• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.22 no.1 s.25
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• pp.125-135
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• 1989

This paper was carried out to study on correlation between mentally retardation and lead and zinc. The subjects were 297 mentally retarded children: 132 of Bomyung special school and Sunmyung, which were located in Taegu city of Korea. The former had their parents but the latter had not. The control group 63 children were randomly seleted from the Dong-in primary school near to Medical School of Kyungpook National University. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer, model IL-551 connected with CTF atomizer(IL. 655) was used for the analysis of lead and zinc. The mean value of lead in hair of mentally retarded children was $14.97{\pm}3.71ppm$ which is significantly higher than that of control group, $11.36{\pm}2.83ppm$. But the content of zinc was not significant in both groups. In the lead there was no significant correlation to age but significant negative correlation to IQ. Zinc showed significant correlation to age but not to IQ. Among the handicapped children, no signigicant correlation between orphan group and non orphan group. Handicaps of mentally-retarded children were speech impairment, emotional disturbance, double and triple handicaps, sensory impairment and abnormal dietary patterns. There were significantly higher contents of lead compared with normal group, except the latter two groups. The disease conditions of mentally retarded children were mongolism, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and microcephaly. In comparing with mongolism, significant difference were existent only on the cerebral palsy and group of unknown etiology. We attempted to divide their past history into external etiology and internal etiology, but could not find significant difference. In view of the whole results, the relationship between mentally-retarded children and lead was presumed to be the early time exposure rather than long interval exposure during growth and the contact opportunity was considered important subject in maternal and child health care.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.329-339
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• 1996

This study is to investigate the effect of mycorrhizal development, growth, nutrient absorption of P. thunbergii seedlings inoculated with Pisolithus tinctorius(Pt. KJ-1) in relation to toxic materials in soil. The concentrations on copper solution applied to the soils were 0, 40, 120, 260, 430ppm. The results are summarized as follows : 1. The germination of P. thunbergii with Pt. increased greater than without ectomycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal development showed a significant decreasing trend at high concentration, and tolerant Cu test with Pt. in agar plate media showed a decreasing trend at a high level. 2. P. thunbergii seedlings inoculated with Pt. showed that the shoot length was significantly promoted at 40, 120ppm copper levels, and that of noninoculated seedlings had the lowest effect in 430ppm copper level. 3. The outer shape of ectomycorrhizal root tips after inoculating Pt. on P. thunbergii seedlings appeared as a monopodial type, a fern-like type, and a cluster-like type at 0ppm, 40ppm levels, but only monopodial type came out at 260ppm, 430ppm copper levels. 4. Root length, no. of juvenile leaves, total length of juvenile leaves, total dry weight, no. of needles and total length of needles of P. thunbergii with Pt. increased greater than those of noninoculated seedling. Growth response of P. thunbergii seedling inoculated with Pt. increased significantly at 40ppm, 120ppm Cu levels. 5. As a result of analysis of growth medium, pH, Na, CEC increased at higher Cu level, and total nitrogen, organic matters, available phosphorous, K, Ca and Mg decreased at 40ppm, 120ppm Cu levels. As a result of an analysis about a copper within soils, it appeared having high Cu-concentration at 0ppm level of an inoculated Pt. and high Cu-concentration in noninoculated Pt. than in inoculated Pt. at higher level. 6. As a result of an analysis of shoot, N, P, and K-concentration were higher in noninoculated seedlings than in inoculated seedlings, and Cu-concentration was higher in inoculated seedlings than in noninoculated seedlings. The analysis of root resulted in a high N-concentration at 40ppm, 120ppm levels, in a high P-concentration in inoculated seedlings and in a high Cu-concentration in noninoculated seedlings. Cu-concentration was significantly higher at root than at shoot.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.22 no.3 s.27
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• pp.368-379
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• 1989

The relationship between mercury level of hair and mental retardation was investigated. The 297 subjects with mental retardation were drawn from two schools providing special educational services, one, consisted of children living in an orphan home, another, children with parents. The 117 centre] subjects were drawn from whom had got average or above average academic achivement in a regular elementary school. Hair sample were taken from the nape of the neck and the mercury analysis was carried out on an atomic absorption spectrophotometer(IL 551). There was no relationship between mercury contents and age, and there was a statistically significant difference in mercury contents between male and female in the mentally retarded children living with parents. Children in the retarded group had significantly higher mercury contents compared with control group except the female group with parents. Also, the mercury levels in the retarded group living in an orphan home were significantly higher than that of the retarded group with parents. The concomitant diseases were Down's syndrome, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and autism. There were statistically significant differences in hair mercury levels in the cases of accompanying Down's syndrome and cerebral palsy in male and Down's syndrome and autism in female compared with the control group of the same sex. The most accompanying handicap was speech disturbance(40.7%) and the others were crippled, emotional disturbance etc. The percentages of double handicap were 66.7% among 6 persons exceeding 6ppm of their hair mercury contents. 10.4% among $3{\sim}6$ ppm and 15.7% among the group of 3ppm or less. The findings of this study suggest that the more opportunities of exposure to mercury in mentally retarded children may have occurred, so it can not be excluded the possibility of mercury as a contributing factor to mental retardation. Therefore, the causal relationship between mercury levels and mental retardation should be established through the examinations about their living environments, dietary pattern, eating habit etc.