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Investigates the protective effect of desferrioxamine (DF) on lipid peroxidation of cell membrane and fibrosis by crystalline silica using in vitro model systems. Therapeutic effect of DF in experimental silicosis of rats; Production of inflammatory cytokines; Fenton activity of silica; Total cell count with differential percentage in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; Amount of hydroxyproline in lung.

Background: Korea has no surveillance system for work-related infectious disease. However, these diseases are compensated by the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service (KCOMWEL)., Objectives: To understand the nature and distribution of compensated occupational infectious diseases in Korea., Methods: We used the KCOMWEL electronic database to analyze compensated cases of work-related occupational infectious disease. We reviewed and confirmed diagnoses excluding denied claims, secondary infections, dermatoid diseases, duplicated cases and those with missing information. We calculated the distribution of work-related infectious disease in Korea by occupation, calendar year, gender, age, and employment duration, as well as the annual compensated claim rates (per million)., Results: We included 1,062 compensated cases of work-related infectious disease. The most common was scrub typhus (n = 567, 53.4%), followed by tuberculosis (n = 227, 21.4%), viral hepatitis (n = 55, 5.2%), and viral influenza (n = 53, 5.0%). A sudden increase in scrub typhus was observed in 2009. Unskilled laborers, including short-term contract workers in public sectors, were most commonly affected by these diseases, followed by health care professionals., Conclusions: Workers employed in forestry care in the public sectors and in hospitals were most vulnerable to infections. Proper surveillance systems to monitor infectious diseases among vulnerable working groups and improved prevention measures are needed.

Recent studies in Western countries have reported a significant association between glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and bone mineral density (BMD) in the absence of dialysis among the general population. However, there have been few studies regarding renal function and BMD among Korean or Asian subjects with moderate to severe (stage 3 or 4) chronic kidney disease (MS-CKD). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between MS-CKD and BMD in the general Korean population. BMD, serum creatinine and other measures were obtained from 3,190 subjects (1,428 males and 1,762 females; the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). GFR was estimated using the Cockcroft-Gault formula, with adjustment for body surface area. After adjustment for all variables, multiple regression analysis showed that BMD in the femur neck, total femur and lumbar spine were positively associated with eGFR in both males and females. Additional analysis showed that MS-CKD was also significantly associated with osteoporosis in both males and females (odds ratio [OR] 2.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-4.20 in males; and OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.33-2.88 in females). Individuals with MS-CKD may be at higher risk of osteoporosis even among Asians.

Dental technicians are exposed to various dusts in working laboratories. This study was conducted to measure level of silica in the respirable dust generated from dental fixed prosthodontics manufacturing processes using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and to compare their occurrence of respiratory symptoms with that of non-dental hospital workers (control group). Respirable dusts were personally sampled from dental technicians working at dental laboratories in Seoul Korea according to NIOSH Method 0600. Fifty personal samples were obtained during porcelain or polishing process and weighed by a gravimetric method. Concentration of respirable dust was 651 +/- 548 microg/m3 (Mean +/- SD) with highest concentration of 2,874 microg/m3 during the porcelain process and 725 +/- 414 microg/m3 with highest concentration of 1,764 microg/m3 during the polishing process. Concentration of silica was 6.51 +/- 6.07 microg/m3 with 18.85 microg/m3 highest and 14.88 +/- 11.21 microg/m3 with 50.98 microg/m3 highest for the porcelain and polishing process, respectively. Level of silica contents in the dust was 0.81% and 1.66% for the porcelain and polishing process, respectively. The level of silica contents and silica concentration were significantly different between the two processes. Comparing prevalence of respiratory symptoms between non-smoking seventeen dental technicians and thirty-five control workers, wheezing and rhinorrhea were significantly more manifested in the dental technicians than the controls. Total frequency of respiratory symptoms was also significantly higher in the dental technicians than the controls.

This study was conducted to determine whether the size of an enterprise can make a difference to workers' health and to examine those factors, which influence workers' health. The subjects of this study included 26,324 workers employed in manufacturing industry who received medical examinations at the Industrial Health Center at Yonsei University in 1995, 1996 and 1997. Medical examination data were used as a measure of health. Each enterprise was classified by size into three categories: Small scale enterprises (SSE) that employ no more than 50 regular employees; middle scale enterprise (MSE) that employ from 50 to 300 regular employees; and large scale enterprise (LSE) that employ more than 300 regular employees. Health conditions, according to the size of the enterprise, were determined by comparing prevalence rates, and direct standardization methods were used based upon the Korean population, as a standard population, in order to adjust for differences in population structure. 1. The findings of the medical examinations showed that, the prevalence rate in SSEs was higher than in MSEs or LSEs, but that this relationship was reversed after standardizing for sex and age. 2. Logistic regression analysis showed that, although subjects of advanced age, prolonged work history, and male gender had higher risks of disease, the size of the enterprise had no significant effect upon these risks.