• Title/Summary/Keyword: Medical agency

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Evaluation of Chromosomal Alteration in Electrical Workers Occupationally Exposed to Low Frequency of Electro Magnetic Field (EMFs) in Coimbatore Population, India

  • Balamuralikrishnan, Balasubramanian;Balachandar, Vellingiri;Kumar, Shanmugam Suresh;Stalin, Nattan;Varsha, Prakash;Devi, Subramaniam Mohana;Arun, Meyyazhagan;Manikantan, Pappuswamy;Venkatesan, Chinnakulandhai;Sasikala, Keshavarao;Dharwadkar, Shahnaz N.
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.13 no.6
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    • pp.2961-2966
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    • 2012
  • Extremely low frequency electro magnetic fields (EMFs) have been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. An increased number of chromosomal alterations in peripheral lymphocytes are correlated with elevated incidence of cancer. The aim of the present study was to assess occupationally induced chromosomal damage in EMF workers exposed to low levels of radiation. We used conventional metaphase chromosome aberration (CA) analysis and the micronucleus (MN) assay as biological indicators of non ionizing radiation exposure. In the present study totally 70 subjects were selected including 50 exposed and 20 controls. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants and the study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the approval of the local ethical committee. A higher degree of CA and MN was observed in exposed subjects compared to controls, the frequency of CA being significantly enhanced with long years of exposure (P<0.05). Moreover increase in CA and MN with age was noted in both exposed subjects and controls, but was significantly greater in the former. The results of this study demonstrated that a significant induction of cytogenetic damage in peripheral lymphocytes of workers occupationally exposed to EMFs in electric transformer and distribution stations. In conclusion, our findings suggest that EMFs possess genotoxic capability, as measured by CA and MN assays; CA analysis appeared more sensitive than other cytogenetic end-points. It can be concluded that chronic occupational exposure to EMFs may lead to an increased risk of genetic damage among electrical workers.

Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma Risk Factors in French Polynesia

  • Xhaard, Constance;Ren, Yan;Clero, Enora;Maillard, Stephane;Brindel, Pauline;Rachedi, Frederique;Boissin, Jean-Louis;Sebbag, Joseph;Shan, Larrys;Bost-Bezeaud, Frederique;Petitdidier, Patrick;Drozdovitch, Vladimir;Doyon, Francoise;Rubino, Carole;de Vathaire, Florent
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.15 no.6
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    • pp.2675-2680
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    • 2014
  • Background: To investigate differentiated thyroid cancer risk factors in natives of French Polynesia is of interest because of the very high incidence of this cancer in the archipelago. Materials and Methods: To assess the role of various potential risk factors of thyroid cancer in the natives of French Polynesia we performed a case-control study. The study included almost all the French Polynesians diagnosed with differentiated thyroid carcinoma between 1981 and 2003 (n=229) and 373 French Polynesian control individuals from the general population without cancer. Results: Thyroid radiation dose received from nuclear fallout before the age of 15, a personal history of neck or/and head medical irradiation, obesity, tallness, large number of children, an artificial menopause, a familial history of thyroid cancer, a low dietary iodine intake, and having a spring as the main source of drinking water were found to be significant risk factors. No roles of smoking habits, alcohol consumption, iodine containing drugs, and exposure to pesticides were evidenced. Conclusions: Except for smoking, differentiated thyroid carcinoma risk factors in natives of French Polynesia are similar to those in other populations. Our finding on the role of having a spring as a drinking water origin is coherent with some other studies and could be due to geological factors.

An Epidemiological Investigation on an Outbreak of Shigellosis during Travelling Cambodia and Vietnam among Korean Rural People, 2005 (2005년 농촌 주민들에서 캄보디아와 베트남 여행 중 발생한 세균성이질)

  • Lim, Hyun-Sul;Lee, Hwan-Seok
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.368-374
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    • 2009
  • Objectives: A group consisted of 32 Korean rural people had been travelled to Cambodia and Vietnam. During their travel for 7 days, first diarrheal case had occurred on 3rd day of travel and overall 8 people had diarrhea during travel. So we investigated the case for determination of the cause and route of infection. Methods: We interviewed all 32 people by visiting or telephone and took 23 stool samples from them, which are examined by Gyeungsangbuk-do Government Public Institute of Health & Environment in Korea. We interviewed travel agency for travel route and schedule. Results: The attack rate was 25.0% (8 cases) among 32 people. Of them, 3 cases were microbiologically confirmed to have the infection of Shigella flexneri (Serotype 3a). The result of this epidemiological investigation showed that the infection of shigellosis was happened in foreign countries. We assumed the water from Angkor-Watt was contaminated by S. flexneri. We could not able to test environmental specimens because of the infection is thought to be occurred in foreign countries. Conclusions: Most common infectious diseases from foreign countries are transmitted by water or food. Travellers to foreign countries must take caution for communicable diseases and must do report and get appropriate treatment when symptoms developed after travel.

