• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.9-16
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• 2024

Background: E-waste workers in Hong Kong are handling an unprecedented amount of e-waste, which contains various neurotoxic chemicals. However, no study has been conducted to evaluate the neurological health status of e-waste workers in Hong Kong. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of neurobehavioral alterations and to identify the vulnerable groups among Hong Kong e-waste workers. Methods: We recruited 109 Hong Kong e-waste workers from June 2021 to September 2022. Participants completed standard questionnaires and wore a GENEActiv accelerometer for seven days. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Questionnaire 16/18 (Q16/18) were used to assess subjective neurobehavioral alterations. The GENEActiv data generated objective sleep and circadian rhythm variables. Workers were grouped based on job designation and entity type according to the presumed hazardous level. Unconditional logistic regression models measured the associations of occupational characteristics with neurobehavioral alterations after adjusting for confounders. Results: While dismantlers/repairers and the workers in entities not funded by the government were more likely to suffer from neurotoxic symptoms in Q18 (adjusted odds ratio: 3.18 [1.18-9.39] and 2.77 [1.10-7.46], respectively), the workers from self-sustained recycling facilities also have poor performances in circadian rhythm. Results also showed that the dismantlers/repairers working in entities not funded by the government had the highest risk of neurotoxic symptoms compared to the lowest-risk group (i.e., workers in government-funded companies with other job designations). Conclusion: This timely and valuable study emphasizes the importance of improving the working conditions for high-risk e-waste workers, especially the dismantlers or repairers working in facilities not funded by the government.

• Toxicological Research
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.123-132
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• 2016

The impact of mobile phone (MP) radiation on the brain is of specific interest to the scientific community and warrants investigations, as MP is held close to the head. Studies on humans and rodents revealed hazards MP radiation associated such as brain tumors, impairment in cognition, hearing etc. Melatonin (MT) is an important modulator of CNS functioning and is a neural antioxidant hormone. Zebrafish has emerged as a popular model organism for CNS studies. Herein, we evaluated the impact of GSM900MP (GSM900MP) radiation exposure daily for 1 hr for 14 days with the SAR of 1.34W/Kg on neurobehavioral and oxidative stress parameters in zebrafish. Our study revealed that, GSM900MP radiation exposure, significantly decreased time spent near social stimulus zone and increased total distance travelled, in social interaction test. In the novel tank dive test, the GSM900MP radiation exposure elicited anxiety as revealed by significantly increased time spent in bottom half; freezing bouts and duration and decreased distance travelled, average velocity, and number of entries to upper half of the tank. Exposed zebrafish spent less time in the novel arm of the Y-Maze, corroborating significant impairment in learning as compared to the control group. Exposure decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activities whereas, increased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) was encountered showing compromised antioxidant defense. Treatment with MT significantly reversed the above neurobehavioral and oxidative derangements induced by GSM900MP radiation exposure. This study traced GSM900MP radiation exposure induced neurobehavioral aberrations and alterations in brain oxidative status. Furthermore, MT proved to be a promising therapeutic candidate in ameliorating such outcomes in zebrafish.

• 대한약리학회지
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.179-194
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• 1995

This study aimed to determine whether exposure to stress during developmental period causes permanent behavioral and/or neurochemical alterations. Alterations of behavior were studied in young and aged rats which have been exposed to uncontrollable and unpredictable electric shocks on postnatal day(PND) 14 or PND 14 and 21. The concentrations of monoaminergic neurotransmitters were also measured to determine whether the behavioral alterations were accompanied by neurochemical changes. The results obtained are as follows: 1) The rate of increase in body weight was reduced at one day after exposure to the 1st series of shocks on PND14. However, these findings could not be observed after exposure to the 2nd series of shocks on PND 21. 2) Explorative activity decreased at one day after exposure to the 1st series of shocks on PND14. However this findings could not be observed after exposure to the 2nd series of shocks on PND 21. 3) At 100 days of age, there were little changes in the spontaneous locomotor activities measured for consecutive 23 hrs. However, there was positive correlation between the shock number showing the 1st helplessness during receiving the 1st series of shocks and the night time ambulatory activity of females, and was negative correlation between the shock number showing the 1st helplessness during receiving the 1st or 2nd series of shocks on PND 14 or 21 and the night time ambulatory activity of females. 4) At $360{\sim}390$ days of age, night time ambulatory activity decreased in female rats which have been exposed to shocks on PND 14 and 21, but not in males. 5) In the aged female rats, the concentrations of 5-HT, dopamine and their metabolites were not different among groups. However, the ratio of 5-HIAA/5-HT increased in the frontal cortices of rats exposed to shocks on PND 14 and 21. These results demonstrate that the early experience of serious stress results in persistent alterations of behavior accompanying altered neurochemistry, and aging may unmask a subtle neuronal deficit causes by the early experience of serious stress.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.303-313
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• 2003

