• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 2008

We evaluated the relationship between birth weight and mercury exposure levels in Seoul, Korea, by following a cohort of pregnant women and the outcomes of their pregnancies between 2001-2005. Eighty-five pregnant women were recruited into this study after obtaining informed consent. Samples were collected at delivery from normal pregnant women who were living in the city of Seoul, Korea. Mercury concentrations in 85 sets of maternal and cord blood samples were measured using a gold-amalgam collection method. We used multiple regression analysis to analyze the effect of mercury exposure on birth weight. The mean levels of total mercury concentrations were 5.41(ppb) in maternal blood of pregnant women and 3.58(ppb) in umbilical cord blood. The mean concentration of umbilical cord blood mercury exposures was higher than the level recommended by WHO. There was a significant correlation between maternal and cord blood mercury concentrations. Mercury concentrations of umbilical cord blood was associated with birth weight. In addition, after adjusting for potential confounding factors, we found that mercury exposure may reduce the birth weight. This study suggests that exposure to mercury concentration during pregnancy contributes to the risk of low birth weight. Therefore, prenatal and environmental education for various and possible sources of mercury exposure might be necessary for the good health of babies. The finding of this study supports the construction of national policy for environmental health management.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.159-176
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• 2014

This study aims to examine the suggestions by studies that family predictors are related to developmental outcomes more strongly for children reared principally by their parents compared to those with extensive child care experience. Zero-order correlations between family predictors and developmental outcomes were conducted and the significance of differences in correlation coefficients between the two child care groups were examined. There was no evidence that there exist systematic differences between the two groups in predictive power of family factors except a few exceptions. At 2 years, social parenting style was more strongly associated with communication ability in the extensive child care group. At 3 years, some HOME subscales were related to a child's expressive and receptive vocabulary skills in significantly greater magnitudes in the mother care group. The findings also implied the potential contribution of child care environment on developmental outcomes for those who spend extensive hours in nonmaternal care.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.277-282
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• 2010

This study was performed to investigate the composition of amino acids and biological properties with the ethanol extract of fruiting bodies of Pleurotus eryngii grown on the sawdust compost mix (400 g sawdust plus 200 g rice bran) supplemented with various dosages of monosodium glutamate (MSG). Amino acid composition analyses showed that arginine, glutamic acid, alanine and glycine increased as the dosage of MSG was increased, whereas histidine, serine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine and phenylalanine did not increase. $\gamma$-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) content increased significantly up to 1.18 mg/g extract when 6 g MSG was supplemented to the sawdust mix. Antioxidant activity of the extract was estimated and compared to the standard antioxidant (ascorbic acid). The antioxidant property such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity increased with the extract samples of increasing dosage of MSG. Although the extract showed low levels of nitrite scavenging activity, this activity increased up to 1.5-2.0 fold when MSG was supplemented to the sawdust mix above a dosage of 0.5 g. The results obtained from the present investigation would appear that Pleurotus eryngii grown on the MSG-enriched sawdust mix can be used more effectively as one of potential sources of functional foods.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.142-148
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• 2017

Objectives The ratio of second to fourth digit length (2D : 4D) could be a potential epigenetic marker of sexual dimorphism reflecting prenatal testosterone exposure. Testosterone is known to affect the development of the brain through an epigenetic mechanism. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of exposure to fetal testosterone on the metabolic syndrome based on 2D : 4D of schizophrenia patients and the relationship with the age of onset of schizophrenia. Methods A total of 214 schizophrenia patients participated in this study. The participant's physical and blood tests were performed according to the American National Cholesterol Education Program's Third Amendment of the Metabolic Syndrome Diagnostic Criteria, and the 2D : 4D was measured by the method designed by McFadden. Data were statistically analyzed by t-test, Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple regression model analysis. Results 2D : 4D was significantly higher in female than male in both hands, and there was a statistically significant negative correlation between 2D : 4D and the age of onset of schizophrenia in male. However, 2D : 4D did not show statistically significant correlation with metabolic factors. Conclusions Fetal testosterone suggests the possibility of affecting the age of onset of schizophrenia through the epigenetic mechanism, but there is no clear relationship with metabolic factors.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.364-375
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• 2016

