• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.296-304
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• 2011

This study was carried out to investigate the relation between water quality and structure of the aquatic ecosystem in the Lake Gachang from February to December in 2010. The annual mean COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) in Lake Gachang was 3.5 mg $L^{-1}$, indicating, level II of environmental standards and the trophic state was mesotrophic. The seasonal succession of phytoplankton showed that Bacillariophyceae was mostly dominant species throughout the year except August. In case of zooplankton, rotifers dominate in the most seasons, but copepod (Nauplii) in August. The macrophyte plants showed diverse species composition consisted of 9 varieties, 77 species, 64 genera, 34 families and 24 orders. Surveyed species of macroinvertebrates were classified into 1 phyla, 2 classes, 4 orders, 7 families, 9 species. The macroinvertebrates showed FFG (Functional Feeding Groups) such as GC (Gathering-Collector) and SH (Shedder). A total of 42 species of fish was collected including $Zacco$ $koreanus$ and $Coreoperca$ $herzi$. In this study, we investigated environmental factors including pollutant source, load, water quality and distribution characteristics of biota such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, macrophyte plants, macroinvertebrates, fish.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.70-80
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• 2011

Estuarine ecosystem responds sensitively to natural and anthropogenic perturbations. lt is necessary to identify the direction of the change when the perturbation occurs as well as to understand the structure and functioning of estuarine ecosystem for a proper management of the area. In this study, the estuarine habitats were classified into different ecological districts so as to the switch from one district to another district could be related to the environmental change due to the perturbations. Total 16 ecological districts was defined according to the presence of barrage, salinity and vegetation characteristics. The defined ecological districts were applied to small estuaries in Goseong bay, south sea of Korea (Baedun, Guman, Maam, Goseong) to distinguish different regions which might have characteristic bottom topography, inclinations of river bottom, sediment characteristics, salinity structure and area of vegetation. Total 7 out of 16 ecological district was identified in this region; NFB (natural, fresh, bare), NHB (natural, high salinity, bare), NLV (natural, low salinity, vegetated) in natural (without barrage) estuaries and CFB (closed, fresh, bare), CFV( closed, fresh vegetated), CLV (closed, low salinity, vegetated), CHB (closed, high salinity, bare) in closed (with barrage) estuary. A comparison of environmental factors and biota between CHB and CLV demonstrated the effect of barrage on estuarine ecosystem. The height and sediment characteristics of CHB and CLV were similar but the average salinity was lower in CLV than in CHB due to the barrage, which produced favorable condition for the Phragmites australis in CLV. Information regarding the ecological districts in various sizes and location could be useful for predicting the ecosystem change due to natural and anthropogenic perturbations and for preparing management actions.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.277-287
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• 2012

To develop new therapeutic materials to prevent hair loss and enhance hair growth, we developed a medicinal herbal complex extract (MHCE) using 23 herbs traditionally used in oriental medicine. Medicinal Herbal complex extract was consist of Angelica gigas Nakai, Psoralea corylifolia Linne, Biota orientalis Endlicher, and Eclipta prostrata Linne, Rehmannia glutinosa Liboschitz var. purpurea Makino, Ligustrum lucidum Aiton, Polygonum multiflorum Thunberg, and Sesamum indicum Linne, Sophora angustifolia Sieboldet Zuccarini, Angelica dahurica Benthamet Hooker, and Leonurus sibiricus Linne, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, Prunus persica Batsch, Commiphora molmol Engler, Chrysanthemum indicum Linne, Boswellia carterii Birdwood, Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, Cnidium officinale Makino, Albizia julibrissin Durazzini, and Corydalis ternata Nakai that have traditionally been used for treating hair loss, preventing gray hair, anti-inflammation, and blood circulation in oriental medicine. In addition, we examined the hair growth effect of MHCE in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, we evaluated the effects of MHCE on cultured HFDPC, HaCaT cells, and murine embryonal fibroblasts (NIH3T3 cells). Also, we evaluated the ability of MHCE to prevent gray hair on murine melanoma cells (B16F1 cells). The hair growth-promoting effect of MHCE in vitro was also observed in vivo using C57BL/6 mice. Our results showed that MHCE significantly increased the proliferation of HFDPC (175 % proliferation at $50{\mu}g/mL$), HaCaT cells (133 % proliferation at $20{\mu}g/mL$), and NIH3T3 cells (120 % proliferation at $50{\mu}g/mL$). MHCE also showed consistent melanogenesis in B16F1 cells (154 % melanin synthesis at $50{\mu}g/mL$). Moreover, MHCE showed potential for hair growth stimulation in C57BL/6 mice experiments (98 % hair growth area on 4 weeks). These results indicate that MHCE may be a good candidate for promotion of hair growth.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.309-319
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• 2008

