• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.307-313
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• 2006

Seasonal variation of marine bacterial community was analyzed in the surface sea water collected from one of the stations locating at Tongyeoung coastal area, Korea. The results obtained by the culture method through identification with the VITEK Microbe ID system after pure culture in the selective medium were compared with those obtained by the DGGE based 16S rRNA PCR method. The composition of the marine bacterial community in the sea water samples harvested in September, 2004, November, 2004, January, 2005, May, 2005 and August, 2005 determined by the culture method showed 5, 5, 4, 6, and 10 strains respectively. Pseudomonas fluorescens and Acinetobacter lwoffii were detected in all seasons. The other strains were identified to be Pseudomonas stutzeri, Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Burkholderia mallei and Chryseobacterium indologenes. In contrast, the 16S rRNA PCR-DGGE method detected 10, 11, 6, 9 and 13 populations respectively in the same sea water samples and the strains were identified to be Acinetobacter lwoffii, Burkholderia mallei, Pseudomonas fluoresence, Actinobacillus ureae, Burkholderia sp., Pseudomonas stutzeri, Roseobacter sp., Vibrio parahaemolyticue, Sphingomonas paucimobilis and Rugeria algocolus. This results indicated that the DGGE based 16S rRNA PCR method was more efficient than the culture method for the grasp of the characteristics of the marine bacterial community.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.263-269
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• 1995

To determine the autochthonous COD caused by the production of phytoplankton, three different methods were used simultaneously utilizing several environmental factors and applied to the Nakdong Estuary. From the estimation of the tropic state index, tropic level in the Nakdong Estuary was found to be in excess of eutrophication level at all area studied. The percentage of autochthonous COD in total COD was largest in summer and in station No. 6 $(43.5\%)$. Using of the relationship between COD and salinity was not appropriate tov the evaluation of the autochthonous COD due to discrepancy with other tesulfs evaluated. However, the evaluations of autochthonous COD obtained from the $\DeltaCOO$ and the relationship between COD and chl.a were found to be proper methods, resulting in a relative error less than $20\%$ for all of the area investigated.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2019

Although inconspicuous marsh birds are an indicator of marsh health, there is little understanding of their status and population trends due to their behavioral characteristics and lack of reliable survey methods in Korea. We applied the Standardized North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocols(SNAMBMP) already validated in North America for effective survey of the marsh birds. We selected 29 sites with emergent marshes, rice fields and riparian forests in Seocheon-gun, Buyeo-gun and Gunsan-si. We conducted the survey with a combination of passive 5 minute point-count and vocal survey method (30 seconds call-broadcasting+30 seconds silence) that was targeted eight species 2~7 times/site from March to July 2017. Four species, Brown-cheeked Rail(Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca), Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea) and Greater Painted-snipe (Rostatula benghalensis), were detected at one site respectively (naïve occupancy rate=0.035). Vocal survey method with conspecific call-broadcasting provided better on Brown-cheeked Rail and Watercock than the others. We suggest a combination of passive point-count and vocal survey method like SNAMBMP to monitor inconspicuous marsh birds at nationwide scale and collection of sound files through recording of the entire process during the survey.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.269-276
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• 2008

Background: Although the prevalence of tuberculosis infections (PTBI) is one of the basic epidemiologic indices, no survey has been carried out since 1995 because the nation-wide tuberculosis prevalence survey was changed to a surveillance system. Subjects without a BCG scar are examined in a tuberculin survey. However, it is very difficult to select these subjects under high vaccination coverage. It is important to evaluate the impact of BCG vaccinations on the tuberculin response and estimate the PTBI regardless of the BCG vaccination status. Methods: A nation-wide, school-based cross-sectional tuberculin survey was carried out among first graders in elementary school in 2006. A total of 5,148 children in 40 schools were selected by quota sampling. Tuberculin testing with 0.1 ml of two tuberculin units of PPD RT23 was carried out on 4,018 children. The maximum transverse diameter of induration was measured 48 to 72 hours later. The presence of a BCG scar was checked separately. Results: There were no BCG scars in 6.3% of the subjects. The mean induration size of tuberculin testing was $3.7{\pm}4.4mm$, which included 1,882 (46.8%) subjects with an induration size of 0 mm. The PTBI was 10.9% (439 subjects) using a cut-off point of ${\geq}10mm$ (conventional method). The annual risk of tuberculosis infections (ARTI) was 1.9% when the mean age of the subjects was assumed to be 6 years. There was no difference in the PTBI according to the presence or absence of a BCG scar [11.2% vs 7.6% (OR: 1.54, 95% CI: 0.98~2.43)]. Using a mirror image technique with 16 mm as the cut-off point, the PTBI and ARTI had decreased to 2.4% and 0.4% respectively. Conclusion: PTBI and ARTI, as estimated by conventional methods, appear to be high among BCG vaccinated children. A mirror image technique is more suitable for estimating the indices in a country with an intermediate burden of tuberculosis than the conventional method.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.240-246
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• 2008

