• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.159-193
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• 2015

Owing to causes such as population aging, increased use of various medical devices, long-term hospitalization of various patients with reduced immune function such as cancer, diabetes, and organ transplant patients, and the growing size of hospitals, hospital infections are continuing to increase. As seen in the MERS crisis of 2015, hospital infections have become a social and national problem. In order to prevent damage due to such hospital infections, it is necessary to first strictly implement measures to prevent hospital infections, while, on the other hand, providing proper relief of damage suffered due to hospital infections. However, the mainstream attitude of judicial precedents relating to hospital infection cases has been judged to in fact shift responsibility over damages due to hospital infections on the patient. In light of the philosophy of the damage compensation system, whose guiding principle if the fair and proper apportionment of damages, there is a need to seek means of drastically relaxing the burden of proof on the patient's side relative to conventional legal principles for relaxing the burden of proof, or the theory of de facto estimation. In relation to such need, the German civil code (Burgerliches Gesetzbuch), which defines contracts of medical treatment as typical contracts under the civil code, and has presumption of negligence provisions stipulating that, in cases such as hospital infections which were completely under the control of the medical care providers, if risks in general medical treatment have been realized which cause violations of the life, body, or health of patients, error on the part of the person providing medical care is presumed, was examined. Contracts of medical treatment are entered into very frequently and broadly in the everyday lives of the general public, with various disputes owing thereto arising. Therefore, it is necessary to, by defining contracts of medical treatment as typical contracts under the civil code, regulate the content of said contracts, as well as the proof of burden when disputes arise. If stipulations in the civil code are premature as of yet, an option may be to regulate through a special act, as is the case with France. In the case of hospital infection cases, it is thought that 'legal presumption of negligence' relating to 'negligence in the occurrence of hospital infections,' which will create a state close to equality of arms, will aid the resolution of the realistic issue of the de facto impossibility of remedying damages occurring due to negligence in the process of occurrence of hospital infections. Also, even if negligence is presumed by law, as the patient side is burdened with proving the causal relationships, such drastic confusion as would occur if the medical care provider side is found fully liable if a hospital infection occurs may be avoided. It is thought that, alongside such efforts, social insurance policy must be improved so as to cover the expenses of medical institutions having strictly implemented efforts to prevent hospital infections in the event that they have suffered damages due to a hospital infection accident, and that close future research and examination into this matter will be required.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.55-84
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• 2015

The tuberculosis is the infectious disease. Generally, the active tuberculosis patient can infect the 10 persons for one year within the daily activities like casual conversation and singing together. The infectivity of tuberculosis can continue for a life time, and infected persons can remain at risk for developing active tuberculosis. To control this contagious disease, along with the active tuberculosis patients, non-infectious but non-compliant patients who can be infectious if their immune systems become impaired have to be managed. To control the non-complaint patients, medical treatment order should be combined with the public order. Because tuberculosis is the risk of community health, the human rights like liberty and freedom of movement can be restricted for public welfare under the article 37(2) of constitution. Even when such restriction is imposed, no essential aspect of the freedom or right shall be violated. The degree of restriction on the rights of citizens is different what methods are chosen to non-complaint patients. For example, under the directly observed therapy program, the patients and medical staffs make an appointment and meet to confirm the drug intakes according to the schedule, which is the medical treatment combined with the mildest public order. If the patients break the appointments or have the history of disobedient, the involuntary detention can obtain the legitimate cause. The Tuberculosis Prevention Act has the two step programs on this involuntary detention, The admission order (Article 15) is issued when the patients are infectious. The quarantine order (Artle 15-2) is issued when the patients are infectious and non-complaint. The legal criteria for involuntary detention are discussed and published through the international conventions and covenants. For example, World Health Organization had made guidance on human rights and involuntary detention for tuberculosis control. The restrictions should be carried out in accordance with the our law and in the legitimate objective of public interest. And the restriction should be based on scientific evidence and not imposed in an unreasonable or discriminatory manner. We define and adopt these international criteria under our constitution and legal system. Least restrictive alternative principle, proportionality principle and the individual evaluation methods are explained through the reviews of United States court decisions. Habeas Corpus Act is reviewed and adopted as the procedural due process to protect the patient rights as a citizen. Along with that, what conditions and facilities which are needed to performed quarantine order are discussed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 2002

