The association between financial performance and occupational injuries/diseases in workplaces of South Korea: interpretation based on managerial characteristics of workplaces.

Introduction: This study investigated the association between the financial performance of workplaces and the incidence of occupational injuries and diseases using the Workplace Panel Survey, a workplace-related national statistical survey in South Korea.

Methods: The dependent variables were those related to the incidence of occupational injuries and diseases. The independent variables were those related to the financial performance of each workplace.

Construction of the cancer patients' database based on the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) datasets for cancer epidemiology research.

Background: The US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset does not include a specific question or laboratory test to confirm a history of cancer diagnosis. However, if straightforward variables for cancer history are introduced, US NHANES could be effectively utilized in future cancer epidemiology studies. To address this gap, the authors developed a cancer patient database from the US NHANES datasets by employing multiple R programming codes.

Physiological Effects and Mechanisms of as a Biostimulant on the Growth and Drought Tolerance of .

Microalgae have demonstrated biostimulant potential owing to their ability to produce various plant growth-promoting substances, such as amino acids, phytohormones, polysaccharides, and vitamins. Most previous studies have primarily focused on the effects of microalgal biostimulants on plant growth. While biomass extracts are commonly used as biostimulants, research on the use of culture supernatant, a byproduct of microalgal culture, is scarce.

Relationship between radiofrequency-electromagnetic radiation from cellular phones and brain tumor: meta-analyses using various proxies for RF-EMR exposure-outcome assessment.

Introduction: The authors conducted meta-analyses regarding the association between cellular and mobile phone use and brain tumor development by applying various radiofrequency-electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) exposure subcategories. With changing patterns of mobile phone use and rapidly developing Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) technology (such as Bluetooth), this study will provide insight into the importance of more precise exposure subcategories for RF-EMR.

Methods: The medical librarian searched MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library until 16 December 2020.

Night shift work and female breast cancer: a two-stage dose-response meta-analysis for the correct risk definition.

Introduction: The hypothesis of this study is night shift work exposure can increase the risk of female breast cancer. To validate this hypothesis, the authors conducted a two-stage dose-response meta-analysis with improved quality on this topic.

Methods: The medical librarian searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library on December 30th, 2022.

Myrosinase isogenes in wasabi (Wasabia japonica Matsum) and their putative roles in glucosinolate metabolism.

Background: Wasabi, a Brassicaceae member, is well-known for its unique pungent and hot flavor which is produced from glucosinolate (GSL) degradation. Myrosinase (MYR) is a principle enzyme catalyzing the primary conversion of GSLs to GSL hydrolysis products (GHPs) which is responsible for plant defense system and food quality. Due to the limited information in relation to MYRs present in wasabi (Wasabia japonica M.

Risk of prostate cancer with increasing years of night shift work: A two-stage dose-response meta-analysis with duration of night shift work as exposure dose.

Introduction: Night shift work could be a modifiable risk factor for prostate cancer. However, the epidemiological evidence is inconsistent. To summarize the existing evidence on this topic, we conducted a two-stage dose-response meta-analysis.

Clinical course of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: The impact of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) has not been well established. In this study, we investigated the clinical course of NTM-PD in patients with RA and the impact of RA on the prognosis of NTM-PD.

Methods: We analyzed patients who developed NTM-PD after being diagnosed with RA from January 2004 to August 2023 at a tertiary referral hospital in South Korea.

Understanding the Impact of Nitrogen Availability: A Limiting Factor for Enhancing Fucoxanthin Productivity in Microalgae Cultivation.

This study aimed to investigate the regulation of fucoxanthin (FX) biosynthesis under various nitrogen conditions to optimize FX productivity in . Apart from light, nitrogen availability significantly affects the FX production of microalgae; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In batch culture, was cultivated with normal (NN, 0.

The association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and brain, esophageal, melanomatous skin, prostate, and lung cancer using the 2003-2018 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) datasets.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to use the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) datasets to examine potential relationships between four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposures and each type of cancer, specifically perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA).

Methods: A logistic regression analysis was performed. A directed acyclic graph was plotted to adjust for the potential confounders.

Acute coronary event (ACE) prediction following breast radiotherapy by features extracted from 3D CT, dose, and cardiac structures.

Purpose: Heart toxicity, such as major acute coronary events (ACE), following breast radiation therapy (RT) is of utmost concern. Thus, many studies have been investigating the effect of mean heart dose (MHD) and dose received in heart sub-structures on toxicity. Most studies focused on the dose thresholds in the heart and its sub-structures, while few studies adopted such computational methods as deep neural networks (DNN) and radiomics.

The relationship between radiofrequency-electromagnetic radiation from cell phones and brain tumor: The brain tumor incidence trends in South Korea.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the nationwide cell phone subscription rate and the nationwide incidence of brain tumors in South Korea. The nationwide cell phone subscription rate was used as a proxy for the RF-EMR exposure assessment.

Methods: The data for cell phone subscriptions per 100 persons from 1985 to 2019 were found in the Statistics, International Telecom Union (ITU).

High impacts of cultivar and home-cooking practice on the content of free myo-inositol, a bioavailable health-promoting cyclitol, in sweet potato.