From the 4 sampling stations located in the basin of the Han River, total 46 strains of Enterococcus spp. composed of 15 E. faecium strains, 26 E. casseliflavus strains, 1 E. faecalis strain and 4 E. hirae strains were isolated. Among the 46 strains, 45 strains exhibited streptomycin-resistance, while 21 and 19 stains were resistant against tetracycline and quinupristin/dalfopristin, respectively. As for gentamicin and vancomycin, 15 strains and 1 strain showed resistance against the respective antimicrobial agents. Among the 46 strains, 39 strains showed resistance against more than 2 antimicrobial agents, and 10 strains demonstrated resistance to more than 5 antimicrobial agents. Especially, the strain isolated from the station C at Anyangcheon, exhibited resistance against all the 8 kinds of the antimicrobial agents. As the sampling site approached to the lower stream of the Han-river, the antibiotic resistant strains and the multi-drug resistant strains were detected more frequently. The MIC values of the antibiotic resistant strains measured by the disc diffusion method disclosed that 16 strains possessed maximum MIC value of 4,096 ${\mu}g$ mL$^{-1}$ against streptomycin and 17 strains possessed maximum MIC value of 2,048 ${\mu}g$ mL$^{-1}$ against gentamicin. Meanwhile, 1 strain exhibited maximum MIC value of 5121 ${\mu}g$ mL$^{-1}$ against vancomycin. As for quinupristin/dalfopristin and tetracycline, 2 and 33 strains showed maximum MIC value of 641 ${\mu}g$ mL$^{-1}$, respectively. Comparison of the MIC values of the strains of the this study with those of the strains of the other research groups isolated from the hospital drainage and also those from the live stock farm drainage indicated that the strains resistant against vancomycin and quinupristin/dalfopristin may be originated from the livestock farm drainage.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.133-142
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• 2009

In order to understand the present environmental condition and future impingement of Changjiang(Yangtze River) outflow upon the adjacent seas after the scheduled completion of the Sanxia (Three Gorges) Dam in 2009, we tried to estimate the mixing ratios among surface waters of three end-members: Changjiang Water (CW), Kuroshio Water (KW), and East China Sea Water (ECSW) using $^{228}Ra/^{226}Ra$ activity ratio and salinity as tracers. Water samples were collected from 32 stations in November 2005 (R/V Tamgu 3), from 20 stations in July 2006 (R/V Ocean 2000) and from 17 stations in August 2006 (R/V Ieodo) in the northern part of the East China Sea. Radium isotopes in ~300 liters of surface seawater were extracted onboard by filtering through manganese impregnated acrylic fibers and following coprecipitation as $Ba(Ra)SO_4$. Activities of radium isotopes were determined by a high purity germanium detector. Results show that the fraction of CW was in the range of 1-23% in the study area, while KW was in the range of 0-30 % and ECSW 58-100 %. The eastward plume of Changjiang outflow, commonly observed in satellite images during summer and also displayed by the eastward-decreasing CW fraction in this study, could be attributed to Ekman transport caused by the SE monsoon prevailing in this region during summer. Results of this study showed that in the drought season, there was a little or no fraction of CW in the study area. Concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) showed strong positive relationship with the fraction of CW, suggesting Changjiang as the major source of nitrogen. The mixing curve of DIN indicates the removal of nitrate by biological uptake during the mixing of CW with ambient seawater in the study area.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.191-203
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• 2006

To understand the effect of forest fragmentation on forest-dwelling birds, it is more effective to analyze on the selected specialists than on the whole bird community. We investigated the edge preference of forest-dwelling birds to discriminate habitat specialist species in the interior and on the edge of temperate deciduous forests in central Korea. Point count and line transect census were conducted at Gwangneung forest from February to October. Our result shows that there was no consistent tendency in abundance of birds between in the interior and on the edge because of the different landscape characteristics and the high proportion of habitat generalists. Five habitat specialists in 73 bird species were identified by the differences in both population densities; three forest interior and two forest edge specialists. Asian Stubtail Warblers (Urosphena squameiceps), Pale Thrushes (Turdus pallidus) and Coal Tits (Parus ater) were included in the forest interior group, but Black-billed Magpies (Pica pica) and Black-naped Orioles (Oriolus chinensis) were classified as the forest edge group. We suppose that a selective monitoring on patterns and changes in spatial use of these five habitat specialists is needed to estimate the effects of forest fragmentation in temperate deciduous forests. And, moreover, systematic monitoring methods for field survey should be established based on the point count method and line transect census to ensure the equality of data.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.272-286
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• 2014

