• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.289-296
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• 2007

Di-(ethyhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), commonly used as a plasticizer for manufacturing flexible vinyl products, has been the topic of extensive research, especially concerning endocrine disrupting properties. Metallothionein (MT) is a low molecular weight (6,000$\sim$7,000 Da), cysteine-rich (22$\sim$23%), metal-binding protein and is known to be induced by extrinsic factors such as chemical agents and stresses. Some of the known function of MT include detoxification of heavy metals and alkylating agents and neutralization of free radicals. Nonetheless, the definitive physiological function of MT are still unknown. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of DEHP on the ultrastructural changes and the expression of MT of the rat liver. The rats were orally intubated with either corn oil (experimental control) or 0.5 mg, 1.5 mg and 4.5 mg DEHP kg$^{-1}$ day$^{-1}$ in 0.5 mL of corn oil for 15 days before sacrificing and sampling. DEHP induced mild ultrastrctural changes of some cell organelles such as rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, lysosomes and peroxisomes in the rat liver treated with DEHP. In the respect of immunogold labelling and Western blotting, MT expression of the liver tissue was up-regulated by DEHP. In conclusion, DEHP has effects on the ultrastructures and hepatic function for MT expression in rat.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.81-93
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• 2013

The study attempted to explain the differences among the willingness of companies to accept the self-regulation. The study exemplified the $CO_2$ emissions record labelling program, as a self-regulation program which is considered as a concrete action for corporate social responsibility and substantiality management movement. The study investigated how companies respond to the request from a government to accept the program, which may be potentially contributed to both higher social and financial performance. It is hypothesized that first the company may decide whether the acceptance decision is strategic or non-strategic issues. when considered as non-strategic, the decision will be made on the basis of short term expected returns and costs comparison. It is hypothesized that when considered as strategic, the decision will be strongly influenced by the type of corporate perceptions toward environmental regulations, which has been accumulated by past experiences. Also, the study investigated the good management theory and the slack resources theory which differently predict the direction between social performances and financial performances. The results identified the significant relationships among most variables and supported the slack resources theory. Further, the ethical perception positively influenced the willingness to accept the self-regulation.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.289-294
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• 2023

Background: Artificial sweeteners are chemically synthesized substances used to add sweetness to foods. Representative substances include aspartame and acesulfame-K, which are 200 times sweeter than sugar. Recently, the IARC classified aspartame as class 2B, but Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea announced that it would maintain the current usage standards. Acesulfame-K, which has the potential to cause cancer, was excluded from the list of possible carcinogens, raising questions about its safety. According to a survey by the Consumers Union of Korea, 85% of makgeolli includes artificial sweeteners, but the content labelling is not indicated. It is necessary to accurately determine the intake of artificial sweeteners through makgeolli. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the safety of makgeolli consumption by identifying the content of artificial sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfam-K) and preservatives (sorbic acid). Methods: Twenty makgeolli samples were purchased from large supermarkets and convenience stores by referring to the sales ranking of makgeolli products distributed in South Korea and the purchase ranking from online sites. The sample was sonicated to remove alcohol and carbon dioxide. Nine mL of acetonitrile was mixed with 1 mL of the prepared sample, centrifuged, and the supernatant was filtered and analyzed using HPLC. Results: As a result of the analysis, aspartame was detected in 17 products and acesulfame-K was detected in ten. The ADI of aspartame (40 mg/kg·bw/day) is higher than the EDI based on the maximum concentration 126.5 ㎍/mL. The ADI of acesulfame-K (15 mg/kg·bw/day) is higher than the EDI based on the highest concentration of 82.96 ㎍/mL. Although the health risk is low, IARC has raised the possibility of aspartame causing carcinogenesis, so there is a need to reevaluate the standards and regulations for artificial sweeteners. Conclusions: Through this study, we aimed to determine the content of aspartame and acesulfame-K contained in makgeolli currently distributed in South Korea and the safety of exposure to the human body when consumed.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2005

Metallothionein (MT) is a low molecular weight, cysteine-rich, metal-binding, and non-enzymatic protein. The present study was carried out to investigate the expression of MT gene as well as the localization of MT in regenerating rat liver. In partial hepatectomized rats, MT mRNA was detected as early as 1 hr and reached a maximal level by 8 hr after the operation. Thereafter, this level decreased gradually until 24 hr, and it became similar to that of sham control. Meanwhile, time course of MT immunoreactivity using immunogold-labelling revealed that the number of gold particles in hepatocytes increased significantly by 12 hr, but decreased at 48 hr after partial hepatectomy. Ultrastructurally, immunogold particles indicating the presence of MT were distributed in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus of the rat hepatocytes, particularly the particles were distributed at rough endoplasmic reticulum and nucleolus and did not seem to adhere to mitochondria or lysosomes in proliferating hepatocytes. Briefly, high level of MT mRNA expression and the intense immunoreactivity and/or the specific localization of MT was observed during liver regeneration. These results suggest that MT possibly involves hepatocyte proliferation via the storage or the supply of various metal ions in the regenerating rat liver.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.256-262
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• 2011

