• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.170-173
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• 2009

This study examined the special technique of photocatalytic degradation (RPODisk) for removal of taste and odor causing materials, algae, and algal toxin. The RPODisk was effective for removal of these troublesome contaminants. It outperformed the fixed media and the UV irradiation for geosmin removal. The RPODisk performance was comparable to the combination of the UV irradiation with TiO2. The RPODisk performance was affected by the rotating speed. The faster the speed was, the better the performance. The RPODisk was also effective for removal of algae and algal toxin. The algal activity reduced by 80% after 30 mins of the treatment. More toxic microcystin (MC)-LR was more difficult to remove than MC-RR. The times for 50% removal were 23.7 mins for MC-LR and 14.1 mins for MC-RR. Almost 100 mins of the contact time was required to completely remove MC-LR at the rotating speed of 260 rpm.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.77-83
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• 2023

As a result of algal bloom, algal organic matters (AOMs) are rapidly increased in surface water. AOMs can act as precursors for the formation of harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs), which are serious problems in water treatment and human health. The main aim of this study is to characterize the formation of DBPs from AOMs produced by three different algae such as Oscillatoria sp., Anabaena sp., and Microcystis aeruginosa under different algal growth phases. In an effort to examine formation of DBPs during chlorination, chloroform (TCM), dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) were determined under various CT (product of disinfectant concentration and contact time, mg·min/L) values. Generally, the amounts of DBPs tended to increase with increasing CT values at the most growth phases. However, there was a significant difference between the amounts of DBPs produced by the three algal species at different growth phases. This result is likely due to the chemical composition variability of AOM from different algae at different growth phases. In addition, the effect of pre-ozonation on coagulation for the removal of AOMs from three algal species was investigated. The pre-ozonation had a positive effect on the coagulation/flocculation of AOMs.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.141-146
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• 2023

Algal organic matters (AOMs) are challenging to remove using traditional water treatment methods. Additionally, they are recognized as disinfection by product (DBP) precursors during the chlorination process. These compounds have the potential to seriously harm aquatic creatures. Despite the fact that AOMs and DBPs formed from algae can harm aquatic species by impairing their cognitive function and causing behavioral problems, only a few studies on the effects of AOMs and associated DBPs have been conducted. To assess the impact of extracellular organic materials (EOMs) produced by three different hazardous algal species and the chlorinated EOMs on zebrafish, this study used fish acute embryo toxicity (FET) and cognitive function tests. With rising EOM concentrations, the embryo's survival rate and mental capacity both declined. Of the three algal species, the embryo exposed to Microcystis aeruginosa EOM exhibited the lowest survival rate. On the other hand, the embryo exposed to EOMs following chlorination demonstrated a drop in CT values in both the survival rate and cognitive ability. These findings imply that EOMs and EOMs treated with chlorine may have detrimental effects on aquatic life. Therefore, an effective EOM management is needed in aquatic environment.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.734-738
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• 2002

We present spectral characteristics of tidal flat sediments and algal mat that were tested in the Gomso and Saemangum tidal flats, Korea. The objective of this study is to investigate the spectral reflectance and the radar scattering modeling in the tidal flats. Ground truth data obtained in the tidal flats include grain size, soil moisture content and its variation with time, surface roughness, chlorophyll, ground leveling, and field spectral reflectance measurement. The concept of an effective exposed area (EEA) is introduced to accommodate the effect of remnant surface water, and it seriously affects the reflection of short wavelength infrared and microwave. The nin size of 0.0625 mm has been normally used as a critical size of mud and sand discrimination. But we propose here that 0.25 mm is more practical grain size criterion to discriminate by remote sensing. Algal mat is the primary product in tidal flats, and it is found to be very important to understand spectral characteristics for tidal flat remote sensing. We have also conducted radar scattering modeling, and showed L-band HV-polarization would be the most effective combination.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1039-1041
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• 2003

Ocean color products derived from remote sensing satellite data are useful for monitoring the sea water quality such as the concentrations of chlorophyll, sediments and dissolved organic matter. Currently, ocean color products derived from MODIS data can be requested from NASA over the internet. However, due to the bandwidth limitation of most users in this region, and the time delay in data delivery, the products cannot be use for near-real time monitoring of sea water chlorophyll. CRISP operates a MODIS data receiving station for environmental monitoring purposes. MODIS data have been routinely received and processed to level 1B. We have adapted the higher level processing algorithms from the Institutional Algorithms provided by NASA to run in a standalone environment. The implemented algorithms include the MODIS ocean color algorithms. Seasonal chlorophyll concentration composite can be compiled for the region. By comparing the near-real time chlorophyll product with the seasonal composite, anomaly in chlorophyll concentration can be detected.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1621-1629
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• 2008

Harmful algal blooms (HABs), commonly called red tides, are caused by some toxic phytoplanktons, and have made massive economic losses as well as marine environmental disturbances. As an effective and environment-friendly strategy to control HAB outbreaks, biological methods using marine bacteria capable of killing the harmful algae or algicidal extracellular compounds from them have been given attention. A new member of the $\gamma$-Proteobacteria, Hahella chejuensis KCTC 2396, was originally isolated from the Korean seashore for its ability to secrete industrially useful polysaccharides, and was characterized to produce a red pigment. This pigment later was identified as an alkaloid compound, prodigiosin. During the past several decades, prodigiosin has been extensively studied for its medical potential as immunosuppressants and antitumor agents, owing to its antibiotic and cytotoxic activities. The lytic activity of this marvelous molecule against Cochlodinium polykrikoides cells at very low concentrations ($\sim$l ppb) was serendipitously detected, making H. chejuensis a strong candidate among the biological agents for HAB control. This review provides a brief overview of algicidal marine bacteria and their products, and describes in detail the algicidal characteristics, biosynthetic process, and genetic regulation of prodigiosin as a model among the compounds active against red-tide organisms from the biochemical and genetic viewpoints.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.393-399
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• 2017

