• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.208-213
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• 2007

A 15 kg 6-year-old intact male Jindo dog with a history of a respiratory distress, hindlimb paralysis with necrosed skin of dorsal digit for three weeks was referred to Animal Medical Center, Chonbuk National University. Heartworm infection was identified by kit examination. In plain thoracic radiographs, dilated pulmonary arteries reverse D sign and focal interstitial pattern was compatible with heartworm infection and possible pulmonary thromboembolism. Abdominal radiographs showed poor serosal detail indicating fluid accumulation within peritoneal cavity. No evidence of musculoskeletal abnormalities was found. Ultrasonography presented focal wedge-shaped hyperechogenecity on the both poles of left kidney, weak or absent pulse on the distal to the external iliac artery as well as ascites and irregular liver margin. Multi-organ failure was strongly supposed by blood profile including leukocytosis, anemia, hemoglobinuria bililubinemia, hypoalbuminemia, imbalance of electrolytes, and increased hepatic and renal function values. Interestingly, the glucose level is remarkably lower in pelvic limb compared to thoracic limb. Suspected pulmonary thromboembolism, renal infarction and femoral arterial embolization causing hindlimb paralysis and dermatic necrosis were confirmed by 3D reconstructed CT imaging. Prior to taking a consideration of euthanasia, interventional radiology was experimentally attempted but failed due to not recovered from general anesthesia. Early and accurate diagnosis of thromboembolism is valuable and 3D reconstructed CT images might be very useful to show the correct way to treat effectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2017

Objectives: Radon may be second only to smoking as a cause of lung cancer. Radon is a colorless, tasteless radioactive gas that is formed via the radioactive decay of radium. Therefore, radon levels can build up based on the amount of radium contained in construction materials such as phospho-gypsum board or when ventilation rates are low. This study provides our findings from evaluation of radon gas at facilities and offices in an industrial complex. Methods: We evaluated the office rooms and processes of 12 manufacturing factories from May 14, 2014 to September 23, 2014. Short-term data were measured by using real-time monitoring detectors(Model 1030, Sun Nuclear Co., USA) indoors in the office buildings. The radon measurements were recorded at 30-minute intervals over approximately 48 hours. The limit of detection of this instrument is $3.7Bq/m^3$. Also, long-term data were measured by using ${\alpha}-track$ radon detectors(${\alpha}-track$, Rn-tech Co., Korea) in the office and factory buildings. Our detectors were exposed for over 90 days, resulting in a minimum detectable concentration of $7.4Bq/m^3$. Detectors were placed 150-220 cm above the floor. Results: Radon concentrations averaged $20.6{\pm}17.0Bq/m^3$($3.7-115.8Bq/m^3$) in the overall area. The monthly mean concentration of radon by building materials were in the order of gypsum>concrete>cement. Radon concentrations were measured using ${\alpha}-track$ in parallel with direct-reading radon detectors and the two metric methods for radon monitoring were compared. A t-test for the two sampling methods showed that there is no difference between the average radon concentrations(p<0.05). Most of the office buildings did not have central air-conditioning, but several rooms had window- or ceiling-mounted units. Employees could also open windows. The first, second and third floors were used mainly for office work. Conclusions: Radon levels measured during this assessment in the office rooms of buildings and processes in factories were well below the ICRP reference level of $1,000Bq/m^3$ for workplaces and also below the lower USEPA residential guideline of $148Bq/m^3$. The range of indoor annual effective dose due to radon exposure for workers working in the office and factory buildings was 0.01 to 1.45 mSv/yr. Construction materials such as phospho-gypsum board, concrete and cement were the main emission sources for workers' exposure.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.163-170
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• 2014

This study is to investigate neuro-anatomical correlation between neuropsychological results and cerebral cortex thickness of cognitive ability in the brain MRI targeting the patients with mild cognitive impairment. It was that 78 people who were diagnosed as first Parkinson's disease followed by neuropsychological screening battery(Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment: 39 people; Parkinson's disease with normal cognition: 39 people) and 32 people of normal group were selected. Correlation between mild cognitive impairment and normal cognitive impairment and correlation between neuropsychological screening battery and cerebral cortex thickness in the brain MRI were performed by independent sample t-test or Pearson correlation coefficient and then level of significance of collected data was verified in p<0.05. As a result, cerebral cortex thickness of the Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment in both side precuneas and right inferiortemporal lobe had statistically significant decrease. In addition, function of visuospatial ability, verbal and visual memory was reduced in neuropsychological screening battery for cognitive assessment. Especially, there was correlation between neuropsychological screening battery of verbal and visual memory anatomical left precuneus.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.553-559
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• 2015

