A total of 221 patients were evaluated to be humidifier disinfectant associated with lung injury (HDLI) through two rounds of programs through April 2015. The humidifier disinfectant (HD) brands most often associated with HDLI were found to be Oxy (n=151, 68 %) and Cefu (n=26, 17 %). Polyhexamethylene guanidine used for disinfectant for four types of HD brands including Oxy was found to be associated with the highest number of HDLI cases (n=188). Further programs are operating to identify various health effects including lung injury which may be associated with the use of HD. Not only national agencies, but also pertinent environmental health societies should cooperate in the necessary investigations so that this tragedy can be properly addressed and future incidents concerning chemicals and chemical-containing products can be prevented.
Environmental Health ; Guanidine ; Humans ; Humidifiers* ; Lung Injury* ; Lung*

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study are to investigate the factors that may be related to ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt in patients with cerebellar hematoma and the effect of severe fourth ventricular hemorrhage, causing obstructive hydrocephalus on subsequent VP shunt performance. METHODS: This study included 31 patients with spontaneous cerebellar hematoma and concomitant fourth ventricular hemorrhage, who did not undergo a surgical evacuation of hematoma. We divided this population into two groups; the VP shunt group, and the non-VP shunt group. The demographic data, radiologic findings, and clinical factors were compared in each group. The location of the hematoma (whether occupying the cerebellar hemisphere or the vermis) and the degree of the fourth ventricular obstruction were graded respectively. The intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) score was used to assess the IVH severity. RESULTS: Ten out of 31 patients underwent VP shunt operations. The midline location of cerebellar hematoma, the grade of fourth ventricle obstruction, and IVH severity were significantly correlated with that of VP shunt operation (p=0.015, p=0.013, p=0.028). The significant variables into a logistic regression multivariate model resulted in statistical significance for the location of cerebellar hemorrhage [p=0.05; odds ratio (OR), 8.18; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00 to 67.0], the grade of fourth ventricle obstruction (p=0.044; OR, 19.26; 95% CI, 1.07 to 346.6). CONCLUSION: The location of the cerebellar hematoma on CT scans and the degree of fourth ventricle obstruction by IVH were useful signs for the selection of VP shunt operation in patients with spontaneous cerebellar hematoma and concomitant acute hydrocephalus.
Fourth Ventricle ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors ; Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt

OBJECTIVE: A superciliary keyhole approach is an attractive, minimally invasive surgical technique, yet the procedure is limited due to a small cranial opening. Nonetheless, an unruptured supraclinoid internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysm can be an optimal surgical target of a superciliary approach as it is located in the center of the surgical view and field. Therefore, this study evaluated the feasibility and surgical outcomes of a superciliary keyhole approach for unruptured ICA aneurysms. METHODS: The authors report on a consecutive series of patients who underwent a superciliary approach for clipping unruptured ICA aneurysms between January 2007 and February 2012. The data were compared with a historical control group who underwent a pterional approach between January 2003 and December 2006. RESULTS: In the superciliary group, a total of 71 aneurysms were successfully clipped without a residual sac in 70 patients with a mean age of 57 years (range, 37-75 years). The maximum diameter of the aneurysms ranged from 4 mm to 14 mm (mean+/-standard deviation, 6.6+/-2.3 mm). No direct mortality or permanent morbidity was related to the surgery. The superciliary approach demonstrated statistically significant advantages over the pterional approach, including a shorter operative duration (mean, 100 min), no intraoperative blood transfusions, and no postoperative epidural hemorrhages. CONCLUSION: A superciliary keyhole approach provides a sufficient surgical corridor to clip most unruptured supraclinoid ICA aneurysms in a minimally invasive manner.
Aneurysm ; Blood Transfusion ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive ; Treatment Outcome

The aim of this review was to assess current knowledge related to the occupational exposure limit (OEL) for fluid aerosols including either mineral or chemical oil that are generated in metalworking operations, and to discuss whether their OEL can be appropriately used to prevent several health risks that may vary among metalworking fluid (MWF) types. The OEL (time-weighted average; 5 mg/m3, short-term exposure limit ; 15 mg/m3) has been applied to MWF aerosols without consideration of different fluid aerosol-size fractions. The OEL, is also based on the assumption that there are no significant differences in risk among fluid types, which may be contentious. Particularly, the health risks from exposure to water-soluble fluids may not have been sufficiently considered. Although adoption of The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's recommended exposure limit for MWF aerosol (0.5 mg/m3) would be an effective step towards minimizing and evaluating the upper respiratory irritation that may be caused by neat or diluted MWF, this would fail to address the hazards (e.g., asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis) caused by microbial contaminants generated only by the use of water-soluble fluids. The absence of an OEL for the water-soluble fluids used in approximately 80-90 % of all applicants may result in limitations of the protection from health risks caused by exposure to those fluids.
Adoption ; Aerosols ; Asthma ; Hypersensitivity ; Occupational Exposure ; Occupational Health ; Threshold Limit Values