In order to determine the optimal water intake point, the distribution of blue-Green algae and water quality factors in relation to the depth of the Mulgum and Maeri stations located downstream of the Nakdong River were investigated from Jun. 2015 to Sep. 2016. When the current surface water intake system was converted to the deep water intake system, Chl-a concentration and blue-Green algae were reduced by 64.1% and 80.5%, respectively. Microcystin-LR was reduced by 50% to 100%, while geosmin and 2-MIB of the odorant substances were reduced by 42.9% and 11.8%, respectively. The water quality factors such as pH, water temperature, TOC and COD were gradually decreased by 30% in deep water. Therefore, if we used the deep water intake system selectively in the summer season when blue-Green algae masses occur, the concentration of the influx of blue-green algae and its by-products can be expected to decrease, leading to reduced operation costs in tap water production and improved of raw water quality.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.317-324
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• 2001

We have previously developed three stage methane fermentation system capable of digesting food wastes effectively and then releasing high organic wastewater as a final product. In this study, we tried to devise an ecological water treatment system, which can efficiently remove the nitrogen and phosphorus contained in the organic wastewater. The system was made of microbiological filters, algae, and waterfleas. Of two species of alga tested, Selenastrum capricornutum showed higher growth rate and more efficiently removed the nitrogen from the wastewater than by Chlorella sp. In addition, the highest growth rate and the nitrogen removal efficiency could be obtained when high concentrations of $Mg^{2+}\; and\; Ca^{2+}$ were added to the diluted wastewater and the molar ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus was adjusted to 10 : 1. In this study the population relationship between alga and water flea was also examined in a test tube. The initial number of algal cells decreased as the waterflea population increased. However, the number of algal cells gradually increased again when waterflea population decreased partly due to the environmental resistance. From these results, it was believed that the ecological water treatment system could be used for removing the nitrogen and phosphorus from organic wastewater very effectively. Moreover, the waterflea cultured by this system as a final predator could be used as a good foodstuff for fishes.

• ALGAE
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.249-265
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• 2014

As with land crops, cultivated algae are affected by various diseases ranging from large outbreaks of a disease to chronic epiphytes, which may downgrade the value of the final product. The recent development of intensive and dense mariculture practices has enabled some new diseases to spread much faster than before. A new disease is reported almost every year, and the impact of diseases is expected to increase with environmental change, such as global warming. We observed the incidence of diseases in two Pyropia sea farms in Korea from 2011 to 2014, and estimated the economic loss caused by each disease. Serious damage is caused by the oomycete pathogens, Pythium porphyrae and Olpidiopsis spp., which decreased the productivity of the Pyropia sea farms. In Seocheon sea farms, an outbreak of Olpidiopsis spp. disease resulted in approximately US $1.6 million in loss, representing approximately 24.5% of total sales during the 2012-2013 season. The damage caused by green-spot disease was almost as serious as oomycete diseases. An outbreak of green-spot disease in the Seocheon sea farms resulted in approximately US $1.1 million in loss, representing 10.7% of total sales in the 2013-2014 season in this area. However, the causative agent of green-spot disease is still not confirmed. "Diatom felt" is regarded as a minor nuisance that does not cause serious damage in Pyropia; however, our case study showed that the economic loss caused by "diatom felt" might be as serious as that of oomycete diseases. Bacteria and cyanobacteria are indigenous members of epiphytic microbial community on Pyropia blades, but can become opportunistic pathogens under suitable environmental conditions, especially when Pyropia suffers from other diseases. A regular acid wash of the Pyropia cultivation nets is the most common treatment for all of the above mentioned diseases, and represents approximately 30% of the total cost in Pyropia sea farming. However, the acid wash is ineffective for some diseases, especially for Olpidiopsis and bacterial diseases.

• ALGAE
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.313-323
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• 2015

Lipid peroxidation means the oxidative degradation of lipids. The process from the cell membrane lipids in an organism is generated by free radicals, and result in cell damage. Phlorotannins, well-known marine brown algal polyphenols, have been utilized in functional food supplements as well as in medicine supplements to serve a variety of purposes. In this study, we assessed the potential anti-lipid peroxidation activity of phlorofucofuroeckol-A (PFF-A), one of the phlorotannins, isolated from Ecklonia cava by centrifugal partition chromatography in 2,2-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH)-stimulated Vero cells and zebrafish system. PFF-A showed the strongest scavenging activity against alkyl radicals of all other reactive oxygen species (ROS) and exhibited a strong protective effect against ROS and a significantly strong inhibited of malondialdehyde in AAPH-stimulated Vero cells. The apoptotic bodies and pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3, which were induced by AAPH, were strongly inhibited by PFF-A in a dose-dependent manner and expression of Bcl-xL, an anti-apoptotic protein, was induced. In the AAPH-stimulated zebrafish model, additionally PFF-A significantly inhibited ROS and cell death, as well as exhibited a strong protective effect against lipid peroxidation. Therefore, these results suggest that PFF-A has excellent protective effects against ROS and lipid peroxidation induced by AAPH in both an in vitro Vero cell model and an in vivo zebrafish model.