• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.67-76
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• 2019

The objectives of this study were to analyze trends of water pollutants and to evaluate the achievement of water quality standards by subbasins in the Han River. The trends of 40 water pollutants at 232 water quality measurement points were analyzed. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), Total organic carbon (TOC), Total coliforms (TC), et cetera were found to be worsening trend. For evaluation of achievement, we evaluated water quality arithmetic mean with river environment standards and human health standards at representative points of the subbasin. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), TOC, Total phosphorus (T-P), Fecal coliforms (FC), TC exceeded water quality standards, and water quality of human health standards was all satisfied. So, we prioritized pollutants. If pollutants exceed water quality standards or were worse, they were classified first pollutants. Although BOD and T-P are first pollutants because of water quality standards excess, they are continuously improved. Also, it is better to maintain current status because water quality management system of BOD and T-P is well prepared. Meanwhile, TOC, TC, and FC exceed water quality standards. Furthermore, they were worse gradually, but there is a lack of management systems such as water quality standards of the effluence facilities. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement the system. The results of this study can be used as primary data for the establishment of water quality standards and selection of management pollutants.

• Journal of odor and indoor environment
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.330-336
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• 2018

The objective of this study was to determine whether crops and fruits absorb the naturally occurring asbestos (NOA). The concentration of asbestos in various crops and fruits grown in NOA areas was analyzed and background levels of asbestos in ambient air and soil samples were assessed. Actinolite/Tremolite asbestos were detected in all soil samples. Among 21 ambient air samples, 2 samples were recorded to contain 0.0005 f/cc (fiber per cubic centimeter) but no asbestos was detected in the other samples using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). However, no evidence suggesting that the crops and fruits could be contaminated by NOA was found in this study. The excess lifetime cancer risks (ELCRs) of ABS scenarios (agricultural activities) used in this study were calculated by using the Arithmetic (AM) and Geometric mean (GM) of ELCRs. The AM and GM of ELCRs estimated from digging soil and weeding activities did not exceed $1{\times}10^{-4}$, which was defined as the general acceptable risk range for exposure. The results of this study would be informative to NOA managers and related policy makers to make plans to prevent unexpected exposure to asbestos to residents living in an NOA area.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.145-159
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• 2021

Purpose: A statistical similarity evaluation to compare pharmacokinetics(PK) profile data between nonclinical and clinical experiments has become a significant issue on many drug development processes. This study proposes a new similarity index by considering important parameters, such as the area under the curve(AUC) and the time-series profile of various PK data. Methods: In this study, a new profile similarity index(PSI) by using the concept of a process capability index(Cp) is proposed in order to investigate the most similar animal PK profile compared to the target(i.e., Human PK profile). The proposed PSI can be calculated geometric and arithmetic means of all short term similarity indices at all time points on time-series both animal and human PK data. Designed simulation approaches are demonstrated for a verification purpose. Results: Two different simulation studies are conducted by considering three variances(i.e., small, medium, and large variances) as well as three different characteristic types(smaller the better, larger the better, nominal the best). By using the proposed PSI, the most similar animal PK profile compare to the target human PK profile can be obtained in the simulation studies. In addition, a case study represents differentiated results compare to existing simple statistical analysis methods(i.e., root mean squared error and quality loss). Conclusion: The proposed PSI can effectively estimate the level of similarity between animal, human PK profiles. By using these PSI results, we can reduce the number of animal experiments because we only focus on the significant animal representing a high PSI value.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.137-145
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to identify PM₁₀ mass concentration levels and conduct peak identification during five tasks in agricultural works. Methods: We investigated five agricultural tasks in 12 farms, which were harvesting, plowing, sowing, planting, and decapitation. All samples were measured by using the portable aerosol spectrometer(PAS 1.108) and the aerosol monitor(SidePak AM520). The collected data were compared with the national PM₁₀ concentrations. They were calculated to descriptive statistics, independent t-test, or ANOVA, and the peak identification on time series graph. Results: The ten investigated farms showed no significant difference with the national PM₁₀ concentrations, but the two greenhouses(AM, 143.31, 85.16 ㎍/m³) showed significant difference(p<0.05). As a result of the peak identification, the harvesting tasks showed repeated peak occurrence with the background concentration level of about 50 ㎍/m³. For plowing and sowing tasks, the peak occurred intermittently when the working was conducted near the sampling sites. Among the five tasks, the arithmetic mean of the harvesting task was 138.84±294.71 ㎍/m³, which was significantly higher than the other tasks(p<0.05). In addition, the case of using a tractor was higher than the case of not using the tractor(p<0.05), and the driver's seat showed the highest concentration(AM, 95.81 ㎍/m³). Conclusions: Works in greenhouses might have exposure to PM₁₀, while outdoor works is similar to general atmospheric PM₁₀ concentration levels. However, there is a possibility of intermittent exposure to high concentrations of PM₁₀ depending on the characteristics of agricultural tasks.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.539-556
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• 2022