Post-translational modification is an efficient process to rapidly transduce external stimulus into cellular response. Ubiquitination is a typical post-translational modification which is a highly conserved process in eukaryotes. UPS (Ubiquitin/Proteasome System) mediated by the ubiquitination is to target diverse cellular proteins for degradation. Among E3 ubiquitin ligases that function as the key determinant for substrate recognition, CRL (cullin–RING E3 ubiquitin ligase) is the largest family and forms the complex composed of cullin, RBX1, adaptor and substrate receptor. Although CRL1, also known as SCF complex, has been widely researched for its biological role, the functional studies of CRL4 have been relatively elusive. In Arabidopsis, there are 119 substrate receptors named DCAF (DDB1 CUL4 Associated Factor) proteins for CRL4 and a fraction of DCAF proteins have been identified for their potential functions so far. In this paper, current understanding on structure and biological roles of plant CRL4 complexes in a diverse of cellular events is reviewed, especially focusing on CRL4 substrate receptors. Moreover, the regulatory mechanism of CRL4’s activity is also introduced. These studies will be helpful to further understand the signal transduction pathways in which such CRL4 complexes are involved and give a clue to establish the action network of entire CRL4 complexes in plants.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.71-80
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• 2017

The standards for achievement levels for building blocks in elementary geometry class is to enhance spatial cognitive ability through practices describing shape patterns of building blocks observed from different directions. However, most of building block in the textbook is described from only one perspective. Even worse, some examples in the textbook are almost impossible to observe in the real world. Contrary to this, simulated views by Wings3D has shown that each box may look quite differently from different angles let alone the size of each box. Using Wings3D, it is also very easy to build different types of building blocks with various levels of difficulty in the virtual space. Based on these results, in this study, 3D visualization SW is suggested as a potential pedagogical tool for the elementary geometry class to help kids perceive objects in space more precisely. We have shown that 3D visualization SW such as Wings3D could be a powerful, compact 3D SW for most of subjects which are covered in elementary geometry education. Wings3D has another advantage of economic open source SW fully compatible with school PCs.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.13-22
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• 2020

This study aimed to investigate the association between asthma and emotions, such as depression, stress, and health awareness. We observed the effects of blood indices on asthma in Korean adults. Data from 5852 adults were taken from the 2017 Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and analyzed using a multivariate logistic regression model. The probability of asthma occurrence in over 65 years old was higher than in 19-44 years old (OR = 1.48), and asthma occurrence was high in subjects with low educational (OR = 1.89) and income (OR = 2.07) levels. With regard to marital status, singleness and divorce and dye were found to have increased the probability of asthma occurrence by 1.62- and 2.30-folds, respectively. The restriction of activities was another factor that increased with asthma occurrence (OR = 2.39). In terms of emotions, general health awareness was significantly 3.45 times increased the probability of asthma occurrence at their health bad awareness. Furthermore, depression (OR = 1.782) was shown to have increased asthma occurrence. The blood index of C-CRP 1.12 times increased the probability of asthma occurrence. The factors that influenced asthma occurrence were age, education, income, marital status, the restriction of activities, general health awareness, depression, and C-CRP. Emotional factors and blood indices are potential risk factors for the development of asthma in Korean adults. By understanding the increased risks of asthma occurrence with general characteristics and emotional factors and blood indices, the management and prevention of asthma should include the management of emotional factors.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.54-61
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• 2012

