• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.398-402
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• 2020

This study was conducted to set up a proper replacement cycle of High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters by observing the microbial populations in the air of the cultivation house of Pleurotus eryngii, before and after HEPA filter replacement at different periods. The density of bacteria and fungi in the air during each cultivation stage was measured using a sampler before the replacement of the HEPA filter. The results showed that airborne microorganisms had the highest density in the mushroom medium preparation room, with 169.7 CFU/㎥ of bacteria and 570 CFU/㎥ of fungi, and the removed old spaun had 126.3 CFU/㎥ of bacteria and 560 CFU/㎥ of fungi. The density of bacteria and fungi in the air at each cultivation stage before the replacement of the HEPA filter was 169.7 CFU/㎥ and 570 CFU/㎥, and 126.3 CFU/㎥ and 560 CFU/㎥, during the medium production and harvesting processes, respectively. After the replacement of the HEPA filter, the bacterial density was the lowest in the incubation room and the fungal density was the lowest in the cooling room. The microbial populations isolated at each period consisted of seven genera and seven species before the replacement, including Cladosporium sp., six genera and six species after 1 month of replacement, including Penicillium sp., 5 genera and 7 species after 3 months of replacement, including Mucor plumbeus, and 5 genera and 12 species, 5 genera and 10 species, and 5 genera and 10 species, 4, 5, and 6 months after the replacement, respectively, including Penicillium brevicompactum. During the period after replacement, the species were diversified and their number increased. The density of airborne microorganisms decreased drastically after the replacement of the HEPA filter. Its lowest value was recorded after 2 months of replacement, and it increased gradually afterwards, reaching a level similar to or higher than that of the pre-replacement period. Therefore, it was concluded that replacing the HEPA filter every 6 months is effective for reducing contamination.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.262-273
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• 2020

Amending biopolymers such as β-glucan (BG) and Xanthan gum (XG) generally enhances soil strength by ionic and hydrogen bonds between soil particles. Thus, biopolymers have been studied as eco-friendly construction materials in levees. However, physiological responses of plants grown on soil amended with biopolymers are not fully understood. This study focuses on the effects of biopolymers on the growth of Camelina sativa L. (Camelina) under excess zinc (Zn) stress. The optimal concentrations of BG and XG were confirmed to have a 0.5% ratio in soil depending on the physiological parameters of Camelina under excess Zn stress. The Zn binding capacity of biopolymers was investigated using 1,5-diphenylthiocarbazone (DTZ). The reduction of Zn damage in Camelina was evaluated by analyzing the Zn content and expression of heavy metal ATPase (HMA) genes under excess Zn stress. Amendments of BG and XG improved Camelina growth under excess Zn stress. In DTZ staining and ICP-OES analysis, Camelina grown on BG and XG soil showed less Zn uptake than normal soil under excess Zn stress. The Zn-inducible CsHMA3 gene was not stimulated by either BG or XG amendment under excess Zn stress. Moreover, both BG and XG amendments in soil exhibit Zn-stress mitigation similar to that of Zn-tolerant CsHMA3 overexpres sed Camelina. These results indicate that biopolymer-amended soils may influence the prevention of Zn absorption in Camelina under excess Zn stress. Thus, BG and XG are proven to be suitable materials for levee construction and can protect plants from soil contamination by Zn.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.97-109
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• 2022

This study focused on the physicochemical effects of bottom ash dissolved precipitation on the soil and groundwater environment. The iced column and percolation experiments showed that most of the bottom ash particles were drained as the ash-dissolved solution, while the charcoal powder was filtered through the soil. Ion species of Al, As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Fe, Mn, Ca, K, Si, F, NO₃, SO₄ were analyzed from the eluates collected during the 24 h column test. In the charcoal powder eluates, a high concentration of K was detected at the beginning of the reaction, but it decreased with time. The concentrations of Al and Ca were observed to increase with time, although they existed in trace amount. In the bottom ash eluates, the concentrations of Ca and SO₄ decreased by 30 mg·L^-1 and 67 mg·L^-1, respectively, over 24 h. It is regarded that the infiltration patterns of the bottom ash and biochar in the unsaturated zone were different owing to their particle sizes and solvent properties. It is expected that a significant amount of the bottom ash will mix with the precipitation and percolate below the water table, especially in the case of thin and highly permeable unsaturated zone. The biochar was filtered through the unsaturated zone. The biochar did not dissolve in the groundwater, although it reached the saturation zone. For these reasons, it is considered that the direct contamination by the bottom ash and biochar are unlikely to occur.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.211-220
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• 2022