Objective : The primary objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HBsAg-positives in the late 1990's among Korean adults. In addition, we evaluated the association of age, a residential area, a vaccination rate, a family history of chronic liver diseases and a past history of acute liver disease with the seropositivity of HBsAg, and estimated the prevalence of chronic HBV infection by follow-up for 6 month or more. Methods : A total of 10 areas, six metropolitan and four small cities, were selected. In each cities, one health screening center was selected for recruitment of study subjects. The study subjects were enrolled from a general health examination program that is provided by medical insurance companies. Questionnaires on various risk factors were administered to the study subjects. Sera was drawn and tested for HBsAg by radioimmunoassay. HBeAg and ALT were also tested for those of HBsAg positive. The HBsAg positives was retest for HBsAg 6 months later Results : Among the study subjects (n= 1816), the seroprevalence of HBsAg was 5.5% (95% CI=4.5%-6.6%), 7.4% in men (95% CI=5.8-9.4) and 3.6% in women (95% CI=2.5-5.0). A past history of acute liver disease and a family history of chronic liver diseases was shown to be risk factors for HBsAg positivity. Among the 31 HBsAg-positives, negative seroconversion rate was estimated to be 3.2%, Thus, prevalence of chronic HBV infection was estimated to be 5.3% (95% CI=3.7-6.6). Conclusion : In this study, the HBsAg seroprevalence rate was lower than that of the other studies in 1980's, particularly in young adult and women. Considering the public health importance of liver cancer and chronic liver diseases, the further effort is needed to prevent and reduce the HBV infection.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.99-128
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• 2018

The cultivation area of rice as staple grains is decreasing in the domestic situation in Korea. Import volume of a duty in foreign rice is 409,000 tons for a year regardless increasing of production per unit area and decreasing of rice consumption. The total stock of rice is increasing cumulatively despite the effort for production mediation of rice. Therefore, maintenance of cultivation area and reduction of production are necessary for national foodstuffs security problems. Development of environment-friendly and low-carbon technology as alternative of global warming and aging of farm labor power is very important responsibility for descendants with creation of sustainable agriculture environment. As alternative for demand and supply stabilization of rice from all angles, first stage: extension of environment-friendly cultivation area as 17% Jeollanam-do level with maintenance of cultivation area under the present circumstances, second stage: extension of environment-friendly cultivation area as 25%, third stage: extension of environment-friendly cultivation area as 35%. From above mentioned scenario, reduction of rice production (60,000 tons), increases of production cost (59,200,000,000 Won), and reduction of income (201,500,000,000 Won) are estimated in first stage. Reduction of rice production (90,000 tons), increases of production cost (122,100,000,000 Won), and reduction of income (313,700,000,000 Won) are estimated in second stage. Reduction of rice production (380,000 tons), increases of production cost (222,000,000,000 Won), and reduction of income (464,500,000,000 Won) are estimated in third stage. From analysis results for partial tillage in transplanting cultivation complex (10ha), rice production is decreased 1.3~1.5 ton by complex. Production cost of rice is decreased and increases of income cultivation type. Gradual extension of environment-friendly agriculture and low-carbon partial tillage could be expected for environment maintenance of the territorial integrity, confidence of consumer, and high-efficiency of low-cost.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.129-138
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• 2015

Forest vegetation of Geumsusan (1,016.0 m) and Doraksan (964.4 m) in Woraksan National Park is classified into mountain forest vegetation. Mountain forest vegetation is subdivided into deciduous broad-leaved forest, mountain valley forest, coniferous forest, riparian forest, afforestation and other vegetation. Including 77 communities of mountain forest vegetation and 5 communities of other vegetation, the total of 82 communities were researched; mountain forest vegetation classified by physiognomy classification are 37 communities deciduous broad-leaved forest, 16 communities of mountain valley forest, 8 communities of coniferous forests, 1 community of riparian forest, 15 afforestation and 5 other vegetation. As for the distribution rate for surveyed main communities, Quercus variabilis and Quercus mongolica communities account for 33.031 percent of deciduous broadleaved forest, Cornus controversa community takes up 29.142 percent of mountain valley forest, Pinus densiflora community holds 64.477 percent of mountain coniferous forest holds. In conclusion, minority species consisting of Quercus variabilis, Quercus mongolica, Pinus densiflora, Quercus serrata and Cornus controversa are distributed as dominant species of the uppermost part in a forest vegetation region in Woraksan National Park. In addition, because of vegetation succession and climate factors, numerous colonies formed by the two species are expected to be replaced by Quercus variabilis, Quercus mongolica, Cornus controversa and Fraxinus mandshurica which are climax species in the area.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.spc
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• pp.48-56
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• 2014

Weekly changes of water environments and phytoplankton community with the salinity gradients were investigated at Gyoungpo Lake from April to November in 1998 and 2012. Underwater crossam in Gyoungpo Lake was removed in 2004. Thereafter, average salinity of Gyoungpo lake increased from 7.5 ppt in 1998 to 20 ppt in 2012. A total of 99 and 80 species of phytoplankton was observed from the sampled in 1998 and 2012, respectively. The number of common species during the 2 separate years was 40. Transparency, SS, $NO_3-N$ concentration and N/P ratio in 2012 were lower than those in 1998. During the period of water shortage (April, May) of 2012 transparency decreased due to decreased salinity and increased SS and Chl. a. Correlation coefficients between species and community scores of DCA ordination based on data matrix of the phytoplankton revealed larger variation among sampling seasons in 1998 than in 2012. The increase of seawater influx and conversion rates following the removal of the underwater crossbeam might explain such a differential variation. Gymnodium sp., Peridinium sp., Prorocentrum sp., Nitzschia longissima, Schroederia setigera, Lyngbya sp., Asterococcus limneticus, Asterococcus superbus and Cyclotella meneghiniana were found to well adapt at the high salinities in 2012. Comparatively, Asterrionella formosa, Nitzschia frustulum, Chlorella ellipsoidea, Scenedesmus bijuga and Scenedesmus ellipsoideus were observed at lower salinities in 1998. Two quite contrasting phytoplankton communities were found in the two seasons of a year, spring with limited precipitation and summer, the flood season.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2013

