Generally working environment and worker's health status of small scale industries(SSI) which employ less than 50 workers are known to be poorer than those of large scale industries(LSI) which employ more than 500 workers. However, according to the analysis of occupational injuries in Korea, prevalence rate of occupational injuries of SSI was 3.1 times as high as LSI. But there was no difference in prevalence rate of occupational disease and workers with suspected occupational disease(D1) between SSI and LSI. To confirm these two different facts, we surveyed working environment and worker's health status of SSI and LSI in Kyeungin industrial complex. Workers in SSI were 10,878 and workers in LSI were 8,291 and number of hazardous agents in SSI were 3,554 and those of LSI were 1,916. We found following results. First, proportion of male workers and workers who were less than 30 years old and more than 50 years old was higher in SSI compared to LSI. Second, worker in SSI had more liver disease, viral hepatitis, and pneumoconiosis than in LSI, and there were more worker with suspected occupational disease, general disease, and worker needed close observation in SSI. But these effects had not statistical significance under the condition controlled by age and sex with logistic regression. Third, the numbers measured for specific chemicals, organic solvents, and heavy metals in SSI was more than in LSI. However there was on difference in the excess rate of each hazardous agent between SSI and LSI. As the above results workers' health status in SSI was poorer than in LSI, but these results were mainly due to the population structure difference. Although there were some limitation of this study and problems of sensitivity and validity for periodic health examination and working environment evaluation method, the concept that working environment and worker's health status in SSI should be reviewed. In future the study that will reveal the real weak point of SSI should be performed.
Adult ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Diseases ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Metals, Heavy ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; Occupational Injuries ; Organic Chemicals ; Pneumoconiosis ; Prevalence ; Solvents

The purpose of this study is to identify the various factors associated with the patients' return-to-work. For conducting the study, 511 samples are selected from nine industrial accident hospitals. Questionnaire are patient's general characteristics. injury characteristics and job characteristics. These results can be summarized as follows. When industrial accident patients get older, have family members to be supported, are hospitalized for less than six months, have accidents caused by their mistakes, have worked in the construction and manufacturing industry, have worked a company with more than 300 workers, and have worked for six months~ two years or over two years, they tend to express stronger willingness of return-to-work. In face with the current drastic increase of economic loss from industrial accidents, it is required to be dealt with these factors in planning and managing the health care of industrial accident patients.
Accidents, Occupational* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Questionnaires ; Return to Work*

PURPOSE: To compare the choroidal thickness of a branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) lesion and that of other areas in the eyes. METHODS: Patients who visited the Ophthalmologic Clinic of Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital for BRVO between March 2015 and October 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. We performed basic ophthalmologic exam and enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography in 48 eyes of 24 patients with BRVO. The choroidal thickness was compared in a total of 4 places, the branch retinal vein occlusion lesion, the symmetric site in the same eye, and the equivalent sites in the fellow eye by paired t-test. All measurements were performed by 2 independent observers. RESULTS: Choroidal thickness had strong inter-observer correlation. Choroidal thickness of the BRVO lesion was significantly thicker than that in the symmetric site of same eye, the equivalent site of lesion, and the equivalent site of the symmetric site to lesion in the fellow eye. CONCLUSIONS: Choroidal thickness in acute BRVO lesions was thicker than choroidal thickness in other areas of the eyes. It is thought that both hydrostatic pressure and the effects of vascular endothelial growth factor influence choroidal thickness in the acute phase of BRVO.
Choroid* ; Humans ; Hydrostatic Pressure ; Retinal Vein Occlusion* ; Retinal Vein* ; Retinaldehyde* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of treatment programs for children with reading (RD) or mathematics disorders (MD). Structured treatment programs were developed to improve phonological awareness and number sense among children and adolescents with RD or MD, respectively, and the effectiveness of the learning disorder treatment programs were evaluated. Methods: We used standardized, objective diagnostic, and evaluation tools not only to recruit participants with RD, MD, or comorbid attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, but also to assess the effectiveness of the treatments regarding both improved core neurocognitive deficits of RD or MD and academic achievement. Forty children with RD or MD received one-on-one treatments from therapists. Results: In the RD group, treatment effects were observed in all subtests. In the word and paragraph reading tests, the accuracy rates and fluency improved. The results of the phonological working memory test, word–sound correspondence test, and rapid automatic naming tests also improved. In the MD group, the accuracy rate and fluency on the arithmetic test improved. An increase in the accuracy rate in the size and distance comparison tests and a decrease in the error rate in the estimation test were also observed. However, there were no improvements in reaction time in these subtests. Conclusion Learning disorder treatment programs that focus on improving phonological awareness or number sense in children with RD or MD improved achievement, phonological awareness, and number sense.