다이옥신은 단일 화학물질이 아니라 비슷한 화학적 구조와 독성작용을 갖는 화학물질들의 그룹이다. 다이옥신 중에 가장 많은 연구가 이루어졌고 독성도 강한 물질이 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin(TCDD)인데, 다이옥신 혼합체의 독성을 평가할 때는 각 물질 별로 TCDD에 대한 상대독성을 고려하여 독성등가계수(TEQ)라는 지표를 만들어 사용한다. 일반인들의 평균적인 혈중 다이옥신에 대한 기준값은 명확하게 제시되지는 않고 있으나 관련 연구들을 종합할 때 대략 10-20 ppt $I-TEQ_{DF}$ 범위를 일반인의 평균적인 수준으로 볼 수 있다. 오염 가능지역의 주민들의 혈중 다이옥신 값은 지역에 따라 차이가 있으나 대부분 20ppt $I-TEQ_{DF}$ 이상의 값을 나타내고 있으며 특히 오염이 심한 지역의 주민들의 경우에는 직업적인 노출이 없는 일반 주민들임에도 불구하고 혈중 다이옥신 농도가 약 50 ppt $I-TEQ_{DF}$까지 상승할 수 있다. 다이옥신의 건강영향에 관해서는 수많은 역학적 연구들이 수행되었지만 혈액내에서 TCDD를 직접 측정하여 인체 노출을 비교적 정확하게 평가한 사업장 코호트나 세베소 지역 주민 코호트에서 나온 결과들이 보다 많은 신뢰를 받고 있다. 다이옥신 노출에 따른 건강영향은 크게 암발생과 암을 제외한 건강영향으로 구분할 수 있다. 국제암연구기구(IARC)나 미국 환경보호청(EPA) 모두 TCDD를 인체 발암물질로 분류하고 있으나 역학적 증거들이 충분한 상태는 아니다. TCDD를 제외한 나머지 다이옥신에 대해서는 IARC에서 발암성의 증거가 불충분한 물질(Group 3)로 분류하고 있다. 대부분의 장기에서 다이옥신의 건강영향에 대한 조사가 이루어져 왔다. 현재까지 비교적 다이옥신 노출과 관련성이 높은 것으로 평가되고 있는 것은 염소성여드름, 간 효소의 하나인 GGT의 상승, 그리고 생식호르몬의 변화 등이다. 그밖에 지질농도, 당뇨, 면역학적 영향, 심혈관계에 대한 영향, 갑상선기능, 신경계에 대한 영향, 소아 발달에 대한 영향 등에 대해서는 역학 연구들이 일관된 결과를 보여주지 못하고 있기 때문에 계속적인 연구를 필요로 하고 있다. 다이옥신의 독성은 수많은 동물실험을 통해 증명이 되었으나 인간을 대상으로 한 역학적 연구는 아직 기대만큼 명료한 결과들을 제시해주지 못하고 있다. 그러나 IARC나 EPA모두 인체발암물질로 분류하였고 다양한 건강영향에 대한 증거들이 있는 것은 분명한 만큼 다이옥신 노출을 최소화하려는 노력을 게을리 해서는 안 될 것이다.