Currently among the several methods to estimate an environmental impact of products, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) technique is mostly used. The Ministry of Environment has been performed the carbon footprint labelling to give the carbon record of product by using this method. But the calculation of carbon footprint in primary agricultural product which is raw material of the processed food cannot be made because there is lack of methodology and LCI DB at agriculture sector. Therefore, LCA carried out to estimate carbon footprint, and established LCI DB for complex fertilizers (21-17-17 1 kg, 17-21-17 1 kg, 15-15-15 1 kg, Unspecified 1 kg) in the production system. The result of LCI DB analysis focussed on the GHG, and it was observed that the values of carbon footprint were $2.42E+00kg\;CO_2-eq.kg^{-1}$ for 21-17-17, $2.10E+00kg\;CO_2-eq.kg^{-1}$ for 17-21-17, $2.23E+00kg\;CO_2-eq.kg^{-1}$ for 15-15-15 and $3.56E+00kg\;CO_2-eq.kg^{-1}$ for Unspecified. For the analysis of LCIA (Life Cycle Impact Assessment) on complex fertilizers in the production system, the carbon footprint from pre-manufacturing phase is contributed to 98.96%, 98.81%, 98.88% and 99.30% on each complex fertilizer with 21-17-17, 17-21-17, 15-15-15, and Unspecified, respectively. These results will be used in basic data for estimation of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.23-31
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• 2011

Domestic dairy industry is now standing at the crossroad for planning next fifty years, mainly because economic and environmental situations surrounding Korean peninsula are fast changing. For the aspects of dairy consumption, fresh milk consumed less, while consumption of the other milk and dairy products is slightly increasing every year. In 2010, it is approximately estimated that 1,939,000 tons of raw milk was used and the supply would be short by about 35,000 tons, based on the amounts in the previous year. Currently, multilateral negotiations against US and EU are underway. When it will be in effect in the future, significant damage would be expected in the dairy and livestock sectors, leading to cut domestic milk supply. Quality of farm-gate milk is graded as 1A on average 90% or more, loaded with very low in microbial and somatic cell counts. Therefore, policy implications have to be placed toward switch currently the UHT processing method to Pasteurization or the LTLT technology, by which natural flavors and nutrients in milk mostly remain after heat treatment. Domestic cheese products comprise only 10% and the rest is occupied by the various kinds of imported natural products. The market size keeps increasing up to 65,423,000 tons last year. When it comes to vitalization of our natural cheese industry, cheese whey, which is a main by-product in cheese manufacture, is a critical issue to be solved and also "On-Farm Processing" would be combined with a growth of big dairy companies when few immediate issues among the relevant regulations will be eased and alleviated in the near future. Fermented milk market is recorded as a single area of gradual increase in the past 10 years, Korea. Fermented yogurts with health claims targeted stomach, liver, and intestine are popular and has grown fast in sales amounts. In this context, researches on beneficial probiotic lactic acid bacteria are one of the important projects for domestic milk and dairy industries. Labelling regulations on efficacy or health-promoting effects of functional dairy products, which is the most important issue facing domestic dairy processors, should be urgently examined toward commercial expression of the functionality by lawful means. Colostrum, a nutrition-rich yellowish fluid, is roaded with immune, growth and tissue repair factors. Bovine colostrum, a raw material for immune milk preparations and infant formula, can be used to treat or prevent infections of the gastrointestinal tract. Nanotechnology can be applied to develop new milk and dairy products such as micro-encapsulated lactase milk for consumers suffering lactose intolerance. Raw milk is suggested to be managed by its usage in the processing line because imbalance of supply and demand is structural problem in every country and thus the usage systems as in the advanced dairy countries is worth of bench-marking to stabilize milk supply and demand. Raw milk produced is desirable to divide into the three parts; domestic, import, and buffering purposes. It is strongly recommended that a domestic dairy control center as an institutional framework should be urgently established as is Dairy Board in New Zealand and Australia. Lastly, government policy should be directed to foster the highly-educated people who are majoring in Dairy Sciences or working in the dairy industry by means of financial support in studying and training abroad as well.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.74-84
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• 2016

Literacy on food additives of elementary school teachers (ET) and nutrition teachers (NT) could be influential factor on safe dietary education for school children. Therefore, the perceptions and information needs on food additives were surveyed from 351 elementary school teachers and nutrition teachers in metropolitan area of Korea, and the basic data for the promotion of risk communication on food additives among them were obtained. Compared to ET who consider 'taste' (39.1%) as the most important factor while purchasing food, NT considered 'safety' (68.1%) first (p < 0.001). Among the food labelling items, the level of understanding on food additives was the lowest both in ET (3.53) and NT (4.17), and NT showed better levels of understanding overall on food labels. Both ET and NT regarded hazardous factors of food as environmental pollutants, foodborne pathogens, and food additives in order, and tended to select 'no additives' or 'no artificial color' products while purchasing processed food. Although NT answered that they know all food additives had been passed the evaluation of safety and effectiveness tests (100%) and have standards of use (81.9%), majority of them (87.5%) believed the consumption of food additives are harmful on human health. ET (75.2%) also regarded food additives as dangerous materials. Above results suggested the necessity of proper and enough risk communication for both ET and NT. Both ET and NT wanted to have information on the safety or hazard of food additives. Most preferred media to get the information on food additives was TV (3.80) among ET and lecture (3.65) among NT. ET and NT trusted hospital, research institution/universities or the personnels working in these institutions as the provider of information on food additives. The result that the trust levels of ET and NT on government were relative low suggested the weakness of risk communication in Korean government. Although ET and NT answered that they do not trust mass media, their behaviors were affected by them such as reading food labels in ET (39.4%) and reducing the consumption of food additives in NT (50%). They also indicated mass media's problem of sensitive approach on food additives and asked the urgent reaction of government by providing sound information through experts on food additives. Above results revealed that ET and NT have different perceptions and information needs on food additives, therefore, proper risk communication should be provided for them to serve as dietary educators for elementary school children.