• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.103-113
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• 1988

This experiment was performed to study the sequential accumulation of mercury in selected tissues of gold fish (Carassius auratus) exposed to 2, 6, 30, 120 and 300 $\mu$g Hg/1 as HgCl$_2$. In order to prepare treatment groups suitable for the present study, one control and five experimental groups, which were composed of I (2 $\mu$g/l), II (6$\mu$g/l), III (30$\mu$g/l), IV (120$\mu$g/l), V (300 $\mu$g/l), were used in 180 liter glass aquaria. The experiment was started by transfering 20 fish of average total length 140 $\pm$ 20 mm to each of the six tanks and allowing the uptake to take place for 12 weeks period. Fish were killed after time periods of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks, and samples were disected by five parts gill, kidney liver, muscle and egg. The summarized results were as follows: 1. In control group, low concentrations of mercury(range 0.01-0.11 $\mu$g/g)were determined in the all selected tissues. 2. In experimental group, the average levels of mercury residues in the gill, kidney, liver muscle and egg were 3.61-189.54 $\mu$g/g, 13.91-182.58 $\mu$g/g, 8.56-66.49 $\mu$g/g, 0.30-20.33 $\mu$g/g, and 1.63-23.76$\mu$g/g, respectively. 3. The mercury residues in selected tissues of the experimental group were generally 230-9100 times higher than those of the control group. 4. The amounts of methylmercury per total mercury in the muscle after 12 weeks were 0.10/0.30 $\mu$g/g(33.33%) in the I group, 0.14/1.18$\mu$g/g(11.86%) in the II group, 0.25/5.76 $\mu$g/g(4.34%) in the III group, 0.39/11.48$\mu$g/g(3.40%) in the IV group and 0.40/20.33 $\mu$g/g(1.97%) in the V group.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.353-363
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• 2012

Methylmercury is a hazardous substance that is of interest with regard to environmental health, as inorganic mercury circulating in the general environment is dissolved into freshwater and seawater, condensed through the food chain, ingested by humans, and consequently affects human health. Recently, there has been much interest and discussion regarding the toxicity of methylmercury, the correlation with fish and shellfish intake, and methods of long-term management of the human health effects of methylmercury. What effects chronic exposure to a low concentration of methylmercury has on human health remains controversial. Although the possibility of methylmercury poisoning the heart and blood vessel system, the reproductive system, and the immune system is continuously raised and discussed, and the carcinogenicity of methylmercury is also under discussion, a clear conclusion regarding the human health effects according to exposure level has not yet been drawn. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives proposed to prepare additional fish and shellfish intake recommendations for consumers based on the quantified evaluation of the hazardousness of methylmercury contained in fish and shellfish, methylmercury management in the Korea has not yet caught up with this international trend. Currently, the methylmercury exposure level of Koreans is known to be very high. The starting point of methylmercury exposure management is inorganic mercury in the general environment, but food intake through methylation is the main exposure source. Along with efforts to reduce mercury in the general environment, food intake management should be undertaken to reduce the human exposure to methylmercury in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2000

This study was conducted to investigate the antimicrobial activity of grapefruit extracts and polylysine mixture against food-borne pathogens. The mixture was showed a potent and quick antibacterial activity for 5 major bacteria causing food poisoning i.e. Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli O-157, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae. The antibacterial effect of the mixture on the ordinary bacteria inhibiting on the surface of lettuce was lasted even 6 hrs after the treatment, however the mixture was non-effective on the color, smell and taste of lettuce. The treatment with 10% mixture solution of the foods such as fish, meat, rice and bread suppressed the growth of the bacteria and kept the foods more freshly than the untreated foods.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Food Hygiene and Safety Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.74-77
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• 2001

In order to investigate the distribution of paralytic shellfish poison, we examined the toxicity during from February to October in 2000. Of 591 shellfish samples, $17(2.88\%)$ samples were detected. Scapgarca broughtonii was highest collected $14.29\%(2/14)$. In the monthly detection rate of PSP, April was highest $13.3\%(8/60)$, in the regional collecting rate, Cheon-nam coastal area was highest $3.82\%(10/262)$, and in cases of imported area, China was $8.3\%(1/12)$. Imported area as well as domestic area samples should be strengthen to examine enduringly.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.107-116
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• 2002