Poultry are exposed to extremely high levels of oxidative stress as a consequence of the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by endogenous and exogenous stressors, such as high-stocking densities, thermal stress, environmental and feed contamination, along with factors associated with intensive breeding systems. Oxidative stress promotes lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, and inflammation, which can have detrimental effects on the health of birds. During the course of evolution, birds have developed antioxidant defense mechanisms that contribute to maintaining homeostasis when exposed to endogenous and exogenous stressors. The primary antioxidant defense systems are enzymatic and non-enzymatic in nature and play roles in protecting cells from ROS attack. Recently, plant flavonoids, which have been established to reduce oxidative stress, have been attracting considerable attention as potential feed additives. Flavonoids are a group of polyphenolic compounds that can be stabilized by binding structural compounds with ROS, and can promote the elimination of ROS by inducing the expression of antioxidant enzymes. However, although flavonoids can contribute to reducing lipid peroxidation and thereby enhance the antioxidant capacity of birds, they have low solubility in the gastrointestinal tract, and consequently, it is necessary to develop a delivery technology that can facilitate the effect intestinal absorption of these compounds. Furthermore, it is important to determine the dietary levels of flavonoids by assessing the exact antioxidant effects in the gastrointestinal tract wherein the concentrations of dietary flavonoids are highest. It is also necessary to examine the expression of transcriptional factors and vitagenes associated with the efficient antioxidant effects induced by flavonoids. It is anticipated that the application of flavonoids as natural antioxidants will become a particularly important field in the poultry industry.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.159-165
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• 2022

In this study, heavy metals (lead, cadmium, and mercury) and shellfish poisoning toxins (diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins, amnesic shellfish poisoning toxins) were investigated in a total of 104 shellfishes. According to the analysis of heavy metals, lead (Pb) was detected in the range of 0.0177-0.5709 mg/kg, cadmium (Cd) was detected in the range of 0.0226-1.4602 mg/kg, and mercury (Hg) was detected in the range of 0.0015-0.0327 mg/kg. Levels of Pb, Cd, and Hg were acceptable by Korean standards. Okadaic acid (OA) and dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX-1) were investigated for monitoring of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins and OA and DTX-1 were not detected. As a result of monitoring of amnesic shellfish poisoning toxins, domoic acid was detected in 5 of 104 samples and detection ratio was 4.8%. The detection period was found as follows; 1 case in January, 1 case in February, 1 case in May, 2 cases in September. These showed that continuous monitoring for the management of shellfish poisoning toxins and heavy metals is required. In addition, this study can be used as reference data to strengthen managing heavy metals in fishery products.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.109-125
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• 2023

This study was conducted to select target fish species as baseline research for accumulation analysis of major hazardous chemicals entering the aquatic ecosystem in Korea and to analyze the impact on fish community. The test bed was selected from a sewage treatment plant, which could directly confirm the impact of the inflow of harmful chemicals, and the Geum River estuary where harmful chemicals introduced into the water system were concentrated. A multivariable metric model was developed to select target candidate fish species for hazardous chemical analysis. Details consisted of seven metrics: (1) commercially useful metric, (2) top-carnivorous species metric, (3) pollution fish indicator metric, (4) tolerance fish metric, (5) common abundant metric, (6) sampling availability (collectability) metric, and (7) widely distributed fish metric. Based on seven metric models for candidate fish species, eight species were selected as target candidates. The co-occurring dominant fish with target candidates was tolerant (50%), indicating that the highest abundance of tolerant species could be used as a water pollution indicator. A multi-metric fish-based model analysis for aquatic ecosystem health evaluation showed that the ecosystem health was diagnosed as "bad conditions". Physicochemical water quality variables also influenced fish feeding and tolerance guild in the testbed. Eight water quality parameters appeared high at the T1 site, indicating a large impact of discharging water from the sewage treatment plant. T2 site showed massive algal bloom, with chlorophyll concentration about 15 times higher compared to the reference site.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.106-114
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• 2023

