.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2003

A survey including an inspection was conducted to assess the sanitary condition of kitchens in the school food-service programs and to prepare background data for improving the safety of school meals. The survey was carried out over a two-month period (September-October, 2001). A self-administered questionnaire recommended by the Korea Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development (MOEHRD) was offered to a random sample of dieticians of twenty-five elementary schools in one region of Korea about food, sanitation, and safety inspection of their kitchens. Air temperature, relative humidity, and airborne microbes in the kitchens were monitored during preparation, cooking, and service. The inspection results showed their sanitary rendition met the level B of the recommendation of the Korea MOEHRD. The range of air temperature of the kitchens was 21.4~22.4$^{\circ}C$. and the range of relative humidity was 62.4~69.6%. The microbiological evaluation of kitchen samples indicated aerobic plate count levels from 22..5 to 26.5 CFU/15 minutes. Although the results of inspection show that the levels of sanitary condition of kitchens in the schools were good, they are not satisfactory for safe food-servile because the temperature and humidity levels are high. This study indicates that the school kitchens should be monitored and strict inspection is necessary. The legal standards for school food-service should include standards for kitchen air temperature, relative humidity, and airborne microbes.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.113-123
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• 2023

This paper describes the acoustical conditions of elementary school and high school classrooms as well as university classrooms in Korea and suggests a need for Korean acoustic standards and guidelines for classroom design. Current standards and guidelines of classroom acoustics in several countries were briefly introduced to understand their acoustical performance criteria for background noise levels and reverberation times, and noise isolation design requirements in various types of classrooms. The results of several acoustic survey of domestic classrooms in elementary school, high school, and university were described and compared to provide information of the acoustic characteristics of Korean school classrooms. The survey includes occupied and unoccupied data on the acoustical conditions, noise levels, and noise isolation performance in the classrooms. Acoustical parameter values for achieving 'good' speech intelligibility in active university classrooms were also presented.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.294-301
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• 2013

Objective: To determine the interleukin (IL)-6 levels in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients with severe root resorption after orthodontic treatment and investigate the effects of different static compressive forces (CFs) on IL-6 production by human periodontal ligament (hPDL) cells and the influence of IL-6 on osteoclastic activation from human osteoclastic precursor (hOCP) cells in vitro. Methods: IL-6 levels in GCF samples collected from 20 patients (15 and 5 subjects without and with radiographic evidence of severe root resorption, respectively) who had undergone orthodontic treatment were measured by ELISA. The levels of IL-6 mRNA in hPDL cells and IL-6 protein in conditioned medium after the application of different uniform CFs (0, 1.0, 2.0, or 4.0 $g/cm^2$ for up to 72 h) were measured by real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively. Finally, the influence of IL-6 on mature osteoclasts was investigated by using hOCP cells on dentin slices in a pit-formation assay. Results: Clinically, the IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the resorption group than in the control group. In vitro, IL-6 mRNA expression significantly increased with increasing CF. IL-6 protein secretion also increased in a time- and magnitude-dependent manner. Resorbed areas on dentin slices were significantly greater in the recombinant human IL-6-treated group and group cultured in hPDL cell-conditioned medium with CF application (4.0 $g/cm^2$) than in the group cultured in hPDL cell-conditioned medium without CF application. Conclusions: IL-6 may play an important role in inducing or facilitating orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.71-77
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• 2009

This study is to understand the situations of special education classroom layout, find differences according to school levels and summarize the findings in order to build up the indicators for special classroom layout. As for elementary school level, special classrooms are using multi-purposes desk or group desk for diverse activities such as basic learning and formation of basic life practice. The most frequent type in classroom layout is Type E which is for diverse coner-learning and play activities and the next is Type C which secures activity space. Because security of dynamic activity which most teachers find problematic is important, it needs more research to secure dynamic activity space within classroom. As for middle school level, the most frequent type in classroom layout is Type B which is equiped for computer aided learning and the next is Type C which secures activity space. Research for systematic layout of activity space is needed in order to secure the spaces of dynamic activity and basic job training. As for high school levels, mostly Type B which emphasizes computer activities is adopted and next is Type F which is capable for job training. The survey about the size of special education classroom proves that most teachers want one and half size classroom which in not such a large classroom. It is expected that more systematic research of special classroom layout according to school levels may reach for rational space layout.