In the coastal areas of Jeju Island, composed of volcanic rocks, saltwater intrusion occurs due to excessive pumping and geological characteristics. Groundwater level and electrical conductivity (EC) in multi-depth monitoring wells in coastal areas were characterized from 2005 to 2019. During the period of the lowest monthly precipitation, from November 2017 until February 2018, groundwater level decreased by 0.32-0.91 m. During the period of the highest monthly precipitation, from September 2019 until October 2019, groundwater level increased by 0.46-2.95 m. Groundwater level fluctuation between the dry and wet seasons ranged from 0.79 to 3.73 m (average 1.82 m) in the eastern area, from 0.47 to 6.57 m (average 2.55 m) in the western area, from 0.77 to 8.59 m (average 3.53 m) in the southern area, and from 1.06 to 12.36 m (average 5.92 m) in the northern area. In 2013, when the area experienced decreased annual precipitation, at some monitoring wells in the western area, the groundwater level decreased due to excessive groundwater pumping and saltwater intrusion. Based on EC values of 10,000 ㎲/cm or more, saltwater intrusion from the coastline was 10.2 km in the eastern area, 4.1 km in the western area, 5.8 km in the southern area, and 5.7 km in the northern area. Autocorrelation analysis of groundwater level revealed that the arithmetic mean of delay time was 0.43 months in the eastern area, 0.87 months in the northern area, 10.93 months in the southern area, and 17.02 months in the western area. Although a few monitoring wells were strongly influenced by nearby pumping wells, the cross-correlation function of the groundwater level was the highest with precipitation in most wells. The seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model indicated that the groundwater level will decrease in most wells in the western area and decrease or increase in different wells in the eastern area.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.284-290
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• 2023

Objectives: Work environment assessments were conducted to investigate epidemiologically several cases of lung cancer and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) among workers in domestic quarries. Methods: We visited three quarries in South Korea where an epidemiological investigation was requested and measured total dust, respirable dust, and crystalline silica on rock drilling workers (4 people) and rock chipping workers (13 people). Measurement and analysis were conducted according to NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health) method 0500, NIOSH method 0600 for respirable dust, and NIOSH method 7500 for crystalline silica. Results: Among rock drilling workers the AMs (arithmetic mean) of total dust concentrations, respirable dust concentrations, and crystalline silica concentrations were 3.462 mg/m³ (range: 0.764~6.085 mg/m³), 0.613 mg/m³ (range: 0.153~1.251 mg/m³), and 0.105 mg/m³ (range: 0.012~0.228 mg/m³), respectively. Among rock chipping workers, the AMs of total dust concentrations, respirable dust concentrations, and crystalline silica concentrations were 2.446 mg/m³ (range: 0.156~8.494 mg/m³), 0.488 mg/m³ (range: 0.028~1.536 mg/m³), and 0.099 mg/m³ (range: 0.004~0.274 mg/m³), respectively. Conclusions: Although it cannot be said that the dust concentrations were high for both rock drilling workers and rock chipping workers, the concentrations of crystalline silica were found to be high. If such work is performed for a long period of time, diseases such as lung cancer and COPD may occur, so the work environment needs to be improved.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.464-470
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• 2023

Objectives: This study evaluated occupational exposures to noise and heat stress during routine non-outage works in three coal-fired power plants in the Republic of Korea. Methods: The data were collected during the summer of 2020. Full shift noise exposure of 52 workers were measured using noise dosimeters. Heat stress of 16 worksites were measured for 70 minutes using wet-bulb globe temperature monitors. Results: The noise dosimetry results revealed time-weighted averages that ranged from 47.5 to 88.9 dBA. 2 out of 52 noise measurements exceeded 85 dBA. Based on the arithmetic mean, the coal service group showed the highest level at 80.2 dBA by job tasks. Noise exposures exceeding 85 dBA were measured in the coal service and plant operator group. Heat stress index measurements ranged from 20.3℃ to 37.2℃. 1 out of 9 indices measured in coal facilities and 4 out of 7 indices measured in boiler house exceeded 1 hour TWA during moderate work. Heat stress indices measured from boiler houses were significantly higher than those measured from coal equipment. Conclusions: The results show that overexposure to noise and heat stress may be encountered during routine non-outage work activities in coal-fired power plants. Appropriate actions should be taken to reduce future health outcome from occupational exposure to noise and heat stress in the industry.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.201-211
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• 2024