OBJECTIVES: This study examined how ethanolamines (EAs) with the same functional alcohol group (HOCH2CH2), such as mono-EA (MEA), di-EA (DEA), and tri-EA (TEA), in water-based metalworking fluids (wbMWFs) are vaporized, condensed, and transformed by heat generated during metalworking. METHODS: Two types of experimental apparatus were manufactured to achieve these objectives. RESULTS: Vaporization tests using a water bath showed that the vaporization rate increased markedly from 0.19 mg/m2.min at 23.5degrees C to 8.04 mg/m2.min at 60degrees C. Chamber tests with a heat bulb revealed that "spiked" MEA was fully recovered, while only 13.32% of DEA and no TEA were recovered. Interestingly, non-spiked types of EAs were detected, indicating that heat could convert EAs with more alcohol groups (TEA or DEA) into other EAs with fewer group(s) (DEA or MEA). The EA composition in fresh fluid was 4% DEA, 66% TEA, and 30% MEA, and in used fluids (n = 5) was 12.4% DEA, 68% TEA, and 23% MEA. Conversion from TEA into DEA may therefore contribute to the DEA increment. Airborne TEA was not detected in 13 samples taken from the central coolant system and near a conveyor belt where no machining work was performed. The DEA concentration was 0.45 mg/m3 in the only two samples from those locations. In contrast, airborne MEA was found in all samples (n = 53) regardless of the operation type. CONCLUSION: MEAs easily evaporated even when MWFs were applied, cleaned, refilled, and when they were in fluid storage tanks without any metalworking being performed. The conversion of TEA to DEA and MEA was found in the machining operations.
Baths ; Ethanolamines ; Hot Temperature ; Tea ; Volatilization ; Water

This article aims to provide a systematic review of the exposure assessment methods used to assign wafer fabrication (fab) workers in epidemiologic cohort studies of mortality from all causes and various cancers. Epidemiologic and exposure–assessment studies of silicon wafer fab operations in the semiconductor industry were collected through an extensive literature review of articles reported until 2017. The studies found various outcomes possibly linked to fab operations, but a clear association with the chemicals in the process was not found, possibly because of exposure assessment methodology. No study used a tiered assessment approach to identify similar exposure groups that incorporated manufacturing era, facility, fab environment, operation, job and level of exposure to individual hazardous agents. Further epidemiologic studies of fab workers are warranted with more refined exposure assessment methods incorporating both operation and job titleand hazardous agents to examine the associations with cancer risk or mortality.
Cohort Studies ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Methods* ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies* ; Semiconductors* ; Silicon

Background: This study aimed to assess the possibility of benzene exposure in workers of a Korean semiconductor manufacturing company by reviewing the issued patents. Methods: A systematic patent search was conducted with the Google “Advanced Patent Search” engine using the keywords “semiconductor” and “benzene” combined with all of the words accessed on January 24, 2016. Results: As a result of the search, we reviewed 75 patent documents filed by a Korean semiconductor manufacturing company from 1994 to 2010. From 22 patents, we found that benzene could have been used as one of the carbon sources in chemical vapor deposition for capacitor; as diamond-like carbon for solar cell, graphene formation, or etching for transition metal thin film; and as a solvent for dielectric film, silicon oxide layer, nanomaterials, photoresist, rise for immersion lithography, electrophotography, and quantum dot ink. Conclusion Considering the date of patent filing, it is possible that workers in the chemical vapor deposition, immersion lithography, and graphene formation processes could be exposed to benzene from 1996 to 2010.

Background: This study aimed to assess the possibility of benzene exposure in workers of a Korean semiconductor manufacturing company by reviewing the issued patents. Methods: A systematic patent search was conducted with the Google “Advanced Patent Search” engine using the keywords “semiconductor” and “benzene” combined with all of the words accessed on January 24, 2016. Results: As a result of the search, we reviewed 75 patent documents filed by a Korean semiconductor manufacturing company from 1994 to 2010. From 22 patents, we found that benzene could have been used as one of the carbon sources in chemical vapor deposition for capacitor; as diamond-like carbon for solar cell, graphene formation, or etching for transition metal thin film; and as a solvent for dielectric film, silicon oxide layer, nanomaterials, photoresist, rise for immersion lithography, electrophotography, and quantum dot ink. Conclusion Considering the date of patent filing, it is possible that workers in the chemical vapor deposition, immersion lithography, and graphene formation processes could be exposed to benzene from 1996 to 2010.

Sturgeon aqua-cultured in Korea is mainly Acipenser ruthenus and its culture began in the early 2000's. In this study, Carnobacterium sp. was isolated from unprocessed caviar of aqua-cultured Acipenser ruthenus. The 16s rRNA nucleotide sequence obtained from Carnobacterium sp. isolate (accession no. KM236206) was deposited with GenBank and homologous with Carnobacterium divergens DSM 20623 and NBRC15683 strain. In conclusion, this is first report of isolation of Carnobacterium sp. from caviar of Acipenser ruthenus aqua-cultured in Korea. In the future, it must be ascertained whether Carnobacterium sp. degenerate of caviar or cause diseases in sturgeon.
Base Sequence ; Carnobacterium* ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; Korea

Echovirus 6 (ECV6) is the prevalent serotype detected in aseptic meningitis cases in Korea. To analyze the genetic variation of ECV6 isolates recently circulating in Korea, we determined the partial sequence of the VP1 capsid gene from 22 Korean ECV6 isolates and performed pairwise analysis against 42 reference strains from the GenBank database using MegAlign. The 22 Korean ECV6 isolates formed 3 distinct genetic clusters: Kor-lineage I, II, and III. The Korean ECV6 strains showed significant genetic diversity with 14.8~22.8% nucleotide divergence among the 3 different lineages. These ECV6 Kor-lineages were demonstrated to belong to different genetic clusters using VP1 sequence-based phylogenetic analysis, implying that the recently circulating Korean ECV6 strains have potential antigenic variation.
Antigenic Variation ; Capsid ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; Echovirus 6, Human ; Enterovirus B, Human ; Genetic Variation ; Korea ; Meningitis, Aseptic