This study was performed to investigate the community structure and health assessment of macrobenthic assemblages in Cheonsu Bay, West Coast of Korea. Total species number was 224 and mean density was $1,940ind./m^2$, both of which were dominated by polychaete worms (111 species and $1,213ind./m^2$). In terms of density, the major dominant species were the bivalve Theora fragilis ($280{\pm}213ind./m^2$), the polychaetes Heteromastus filiformis ($254{\pm}218ind./m^2$), Lumbrineris longifolia ($216{\pm}41ind./m^2$), Mediomastus californiensis ($158{\pm}97ind./m^2$) and the amphipod Eriopisella sechellensis ($167{\pm}100ind./m^2$). As a result of community statistics (cluster analysis and nMDS ordination), the macrobenthic community structure was classified two major groups (inner and mouth of bay) and two stations (station 2 near Ganwol dyke in spring and summer). The Benthic Pollution Index (BPI) and AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) were applied to assess the benthic ecological status. During the sampling periods, the BPI Index values varied between 11 (bad status) and 92 (high status). On the other hand, the AMBI Index values was ranged between 1.34 (good status) and 4.39 (poor status). In conclusion, in terms of the mean BPI and AMBI Index values, the ecological status of Cheonsu Bay were moderate status (ecotone stage) and good status, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.3 s.99
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• pp.152-159
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• 2002

The seasonal variations of nitrifying bacterial population sampled from 3 sites in Moon-Chon reservoir were analyzed by in situ hybridization with fluorescently labeled rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes from August 2000 until July 2001. In addition, physico-chemical parameters such as temperature, pH, chi-a and DOC were measured to determine correlations between those factors and the size of nitrifying bacterial populations. Total bacterial numbers varied in the range of $0.8{\sim}1.5{\times}10^6\;cells/ml$ independent of sites and had the maximal values in March at all 3 stations. The ratio of eubacteria to total bacteria ranged from 44.9% to 79.5%, and the ratio of each nitrifying bacteria to eubacterial numbers reached only $1.0{\sim}7.4%$. The variations of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria ranged from $1.1{\times}10^4$ to $3.0{\times}10^4\;cells/ml$ without noticeable peak values whereas those of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria varied in $1.3{\sim}5.7{\times}10^4\;cells/ml$ with the increasing tendency in winter regardless of the sites. Moreover it was observed that the numbers of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were higher than those of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Total bacterial numbers correlated with water temperature (r = 0.355, p<0.05) and DOC (r = 0.58G, p<0.01) positively whereas nitrite-oxidizing bacteria correlated with temperature (r = -0.416, p<0.05) and pH (r = -0.568, p = 0.001) negatively. In addition, DOC represented good correlations with eubacterial numbers (r = 0.448, p<0.01). These results indicate that temperature, DOC and pH might be one of the main factors affecting variations of bacterial populations in the aquatic ecosystem. It was also suggested that FISH method is a useful tool for detection of slow growing nitrifying bacteria.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.174-177
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• 2005

Purpose : We evaluated children with Henoch-$Sch{\ddot{o}}nlein$ purpura(HSP) in terms of epidemiology and clinical characteristics. Methods : A total of 424 medical records of children with HSP admitted to The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, from 1987 to 2003 were retrospectively analyzed. Results : The mean annual number of cases was $25.1{\pm}7.9$ and no one year showed an outbreak. There was a steady number of patients throughout the year with a decrease during the summer season. The male-to-female ratio was 1.3 : 1 with the median age of the patients being 6-years-old. The age distribution showed a peak at age 6 in a bell-shaped distribution curve. Purpura was noted in 100 percent of the patients, gastrointestinal involvement in 53.8 percent, joint involvement in 40.8 percent, and renal involvement in 18.9 percent. Nephrotic syndrome occurred in 1 percent of all patients. Conclusion : The epidemiologic and clinical features of HSP were similar to those of other regions in Korea and foreign nations, irrespective of time.