PURPOSE. The aim of this prospective clinical study was to compare the influence of palatal vault forms on accuracy and speed of intraoral (IO) scans in completely edentulous cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Based on the palatal vault form, participants were divided into three equal groups (n = 10 each); Class I: moderate; Class II: deep; Class III: flat palatal vault. A reference model was created for each patient using polyvinylsiloxane impression material. The poured models were digitized using an extraoral scanner. The resultant data were imported as a solid CAD file into 3D analysis software (GOM Inspect 2018; Gom GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany) and aligned using the software's coordinate system to determine its X, Y, and Z axes. Five digital impressions (DIs) of maxilla were captured for each patient using an intraoral scanner (TRIOS; 3Shape A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark) and the resultant Standard Tessellation Language (STL) scan files served as test models. Trueness was evaluated by calculating arithmetic mean deviation (AMD) of the vault area between reference and test files while precision was evaluated by calculating AMD between captured scans to measure repeatability of scan acquisition. The scan time taken for each participant was also recorded. RESULTS. There was no significant difference in trueness and precision among the groups (P = .806 and .950, respectively). Average scan time for Class I and III palatal vaults was 1 min 13 seconds and 1 min 37 seconds, respectively, while class II deep palatal vaults showed the highest scan time of 5 mins. CONCLUSION. Palatal vault form in edentulous cases has an influence on scan time. However, it does not have a substantial impact on the accuracy of the acquired scans.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.177-192
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• 2012

This is a study of match-making systems that considers the mutual satisfaction of matching partners. Recently, recommendation systems have been applied to people recommendation, such as recommending new friends, employees, or dating partners. One of the prominent domain areas is match-making systems that recommend suitable dating partners to customers. A match-making system, however, is different from a product recommender system. First, a match-making system needs to satisfy the recommended partners as well as the customer, whereas a product recommender system only needs to satisfy the customer. Second, match-making systems need to include as many participants in a matching pool as possible for their recommendation results, even with unpopular customers. In other words, recommendations should not be focused only on a limited number of popular people; unpopular people should also be listed on someone else's matching results. In product recommender systems, it is acceptable to recommend the same popular items to many customers, since these items can easily be additionally supplied. However, in match-making systems, there are only a few popular people, and they may become overburdened with too many recommendations. Also, a successful match could cause a customer to drop out of the matching pool. Thus, match-making systems should provide recommendation services equally to all customers without favoring popular customers. The suggested match-making system, called Mutually Beneficial Matching (MBM), considers the reciprocal satisfaction of both the customer and the matched partner and also considers the number of customers who are excluded in the matching. A brief outline of the MBM method is as follows: First, it collects a customer's profile information, his/her preferable dating partner's profile information and the weights that he/she considers important when selecting dating partners. Then, it calculates the preference score of a customer to certain potential dating partners on the basis of the difference between them. The preference score of a certain partner to a customer is also calculated in this way. After that, the mutual preference score is produced by the two preference values calculated in the previous step using the proposed formula in this study. The proposed formula reflects the symmetry of preferences as well as their quantities. Finally, the MBM method recommends the top N partners having high mutual preference scores to a customer. The prototype of the suggested MBM system is implemented by JAVA and applied to an artificial dataset that is based on real survey results from major match-making companies in Korea. The results of the MBM method are compared with those of the other two conventional methods: Preference-Based Matching (PBM), which only considers a customer's preferences, and Arithmetic Mean-Based Matching (AMM), which considers the preferences of both the customer and the partner (although it does not reflect their symmetry in the matching results). We perform the comparisons in terms of criteria such as average preference of the matching partners, average symmetry, and the number of people who are excluded from the matching results by changing the number of recommendations to 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25. The results show that in many cases, the suggested MBM method produces average preferences and symmetries that are significantly higher than those of the PBM and AMM methods. Moreover, in every case, MBM produces a smaller pool of excluded people than those of the PBM method.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.143-149
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• 2005

Objects : With the advancement of tissue engineering techniques, the effort to develop bioartificial mucosa have been actively delivered. The problem we met with this technique is the lack of mechanical strength between kerationocyte layer and dermal layer, where in the normal skin and mucosa, they are tightly bound with rete ridge structure. The purpose of this study is to understand the 2D and 3D structure of rete ridge of mucosa and skin paddle for rendering more biomimetic structure to the artificial mucosa. Materials and Methods : Oral mucosa and skin from the patients who received the oral surgery and maxillofacial reconstruction were harvested. The epidermis was separated from the dermis after treating with dispase for 12-16 hours. H&E staining was performed for 2D(dimensional) structure study and confocal LASER and SEM study were performed for 3D structure. Mean height(Sc) and arithmetic mean deviation(Sa) of all surface height were calculated. Results : The average height of rete ridge of skin flap was between $67.14{\mu}m$ and $194.55{\mu}m$. That of oral mucosa was between $146.26{\mu}m$ and $167.51{\mu}m$. Pressure bearing area and attached gingiva of oral mucosa showed deeper rete ridges. Conclusion : To obtain the adequate strength of artificially cultured keratinocyte skin and mucosa flap, it is necessary to imitate the original skin and mucosa structure, especially rete ridge. Through this study, 2D and 3D rete ridge structure of normal mucosa and skin was obtained. These results can be used as basis for substrate morphology for keratinocytes culture.