• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.6
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• pp.690-695
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• 2005

Nitric acid is an oxidizing agent used in metal refining and cleaning, electroplating, and other industrial applications. Its accidental spillage generates oxides of nitrogen, including nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$), which cause chemical pneumonitis when inhaled. The clinical presentation of a nitric acid inhalation injury depends on the duration and intensity of exposure. In mild cases, there may be no symptoms during the first few hours after exposure, or the typical symptoms of pulmonary edema can appear within 3-24 hours. However, in cases of prolonged exposure, progressive pulmonary edema develops instantaneously and patients may not survive for more than 24 hours. We report a case of a 44-year-old male who was presented with acute respiratory distress syndrome after nitric acid inhalation. He complained of cough and dyspnea of a sudden onset after inhaling nitric acid fumes at his workplace over a four-hour period. He required endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation due to fulminant respiratory failure. He was managed successfully with mechanical ventilation using positive end expiratory pressure and systemic corticosteroids, and recovered fully without any deterioration in his pulmonary function.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.52-57
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• 2012

Objectives: Lifting heavy weights involves the Valsalva manoeuvre, which leads to intraocular pressure spikes. We used data from a case-control study to further investigate the hypothesis that occupational lifting is a risk factor for retinal detachment. Methods: The study population included 48 cases (patients operated for retinal detachment) and 84 controls (outpatients attending an eye clinic). The odds ratios (OR) of idiopathic retinal detachment were estimated with a logistic regression model (adjusted for age, sex and body mass index). Three indexes were used to examine exposure to lifting; 1) maximum load lifted, 2) average weekly lifting, 3) lifelong cumulative lifting. Results: For all indexes, the most exposed subjects showed an increased risk of retinal detachment compared with the unexposed (index 1: OR 3.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21-10.48; index 2: OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.32-7.97; index 3: OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.27-8.74) and dose-response relationships were apparent. Conclusion: These results reinforce the hypothesis that heavy occupational lifting may be a relevant risk factor for retinal detachment.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.184-194
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• 2011

This study is to analyze the internal temperature and relative humidity of concrete at early age, as well as the mechanical behavior. Three different levels of cement unit content were cosidered as an experimental variable. In order to measure internal temperature and relative humidity immediately after concrete placement, this study developed a unique measuring device, which provided reliable results. Different cement content did not significantly affected the strengths including compressive, tensile and flexural strength and after 7 days of curing, strengths did not increase noticeably. Internal temperature reached the maximum about 11 hours later the placement and decreased after removal of forms. The internal temperature varied depending on the location and the exposure condition. In addition, the internal relative humidity was more affected by the exposure condition rather than the cement content.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.70-75
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• 2010

Purpose: Nursing students face constant threats of blood-borne infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C during their clinical rotation period. This study was done to determine the frequency and risk of the exposure to blood and body fluids. Methods: The data was collected using a questionnaire. Ninety eight junior & senior nursing students were participated in this study. Results: 75.6% of the participants reported more than once during practicum. The exposure occurred most frequently while checking the blood glucose (65.3%). The general ward (45.3%) was the most frequent site for the occurrence of the exposure. However, only eight cases (10.7%) were reported to the medical or nursing personnel in charge. Conclusions: This study shows nursing students are in a great risk of the exposure to blood & body fluid. The risk is highest in the general ward during checking the blood glucose. Thorough education on preventive measures, should be provided to nursing students prior to clinical practium.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.268-272
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• 2007

Inconel 617 is a candidate tube material for high temperature gas-cooled reactors(HTGR). The microstructure and mechanical properties of Inconel 617 were studied after exposure at high temperature($1050^{\circ}C$). The dominant oxide layer was Cr-oxide. The internal oxide and Cr-depleted region were observed below the Cr-oxide layer. The depth of Cr-depleted zone and internal oxide increased with exposure time. The major phases of carbides are $M_{23}C_6\;and\;M_6C$. The composition of $M_{23}C_6\;and\;M_6C$ were determined to be Cr-rich and Mo-rich, respectively. $M_6C$ carbide is more stable than $M_{23}C_6$ at high temperature. From the results of high temperature compression test, there were no significant changes in hardness and yield strength upon increasing exposure time.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.273-281
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• 2021

