• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.283-292
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• 2016

Conventional fingerprint powders used during crime scene investigations pose potential health hazards. Thus, multiple natural replacement powders, including squid ink powder, indigo and rice powder were used to develop (visualize) latent fingerprints on non-porous surfaces (e.g., glass, plastic and tile). Fingerprints developed using the natural powders were compared using the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) with those developed with traditional black powder. The peak areas of ridges were also compared using densitometric image analyses. Collectively, objective and quantitative evaluation methods were developed. The effectiveness of natural powders varied depending on the surface but, in general, squid ink powder performed well on most surfaces. Indigo powder performed well on tile surfaces, while rice powder performed well on glass surfaces. Plastic was the most difficult surface from which to develop fingerprints. Image analysis using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) demonstrated the importance of the size and shape of natural powder particles to properly adhere to the ridges. Although densitometric image analyses did not correlate the number of minutiae and ridge peak areas, an unbiased, objective evaluation method would be possible using image analyses with a reference image. Additional experimentation will yield safe and cost-effective natural powders with which adequate fingerprint development can be performed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.14-18
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• 1989

Comparative effects of gamma irradiation and ethylene oxide treatments on the sterilization and physicochemical propperties of the condiment for soup of instant noodle (ramen) were investigated. The number of microorganisms contaminated ranged from $10^3\;to\;10^7\;CFU/g$ in total bacterial count, which were mainly composed of thermophiles and acid tolerant bacteria by over 90%. The yeast & molds were contaminated by $10^2\;to\;10^3\;CFU/g$. In the sterilizing effect of an irradiation on the microorganisms contaminated, 7 to 10 kGy gamma irradiation could eliminated yeast & molds, and also bring about the reduction of total bacterial count to below $10^3\;CFU/g.\;D_{10}$values of total bacteria! count of the samples ranged from 2.33 to 3.33 kGy. In comparative effects of irradiation and ethylene oxide treatments on the physicochemical properties of the sample, both treatments affected more or less rancidity, color, and amino-Ncontent, but less than 10 kGy irradiation was shown to be safe than ethylene oxide.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.527-533
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• 2017

Objective : To investigate the efficacy of adjuvant treatment in patients with high-grade meningioma. Methods : A retrospective analysis was performed for patients with high-grade meningioma, World Health Organization grade 2 or 3, in a single center between 2003 and 2014. The patients were reviewed according to age at diagnosis, sex, the location of meningioma, degree of tumor resection, histological features, and type of adjuvant treatment. These factors were analyzed by Firth logistic regression analyses. Results : Fifty-three patients with high-grade meningioma were enrolled. Thirty-four patients received adjuvant treatment; conventional radiotherapy or radiosurgery. Clinical follow-up ranged from 13-113 months with a median follow-up of 35.5 months. Gross total removal (GTR), Simpson grade 1 or 2, was achieved in 29 patients and, among them, 13 patients received adjuvant treatment. In the other 24 patients with non-GTR, conventional adjuvant radiotherapy and radiosurgery were performed in 11 and 10 patients, respectively. The other 3 patients did not receive any adjuvant treatment. Radiation-related complications did not occur. Of the 53 patients, 19 patients had suffered from recurrence. The recurrence rate in the adjuvant treatment group was 23.5% (8 out of 34). On the other hand, the rate for the non-adjuvant treatment group was 57.9% (11 out of 19) (odds ratio [OR]=0.208, p=0.017). In the GTR group, the recurrence rate was 7.5% (1 out of 13) for patients with adjuvant treatment and 50% (8 out of 16) for patients without adjuvant treatment (OR=0.121, p=0.04). Conclusion : Adjuvant treatment appears to be safe and effective, and could lead to a lower recurrence rate in high-grade meningioma, regardless of the extent of removal. Our results might be used as a reference for making decisions when planning adjuvant treatments for patients with high-grade meningioma after surgery.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.141-147
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• 2008

Thyroid nodules are a common disease in clinical practice. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is an accurate and safe method for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. One of the limitations of FNA is the variable rate of unsatisfactory specimens, especially in small sized, deep seated or complex cystic nodules. To overcome this problem, ultrasound-guided FNA (US-FNA) has been widely used. In this study, the clinical usefulness of US-FNA cytology in thyroid nodules was investigated. Female to male ratio was 6.58:1. The incidence of nodules were 157 (43.1%) cases on the right, 130 (35.7%) cases on the left and 9 (2.5%) cases in isthmus. Total 139 cases (38.2%) belong to less than 1cm and 225 cases (61.8%) belong to more than 1cm. As for the echo type in the nodules, solid types were 255(70.1%), cystic type 39 (10.7%) cases, and the percentage of mixed type was 19.2%. The results show that US-FNA reduces the possibility of unsatisfactory cytologic specimens and the rate of false-negative diagnosis, and improves the diagnostic accuracy in investigation thyroid nodules.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.141-152
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• 2016

The demand to develop more safe and efficient methods for treating allergic patient is now continuously growing due to the increasing prevalence of allergic diseases. Probiotics are endogenous microbial flora that gives health benefits within hosts. Probiotics are now considered as one of solutions to treat allergic patients since recent evidence shows that some of probiotics have immunomodulatory function. Also, the treatment of probiotics to patients is relatively safer than other anti-inflammatory agents. In this review, we summarized on immunomodulatory function of some probiotics which show preventive or therapeutic effects on major allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma, or food allergy. Based on previous literature, the treatment of probiotics can alleviate the symptoms of allergic diseases via balancing $Th_1/Th_2$ response or increasing the number of regulatory T ($T_{reg}$) cells.

