• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.263-264
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• 2018

Based on epidemiological and genomic characteristics, lung cancer in never smokers (LCNS) is a different disease from lung cancer in smokers. Based on current research, the main risk factor for LCNS may be air pollution. A recent case-control study in Koreans reported that nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) may be a risk factor for LCNS. Additionally, a cohort study showed that exposure to $NO_2$ was associated with significant hypomethylation. Thus, epigenetic epidemiology studies are needed in the near future to evaluate the carcinogenesis of LCNS according to chronic exposure to air pollution and/or viral infections.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.295-299
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• 2005

Staphylococcus aureus is an important animal and human pathogen implicated in a variety of disease including food-poisoning caused by staphyloccal enterotoxins (SEs). In order to investigate the difference in genomic types and to monitor the transmission of S. aureus isolates, a total of 25 S. aureus isolates from different sources were determined for their genotypic characteristics by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) in addition to their ability to enterotoxin production and antibiotic resistance patterns in this study. All the isolates were susceptible to amikacin, and the resistance pattern to ampicillin and penicillin were most common among 14 different patterns. Eleven of 24 isolates produced one of three SEs, SEA, SEC or SED. Sixteen representative PFGE patterns were obtained by Smal restriction fragments of S. aureus isolates. Analysis of dendrogram based on PFGE band patterns suggested that food-poisoning outbreaks be caused by the diverse sources of food, of which their raw materials were infected with S. aureus. Also, it could be concluded that PFGE was a powerful tool for epidemiological tracing of infection source for food-initiated outbreaks.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.113-122
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• 2018

Ripe rot, Botrytis storage rot and Sclerotinia rot are major fungal diseases that lead to deterioration of fruit quality in Korea. Ripe rot, which is caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea, affects harvested fruits during post-storage ripening, while Botrytis storage rot, caused by Botrytis cinerea, affects harvested fruits during cold storage, and Sclerotinia rot, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, mainly affects immature fruits on the trees. Major fungal fruit rots tend to affect yellow- and red-fleshed cultivars of kiwifruit more severely because of the sharp increase in their cultivation acreage in recent years in Korea. In this review, we summarize symptoms and epidemiological characteristics of the major fungal fruit rots and propose integrated management methods of the diseases that can be practically utilized at the farmers' orchards in order to prevent the diseases based on our research works and field experiences and the research works of others conducted during the last three decades worldwide.

• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.160-167
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• 1997

The statistics of work related Low Back Pains(LBPs) in Korea and outside the countires have erviewed. Despite improved working enviroment with increased automation in industry, the LBPs hve been gradually increased and the workers compensation of such injuries has increased drama- tically. An epidemiological study indicated tha tthe LBPs is te major cause of injury, lost time and medical costs in many industrial workplace especially, a high occurrence rate of LBPs among construction and manufacturing workers. The objective of this study is to investigate problems involved with LBPs in Korea and outside the country for identifying its possible causal factors and characteristics. This study will thus contribute as a basic reference to the industries and ergonomic practitioners for preventing and managing LBPs.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.63-64
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• 2019

Due to the rapid deterioration of the domestic atmosphere, people are suffering from inconveniences such as wearing fine dust masks all the time during outdoor activities. In this study, light transmitting concrete, LEFC(Light Emotion Friendly Concrete), using TiO2 photocatalyst was produced. Since the characteristics of LEFC where acrylic rods are inserted require self-consolidating performance, the purpose was to utilize UHPC(Ultra High Performance Concrete) materials to obtain high-flowability. Further, the compressive strength and flexural strength were evaluated to prevent the reduction of epidemiological performance by utilizing UHPC materials. As such, a basic study was carried out to develop LEFC materials using photocatalyst that can purify the air and stimulate human sensibility.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2000

Phylogenetic tree constructed from the nucleotide sequences of the S1 gene showed that the 15 Korean strains of infectious bronchitis virus(IBV) examined were classified into 2 genetically distinct groups, except one respiratory strain, RB86, which was clustered with Massachusetts group. All the 5 respiratory strains belonged to Korean group I and the rest 9 nephropathogenic strains belonged to Korean group II according to the analysis, based on S1 gene sequences. Like previous classifications corresponded with the geographic origin, Korean stains were discriminated from geographically distinct reference strains of IBV. The nephropathogenic strains within Korean group IIsharing 96% homology were continuously isolated since 1990, and seemed to be genetically stable. Whereas the respiratory strains within Korean group Ⅰ sharing 88% homology were sporadically isolate since 1986m and seemed to be genetically unstable. Because we found putative accumulated point mutation as well as recombination events in Korean group Ⅰ, we discussed why genetic variations have often occurred in respiratory strains rather than nephropathognic strains.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 2021

There is a growing body of literature on the adverse health effects of ambient air pollution. Children are more adversely affected by air pollution due to their biological susceptibility and exposure patterns. This review summarized the accumulated epidemiologic evidence with emphasis on studies conducted in Korea and heterogeneity in the literature. Based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there is consistent evidence on the association between exposure to ambient air pollution and children's health, especially respiratory health and adverse birth outcomes, and growing evidence on neurodevelopmental outcomes. Despite these existing studies, the mechanism of the adverse health effects of air pollution and the critical window of susceptibility remain unclear. There is also a need to identify causes of heterogeneity between studies in terms of measurement of exposure/outcome, study design, and the differential characteristics of air pollutants and population.

• Infection and chemotherapy
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.287-300
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• 2018

Pneumonia is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in old adults. The incidence and etiologic distribution of community-acquired pneumonia is variable both geographically and temporally, and epidemiology might evolve with the change of population characteristics and vaccine uptake rates. With the increasing prevalence of chronic medical conditions, a wide spectrum of healthcare-associated pneumonia could also affect the epidemiology of community-acquired pneumonia. Here, we provide an overview of the epidemiological changes associated with community-acquired pneumonia over the decades since pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.61-69
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• 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a global pandemic for over 2 years. During the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant-predominant period in South Korea, confirmed cases among children and adolescents surged. This review found that, although younger children may be less susceptible to COVID-19 than adolescents, more research is needed on the role of children and adolescents in the disease's spread. Detailed epidemiological information about the transmissibility of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strain in children and adolescents is currently scarce, and more research is needed on the role of children and adolescents in disease's spread. There may be a difference in the proportion of cases with severe disease requiring hospitalization depending on the dominant mutant strain; however, COVID-19 generally presents with a mild-to-moderate course in children aged 5-11 years old.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.3
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• pp.334-341
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• 2022

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death in the pediatric population in Korea. In addition, it can cause disability in children and adolescents, with physical and mental consequences. This causes a substantial burden on the health care system and occurs globally and not just in Korea. We searched and reviewed current data on the epidemiologic characteristics of pediatric TBI in Korea. Our review provides the recent epidemiological trend mainly focusing on incidence and mortality along with worldwide reported data. This review will be helpful to understand the global epidemiology of pediatric TBI and its differences between countries.