• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.1 no.3_4
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• pp.197-200
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• 1968

Using the $Methionine-2-C^{14}$, the metabolism of methionine to the experimental rats on rice diet was studied comparing with that to the rats on stock diet in this paper. The National Institute of Health strain of weaning albino rats were housed into the individual cages deviding into 2 groups, the rice diet (RD) group and the stock diet (SD) group, and fed on rice diet and stock diet respectively for 10 weeks. On the day of experiment, the rats were parenterally administered. the $methionine-2-C^{14}$ solution after fasting over night. And then the rats were sacrificed by ether anesthesia by time being of one, three, six, and twelve hours each and the organs, pituitary gland, pancreas, spleen, liver, and kidney, were taken out for the determinations of radioactivities. And also the excretion of radioactivities through urine were determined by time being. The radioactivities were determined by Autoscaler SC-51 using the planchets. The results of radioactivities of urine excretion were shown at table 3 and the results of radioactivities distibutions in the organs by time being after parenteral administration of $methionine-2-C^{14}$ were shown table 4 in the original paper. According to the results, the following are summarized; 1. The growth experiment result of rats on. rice diet and stock diet were same as shown by the previous workers indicating significant growth inhibition at the rice diet group. 2. Due to the result of radioactivity excretion through urine after administration of $methionine-2-C^{14}$, it might he considered that methionine in the rice diet seems to be limited. However, it seems to be not 주 mostly limited. 3. And due to the results of radioactivity distribution in the organs by time being, the radioactivity in the liver tissue showed appearently higher readings at this methionine study compared with the results at the lysine study shown by HAW and his co-worker. This might be interpreted, though it is not clear, that liver might require methionine as a deficient amino acid at the tissue because methionine is limited at the rice diet.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2013

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic parasitic infection in the Mediterranean region, including Libya and its Al-jabal Al-gharbi province. We aimed at studying the occupational relevance as well as other epidemiological aspects of CL. We investigated 140 CL cases who attended at Gharyan outpatient polyclinic during a period of 6 months in 2009. CL infection was clinically diagnosed and confirmed by demonstration of Leishmania parasites on smears from lesions. Our findings showed that males were more affected than females (P=0.04), and people above 10-years were more affected than younger ones (P=0.0001). A significant percent of CL cases belonged to Al-Kawasem subprovince (P=0.0001). Farm-related activities were the most frequent occupations among CL cases (P=0.04). In addition to farm workers, housewives and students are at risk groups since they are engaged at farm activities. Moreover, those who have occupations that require staying outdoors for a part of night, e.g., policemen, are also at risk. Compared to children, adult CL patients had multiple lesions (P=0.001) that were more prevalent in their upper and lower extremities than the face (P=0.0001). We conclude that CL is a major health problem in Al-jabal Al-gharbi province of Libya. The presence of rodents and sandflies makes it a suitable environment for Leishmania to spread in an endemic epidemiological pattern. Being engaged in farming activities or outdoor occupations increases the risk of infection. Various clinical patterns of CL suggest the presence of more than 1 species of Leishmania at Al-jabal Al-gharbi province. We propose that the 2 species responsible for CL in this area are L. major and L. tropica. Further investigations to identify the leishmanial species responsible for CL at Al-jabal Al-gharbi together with adoption of preventive and control programs are needed.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.294-302
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the wage structure of hospital nurses in Korea and to analyze the factors that determine the level of nurses' wages. Methods: First, a mobile survey on nurses' wages was conducted with a total of 3,742 nurses working in hospitals. A literature review was also done. Second, a regression model was applied to analyze the determinants of nurses' wages. Results: The average monthly wage of 3,742 nurses based on the survey was KRW 3,588,000 and the standardized monthly income of 3,742 nurses was estimated to be KRW 3,364,000 as of the end of 2018. The results of regression analysis(R²=61.7%) showed that gender, nursing experience, designated night duty, ownership, and number of beds were statistically significant variables for nurses' wages at 1% significance level. The monthly wage of nurses working in total nursing care wards was not significantly different from those working in other wards at 5% significance level. Conclusion: The substantial difference in nurses' wages according to job career, hospital size, region, etc may result in the low proportion of nurses with more than three to five years of service experience and the high turnover of less-experienced workers. Consideration should be given to adjust the gap in wage level and a standard nurse wage system could be effective measures.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.540-548
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• 2021

Introduction: Preplacement health examination (PHE) is performed when a worker starts a certain work task which is designated as having occupational risks by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL). All data related to health examination except PHE are reported to the MOEL by the law. This study has been performed to understand the status of PHE at certain workplaces. Methods: PHE data gathered in a university hospital were analyzed and they were followed with results of the special health examination (SHE) in 2019 and 2020. Those who were evaluated as unfit to work as it was, were interviewed directly or indirectly through an occupational health manager to follow up the management status of their recognized health problems. Results: The unfit to work (unFTW) rate of PHE was 2.8%, and was not different according to the size of workplace or having occupational health service. The major cause of unfit to work was the uncontrolled life-style diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. The rate of SHE followed by PHE was 31.1%. It was not different by the unFTW rates, however, they were different according to having a full time in-house occupational health manager. Thirty-one among 71 examinees who were evaluated as unFTW underwent SHE after controlling their health condition and were finally evaluated as fit to work. Nineteen among 31 started to take medicine and eight have been placed in the work without designated risks. Conclusion: PHE can be used for new workers, who may have unknown or uncontrolled life-style diseases, to be asked to manage life-style diseases as well as work-related risks such as shift work. In order to have a better tracking system for work-related risks, the information of PHE should be analyzed together with other data from health examination.

• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.85-94
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• 2022

Recently, consumers who prefer contactless consumption are increasing due to pandemic trends such as Corona 19. This is the driving force for developing the last mile-based logistics ecosystem centered on the online e-commerce market. Lastmile led to the continued development of the logistics industry, but increased the amount of cargo in urban area, and caused social problems such as overcrowding of logistics. The courier service in the logistics base area utilizes the process of visiting the delivery site directly because the courier must precede the loading work of the cargo in the truck for the delivery of the ordered product. Currently, it's carried out as automated logistics equipment such as conveyor belt in unloading or classification stage, but the automation system isn't applied, so the work efficiency is decreasing and the intensity of the courier worker's labor is increased. In particular, small-scale courier workers belonging to the sub-terminal unload at night at underdeveloped facilities outside the city center. Therefore, the productivity of the work is lowered and the risk of safety accidents is exposed, so robot-based loading technology is needed. In this paper, we have derived the top-level concept and requirements of robot-based loading system to increase the flexibility of logistics processing and to ensure the safety of courier drivers. We defined algorithms and motion concepts to increase the cargo loading efficiency of logistics sub-terminals through the requirements of end effector technology, which is important among concepts. Finally, the control technique was proposed to determine and position the load for design input development of the automatic conveyor system.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.425-434
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• 2022

Objectives: This study analyzes TVOC concentrations in root industry workplaces in order to prevent probable occupational disease among workers. Root industry includes all the infrastructure of manufacturing, such as casting and molding. Methods: Real-time TVOC sensors were deployed in three root industry workplaces. We measured TVOC concentrations with these sensors and analyzed the results using a data-analysis tool developed with Python 3.9. Results: During the study period, the mean of the TVOC concentrations remained in an acceptable range, 0.30, 2.15, and 1.63 ppm across three workplaces. However, TVOC concentrations increased significantly at specific times, with respective maximum values of 4.98, 28.35, and 26.65 ppm for the three workplaces. Moreover, the analysis of hourly TVOC concentrations showed that during working hours or night shifts TVOC concentrations increased significantly to higher than twice the daily mean values. These results were scrutinized through classical decomposition results and autocorrelation indices, where seasonal graphs of the corresponding classical decomposition results showed that TVOC concentrations increased at a specific time. Trend graphs showed that TVOC concentrations vary by day. Conclusions: Deploying a real-time TVOC sensor should be considered to reflect irregularly high TVOC concentrations in workplaces in the root industry. It is expected that the real-time TVOC sensor with the presented data analysis methodology can eradicate probable occupational diseases caused by detrimental gases.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.36.1-36.12
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• 2022

Background: Many studies have been conducted to investigate the harmful effect of shift work on physical and mental health. Although, by definition, "working evening shift" is included in the scope of shift work, most related studies conducted thus far have focused on working night shifts, overtime work, or different types of shift work, with little research effort dedicated to "working evening shifts." Therefore, to fill this research gap, we investigated the effect of working evening shifts on workers' mental health. Methods: The participants of this study were 16,692 employees of the 50,205 that participated in the 5th wave of the Korean Working Conditions Survey. We performed χ² test and logistic regression analysis to analyze the effects of independent variables on health problems and calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: In the logistic regression analysis adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, health-related factors, and work-related characteristics, employees who worked evening shifts showed higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to those that did not. In particular, the adjusted odds ratios of the group working evening shifts between one and nine times a month were the highest with 2.723 (95% CI: 2.014-3.682) for depression, 3.294 (95% CI: 2.547-4.259) for anxiety. Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that working evening shifts has a negative effect on employees' mental health. This trend decreased with an increase in the monthly frequency of evening work.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.501-507
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• 2017

