• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.79-90
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• 2019

Lichens are generally known as self-sufficient, symbiotic life-forms between fungi and algae/cyanobacteria, and they also provide shelter for a wide range of beneficial bacteria. Currently, bacterial-derived biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is grabbing the attention of many researchers as a promising alternative to non-degradable plastics. This study was conducted to develop a new method of PHA production using unexplored lichen-associated bacteria, which can simultaneously degrade two ubiquitous industrial toxins, anthracene and naphthalene. Here, 49 lichen-associated bacteria were isolated and tested for PHA synthesis. During the GC-MS analysis, a potential strain of EL19 was found to be a 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3-HHx) accumulator and identified as Pseudomonas sp. based on the 16S rRNA sequencing. GC analysis revealed that EL19 was capable of accumulating 30.62% and 19.63% of 3-HHx from naphthalene and anthracene, respectively, resulting in significant degradation of 98% and 96% of naphthalene and anthracene, respectively, within seven days. Moreover, the highly expressed phaC gene verified the genetic basis of $PHA_{mcl}$ production under nitrogen starvation conditions. Thus, this study strongly supports the hypothesis that lichen-associated bacteria can detoxify naphthalene and anthracene, store energy for extreme conditions, and probably help the associated lichen to live in extreme conditions. So far, this is the first investigation of lichen-associated bacteria that might utilize harmful toxins as feasible supplements and convert anthracene and naphthalene into eco-friendly 3-HHx. Implementation of the developed method would reduce the production cost of $PHA_{mcl}$ while removing harmful waste products from the environment.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.3 s.95
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• pp.175-184
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• 2001

The temporal and diel changes of cyanobacterial cell density, species composition, and cyanobacterial toxins (microcystin-RR, -YR, -LR) were examined for the outflow water of Lake Suwa in Japan from May to October, 1998. The highest total cell densities of Microcystis were observed in July and September, when the dominant phytoplankton was Microcystis ichthyoblabe and M. viridis, respectively. Both the species composition and total cell density of Microcystis affected the variation of the concentration of three microcystin variants. Only microcystin-RR(MC-RR) and -LR (MC-LR) were detected in July when Microcystis ichthyoblabe dominated, while microcystin-RR, -YR (MC-YR) and -LR were detected in August and October when Microcystis viridis dominated. The microcystin concentration and the cell density of Microcystis in the outflow water showed diel variations; the ratio of maximum to minimum value was $3{\sim}20$ fold far microcystin concentration, and $5{\sim}31$ fold for cell density. The diel variations of toxin concentration as well as Microcystis cell density was closely related to the diel variation of wind. During the windy period, when higher speeds occurred in the afternoon hours than morning hours, both the cell density of Microcystis and microcystin concentration tended to increase in the morning and decrease in the afternoon. The results of this study suggest that controlling the timing of lake discharge at the floodgate or intake tower can be useful for water resource management with respect to decreasing cyanobacteria biomass within intake water.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.337-354
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• 2017

Cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon population is widely distributed in the world, and well known as harmful algae by producing toxins and off-flavor materials, thus belonging to one of the taxa that became more interested in the field of limnoecology. In this study, the frequency, intensity, and duration of Aphanizomenon occurrence were increased with the abnormal drawdown of water level in the winter in Boryeong Reservoir, and the spatial and temporal characteristics of them are compared with each other in the perspective of hydrometeorology (1998 to 2017) and limnology (2010 to 2017). In Korea, Aphanizomenon flourished mainly in high temperature, and the appearance in the low temperature was rare in total five times. The harmful cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon was observed in the low temperature (December to February) in Boryeong Reservoir from 2014, and then reached a maximum value of $2,160cells\;mL^{-1}$ in January 2017. In addition, the period exceeding $1,000cells\;mL^{-1}$ at this time was more than 3 months. This was simultaneously associated with abnormal water level fluctuation in the low temperature ($<10^{\circ}C$). The large drawdown of water level in the winter season has the potential to promote or amplify the germination and development of harmful algae. Also, subsequent water quality and ecological impacts(e.g., algal toxins and off-flavor substances) need to be considered carefully.

• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.1-19
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• 2003

The electronic market thrust for many hybrid circuit manufacturers is changing because commercial market segments such as telecommunications, automotive and consumer electronics have increased the demand world wide for environmentally friendly thick film products. This, in turn, places a stronger emphasis on the material suppliers within the circuit fabrication industry to provide toxin free products with equal or higher performance than traditional technology. A new group of silver based thick film conductors, which are totally free of such toxins as cadmium, nickel and Bead have been developed to meet new environmental requirements. Traditional thick film products and newly developed toxin free compositions will be compared and data will be presented. To evaluate their performance, both groups of conductors were tested for solder acceptance, leach resistance and aged adhesion with standard lead-containing solder and higher temperature lead-free solder.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.325-333
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• 1997

Recent evidence indicates that growth factors modulate response of mammary epithelial cells to environmental stress. The objective of this study was to examine the cellular and biochemical responses of mammary tissue to environmental stress caused by artificial mastitis. For experimental a, pp.oach, toxins of most mastitis causing organisms(Staph. aureus or Strep. agalactiae) and heat stress(42$^{\circ}C$) were artificially exposed to mammary tissue. Effects of these environmental stresses on cell growth, cell death and heat shock protein synthesis were examined. Lactating mammary tissure were cultured under basal medium(DMEM) su, pp.emented with insulin(10$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml) and aldosterone(1$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml). All treatment groups in heat stress at 42$^{\circ}C$ incubation significantly decreased DNA synthesis rates in comparison with those at 39$^{\circ}C$(P<0.05), however, these decreased DNAa synthesis rates were recovered by addition of adenosine(10$\mu$M) and IGFI(10ng/ml). Similar results were obtained when tissue growth rates were measured by DNA content/tissue. Strep. agalactiae toxin did not significantly decreased DNA content/tissue in comparison with no treatment of bacterial toxin with or without heat stress, however, tended to decrease DNA contents/tissue without heat stress. In the fluorography analysis, heat stress(42$^{\circ}C$ incubation) slightly increased 35S-methoionine labelled 70kd protein synthesis. These results indicate that environmental stress caused by artificial mastitis slightly decreased mammary growth or mammary size, however, these results could be recovered by addition of adenosine and IGF-I.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.89-100
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• 2024

Climate change has a broad impact on the entire water environment, and this impact is growing. Climate adaptation in water supply systems often involves quantity and quality control, but there has been a lack of research examining the impacts of climatic factors on water supply productivity and operation conditions. Therefore, the present study focused on, first, building a database of climatic factors and water purification operating conditions, and then identifying the correlations between factors to reveal their impacts. News big data was analyzed with keywords of climatic factors and water supply systems in either nationwide or region-wide analyses. Metropolitan area exhibited more issues with cold waves whereas there were more issues with drought in the Southern Chungcheong area. A survey was conducted to seek experts' opinions on the climatic impacts leading to these effects. Pre-chlorination due to drought, high-turbidity of intake water due to rainfall, an increase of toxins in intake water due to heat waves, and low water temperature due to cold waves were expected. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted based on meteorological data and the operating data of a water purification plant. Heavy rain resulted in 13 days of high turbidity, and the subsequent low turbidity conditions required 3 days of high coagulant dosage. This insight is expected to help inform the design of operation manuals for waterworks in response to climate change.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.142-149
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• 2015

Bioaerosols are comprised of particles 0.02-100 μm in size that originate in natural and artificial environments, and as a result of human activities. They consist of microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa; fungal spores; microbial toxins; pollen; plant or animal material; expectorated liquid from humans; and glucans (peptidoglycan and β-glucan). Bioaerosols can cause respiratory and other diseases in humans and animals. In this study, bioaerosol samples acquired from agricultural sources, livestock, a sewage treatment plant, a beach, and a pristine area were analyzed to identify and phylogenetically characterize culturable microorganisms. The isolated bacteria exhibited regional differences, with different species dominating. However, Bacillus cereus was isolated in all samples, with a total of 31 strains isolated from all areas, and Acinetobacter baumannii was isolated from an indoor poultry farm. In addition, bacteria determined to be of novel genus or species of the genera Domibacillus, Chryceobacterium, Nocardioides and family Comamonadaceae were isolated from the agricultural, livestock and beach environments.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.113-121
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• 2017

