• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.344-351
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma module for sterilizing airborne bacteria in indoor spaces and measure the concentration of ozone generated during plasma discharge. Method: The DBD plasma module was installed in a 76m³ space, and air samples were collected under various discharge times to compare the reduction of airborne bacteria. Result: The results showed a significant decrease in airborne bacteria, ranging from 92.057% to 99.999%, with an average ozone concentration of 0.04 ppm, below the reference value. Conclusion: The study suggests that plasma discharge can be used as a means of preventing the spread of airborne bacteria and viruses, while ensuring safety for human exposure.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.91-102
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• 2022

Many industries are being severely damaged by COVID-19, a respiratory infection that has recently been prevalent around the world. In particular, for workers in the construction industry, it is impossible to work from home, and if an outbreak on a construction site is confirmed, it can lead to great damage. Accordingly, the government has drafted 「Guidelines for Response to Construction Sites for Prevention and Spread of COVID-19」. In addition, domestic and foreign research about COVID-19 in the field of construction sites is being actively conducted. However, Korea has lacked studies on the effectiveness of the countermeasures in place at construction sites, or that reflect the opinions of construction site workers. Therefore, this study conducted a survey of construction site workers by dividing the construction of the COVID-19 quarantine management system and response plan into on-site management and social management. Through the AHP/IPA analysis, it was found that among social management, 'infectious disease management system and cooperation system with related institutions' and 'reduction of working hours' are areas with high importance but low satisfaction. After that, the causes of the two items were analyzed and related countermeasures were suggested. The results of this study will be able to contribute to the improvement of the quarantine management system and response plan at construction sites, and to minimize the damage to the construction industry related to COVID-19.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.10 no.8
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• pp.77-86
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• 2020

The study aims to analyze the compliance and non-compliance of the Korean health authorities regarding WHO's mask use recommendations following the spread of Covid-19, and to suggest the limitations and implications of the recommendations in the prevention of epidemics by deriving the causes of non-compliance with the results of alternative options. To this end, documents related to masks at home and abroad are reviewed, and WHO's mask recommendations and the Korean health authorities' mask guidelines are targeted for analysis. The analysis results are as follows. First, Korea's health authorities have basically accepted and applied WHO's "limited mask user perspective" in two recommendations. Second, Korea's health authorities have implemented differently from WHO mask recommendations due to the lack of supply and demand of masks. Third, Korea's health authorities were able to succeed in the initial prevention of Corona 19 based on the stabilization of the mask supply. Fourth, in the WHO mask recommendations, mask user restriction resulted in partial errors as a recommendation. The implication derived from the analysis is that even international recommendations based on medical evidence need to be allowed to follow autonomous guidelines according to the country's quarantine situation and competence, rather than strict adherence to international rules, in the infectious disease pandemic situation.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

Purpose: We investigated the distribution and antimicrobial resistance of pneumococcal isolates from hospitalized children at Asan Medical Center for recent 4 years, and aimed to recommend proper choice of empirical antibiotics for pneumococcal infection. Methods: From March 2014 to May 2018, children admitted to Asan Medical Center Childrens' Hospital with pneumococcal infection were subjected for evaluation of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) for ${\beta}-lactams$ and macrolide antibiotics. Patient's age, underlying disease, gender were retrospectively collected. Using Monte Carlo simulation model and MIC from our study, we predicted the rate of treatment success with amoxicillin treatment. Results: Sixty-three isolates were analyzed including 20.6% (n=13) of invasive isolates, and 79.4% (n=50) of non-invasive isolates; median age were 3.3 years old, and 87.3% of the pneumococcal infections occurred to children with underlying disease. Overall susceptibility rate was 49.2%, 68.2%, and 74.6% for amoxicillin, parenteral penicillin, and cefotaxime respectively. 23.8% and 9.5% of the isolates showed high resistance for amoxicillin, and cefotaxime. Only 4.8% (n=3) were susceptible to erythromycin. Monte Carlo simulation model revealed the likelihood of treatment success was 46.0% at the dosage of 90 mg/kg/day of amoxicillin. Conclusions: Recent pneumococcal isolates from pediatric patients with underlying disease revealed high resistance for amoxicillin and cefotaxime, and high resistance for erythromycin. Prudent choice of antibiotics based on the local data of resistance cannot be emphasized enough, especially in high risk patients with underlying disease, and timely vaccination should be implemented for prevention of the spread of resistant strains.