Assessment of PM2.5-bound nitrogen-containing organic compounds (NOCs) during winter at urban sites in China and Korea.

In this study, ambient fine particles (PM2.5) were collected in two urban cities in China and Korea (Beijing and Gwangju, respectively) simultaneously in January 2018. Analysis of the nonpolar and semipolar organic matter (OM) using atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) revealed that compounds containing only C, H, and O (CHO) and those containing C, H, O, and N (CHON) accounted for more than 90% of the total intensity of the OM peaks. Higher proportions of CHON compounds were observed during days with abnormally high PM2.5 concentrations at both sites than on regular or non-event days. The proportion of CHON species at the Beijing site was not correlated with secondary ionic species (i.e., NO3-, SO42-, and NH4+) or gaseous components (i.e., O3, NO2, and SO2). In contrast, the proportion of CHON species at the Gwangju site was positively correlated with the concentrations of particulate nitrate and ammonium ions, assuming that ambient ammonium nitrate plays a role in the atmospheric formation of nitrogen-containing organic compounds (NOCs) at the Gwangju site and that Gwangju is more strongly influenced by secondary aerosols than Beijing is. In particular, a significant proportion of the compounds observed at the Beijing site contained only C, H and N (CHN), while negligible amounts of CHN were detected at the Gwangju site. The CHN species in Beijing were identified as quinoline compounds and the corresponding -CH2 homologous series using complementary GC × GC-TOF MS analysis. These results suggest that NOCs and their -CH2 homologous series from primary emissions may be significant contributors to nonpolar and semipolar OM during winter in Beijing, while NOCs with high oxidation states, likely formed via ambient-phase nitrate-mediated reactions, may be the dominant OM constituents in Gwangju.

Analysis of stress, musculoskeletal disorders, and fatigue among broadcasting actors.

[Purpose] The purpose of the study was to assess the health effects of broadcasting actors through a comprehensive research on their job stress, psychosocial stress, and fatigue and to investigate those factors having an impact on their health condition to present a basis for comparative studies and effective human resource management in the future. [Subjects and Methods] A survey was performed to analyze the relevance of the general features, job stress, psychosocial stress, and fatigue. [Results] Analysis of job stress, one of the characteristics of individuals, revealed that 32.4% of the subjects with less than 5 years of service, 55.5% of those with 6 to 10 years of service, and 52.4% of those with more than 10 years of service showed a high level of stress. Analysis of psychosocial stress, another characteristic of individuals, revealed that 13.4% of the nonsmokers had a high level of psychosocial stress, while 37.7% of smokers had a high level of psychosocial stress based on analysis of chronic disease and psychosocial health. [Conclusion] Based on this study of the stress and fatigue of broadcasting actors, it is expected that improvements can be made to promote their mental health conditions and, organizational safety and to promote effective human resource management.

Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Symptoms Among Korean Broadcast Actors.

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal diseases (MSDs) are functional disabilities in the musculoskeletal area that occur when continuous damage to the muscles or tissues is caused by performing a repetitive task. These diseases are usually found in the waist, shoulder, neck, arm, and wrist. MSD is also referred to as cumulative trauma disorder, repetitive strain injury, occupational overuse syndrome, and visual display terminal, depending on the country. The condition is now commonly referred to as work-related musculoskeletal disorder. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop a prevention plan against musculoskeletal disease and to provide better health care to broadcast actors by understanding the association between musculoskeletal symptoms and working conditions. The results of the study can be utilized to maintain effective systematic resources to treat such diseases. METHODS: A survey was conducted in Seoul between January 1 and May 10, 2014 with broadcast actors working in the South Korean entertainment industry. FINDINGS: Tests with respect to musculoskeletal symptoms indicated that the study participants were likely to experience having musculoskeletal symptoms in the shoulders, waist, neck, leg/foot, hand/wrist/finger, and arm/elbow. Most of the participants reported pain on both sides of their shoulders and in their legs/feet or on the right side of the arm/elbow and in hand/wrist/finger. Pain lasted between 1 and 7 days, with an incidence of 33.8% in the neck, 36% in the shoulders, 33.3% in the arm/elbow, 47.4% in the hand/wrist/finger, 34.7% in the waist, and 39.3% in the leg/foot. CONCLUSIONS: This study should prove useful in determining systematic and effective resources to prevent broadcast actors from developing MSD in the future.

Korean population genetic data and concordance for the PowerPlex® ESX 17, AmpFlSTR Identifiler®, and PowerPlex® 16 systems.

In case of paternity or maternity investigations with short tandem repeat (STR) analysis, deficient cases, missing person, or mutations are encountered and common STRs cannot provide sufficient forensic parameters. Thus, it is recommended that additional STRs are needed to complement conventional analysis for more reliable forensic information. We analyzed variation of 23 STRs contained in the new PowerPlex(®) ESX 17 kit (Promega) and two conventional kits of the AmpFlSTR Identifiler(®) (Applied Biosystems) and PowerPlex(®) 16 systems (Promega) in 452 randomly chosen individuals from Korea to provide an expanded and reliable Korean database. Allele frequencies and forensic parameters were used to evaluate suitability and robustness of the new kit for forensic genetic analysis as well as in concordance studies. The combined probability of match for the 16 loci in the PowerPlex(®) ESX 17 system was 2.76×10(-20). One genotyping discrepancy due to a null allele was observed at the D18S51 locus (the concordant rate=99.99%), showing a primer-binding site mutation in the sequence of the locus (G-to-A substitution at position 146 of Genbank accession number JX018211). Thus, the new kit is a valuable forensic tool and is suitable to extend the Korean population genetic data obtained with well-established polymerase chain reaction multiplex-kits of the AmpFlSTR Identifiler(®) and PowerPlex(®) 16 systems.