Free myo-inositol is a bioavailable form of a cyclitol having various health-promoting activities. The impact of cultivar and home-cooking practice on the content of free myo-inositol in sweet potatoes (12 cultivars grown in 2 different locations) was studied. A GC-MS/MS method following in situ trimethylsilylation was established and validated to determine free myo-inositol.

Case-only approach applied in environmental epidemiology: 2 examples of interaction effect using the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) datasets.

Introduction: By substituting the general 'susceptibility factor' concept for the conventional 'gene' concept in the case-only approach for gene-environment interaction, the case-only approach can also be used in environmental epidemiology. Under the independence between the susceptibility factor and environmental exposure, the case-only approach can provide a more precise estimate of an interaction effect.

Methods: Two analysis examples of the case-only approach in environmental epidemiology are provided using the 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 US National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES): (i) the negative interaction effect between blood chromium level and glycohemoglobin level on albuminuria and (ii) the positive interaction effect between blood cobalt level and old age on albuminuria.

Learning to Discriminate Information for Online Action Detection: Analysis and Application.

Online action detection, which aims to identify an ongoing action from a streaming video, is an important subject in real-world applications. For this task, previous methods use recurrent neural networks for modeling temporal relations in an input sequence. However, these methods overlook the fact that the input image sequence includes not only the action of interest but background and irrelevant actions.

Missed reporting of nonfatal occupational injuries: estimation using the International Labor Organization datasets.

Introduction: Most previous studies about missed reporting of nonfatal occupational injuries have four limitations: (i) mostly qualitative methods, (ii) arbitrary fraction used to estimate missed nonfatal occupational injuries based on subjective opinions, (iii) use of datasets derived from only one country, and (iv) use of a relatively simple estimation method. In contrast, (i) using quantitative approaches, this study will calculate the (ii) objective estimates on (iii) a multinational scale. (iv) A newly devised logical approach for estimation will be applied.

The effect of subcontractor status on occupational injury and disease incidence: a cross-sectional study using the 9th Occupational Safety and Health Company Survey.

Background: Despite the efforts of contractors to identify and reduce any occupational risk that exists in subcontracted works, if the associated risks cannot be eliminated and reduced and subcontractors have to take risks, this situation can be called 'risk transfer.' The hypothesis of this study is that the contractor-subcontractor status of a company affects the risk of occupational injury or occupational disease. The inside subcontractor and outside subcontractor represent subcontractors located inside and outside the contractor workplace, respectively.

Cogeneration plant and environmental allergic diseases: is it really an eco-friendly energy source?

Background: Combined heat and power generation (CHP generation, also called 'cogeneration') is attracting public attention for its high thermal efficiency, without considering possible adverse environmental health effects.This study investigated the potential role of cogeneration plants in inducing 3 environmental diseases: asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis.

Methods: From 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017, the towns (dongs) of South Korea in which a cogeneration plant started operation were selected as study sites.

Association of Serum Biomarkers With Pulmonary Involvement of Rheumatoid Arthritis Interstitial Lung Disease: From KORAIL Cohort Baseline Data.

Objective: The increase in mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) is well known However, there are few studies on serum markers that can evaluate acute exacerbation or prognosis in RA-ILD patients The purpose of this study was to identify the association between biomarkers and lung lesions in patients with RA-ILD.

Methods: We analyzed 153 patients with serum samples in a prospective, multicenter cohort of Korean RA-ILD patients The serum levels of biomarkers, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-7), surfactant protein-D (SP-D), and Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) were measured and correlated with forced vital capacity (FVC), diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and the results of computed tomography (CT) CT results were interpreted semi-quantitatively according to the extent of lung lesions (grade 1, 0%∼25%; grade 2, 26%∼50%; grade 3, 51%∼75%; grade 4, 76%∼100%).

Results: MMP-7, SP-D, and KL-6 were negatively correlated with FVC (MMP-7, r=-0267, p=0001; SP-D, r=-0250, p=0002; KL-6, r=-0223, p=0006) and DLCO (MMP-7, r=-0404, p<0001; SP-D, r=-0286, p=0001; KL-6, r=-0226, p=0007) In addition, MMP-7, SP-D, and KL-6 tended to increase with higher grades of lung lesions on CT (MMP-7, p=0013; SP-D, p<0001; KL-6, p<0001).

Misdiagnosis in occupational and environmental medicine: a scoping review.

Introduction: There has been no comprehensive review for misdiagnosis in Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM). The possible ramifications of an occupational disease (OD) or an environmental disease (ED) misdiagnosis are not just confined to the individual case but may extend to others exposed to the occupational or environmental hazard. Therefore, a comprehensive scoping review of published literature is imperative for understanding the nature of misdiagnoses in OEM.

Residential radon exposure and leukemia: A meta-analysis and dose-response meta-analyses for ecological, case-control, and cohort studies.

Introduction: In this study, the authors conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis (including a dose-response meta-analysis) for a possible causal association between residential radon exposure and leukemia. All 3 types of study design, including ecological, case-control, and cohort studies, were included in this study. In particular, different measurement units of radon exposure among studies were dealt with and analyzed thoroughly.