In this study, the adsorption of $Cu^{2+}$ from aqueous solution by the biochar derived from woody biomass at different pyrolysis temperatures has been investigated. The woody biomass wastes used in this study were branch of willow ($Salix$ $koreensis$ $Andersson$) and bark of chestnut ($Castanea$ $crenata$ $var.$ $dulcis$). Three biochar samples prepared by heating each biomass at temperature of $300^{\circ}C$, $500^{\circ}C$, and $700^{\circ}C$were tested for the adsorption capacity of Cu. Also the physicochemical properties of the developed biochars were studied using different characterization techniques such as FT-IR, SEM, BET surface area, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The adsorption of Cu could be well described by Langmuir model for both willow and chestnut biochars with $R^2{\geq}0.98$. The maximum adsorption capacities of the biochar produced at $700^{\circ}C$ from the Langmuir equation were found to be 12.5 mg $g^{-1}$ and 16.9 mg $g^{-1}$ for willow and chestnut, respectively. Chestnut biochar was found to interact more effectively with the active sites available for Cu, resulting higher removal of Cu(II) than wiloow biochar. Ion exchange and surface complexation found to be the main mechanisms involved in the adsorption process. This study demonstrated the feasibility of the biochars derived from woody biomass to be as a low-cost potential adsorbent for heavy metals as Cu(II) removal in aquatic system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
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• autumn
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• pp.73-81
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• 2003

The construction industry has been experiencing a major challenge in its work force, 'the shortage of skilled craft workers.' This problem has been caused by several factors such as the poor image of the construction industry, lack of training and education, unclear career path, declining wages, and changing work force demographics. A 'step-change' approach called the 'Two-Tier Work Force Strategy' has been proposed by the Center for Construction Industry Studies (CCIS) to deal with the work force related issues in a radical way. It is composed of two separate strategies, Tier I and II. The Tier I strategy uses less skilled and task trained craft workers, and has a larger administrative site management team than the Tier II strategy. The Tier II strategy utilizes fewer, better-educated, and higher skilled workers who perform some lower-management functions in addition to craft functions. They are paid more, but produce more through higher skills, stay on the job longer through multi-skilling, and deliver improved project performance in safety, quality, schedule, and cost The Two-Tier Work Force Strategy has the potential to resolve the current work force problems and foster a better work force environment in the future.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.37-50
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• 1996

To analyze the roles by abilities between manpower through the analysis of industrial health service agency personnel, 115 industrial health service agency personnel in 19 Industrial Health Service Agency personnel scattered in Seoul and Kyungki areas have been investigated according to the questionnaires formulated in line with the Likert 5-point scale from September 1 through October 30, 1995 and the following significant result has been obtained: 1. The job abilities by fields. 1) In the field of health care, the level of medical personnel's job ability was 3.30 on average and that of industrial hygienists' was 2.54 on average, which showed that the level of medical personnel's job ability was higher. 2) In the field of health management, there was a difference between the level of medical personnel's job ability and that of industrial hygienists' only in the health education but there was not so much difference between manpower' which showed that it was 3.00 on average. 3) In the field of working environment management. the level of industrial hygienists' job ability was 4.03 on average and that of medical personnel's was 2.62, which showed that the level of industrial hygienists' job ability was higher than that of medical personnel's. 2. The job abilities by manpower. As for the job ability by manpower. on the health care the medical personnel's ability was more excellent than the industrial hygienists' and on the working environment management the latter's{industrial hygienists') ability was more excellent than the former's(the medical personnel's). However. the field that a difference between both manpower as mentioned above was not recognized was the health management. 3. As for the difference of potential factors between manpower. in Factor '1' the industrial hygienists' 80.7 points by percentage was higher than the medical personnel's 52.5 points and in Factor '2' the latter's(medical personnels's) 72.6 points by percentage was higher than the former's{industrial hygienists') 50.6 points in the level of job abilities. The above result shows that the industrial health service agency personnel can be classified into the job with a difference between manpower and that without any difference manpower. Therefore, the following issues: First: The field of health care shall be defined as the medical personnel's exclusive job. Second: The field of working environment management shall be defined as the industrial hygienists' exclusive job. Third: The field of health management shall be defined as a common job to lead the limits of time and space in the collective group occupational health management to be controlled effectively.