Status and Issues on Disaster Preparation Programs in Public Health Center (보건소의 재난관련 대비-대응 사업의 실태와 과제)

  • Cho, Yoo Hyang;Chung, YoungHae;Chie, Nagahiro
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.43 no.2
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    • pp.63-73
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    • 2018
  • Objectives: The purpose of this study was to review the disaster preparation and response programs and the status of disaster preparation in public health center. Methods: In depth interview was performed in September 2017 using 5 open questions to the persons who are in charge of disaster response services in 5 public health centers of different levels in Korea. The questions included general characteristics of public health center, disaster programs and future issues. The research hired a quality method. Results: In general, the persons in charge recognized the cooperative agency of local government in disaster management. There were no disaster preparation programs developed by the public health centers. Most of the preparation were passive activities such as emergency support, crisis management on communicable disease and quarantine, participation in biological disaster response training, and education etc. The persons in charge emphasized necessity of disaster preparation programs. Conclusions: Disaster preparation and responsiveness is an evolving issue in public health centers in Korea. Medical support system and communicable disease management system are being set up in the national level. A comprehensive system covering health management, nutritional support, mental health, environment management of shelter, and volunteers supports on public health center level needs to be developed along with a easy-to-follow manual.

A Systematic Review of Treatment for Chronic Pain after Stroke (중풍환자의 통증 치료에 관한 체계적 고찰 연구)

  • Kim, Tae-in;Chung, Ji-won;Choi, Jae-wan;Kim, Eun-jung;Lee, Ji-won;Kim, Yun-seo;Chun, Gyung-jin;Bae, Sun-kyu;Kim, Ji-yu;Chae, Woo-ri;Jung, Jae-won;Song, Gyu-seok;Lee, He-sol;Park, Jeong-su;Lee, Ju-ah;Kim, Young-ji;Kong, Kyung-hwan;Go, Ho-yeon
    • The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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    • v.37 no.6
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    • pp.929-939
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    • 2016
  • Objectives: Strokes have diverse symptoms and signs. One of ten stroke patients has chronic pain after a stroke. Pain after a stroke interrupts rehabilitation and worsens quality of life, but there is no efficient treatment for this pain. This study surveyed and reports on the clinical studies of treatment for chronic pain after a stroke. Methods: We searched journals for reports on clinical studies of treatment for chronic pain after a stroke through the databases OASIS (http://oasis.kiom.re.kr), NDSL (ndsl.kr), Kmbase (http://kmbase.medric.or.kr/), and PubMed (http://www. pubmed.com). The search words were "stroke & pain", "jungpung中風 & pain", "pungbi風痺", "cerebral hemorrhage & pain", and "cerebral infarction & pain". Results: Twenty-nine studies of treatment for chronic pain after a stroke were found. Of these, 15 were randomized controlled trials, 10 were nonrandomized controlled trials, and 4 were "before and after" studies. Treatments were diverse, including acupuncture, electroacupuncture, herbal acupuncture, herbal medicine, and more. The treatment periods were longer than 3 weeks on average. Conclusions: These results show that good quality randomized controlled trials of treatment for chronic pain after a stroke are small in number. We need larger and more diverse studies of treatment for chronic pain after a stroke.