Niphon spinosus, Epinephelus bruneus, and Epinephelus septemfasciatus are involved in the Perciformes Order and Serranidae Family. When E. bruneus and E. septemfasciatus are fully grown, the striped pattern on the body gradually disappears. Therefore, morphological classification of adult fishes is quite difficult to identify the differences to N. spinosus. In this study, we investigate the method to differentiate those using PCR. To design the primers, 16S rRNA region of N. spinosus, E. bruneus, and E. septemfasciatus registered in the GeneBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) have been used and for the analysis, Bio Edit ver. 7.0.9.0 was used. As a result, it was design NS-003-F/NS-005-R (136 bp), EB-001-F/EB-002-R (181 bp), and ES-001-F/ES-001-R (123 bp) primers for the differentiation of each 3 different fishes. Therefore, the species-specific primer sets would be a useful tool for scientific and speedy differentiation against the illegal distribution for consumer protection.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.28-36
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• 2018

Studies on suspected endocrine disrupting pesticide (EDP) residues in agricultural products were carried out in 2016 in Busan, Korea. Twelve different EDPs, ranging in concentration between 0.003-2.049 mg/kg, were detected in 19.5% of 462 samples. About 0.2% of agricultural product samples exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs). Risk indices of all of the EDPs were less than 10% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI). The outcomes indicated that the risk groups at highest risk of exposure to diazinon (found in Korean cabbages) and carbendazim (found in apples) were females aged 40 to 49 and young males less than 10 years old, respectively. Based on the stochastic assessment at $95^{th}$ percentile (P95), risk index in these risk groups accounted for 8.38 and 2.98% of ADIs. The results showed that the occurrence of EDP residues in agricultural products could not be considered a public health problem.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.366-374
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• 2012

Recently pathogenic E. coli is one of the main foodborne pathogens resulting in many patients in Korea. To understand the characteristics of pathogenic E. coli outbreaks in Korea, the epidemiological investigation reports of pathogenic E. coli outbreak in 2009 (41 reports) and in 2010 (27 reports) were collected in the web site of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reviewed and analysed in this study. The main places of the pathogenic E. coli outbreaks were food catering service area (64.8%) and restaurants (25.0%). The main type of the pathogens were EPEC (44.7%) and ETEC (34.2%). EAEC and EHEC was responsible for 10.5 and 9.2%, respectively. Eight of 68 outbreak cases were caused by more than 2 types of pathogenic E. coli which implicates the complicated contamination pathways of pathogenic E. coli. The incidence rate of pathogenic E. coli was $33.6{\pm}30.5%$ and the main symptoms were diarrhea, stomach ache, nausea, vomiting, and fever etc. The two identified food sources were identified as frozen hamburger pattie and squid-vegetable mixture. To improve the food source identification by epidemiological investigation, food poisoning notification to the agency should not be delayed, whole food items attributed the outbreak should be collected and detection method of the various pathogenic E. coli in food has to be improved. In conclusion, the characteristics between the EHEC outbreaks in the western countries and the EPEC or ETEC outbreaks in Korea needs to be distinguished to prepare food safety management plan. In addition, the development of the trace back system to find the contamination pathway with the improved detection method in food and systemic and cooperative support by the related agencies are necessary.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.466-472
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• 2012

In this study, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL), RNApolymeraseC (rpoC1), intergenic spacer (psbA-trnH), and second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) as identification markers for discrimination of P. mirifica in foods were selected. To be primer design, we obtained 719 bp, 520 bp, 348 bp, and 507 bp amplicon using universal primers from selected regions of P. mirifica. The regions of rbcL, rpoC1, and psbA-trnH were not proper for design primers because of high homology about P. mirifica, P. lobata, and B. superba. But, we had designed 4 pairs of oligonucleotide primers from ITS2 gene. Predicted amplicon from P. mirifica were obtained 137 bp and 216 bp using finally designed primers SFI12-miri-6F/SFI12-miri-7R and SFI12-miri-6F/SFI12-miri-8R, respectively. The species-specific primers distinguished P. mirifica from related species were able to apply food materials and processed foods. The developed PCR method would be applicable to food safety management for illegally distributed products in markets and internet shopping malls.