Arsenic (As) is a ubiquitous element found in several forms in foods and water. Although certain foods, such as marine fish, contain substantial levels of organic arsenic forms, they are relatively low in toxicity compared to inorganic forms. in contrast, arsenic in drinking water is predominantly inorganic and highly toxic. Chronic ingestion of arsenic-contaminated drinking water is therefore the major pathway posing potential risk to human hearth. since the early 1990s in Bangladesh ozone, arsenic exposure has caused more than 7,000 deaths and uncounted thousands shout symptoms of long-term arsenic poisoning. Significant portion of world populations are exposed to low to moderate levels of arsenic of parts per billion (ppb) to hundreds of ppb. As a consequence, the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. environmental health agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made arsenic their highest priority. Recently, the WHO, European Union (EU), and US. EPA lowered an acceptable level of 10 ppb for arsenic in drinking water In this article, various health effects of arsenic in drinking water were reviewed and the current status for risk assessment to regulate arsenic in drinking water was discussed.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2012

Fish contain both the neurotoxin methyl mercury (MeHg) and nutrients important for brain development. The developing brain appears to be most sensitive to MeHg toxicity and mothers who consume fish during pregnancy expose their fetus prenatally. Although brain development is most dramatic during fetal life, it continues for years postnatally and additional exposure can occur when a mother breast feeds or the child consumes fish. This raises the possibility that MeHg might influence brain. We evaluated the relationship between fish consumption and mercury exposure levels in umbilical cord blood of the pregnant women of the city of Tongyeong city, Korea. A total of 159 pregnant women residing in the city of Tongyeong, Korea were recruited for the study between October 2010 and March 2011. Fish consumption was evaluated using food frequency questionnaires including detailed questions on fish consumption. We used ANOVA to estimated the particular relevance between the frequency of fish consumption and the umbilical cord blood mercury concentration, and other various factors. The average mean concentration of mercury levels in umbilical cord blood of pregnant women who participated in our study were $2.69{\pm}2.50ppb$, ranging from 0.01 to 14.80 ppb. The mean concentration of umbilical cord blood mercury exposure was lower than the level recommended by WHO (5.0 ppb), but the mercury exposure level exceeded the WHO recommended in 17 (10.7%) cases of umbilical cord blood. Mercury levels in cord blood of pregnant women were $2.04{\pm}2.00ppb$, ranging from 0 to 8.00 ppb in below 29 years old and $3.18{\pm}2.74ppb$, ranging from 0.01 to 14.80 ppb in more 30 years old. In this study, there was a significant difference for the frequency of eating fish between the groups (p < 0.01). The level of the groups that ate fish 3 to more times per week ($4.15{\pm}4.02ppb$) was significant higher as compared with the level of other groups that ate fish 1 to times per week ($2.63{\pm}2.22ppb$) and none per week ($1.06{\pm}1.44ppb$), respectively. We found that the mercury concentration of umbilical cord blood associate with fish consumption and this was statistically significant and this fact revels that fish consumption is positively related to mercury levels in the umbilical cord blood. We need systematic and periodic research on the general population to prevent mercury poisoning, which can be cause by low-level mercury exposure from dietary intake such as chronic fish consumption.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.367-375
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• 2019

Pufferfish (Takifugu spp.) are economically important edible marine fish. Mistakes in pufferfish classification can lead to poisoning; therefore, accurate species identification is critical. In this study, we used the mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) to design specific primers for six Takifugu species among the 21 domestic or imported pufferfish species legally sold for consumption in Korea. We rapidly and simultaneously identified these pufferfish species using a highly efficient, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system with the six species-specific primers. The results showed that species-specific multiplex PCR (multiplex species-specific polymerase chain reaction; MSS-PCR) either specifically amplified PCR products of a unique size or failed. MSS-PCR yielded amplification fragment lengths of 897 bp for Takifugu pardalis, 822 bp for T. porphyreus, 667 bp for T. niphobles, 454 bp for T. poecilonotus, 366 bp for T. rubripes, and 230 bp for T. xanthpterus using the species-specific primers and a control primer (ca. 1,200 bp). We visualized the results using agarose gel electrophoresis to obtain accurate contrasts of the six Takifugu species. MSS-PCR analysis is easily performed and provides identification results within 6 h. This technique is a powerful tool for the discrimination of Takifugu species and will help prevent falsified labeling, protect consumer rights, and reduce the risk of pufferfish poisoning..