Comparative Study on Public Health Facility Color Image Vocabulary among Countries -Focusing on korea and Romania- (공공보건시설 색채이미지에 대한 국가간 인식 비교 -한국과 루마니아 중심으로-)

  • Park, Heykyung;Adelean, Ioana;Kim, Hyeyeong;Oh, Jiyoung
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.6 no.3
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    • pp.185-191
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    • 2020
  • This study aims to understand the differences in cultural and emotional perceptions about the color image of public healthcare facilities in Romania, an Eastern European country that is relatively lacking in recognition but is gradually expanding trade. For this, color images were selected through a review of previous studies, and a questionnaire survey was constructed based on the colorimetric data by visiting 8 public healthcare facilities such as medical facilities, 4 social sports facilities, and 8 nursing facilities. An online survey was conducted on the color image of public facilities with 89 Koreans and 86 Romanians, and frequency and cross-analysis was conducted using the SPSS statistical analysis program to examine the color images of public healthcare facilities of Koreans and Romanians. The difference in perception was identified. As a result, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference in the perception of color images of public healthcare facilities between countries in vocabulary evaluation and image evaluation, and this was interpreted as different meanings for groups residing in different cultures. Therefore, it implies that cultural differences in perception should be considered when establishing an environment related to this in the future.

Exposure and Risk Assessment of Melamine in Representative Korean Foods for Infants and Children (WHO 내용일일섭취량을 고려한 우리나라 영유아 어린이의 식품을 통한 멜라민 노출 및 위해 평가)

  • Oh, Chang-Hwan
    • Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.1-12
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    • 2009
  • In 2008, baby formula containing melamine was found to be responsible for a large outbreak of renal failure in infants in China. A total of 294,000 infants were hospitalized, and at least 6 babies died due to ingestion of the tainted formula. Melamine contains high levels of nitrogen (>60%), which is used as an indicator of protein content. Therefore, high levels of melamine in infant formula were thought to be the result of deliberate contamination m an attempt to increase its apparent protein content. Following inspections by China's national inspection agency, assorted products from at least 22 dairy manufacturers across China were found to have varied levels of melamine (range: 0.096196.61 mg/kg). Melamine co-exposure with cyanuric acid can induce acute melamine-cyanurate crystal nephropathy, which can lead to renal failure at much lower doses than if either compound were ingested alone. However, currently, there are very few data on melamine analogues other than cyanuric acid. At an expert meeting of the WHO and FAO held to review toxicological aspects of melamine and cyanuric acid on December 14, 2008, a new tolerable daily intake (TDI) of melamine was established that could be applied to the entire population, including infants. Therefore, a risk assessment of the various theoretical melamine contamination levels in infant formula and selected representative foods (other than infant formula and sole-source nutrition products) is urgently needed for Korean babies and children up to 7 years of age. Although the undetectable level regulation for infant formula may be low enough to guarantee the safety of babies under the age of 1 year (including premature babies), the melamine standard of 2.5 ppm for foods other than baby formula could be insufficient to protect the 95th percentile population aged 1~2 years because of this demographic's high consumption of milk, yogurt, and soy milk (hazard index = 1.79). Because TDIs are chronic values intended to protect an individual over his/her lifetime, occasional modest ingestion in excess of the TDI is not likely to be a health concern. However, children aged 1~2 years may have renal systems that are comparatively more sensitive to the crystallization of melamine and its analogues. Therefore, governmental jurisdictions may need to practice more prudent management of food items that could raise the melamine exposure for this population.

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The Cadaver experience of the nursing students

  • Kim, Jung-ae;Eui-Young, Cho
    • International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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    • v.5 no.3
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    • pp.11-23
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    • 2017
  • Anatomy is one of the basic subjects of the nursing course, which is included in the curriculum of the nursing. Anatomy is a basic course for understanding major in nursing and it is the first gateway to acquire expertise. It is mainly opened in nursing and first to second grades. Therefore, students who have advanced to the nursing department have great interest and expectation on the anatomy subjects. In general, nursing students are studying anatomy with theories and models, and some universities practice on tour after dissection of medical consortium for short time. This is called the Cadaver practice. This study was carried out to investigate the thoughts and experiences of bioethics through nursing students' Cadaver practice. The interview data were processed through the analysis and interpretation process using the phenomenological research method, Giorgi method. As a result, 48 semantic units were derived, and then they were divided into 10 subcomponents and divided into 6 categories. As a result of the analysis, the experience of nursing students' bioethics was tied to the topic of six questions. For example, 'what about the respect and responsibility of nursing students in Cadaver?', 'What about your experience with the Cadaver experiment and bioethics?', 'What was the academic achievement of the actual human body structure viewing experience with cadaver?', 'What was the connection with theory?', 'What was your intention to recommend to others?', 'What was your perception and interest in the Cadaver experiment?'. Analyzes were integrated into 10 structures; "Thank you for your donation", "want others to refuse donation", "Burden of practice", "Good opportunities for learning", "Understand better", "Should study harder", "Memory is better", "Compared to theory", "Good experience", "Want to rejoin". The general structural description of the participants' meanings is summarized as follows. Nursing college students who participated in the Cadaver had a gratitude for the donor, but they said they would like to talk to others about donating organs. Before they went to practice, they felt a lot of pressure on the dissection of the cadaver, but they went to the practice and thought that it was a good opportunity to learn by doing well. Specifically, they understood that they had better understanding than the theoretical lesson, and that they were more eager to study their major through practice. In other words, most of them were more memorable and they would like to participate again if the opportunity comes next time. The results of this study show that the practice of Cadaver in nursing college students is very positive in terms of educational effectiveness. However, in terms of bioethics, it can be seen that the education process is somewhat unsatisfactory. Therefore, the systematic bioethics education should be prepared before the practice in the nursing college students' Cadaver practice.