• Journal of Sleep Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2018

Objectives: To assess the effect and safety of transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) in primary chronic insomnia. Methods: A one-month, double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial was performed. A total of 7 patients with primary chronic insomnia received tDCS using anodal (n=3), cathodal (n=2), or sham stimulation (n=2). They were followed up at 1 week and 1 month after treatment. The primary outcome measures included improvement in total sleep time (TST), sleep latency (SL), and sleep efficiency (SE) at 1 month follow-up. Results: TST and SE were improved with tDCS at 1 month follow-up in all patients (100%) of the anodal group, one (50%) of the cathodal group, and one (50%) of the sham group. tDCS improved SL at 1 month follow-up in two patients (67%) of the anodal group, one (50%) of the cathodal group, and none (0%) of the sham group. With respect to adverse events, transient itching sensation occurred in one patient of the anodal group. None of the other groups reported adverse events. Conclusions: Our results suggest that tDCS may be effective and safe for treatment of primary chronic insomnia. A larger controlled study needs to be further investigated.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.567-573
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• 2020

The persimmon is commonly cultivated in temperate regions of the world, including China, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Turkey, and Italy. In some Asian cultures, consumers are aware of the health claims related to the persimmon and its functional ingredients. The rich phytochemistry of the persimmon has opened new avenues of research on diet-based regimens designed to cure various ailments. This study was conducted to identify the genotoxicity of immature green persimmon (Diospyros kaki THUNB.) extract (DKA). The bacterial reverse mutation assay, the chromosomal aberration assay, and the mammalian micronucleus test were performed to determine the DKA genotoxicity. The result of the bacterial reverse mutation assay revealed that the DKA did not induce mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1537 and Escherichia coli WP2uvrA with or without metabolic activation of S9 mixture. The oral administration of DKA also caused no significant increase in the number of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes or in the mean ratio of polychromatic to total erythrocytes. In addition, DKA did not cause a significant chromosome aberration on CHL cells in the presence or absence of S9 activation. In conclusion, DKA could be considered as a reliable and safe functional food since no toxicity was found under the condition of this study.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.37-42
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• 2023

This study aimed to examine the safety of HemoHIM, a dietary supplement containing methoxsalen. HemoHIM is a dietary supplement marketed globally, and a competitor to ginseng. It has been reported to contain methoxsalen, a plant extract for treating psoriasis and vitiligo. Methoxsalen is known to cause hepatotoxicity, but most of the cases has been reported from ingestion as a drug, not a food. There are no reports of hepatotoxicity from the consumption derived from natural products such as Angelica gigas, Cnidium officinale, and Paeonia lactiflora, which are the main ingredients in the HemoHIM. However, a recent case of acute hepatitis was reported in Hong-Kong after ingestion of HemoHIM. It is difficult to conclude that hepatitis was caused by HemoHIM, because there was no check of co-occurring medications with a higher risk of hepatotoxicity, no description of the progress, no quantitative comparison of methoxsalen in HemoHIM to it in common foods such as carrots and celery, and no description of the patient's underlying diseases. On the other hand, there was a study that suggest hemoHIM is safe, and that study had adequate number of subjects even though more studies are needed to ensure safety.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.41-53
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• 2023

E171, a mixture of titanium dioxide, has been widely used as a food additive due to its whitening effect and low toxicity. However, it has been proven that E171 is no longer safe for public health. So far, there are insufficient studies on the toxic effects of E171 on organisms especially using standardized test methods. In this study, toxicity assessments of E171 to two aquatic species, water flea (Daphnia magna) and zebrafish (Danio rerio), were performed using modified standardized test methods based on the physicochemical properties of E171. The hydrodynamic diameter, polydispersity index, and turbiscan stability index (TSI) were measured to ensure the dispersion stability of E171 in exposure media during the test period. The EC₅₀ for immobilization of water flea was 141.7 mg L^-1 while zebrafish was not affected until 100 mg L^-1 of E171. Measurements of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant enzyme activities confirmed that E171 induced oxidative stress, leading to the activation of superoxide dismutase and catalase in both water flea and zebrafish, although the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes differed between species. These results suggested the potential risk of E171 to aquatic organisms and provided toxicological insights into the impacts of E171 on the environment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.159-166
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was examine via a survey the knowledge related to radiation safety management (RSM) among radiation workers who operated or used a radiation generator or radioactive isotopes (radioactive isotopes, etc. hereinafter) for industrial use and to systematically analyze the changes in the survey results in order to promote a radiation safety culture for facilities where radiation is used. We administered a questionnaire to 861 radiation workers in the period from August 1 to September 5, 2011. As for the analysis method, a frequency analysis was made for the general characteristics and organization information of survey respondents, while the average and standard deviation were calculated and compared for the knowledge level of the RSM. According to the analysis results, the knowledge level of the RSM was evaluated to be high in all of the radiation workers. In conclusion, it is required to conduct a study on various factors in regards to the RSM among radiation workers. This can contribute to establishing educational programs in a timely manner to increase the awareness of safe and efficient use of radioactive materials and equipments by radiation workers.