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.85-92
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• 1984

The effect of copper ion on the lactate dehydrogenase isozyme patterns in the heart, liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, and ovary of catfish, Parasilurus asotus, was studied by cellulose acetate gel electrophoresis. 1. The LDH-1 and LDH-2 of heart type appeared in the heart muscle of control fish. When the fish were exposed to copper ion, however, the LDH-1, LDH-2, LDH-3, and LDH-4 appeared. The amount of LDH-1 was decreased and those of LDH-2, LDH-3, and LDH-4 were increased. 2. There was one band of LDH-4 in the liver of normal fish. But the amount of LDH-4 was decreased and additional new LDH-5 appeared by exposure to copper ion. 3. There were LDH-1, LDH-2, and LDH-4 in the kidney tissue of both control and experimental groups. The LDH-1 was increased, whereas LDH-2 and LDH-4 were decreased after exposure to copper ion. 4. There was broad band of LDH-5 in the skeletal muscle of the control fish. However, the LDH-4 and LDH-5 with M sub-band appeared by the exposure to copper ion. 5. There was LDH-3 band only in the ovary of control, wheras all five LDH isozymes appeared in the ovary of the fish exposed to copper iion. 6. During the period of exposure to copper ion, the LDH isozyme of heart type which associated with aerobic metabolism was decreased, but the LDH isozyme of muscle type of anaerobic metabolism was increased in most of heart, liver, and skeletal muscle. It seems that these organs are related to some of important functions for anaerobic metabolism during the copper poisoning period.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.6 s.73
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• pp.941-947
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• 2005

The contamination frequency of major foodborne pathogenic bacteria was investigated from 213 seafood samples including sliced raw fish and shellfish in Busan and CyeongNam province area. Tested microorganisms were Salmonella spp. Staphyloroccus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Bncillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter jejuni. The frequency of isolated microorganisms was V. parahaemolyticus (30.5%), B. cereus (9.9%), S. aureus (3.8%) and other pathogenic bacteria (1.4%). from July to October, total isolation rates were greater than 50% and V. parahaemolyticus was dominant among the microorganisms isolated. The bacteria isolation rate (49.2%) in raw seafoods including shellfishes was higher than one (28.9%) in sliced raw fish. V. parahaemelyticus isolates were resistant to ampicillin (96.9%), amikacin (29.2%) and tetracycline (27.7%), and B. cereus isolates were resistant to ampicillin (100%), Penicillin G (100%), rifampicin (71.4%) and tetracycline (14.3%). The growth of V. parahaemolyticus and B. rereus was greatly inhibited below $10^{\circ}C$, but increased at ambient temperature. Washing seafood with tap water showed to reduce total count of remaining V. parahaemolyticus. Thus temperature control under $10^{\circ}C$, sufficient washing and prompt eating appeared to reduce the risk of food poisoning by these bacteria in seafoods.

• Proceedings of the Korean Aquaculture Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.132-133
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• 2003

The marine dinoflagellate genus Alexandrium comprise PSP producing A. acatenella, A. angustitabuzatum, A. catenella, A. fundyense, A. minutum, A. ostenfezdii, A. tamiyavanichii and A. tamarense. In monitoring toxic Alexandrium, rapid and exact species identification is one of the significant prerequisite work, however we have suffered confusion of species definition in Alexandrium. To surmount this problem, we chose DNA probing, which has long been used as an alternative for conventional identification methods, primarily relying on morphological approaches using microscope in microbial field. Oligonucleotide DNA probes targeting rRNA or rDNA have been commonly used in diverse studies to detect and enumerate cells concerned as a culture-indetendent powerful tool. Despite of the massive literature on the HAB species containing Alexandrium, application of DNA probing for species identification and detection has been limited to a few documents. DNA probes of toxic A. tamarense, A. catenella and A. tamiyavanichii, and non-toxic A. affine, A. fraterculus, A. insuetum and A. pseudogonyaulax were designed from LSU rDNA D1-D2, and applied to whole cell-FISH. Each DNA probes reacted only the targeted Alexandrium cells with very high species-specificity within Alexandrium. The probes could detect each targeted cells obtained from the natural sea water samples without cross-reactivity. Labeling intensity varied in the growth stage, this showed that the contents of probe-targeted cellular rRNA decreased with reduced growth rate. Double probe TAMID2S1 achieved approximately two times higher fluorescent intensity than that with single probe TAMID2. This double probe did not cross-react with any kinds of microorganisms in the natural sea waters. Therefore we can say that in whole-cell FISH procedure this double DNA probe successfully labeled targeted A. tamiyavanichii without cross-reaction with congeners and diverse natural bio-communities.