Roads are an indicator of anthropogenic activity causing ecosystem disturbances and often lead to habitat fragmentation, habitat loss, and habitat isolation. The Hallasan National Park(153.4$km^2$) on Jeju Island being distinguished for its unique geology, topography, and biota has also been designated as a core area of UNESCO Man and the Biosphere(MAB) Reserve. Although the high conservation value of this park has contributed to a rapid growth of tourists and road construction, landscape changes due to roads have not been examined yet. We used GIS systems to examine the fragmentation pattern caused by roads, in relation to its zonation, elevation, and vegetation. When a buffer was applied to roads(112m width for paved roads and 60m width for both legal and illegal trails), the park consisted of 100 fragments. The ten fragments generated after applying buffer to only paved roads and legal trails ranged from $0.002km^2$ to $38.2km^2$ with a mean of $14.2km^2$, and about 7% of both nature conservation zone and nature environment zone of the park were edge. Fragments in both east and west ends of the park and around the summit exhibited relatively high shape indices with means of 5.19(for 100 fragments) and 7.22(for 10 fragments). All five legal trails are connected to the pit crater of the mountain and vegetation changed from broadleaf forests and conifer forests to grasslands with elevation, consequently resulting in dramatic fragment size reduction in grasslands at high elevation, in particular above 1,400m, where endemic and alpine plants are abundant. These results show that in Hallasan National Park the risks of habitat deterioration and habitat loss due to fragmentation may be more severe in the nature conservation zone dominated by Baengnokdam than in the nature environment zone. Therefore, current road networks of the park appear to fall short of the goal of the national park for ecosystem conservation and protection. Considering that the entire Hallasan National Park also serves as a MAB core area, conservation efforts should focus, first of all, on park rezoning and road management to mitigate habitat fragmentation.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.691-709
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• 2011

This study was performed to classify habitat types depending on environmental factors and to find out distribution characteristics of functional feeding groups of aquatic insects which were collected at that habitat types. Field survey was conducted twice in a year for every spring and fall from 2007 to 2008 for 38 sites in the Geum River. During the field survey 15 environmental factors were measured at each 38 sites and analyzed by similarity analysis method to classify habitat types. The result of similarity analysis showed that the 38 sites could be grouped into 7 classes like as C1 and C3 class belong to Head water(HD), C2 and C4 and C5 class belong to Middle stream(MS), C6 and C7 class belong to Large River(LR) based on euclidean distances 4. And also, we could extract the main environmental factors affecting the classification of habitat types such as Stream Width and Elevation of physical environmental factors, Water Temperature, Conductivity and DO of chemical environmental factors, percentages of Sand, Silt and Gravel of substrate factors. Total 142 species of aquatic insects in 46 families, 9 orders were collected during the field surveys and the occurrence number of species and individuals showed high correlation with the Velocity factor and the percentage of Sand factor of each habitat types. In addition, correlation analysis between functional feeding groups and environmental factors represented that (1) Filtering-collectors(FC) affected by Velocity, Stream Width and Silt, (2) Gathering-collector(GC) affected by Velocity, (3) Predator(P) affected by Elevation, Velocity, Boulder, Conductivity and Sand, (4) Plant-piecer(PP) affected by Water Width and Silt, (5) Scraper(SC) affected by Elevation and Conductivity, (6) Shredder(SH) affected by Elevation, Boulder, DO, pH, Conductivity and Water Temperature respectively. As a result of this study, Elevation, Stream Width, Velocity, Conductivity, Water Temperature and percentage of Sand factors which were deduced by stepwise multiple regression analysis had correlations($r{\geqq}0.600$, p<0.01) with biota community inhabitation. Therefore these six environmental factors were regarded as major environmental factors that might affect highly the distribution of functional feeding groups in stream ecosystem of the Geum River.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.37-48
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• 2021

A new high speed rotation type-passive sampling device (HSR-PSD), which can rotate seawater at high speed and absorb easily and quickly the freely dissolved hydrophobic organic contaminants from seawater, was developed and then applied around the Korean Peninsula. Freely dissolved concentrations (Cfree) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined using the HSR-PSD with low density polyethylene (LDPE) sheets as a passive sampler. Furthermore, dissolved concentrations (Cdissolved) of PAHs in seawater were also obtained from high volume water sampling as a conventional method to account for actual bioavailability. When the LDPE sheets were rotated in the HSR-PSD at 900 rpm, PAHs with log KOW 3.4 ~ 5.2 were equilibrated between the LDPE and water in 5 hours. Although the high molecular weight PAHs with log KOW 5.6 ~ 6.8 was expected to be 2 to 30 days to reach the equilibrium, the Cfree of the PAHs at equilibrium could be corrected using performance reference compounds in 5 hours. Meanwhile, the total Cfree of PAHs were from 0.32 to 1.2 ng/L, which were higher than reported values in other oceans, but lower than in coastal water such as estuary, harbor, or shore. A bioavailability from the detected PAHs was highest at the sampling line near the dumping site of the Yellow Sea. Predicted residual concentrations in biota were relatively higher in offshore including the dumping site than in coastal regions.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.185-200
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• 2022

The risk of various hazardous substances in aquatic environment comprises not only the concentration of substances in the environmental medium but also their accumulation in fish through complex food web and the health risks to humans through the fish. In Korea, the monitoring of residual toxicant in aquatic ecosystems began in 2016 following the enforcement of the Acts on registration and evaluation for the management of chemicals used in daily life (consumer chemical products), and attention has been paid to potentially hazardous substances attributed to them. Recently, studies have been carried out to investigate the distribution of these hazardous substances in the ecosystem and calculate their emission factors. These include the accumulation and transport of substances, such as detergents, dyes, fragrances, cosmetics, and disinfectants, within trophic levels. This study summarizes the results of recently published research on the inflow and distribution of hazardous substances from consumer chemical products to the aquatic environment and presents the scientific implication. Based on studies on aquatic environment monitoring techniques, this study suggests research directions for monitoring the residual concentration and distribution of harmful chemical substances in aquatic ecosystems. In particular, this study introduces the directions for research on trophic position analysis using compound specific isotope analysis and trophic magnification factors, which are needed to fulfill the contemporary requirements of selecting target fish based on the survey of major fish that inhabit domestic waters and assessment of associated health risk. In addition, this study provides suggestions for future biota monitoring and chemical research in Korea.