With rising concerns about pesticide spray drift by aerial application, this study attempt to evaluate aerodynamic property and collection efficiency of spray drift according to the leaf area index (LAI) of crop for preventing undesirable pesticide contamination by the spray-drift tunnel experiment. The collection efficiency of the plant with 'Low' LAI was measured at 16.13% at a wind speed of 1 m·s^-1. As the wind speed increased to 2 m·s^-1, the collection efficiency of plant with the same LAI level increased 1.80 times higher to 29.06%. For the 'Medium' level LAI, the collection efficiency was 24.42% and 43.06% at wind speed of 1 m·s^-1 and 2 m·s^-1, respectively. For the 'High' level LAI, it also increased 1.24 times higher as the wind speed increased. The measured results indicated that the collection of spray droplets by leaves were increased with LAI and wind speed. This also implied that dense leaves would have more advantages for preventing the drift of airborne spray droplets. Aerodynamic properties also tended to increase as the LAI increased, and the regression analysis of quadric equation and power law equation showed high explanatory of 0.96-0.99.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.504-513
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• 2009

In this study, the safety of commercial herbal medicines was evaluated by determining concentration of hazardous heavy metals. 3,152 samples (244 types) purchased by individual packing unit from market in Seoul, were analyzed using ICP-MS and mercury analyzer. As a result, the content (mg $kg^{-1}$) of Pb was higher in the above-ground part (0.92) than underground part (0.43). But in case of As and Cd contents, there is slightly higher in the underground-parts (0.26, 0.13) than the above-ground parts (0.18, 0.08). There were many herbal medicines exceeding regulatory limits of Cd comparing with other metals. The levels of Hg seemed to be different between above-ground part(0.009) and underground part (0.008) but there was no sample exceeding tolerance limits. In the comparison of imported samples with domestic herbal medicines, it was shown that Pb, As, and Hg were measured highly in the imported ones, Cd was not significantly different (t-test, p<0.05). The significant correlation was observed between Pb and As (r=0.386, p<0.01) but there was no difference in other parts. The heavy metal contamination of herbal medicines measured in total amount of respective heavy metals (mg $kg^{-1}$) was high in Flos (6.241) and Caulis (2.238), and decreased in the order of Cortex (1.634), Herba (1.154), Perithecium (0.861), Rhizoma (0.828), Radix (0.825), Fructus (0.475), and was low in Semen (0.422) (ANOVA-test, p<0.05).

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.281-302
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• 2023

Carbon is not only an essential element for life but also a key player in climate change. The radiocarbon (¹⁴C) analysis using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a powerful tool not only to understand the carbon cycle but also to track pollutants derived from fossil carbon, which have a distinct radiocarbon isotope ratio (Δ¹⁴C). Many studies have reported Δ¹⁴C of carbon compounds in streams, rivers, rain, snow, throughfall, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), and wastewater treatment plant effluents in South Korea, which are reviewed in this manuscript. In summary, (1) stream and river carbon in South Korea are largely derived from the chemical weathering of soils and rocks, and organic compounds in plants and soils, strongly influenced by precipitation, wastewater treatment effluents, agricultural land use, soil water, and groundwater. (2) Unprecedentedly high Δ¹⁴C of precipitation during winter has been reported, which can directly and indirectly influence stream and river carbon. Although we cannot exclude the possibility of local contamination sources of high Δ¹⁴C, the results suggest that stream dissolved organic carbon could be older than previously thought, warranting future studies. (3) The ¹⁴C analysis has also been applied to quantify the sources of forest throughfall and PM_2.5, providing new insights. The ¹⁴C data on a variety of ecosystems will be valuable not only to track the pollutants derived from fossil carbon but also to improve our understanding of climate change and provide solutions.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.233-241
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• 2024

This study was conducted to investigate the geological distribution characteristics of fluorine in rocks, which can be a major resource of forest aggregates in Korea. Samples of forest aggregates were collected from 224 sites in 22 cities and counties for this study. The national background concentration was 344 mg/kg, which was significantly lower than the average fluorine concentration of crustal, which was 625 mg/kg, and slightly higher than the average fluorine concentration of world soil, which was 321 mg/kg. In terms of region and tectonic structure, fluorine concentrations were investigated to be highest in Gyeonggi-do(394 mg/kg) and Gyeonggi massif(396 mg/kg), respectively. The concentration distribution by the origin of the parent rock was in the order of metamorphic rock(362 mg/kg) > sedimentary rock(354 mg/kg) > igneous rock(328 mg/kg), and the concentration distribution by geologic ages was the highest in the Paleozoic at 394 mg/kg. The concentration distribution by rock types was in the order of diorite(515 mg/kg) > gneisses(377 mg/kg) > schists(344 mg/kg) > phyllite(306 mg/kg) > granites(305 mg/kg) > quartz porphyry(298 mg/kg). Consequently, it is speculated that gneisses and schists, Precambrian metamorphic rocks in the Gyeonggi massif that forms the crust of Gyeonggi-do, contain high fluorine concentrations.