Research on micro-level assessment of the changes of socio-economic status following health interventions is very scarce. The use of household asset data to determine wealth indices is a common procedure for estimating socio-economic position in resource poor settings. In such settings information about income is usually lacking, and the collection of individual consumption or expenditure data would require in-depth interviews, posing a considerable risk of bias. In this study, we determined the socio-economic status of 213 households in a community population in an island in the north-western Tanzania before and 3 year after implementation of a participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation (PHAST) intervention to control schistosomiasis and intestinal worm infections. We constructed a household 'wealth index' based housing construction features (e.g., type of roof, walls, and floor) and durable assets ownership (e.g., bicycle, radio, etc.). We employed principal components analysis and classified households into wealth quintiles. The study revealed that asset variables with positive factor scores were associated with higher socio-economic status, whereas asset variables with negative factor scores were associated with lower socio-economic status. Overall, households which were rated as the poorest and very poor were on the decrease, whereas those rated as poor, less poor, and the least poor were on the increase after PHAST intervention. This decrease/increase was significant. The median shifted from -0.4376677 to 0.5001073, and the mean from -0.2605787 (SD; 2.005688) to 0.2605787 (SD; 1.831199). The difference in socio-economic status of the people between the 2 phases was highly statistically significant (P<0.001). We argue that finding of this study should be treated with caution as there were other interventions to control schistosomiasis and intestinal worm infections which were running concurrently on Kome Island apart from PHAST intervention.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.359-374
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• 2002

Objectives : To develop a physical functioning instrument for older adults living in the community. Methods : A representative sample of 979 people aged 65 years or over were interviewed in-person. Of these, 199 people also completed a detailed in-hospital examination. The scale items were selected based on the frequency of endorsement, along with the item-total and inter-item correlations. The associations of the scale with their physical performance and clinical examination were analyzed to evaluate the criterion-related validity. Construct validity was assessed using factor analysis, and internal consistency through Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlations. Test-retest reliability was measured by agreement between the household survey and the repeat survey at the in-hospital examination. Results : Initially, 23 items on the level of difficulty, ranging from no difficulty to an inability to complete a task, with the specific mobility and self-care tasks were included. Those with a high frequency of endorsement and a low inter-item or item-total correlations were excluded, resulting in a 10-item Physical Functioning (PT) scale. Equal weights were given to each item and a summated score was calculated. Significant associations were found between the PF scores and the physical performance, surrey and clinical data. The scale revealed a 2-factor (mobility and self-care) structure. Cronbach's alpha was 0.92 and the item-total correlations were in the 0.63 to 0.78 range. Pearson's correlations for the test-retest ranged between 0.56 and 0.61. Conclusions : The newly developed Physical Functioning (PF) scale showed good psychometric properties in older people. Further work, however, is needed to improve its sensitivity to discriminate higher levels of functioning, in addition to assessing its predictive value in detecting changes in health.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.103-106
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• 2014

Recycling of bottom ash from municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator has been strictly limited due to its composition of high level chlorine and other unfavorable substances. The composition of MSW has been, however, changed after the introduction of garbage-bag sales system, extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy and the prohibition of direct landfill of food waste. Recent waste shows reduced moisture and chlorine content, increased calorific value due to the separation of food waste, incombustible materials and PVC. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the trend of composition changes of MSW incinerator bottom ash and to compare the analytical results with those before the separation system was introduced. CaO content of bottom ash, one of the major component of cement clinker, increased from 26.7% in 2001 to 34.0% in 2006. The chlorine content showed a dramatic decrease from 1.84% in 2001 to 0.00655% in 2006, which is closely compatible with that of the fly ash of coal-utilizing thermal power plants, which is mainly due to the changes of MSW composition. It is eventually considered that there is a possibility of utilizing the incinerator bottom ash as a raw material of cement clinker feed substances.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.456-460
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• 2012