The radiological safety of the spent resin treatment facility with a¹⁴C treatment capacity of 1 ton/day was evaluated in terms of the external and internal exposure of worker according to operation scenario. In terms of external dose, the annual dose for close work for 1 h/day at a distance of more than 1 m (19.8 mSv) satisfied the annual dose limit. For 8 h of close work per day, the annual dose exceeded the dose limit. For remote work of 2000 h/year, the annual dose was 14.4 mSv. Lead shielding was considered to reduce exposure dose, and the highest annual dose during close work for 1 h/day corresponded to 6.75 mSv. For close work of 2000 h/year and lead thickness exceeding 1.5 cm, the highest value of annual dose was derived as 13.2 mSv. In terms of internal exposure, the initial year dose was estimated to be 1.14E+03 mSv when conservatively 100% of the nuclides were assumed to leak. The allowable outflow rate was derived as 7.77E-02% and 2.00E-01% for the average limit of 20 mSv and the maximum limit of 50 mSv, respectively, where the annual replacement of the worker was required for 50 mSv.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.75-80
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• 2011

Purpose: Europe and U.S use multi-bed therapy rooms. Hereupon, this study aims to examine the safety when current one-bed therapy rooms in Seoul National University Hospital is changed into two-bed ones. Materials and Methods: This study evaluated external exposure by gamma radiation emitted from other patients and internal and external exposure caused by pollutions from other patients in case that Seoul National University Hospital installs a shielding wall between beds in existing therapy rooms. Results: When internal and external exposure was evaluated to evaluate safety of two-bed hospital rooms, 'isolation amount of patients' 5mSv exposure or below is received according to the Atomic Energy Act. Conclusion: With the increasing number of patients with thyoid cancer, patients using therapy rooms are on the rise. Therefore, improving one-person therapy rooms to two-person ones in line with international trend would increase cost reduction and management efficiency, and patients' alienation and isolation can be reduced to increase healing effects.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2009

Tritium is the one of the dominant contributors to the internal radiation exposure of workers at pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs). This nuclide is likely to release to work places as tritiated water vapor (HTO) from a nuclear reactor and gets relatively easily into the body of workers by inhalation. Inhaled tritium usually reaches the equilibrium of concentration after approximately 2 hours inside the body and then is excreted from the body with a half-life of 10 days. Because tritium inside the body transports with body fluids, a whole body receives radiation exposure. Internal radiation exposure at PHWRs accounts for approximately 20-40% of total radiation exposure; most internal radiation exposure is attributed to tritium. Thus, tritium is an important nuclide to be necessarily monitored for the radiation management safety. In this paper, metabolism for tritium is established using its excretion rate results in urine samples of workers at PHWRs and an effective half-life, a key parameter to estimate the radiation exposure, was derived from these results. As a result, it was found that the effective half-life for workers at Korean nuclear power plants is shorter than that of International Commission on Radiological Protection guides, a half-life of 10 days.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.155-159
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• 2001

Beta radiation is measured for an environmental monitoring purpose or for an internal radiation exposure monitoring of nuclear power plant's worker. In korea, strontium 89 and strontium 90 is measured for an environmental monitoring purpose. Also tritium and carbon 14 contained in urine is measured for an internal radiation exposure monitoring of nuclear power plant's worker. Because above isotopes emits low energy beta radiations having a wide range of energy, very complicated isotope separation preprocess is needed. In this study, two mixed beta emitting isotopes are measured simultaneously using a liquid scintillation counter(LSC) and analyzed by using a developed statistical method. Banded least square method is used to analyze the mixed spectrum, and the goodness-of-fitness test is proposed. Test results show that the developed procedure can be very useful for analyzing a mixed beta emitting isotopes.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.553-562
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• 2020

Objective: To investigate the vasodilatory effect of Sipjeondaebo-tang by inhibiting RhoA activity in vascular cells during cold exposure. Methods: Human vascular endothelial cells and pericytes were pretreated with Sipjeondaebo-tang for 30 min, followed by incubation at 37 ℃ (control) or 25 ℃ (cold exposure) for 30 min. Activation of endothelin-1-mediated RhoA in pericytes was assessed by pretreating the cells with Sipjeondaebo-tang for 30 min, followed by incubation with endothelin-1 at 37 ℃ for 30 min. Western blotting was performed to measure the expression of active RhoA. Endothelin-1 and nitric oxide release from endothelial cells was examined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The formation of stress fibers and focal adhesion complexes was analyzed by immunocytochemistry. Results: Cold treatment activated RhoA in both pericytes and vascular endothelial cells, whereas Sipjeondaebo-tang treatment inhibited this activation. Sipjeondaebo-tang treatment also reversed the cold-mediated production of endothelin-1 and nitric oxide. Cold exposure promoted the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesion complexes by increasing the expression of phospho-focal adhesion complex kinase, whereas Sipjeondaebo-tang treatment suppressed this response. Conclusions: These findings suggested that Sipjeondaebo-tang inhibits cold-induced RhoA activation and its related pathway components, including endothelin-1 and nitric oxide, in vascular cells. Therefore, Sipjeondaebo-tang could be beneficial for the treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon.