• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.323-329
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• 2021

This study investigated the seasonal distribution of ticks in Boeun, Chungbuk, South Korea, from 2016 to 2020. Over the five-year period, ticks were collected annually from four different sites. A total of 17,704 ticks belonging to three tick species (Haemaphysalis longicornis, Haemaphysalis flava, and Ixodes nipponensis) were collected. H. longicornis was the dominant species across all four sites with the highest density of 68.40% of the total collected specimens, followed by H. flava (3.53%) and I. nipponensis (0.06%). The larvae of unidentified species were also collected: 11.81 T.I. (28.01%). The H. longicornis population peaked during the spring season (May-June), whereas the larval population peaked during August and September. H. longicornis was collected the most from four sites (coniferous forest, broad-leaf forest, mountain path, and copse), with the exception of the larvae, which was collected the most in grassland and grave. H. flava was collected from all sites, but in a small proportion. The SFTS virus was not found in any of the 828 pools of ticks during 2016-2020. Based on the results of this study, the continuous surveillance of the tick population is recommended to mitigate the spread of diseases by these vectors.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.530-535
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• 2021

Background: Despite the lack of official COVID-19 statistics, various workplaces and occupations have been at the center of COVID-19 outbreaks. We aimed to compare legal measures and governance established for managing COVID-19 infection risks at workplaces in nine Asia and Pacific countries and to recommend key administrative measures. Methods: We collected information on legal measures and governance from both general citizens and workers regarding infection risks such as COVID-19 from industrial hygiene professionals in nine countries (Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand) using a structured questionnaire. Results: A governmental body overseeing public health and welfare was in charge of containing the spread and occurrence of infectious diseases under an infectious disease control and prevention act or another special act, although the name of the pertinent organizations and legislation vary among countries. Unlike in the case of other traditional hazards, there have been no specific articles or clauses describing the means of mitigating virus risk in the workplace that are legally required of employers, making it difficult to define the responsibilities of the employer. Each country maintains own legal systems regarding access to the duration, administration, and financing of paid sick leave. Many workers may not have access to paid sick leave even if it is legally guaranteed.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.297-309
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• 2020

Coronaviruses were originally discovered as enzootic infections that limited to their natural animal hosts, but some strains have since crossed the animal-human species barrier and progressed to establish zoonotic diseases. Accordingly, cross-species barrier jumps resulted in the appearance of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 that manifest as virulent human viruses. Coronaviruses contain four main structural proteins: spike, membrane, envelope, and nucleocapsid protein. The replication cycle is as follows: cell entry, genome translation, replication, assembly, and release. They were not considered highly pathogenic to humans until the outbreaks of SARS-CoV in 2002 in Guangdong province, China. The consequent outbreak of SARS in 2002 led to an epidemic with 8,422 cases, and a reported worldwide mortality rate of 11%. MERS-CoVs is highly related to camel CoVs. In 2019, a cluster of patients infected with 2019-nCoV was identified in an outbreak in Wuhan, China, and soon spread worldwide. 2019-nCoV is transmitted through the respiratory tract and then induced pneumonia. Molecular diagnosis based on upper respiratory region swabs is used for confirmation of this virus. This review examines the structure and genomic makeup of the viruses as well as the life cycle, diagnosis, and potential therapy.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.561-566
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• 2021

Schools are highly feared to spread widely in the event of an infectious disease, and systematic management and prompt response are needed as it can undermine students' health and learning rights. This study was conducted to identify the current status of infectious diseases common to elementary, middle and high school students and to provide basic data to protect students and faculty from the threat of infectious diseases and maintain normal school functions. Sejong City was selected for investigation. The three major infectious diseases are influenza, chickenpox and aquarium, all of which are classified as acute viral infectious diseases and have fast propagation speed and strong propagation power, which can have fatal consequences for students living in groups. The research data were analyzed using the 2019 infectious disease report data from the Education Ministry's Education Administration Information Network (NEIS), and the current status data reported by elementary, middle and high schools nationwide were analyzed. The research method was to compare the current status of infectious diseases across the country and Sejong City, compare the status of issuance by each school level, compare the status of infectious diseases by item, and analyze the status of infectious diseases by time. The results of the survey on the status of the three major infectious diseases are expected to be used as basic data for managing infectious diseases not only in Sejong City but also in the nation, so that they can be used to establish measures to manage student infectious diseases in the future.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.317-324
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• 2021

This study deals with keywords from social media on domestic portal sites related to COVID-19, which is spreading widely. The data were collected between January 20 and August 15, 2020, and were divided into three stages. The precursor period is before COVID-19 started spreading widely between January 20 and February 17, the serious period denotes the spread in Daegu between February 18 and April 20, and the stable period is the decrease in numbers of confirmed infections up to August 15. The top 50 words were extracted and clustered based on TF-IDF. As a result of the analysis, the precursor period keywords corresponded to congestion of the Situation. The frequent keywords in the serious period were Nation and Infection Route, along with instability surrounding the Treatment of COVID-19. The most common keywords in all periods were infection, mask, person, occurrence, confirmation, and information. People's emotions are becoming more positive as time goes by. Cafes and blogs share text containing writers' thoughts and subjectivity via the internet, so they are the main information-sharing spaces in the non-face-to-face era caused by COVID-19. However, since selectivity and randomness in information delivery exists, a critical view of the information produced on social media is necessary.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2021

The recent spread of novel and highly variant pathogenic viruses, including the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), has increased the demand for diagnostic testing for rapid confirmation. This has resulted in investigating the functional capability of each space, and preparing facility guidelines to secure the safety of medical technologists. During viral evaluations, there is a requirement of negative pressure facilities along with thread separation, during pre-treatment of samples and before nucleic acid amplification. Space composition therefore needs to be planned by considering unidirectional air flow. This classification of safety management facilities is designated as biosafety level 2, and personal protective equipment is placed accordingly. In case of handling dangerous materials, they need to be carried out of the biosafety cabinet, and sterilizers are required for suitable disposal of infectious agents. A common feature of domestic laboratories is maintenance of the sample pre-treatment space at a negative pressure of -2.5 Pa or less, and arranging separate pre-treatment and reagent preparation spaces during the test process. We believe that the data generated in this study is meaningful, and offers an efficient direction and detailed flow for separation of the inspection process and space functions. Moreover, this study introduces construction of the laboratory by applying the safety management standards.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.45-77
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• 2021

The aftermath of the COVID-19 virus continues. There are two potential fears behind the various preventive and quarantine measures. : the fear that "I may be infected" and the fear that "someone may infect me". This subconscious is built on the 'imagination of infection'. This paper attempted to analyze science fiction(SF) narratives and zombie narratives that influenced our imagination of infection. And this paper attempts to examine how SF novels and movies understand and express "infection", and how zombie narratives reveal "infection" and its horror. Mary Shelley's novel "The Last Man" revealed the paradox that the fear of an infectious disease gave humanity an opportunity for reflection. The films and showed that fear and aversion to infectious diseases can lead to riots and conflict. Zombie narrative is a genre that most dramatically expresses the horror of infection. Director Yeon Sangho's zombie trilogy, including , reveals that people around you can turn into the most dangerous source of infection. Through SF and zombie narratives, we can realize that humanity must have a humble sense of solidarity, ethics, and empathy in the face of infectious diseases. Through this narrative texts, we can realize the importance of the imagination of infection. Imagination of infection is the basis for understanding the causes and consequences of the spread of infection, the process and future prospects.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.375-390
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• 2022

Influenza viruses are zoonotic respiratory pathogens, and influenza infections have caused a substantial burden on public health systems and the livestock industry. Although currently approved seasonal influenza vaccines have shown potent protection efficacy against antigenically well-matched strains, there are considerable unmet needs for the efficient control of viral infections. Enormous efforts have been made to develop broadly protective universal influenza vaccines to tackle the huge levels of genetic diversity and variability of influenza viruses. In addition, antiviral drugs have been considered important interventions for the treatment of viral infections. The viral neuraminidase inhibitor oseltamivir is the most widely used antiviral medication to treat influenza A and influenza B viruses. However, unsatisfactory clinical outcomes resulting from side effects and the emergence of resistant variants have led to greater attention being paid to plants as a natural resource for anti-influenza drugs. In particular, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has underpinned the need for safe and effective antiviral drugs with a broad spectrum of antiviral activity to prevent the rapid spread of viruses among humans. This review outlines the results of the antiviral activities of various natural products isolated from plants against influenza viruses. Special focus is paid to the virucidal effects and the immune-enhancing effects of antiviral natural products, since the products have broad applications as inactivating agents for the preparation of inactivated vaccines and vaccine adjuvants.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.193-202
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• 2023

Influenza IAVs are encapsulated negative-strand RNA viruses that infect many bird species' respiratory systems and can spread to other animals, including humans. This work reanalyzed previous microarray datasets to identify common and specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in chickens, as well as their biological activities. There were 760 and 405 DEGs detected in HPAIV and LPAIV-infected chicken cells, respectively. HPAIV and LPAIV have 670 and 315 DEGs, respectively, with both viruses sharing 90 DEGs. Because of HPAIV infection, numerous genes were implicated in a fundamental biological function of the cell cycle, according to the functional annotation of DEGs. Of the targeted genes, expressions of CDC Like Kinase 3 (CLK3), Nucleic Acid Binding Protein 1 (NABP1), Interferon-Inducible Protein 6 (IFI6), PIN2 (TERF1) Interacting Telomerase Inhibitor 1 (PINX1), and Cellular Communication Network Factor 4 (WISP1) were altered in DF-1 cells treated with polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (PIC), a toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) ligand, suggesting that transcription of these genes be controlled by TLR3 signaling. To gain a better understanding of the pathophysiology of AIVs in chickens, it is crucial to focus more research on unraveling the mechanisms through which AIV infections may manipulate host responses during the infection process. Insights into these mechanisms could facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2024

This study aims to compare the role of the public sector in the U.S. and Korean medical security systems and study response measures in the social risk situation of the COVID-19 virus. The COVID-19 pandemic was a typical case of a 'disaster' that spread across the world across borders in a short period of time and caused serious social welfare losses by increasing the annual number of deaths by approximately 4% in 2020. Threats to health security, such as changes in social order, unpredictable endings, prolonged control of daily life, and deepening inequality, affected the economy, politics, and environment as a whole, and people had to experience anxiety and confusion due to mental and physical stress. Furthermore, developed countries failed to provide help to low-income countries in the face of global disasters. In this situation, the country's disaster management capacity to minimize harm and secure resilience, especially disaster response capacity in the health and medical field, is inevitably very important. Therefore, this study compares how the health insurance system, which is a system to guarantee citizens' right to life, differs from the United States, a liberal health care country, and raises the need to strengthen the role of the public sector.