The shortage of dental hygienists has been a long-standing problem in Korea. Small-scaled dental clinics suffer from a lack of dental hygienists, who seem to prefer working at large-scaled dental clinics. The purpose of this study was to confirm the differences in the working conditions according to the scales of dental clinics. We collected the working information registered via job advertisements through the web-sites of Korean Dental Hygienists Association, Dental Jobs, and Nurse Jobs from July to August 2016. The results were as follows: 96.7% of the advertisements wanted regular workers, while the proportion of part-time workers was the highest (34.8%) in the group with less than 3 employees. The average workdays per week was $5.32{\pm}0.55$ days, and the group with less than 3 employees had significantly longer workdays than the other groups. The daily working time was $8.99{\pm}0.44$ hours, and there was no difference among the groups. Night overtime hours were needed by 54.4%, 45.0%, and 31.3% of the groups with of the groups with 4~7 employees, more than 8 employees, and less than 3 employees, respectively. Information regarding annual leave (60.5%), monthly leave (63.9%), half a day off (32.4%) and vacations (43.1%) were presented in the job advertisements, and these proportions were significantly higher by the group with more than 8 employees. Information on overtime pay (14.4%), night-work pay (13.4%), incentives (34.1%), lunches (60.2%), vacation bonuses (33.8%), and self-development (20.4%) were presented in job advertisements. The group with 4~7 employees had significantly higher proportions in severance pay, vacation bonuses, self-development, and major national insurance. It is necessary to consider the improvement of working conditions, diversity of working styles, and welfare of dental hygienists, and it is suggested that small dental clinics provide more precise working conditions.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.106-114
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• 2002

Objectives: Daytime sleepiness is a common symptom and is associated with sleep behavior, sleep deprivation, and night shift, etc. It is also one of the most important symptoms of sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). According to our survey on Korean literature, a few studies have dealt with daytime sleepiness, and we have not been able to locate any study comparing normal subjects with polysomnography-proven sleep disorder patients regarding daytime sleepiness. We aimed at comparing daytime sleepiness among normal healthy daytime workers, medical students being expected to have daytime sleepiness due to chronic sleep deprivation, and patients having sleep disorders diagnosed with polysomnography. We also studied the association between subjective daytime sleepiness and objective polysomnographic findings in patients with sleep disorders. Methods: One hundred three hospital workers, 137 medical students, and patients with sleep disorders were studied. Sleep disorders included OSA, periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS), insomnia, and narcolepsy. The degree of subjective sleepiness in each group was measured by the Korean version of Epworth sleepiness scale and compared. The relationship between polysomnographic findings reflecting severity of sleep disorder in each patient group and subjective sleepiness was analyzed. As for patients with narcolepsy, the relationship between the mean sleep latency and subjective sleepiness was studied. Results: There was a significant difference of ESS score (F=68.190, dF=5.752, p<0.001) among daytime workers, medical students, and sleep disorder patients. In OSA patient group, the degree of the sleepiness had no significant correlation either with mean O2 satuaration (p=0.062) or with RDI (p=0.807). In PLMS patient group, there was no correlation between periodic limb movement index (PLMI) and subjective sleepiness (p=0.761). In narcolepsy patient group, the subjective sleepiness had no correlation with mean sleep latency measured with MSLT (p=0.055). Conclusion: We found a significant difference of subjective sleepiness among daytime workers, medical students, and patients with sleep disorders. However, no consistent correlation was found between severity of subjective sleepiness and objective polysomnographic findings reflecting severity of each sleep disorder. This research confirms that the evaluation of subjective sleepiness is important clinically, but it cannot substitute the objective measures such as nocturnal polysomnography and MSLT.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.45-63
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• 2019

The number of domestic construction company is expanding every year while the construction workers' exposure to disaster risk is increasing due to technological advancements and popularity of high-rise buildings. In particular, the industry faces greater fatalities and severe large scale accidents because of construction industry characteristics including influx of foreign workers with different language and culture, large number of aged workers, outsourcing, high place work, heavy machine construction. The construction industry is labor-intensive, which is to be completed under given timeline and consists of unique working environment with a lot of night shifts. In addition, when a fixed construction budget is not secured, there is less investment in safety management resulting in poor risk management at the construction site. Taking account that the construction industry has higher accident risk rate and fatality rate, risky and unique working environment, and various labor pool from foreign to aged workers, preemptive safety management through risk factor identification is a mandatory requirement for the construction industry and site. The study analyzes about 8,500 cases of construction accidents that occurred over the past 10 years and identified risk factor by construction industry sector to secure a systematic insight for risk management. Based on interrelation analysis between accident types, work types, original cause materials and assailing materials, there is correlation between each analysis factor and work industry. Especially for work types, there is great correlation between work tasks and industry type. For reinforced concrete and earthwork are among the most frequent types of accidents, and they are not only high in frequency of accidents, but also have a high risk in categories of occurrence.