In flight particulate matter particularly emissions generated by incomplete combustion processes has become a subject of global concern due to the health problems and environmental impacts associated with them. This has compelled most countries to set standards for coarse and fine particles due to their conspicuous impacts on environment and public health. This contribution therefore explores forest fire emissions and how its particulates affects air quality, damage to vegetation, water bodies and biological functions as architects for lung diseases and other degenerative illnesses such as oxidative stress and aging. Soot was collected from simulated forest fire using a clean glass surface and carefully transferred into amber vials for analysis. Volatile components of soot were collected over 10 mL dichloromethane and analyzed using a QTOF Premier-Water Corp Liquid Chromatography hyphenated to a mass selective detector (MSD), and Gas Chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). To characterize the size and surface morphology of soot, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used. The characterization of molecular volatiles from simulated forest fire emissions revealed long chain compounds including octadec-9-enoic acid, octadec-6-enoic acid, cyclotetracosane, cyclotetradecane, and a few aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene and naphthalene). Special classes of organics (dibenzo-p-dioxin and 2H-benzopyran) were also detected as minor products. Dibenzo-p-dioxin for instance in chlorinated form is one of the deadliest environmental organic toxins. The average particulate size of emissions using SEM was found to be $11.51{\pm}4.91{\mu}m$. This study has shown that most of the emissions from simulated forest fire fall within $PM_{10}$ particulate size. The molecular by-products of forest fire and particulate emissions may be toxic to both human and natural ecosystems, and are possible precursors for various respiratory ailments and cancers. The burning of a forest by natural disasters or man-made fires results in the destruction of natural habitats and serious air pollution.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.5937-5946
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• 2012

The term endocrine disruptors is used to describe a variety of natural and manmade substances that have the capacity to potentially interfere with and modify the normal physiology of endocrine system either by mimicking, blocking or modulating the actions of natural endogenous hormones. The rising incidence of breast cancer over the last 50 years and the documented higher incidence in urban as compared to rural areas suggest a relationship to the introduction and increased use of xenoestrogens in our environment. The literature has developed over the last decades where initial experiments on endocrine disruptors did not support an involvement in breast cancer, and then evidence mounted implicating various environmental factors including hormones, endocrine disrupting chemicals and non-endocrine disrupting environmental carcinogens in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Available data support the hypothesis that exposure to endocrine disruptors in utero leaves a signature on mammary gland morphogenesis so that the resulting dysgenic gland becomes more predisposed to develop tumors upon exposures to additional insults later on during life. Exceptionally, exposure to phytoestrogens could be beneficial to human health. Most of the available data are from well developed countries while the developing countries are still understudied regarding these issues. Here, we raise a note of caution about potential role of environmental toxins including endocrine disruptors in breast cancer development and call for serious measures to be taken by all involved parties in the developing world.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3345-3349
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• 2013

Background: Susceptibility to lung cancer has been shown to be modulated by inheritance of polymorphic genes encoding cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) and glutathione S transferases (GSTM1 and GSTT1), which are involved in the bioactivation and detoxification of environmental toxins. This might be a factor in the variation in lung cancer incidence with ethnicity. Materials and Methods: We conducted a case-control study of 218 northern Indian lung cancer patients along with 238 healthy controls, to assess any association between CYP1A1, GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms, either separately or in combination, with the likelihood of development of Lung cancer in our population. Results: We observed a significant difference in the GSTT1 null deletion frequency in this population when compared with other populations (OR=1.87, 95%CI: 1.25-2.80-0.73, P=0.002). However, GSTM1 null genotype was found associated with lung cancer in the non-smoking subgroup. (P=0.170). Conclusions: Our study showed the GSTT1 null polymorphism to be associated with smoking-induced lung cancer and the GSTM1 null polymorphism to have a link with non-smoking related lung cancer.