A study on the Development of Surveillance System for Agricultural Injuries in Korea (농작업재해 감시체계 개발)

  • Koh, Jae-Woo;Kwon, Soon-Chan;Kim, Kyung-Ran;Lee, Kyung-Suk;Jang, Eun-Chul;Kwon, Young-Jun;Ryu, Seung-Ho;Lee, Soo-Jin;Song, Jae-Chul
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.139-153
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    • 2007
  • Injury in agriculture is a serious public health issue with a major impact on the lives of Korean farmers. It is one of the leading causes of death and is also a major cause of longand short-term disability. In 2001, the social cost of one accident in agricultural machinery was estimated as 97.7-97.8 million won that is 4 fold of farm household income in Korea. Effective prevention and control of injuries requires a system of surveillance that monitors the incidence of injuries, their causes, treatment and outcomes. This requires an integrated system of data collection, analysis and interpretation and communication. Creating effective injury surveillance system in Korea requires to establish a framework for a national agenda. Discussions regarding the development of the framework should address, but not be limited to issues related to Data Holdings and Linkages; Capacity and Skills; Communication; Interconnection; and Surveillance Products. Ideally, an injury surveillance system would meet the information requirements across all sectors, while allowing each to have the ongoing information it needs for its policy and programming needs. This study was carried out to develop a surveillance system of agricultural injuries in Korea. Study subjects were residents who lived in a typical agricultural area (Yangpyung area in Kyung-gi province). The main data sources were reports of village headmen, compared with data of 'National Emergency Management Agency', 'National Health Insurance Corporation', 'Insurance of National Agricultural Cooperative', and 'Emergency Medical Centers'. Each data were reviewed to validate the strengths and weaknesses.

A Study on the Introduction Direction of Private Investigation Law (민간조사업법의 도입방향에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Seung-Chal
    • Korean Security Journal
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    • no.17
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    • pp.255-276
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    • 2008
  • The important items, which should be considered in Private Investigation Law, can include subjects, licenses, the scope of business, qualifying examinations, and supervisory and penal provisions. The subjects of Private Investigation Law should be permitted to be both natural persons and juridical persons in terms of providing various services, but should be permitted to be juridical persons and should be administered on a license system, even in order to ensure public interests. Concretely, the introduction scope of Private Investigation Law can be regulated to include the followings: that is, investigating the whereabouts identification of runaways and missing children, investigating the personal identification, habit, way of action, motivation, whereabouts identification, real child confirmation, association, transaction, reputation, and personality of specific persons or specific groups, investigating the whereabouts identification of missing persons, owners of government-vested properties or renounced properties, investigating the whereabouts of lost properties or stolen properties, investigating the causes of fire, character defamation, slander, damage, accident, physical disability, infringement on real estate or movable property, and investigating all sorts of accidents including traffic accidents, insurance accidents, and medical malpractices. In the qualifying examination, examinees' age should be restricted to be over age 25. The person, who is exempted from its primary examination, should be restricted to be the person, who has the career of over 20 years in related fields, in consideration of its equity with other certificates of qualification. In the supervisory institution, as the policy institution is the supervisory institution in many countries including France (the police) and Japan (public security committee), so the National Policy Agency should be the supervisory institution in consideration of management aspects. In the penal regulations, especially, we should clarify the management of personal information (personal information protection, personal information management), and so should prevent the infringement of people's basic rights, and then should ensure the public interest.

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