Sibutramine is an anorectic that has been banned since 2010 due to cardiovascular safety issues. However, counterfeit drugs or slimming products that include sibutramine are still available in the market. It has been reported that illegal sibutramine-contained pharmaceutical products induce cardiovascular crisis. However, the mechanism underlying sibutramine-induced cardiovascular adverse effect has not been fully evaluated yet. In this study, we performed cardiovascular safety pharmacology studies of sibutramine systemically using by hERG channel inhibition, action potential duration, and telemetry assays. Sibutramine inhibited hERG channel current of HEK293 cells with an IC50 of 3.92 muM in patch clamp assay and increased the heart rate and blood pressure (76 Deltabpm in heart rate and 51 DeltammHg in blood pressure) in beagle dogs at a dose of 30 mg/kg (per oral), while it shortened action potential duration (at 10 muM and 30 muM, resulted in 15% and 29% decreases in APD50, and 9% and 17% decreases in APD90, respectively) in the Purkinje fibers of rabbits and had no effects on the QTc interval in beagle dogs. These results suggest that sibutramine has a considerable adverse effect on the cardiovascular system and may contribute to accurate drug safety regulation.
Action Potentials ; Animals ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular System ; Counterfeit Drugs ; Dogs ; Heart Rate ; HEK293 Cells ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Pharmacology* ; Purkinje Fibers ; Rabbits ; Telemetry

Synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 and JWH-250 in 'herbal incense' also called 'spice' were first introduced in many countries. Numerous synthetic cannabinoids with similar chemical structures emerged simultaneously and suddenly. Currently there are not sufficient data on their adverse effects including neurotoxicity. There are only anecdotal reports that suggest their toxicity. In the present study, we evaluated the neurotoxicity of two synthetic cannabinoids (JWH-081 and JWH-210) through observation of various behavioral changes and analysis of histopathological changes using experimental mice with various doses (0.1, 1, 5 mg/kg). In functional observation battery (FOB) test, animals treated with 5 mg/kg of JWH-081 or JWH-210 showed traction and tremor. Their locomotor activities and rotarod retention time were significantly (p<0.05) decreased. However, no significant change was observed in learning or memory function. In histopathological analysis, neural cells of the animals treated with the high dose (5 mg/kg) of JWH-081 or JWH-210 showed distorted nuclei and nucleus membranes in the core shell of nucleus accumbens, suggesting neurotoxicity. Our results suggest that JWH-081 and JWH-210 may be neurotoxic substances through changing neuronal cell damages, especially in the core shell part of nucleus accumbens. To confirm our findings, further studies are needed in the future.
Animals ; Cannabinoids* ; Learning ; Membranes ; Memory ; Mice ; Motor Activity ; Neurons ; Nucleus Accumbens ; Traction ; Tremor

Synthetic cannabinoids are one of most abused new psychoactive substances. The recreational use of abused drug has aroused serious concerns about the consequences of these drugs on infection. However, the effects of synthetic cannabinoid on resistance to tetanus toxin are not fully understood yet. In the present study, we aimed to determine if the administration of synthetic cannabinoids increase the susceptibility to tetanus toxin-induced motor behavioral deficit and functional changes in cerebellar neurons in mice. Furthermore, we measured T lymphocytes marker levels, such as CD8 and CD4 which against tetanus toxin. JWH-210 administration decreased expression levels of T cell activators including cluster of differentiation (CD) 3ε, CD3γ, CD74p31, and CD74p41. In addition, we demonstrated that JWH-210 induced motor impairment and decrement of vesicle-associated membrane proteins 2 levels in the cerebellum of mice treated with tetanus toxin. Furthermore, cerebellar glutamatergic neuronal homeostasis was hampered by JWH-210 administration, as evidenced by increased glutamate concentration levels in the cerebellum. These results suggest that JWH-210 may increase the vulnerability to tetanus toxin via the regulation of immune function.
Animals ; Cannabinoids ; Cerebellar Diseases* ; Cerebellum ; Glutamic Acid ; Homeostasis ; Immunosuppression* ; Mice* ; Neurons ; R-SNARE Proteins ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tetanus ; Tetanus Toxin