This study was carried out as a survey on the level of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) in 5 items of agricultural products (lettuce, pumpkin, head lettuce, cabbage and crown daisy) for which safety guidelines are not yet established in Korea. The 407 samples were collected from local markets in 9 regional places and the levels of metals were measured by ICP-MS and mercury analyzer. The average levels of Pb, Cd, As and Hg were 0.026, 0.018, 0.008 and 0.003 mg/kg for lettuce, 0.002, 0.001, 0.001 and 0.0006 mg/kg for pumpkin, 0.002, 0.005, 0.001 and 0.0005 mg/kg for head lettuce, 0.001, 0.002, 0.0002 and 0.0006 mg/kg for cabbage and 0.022, 0.014, 0.006 and 0.004 mg/kg for crown daisy. For risk assessment, the daily dietary exposures of Pb, Cd and Hg by intake of these agricultural products were calculated and compared with PTWI (provisional tolerable weekly intake) established by JECFA. The daily dietary exposure of heavy metals by intake of these agricultural products were 0.13, 0.56 and 0.09% of PTWI, respectively. These monitoring results will be utilized as fundamental data for the establishment of Korean standards of Pb, Cd, As and Hg in 5 items of agricultural products and valuable source for DB construction for science-based safety control of heavy metals in foods including agricultural products.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.89-95
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• 2017

A rapid, sensitive analytical method for glucuronolactone in beverages was developed and validated using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-ESI-MS/MS). To determine the optimum analytical conditions for glucuronolactone, three different kinds of HILIC columns and two mobile phases with different pH values were examined. An amide-bonded stationary phase with a pH 9 acetonitrile-rich mobile phase was the best condition in terms of column retention, ESI-MS/MS response area, and signal-to-noise ratio. After extraction, glucuronolactone was separated through the HILIC amide column and detected by negative ESI-MS/MS in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. Nine energy drinks sold in Korea were spiked with glucuronolactone at a concentration of 5 ng/mL; the Monster $Energy^{TM}$ sample showed the smallest peak area and its signal-to-noise ratio was used for method validation. Good linearity was obtained in the concentration range from 20 to 1500 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient > 0.998. The developed method had a limit of detection (LOD) of 6 ng/mL and a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 20 ng/mL. The recovery of this method at concentration of 20, 100, 500, and 1000 ng/mL was 96.3%-99.2% with relative standard deviations (RSD) of 1.6%-14.0%. A reproducibility precision assessment at concentration of 100 and 500 ng/mL was carried out among three laboratories. The recovery of that evaluation was 95.1%-102.3% with RSD of 2.7%-7.0%. An analysis of variance indicated that there was no difference between the recovery results of the three laboratories at the 5% significance level. The validated method is applicable to inspecting beverages adulterated with glucuronolactone in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.355-378
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• 2015

In recent years, countries such as USA, United Kingdom and Australia have begun to implement national policies in order to systematically manage and share research data produced through publicly funded research. However, Korea as of yet does not have a coordinated research data policy. The lack of infrastructure that supports the sharing and preserving research data results in the poor management and loss of valuable data produced from significant national R&D investments. The need for research data collection, management and sharing goes beyond the outcome assessment of national research: it facilitates the diffusion of research impact and economic development. There is a growing recognition that data sharing is an essential element of research ethics. This research investigates the relevant research data policies and methods of governance at the national level using a case study analysis. United Kingdom was selected as a case study target as it shows a wide variety of policy examples and instruments. In particular, this research focuses on the UK's national legal framework for research data sharing, analyzes the RCUK (Research Councils UK)'s data policies, activities at the seven research councils under RCUK as well as several supporting institutions. Based on the analyses, this research offers a national roadmap for better managing and sharing of research data in Korea.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.188-195
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• 2016

This study is a cross sectional, descriptive research that utilized the Korean version of the BHCC (Behavior Health Care Competency) measurement tools to compare and contrast the BHCC level between nurses stationed in psychiatric and general ward departments. The research subjects were selected from 6 hospitals that have at least 300 beds located in Seoul city and Gyeonggi Province. There were a total of 190 nurses, consisting of 90 nurses from the psychiatric ward department and 100 nurses from the general ward department. The comparison demonstrated that nurses from psychiatric ward department showed a higher BHCC compared to general department nurses in most items. In the case of psychiatric ward nurses, compared to general ward nurses, the assessment was 5.29 times higher, the intervention was 6.06 times higher and the proper use of resources was 2.63 times higher. On the other hand, the treatment recommendation had no influence. Accordingly, education and training for general ward nurses should be improved and hospital administrators should pay more attention in conducting the BHCC education for the general ward nurses and on fostering education experts to develop related programs.