• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.282-289
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• 2022

Background: Airborne fungi are ubiquitous in the air and exposure to an airborne fungus can be a significant risk factor. The composition of fungi has been potentially important for human health, especially for respiratory diseases like asthma and atopic dermatitis. Therefore, we attempted to ascertain what kind of airborne fungi affect human health at a nationwide level. Objectives: This study was carried out to provide information on indoor fungi distribution at multi-use facilities throughout South Korea. Methods: We classified our data by region and public facility after collection, cultivation, and identification via the sequencing of the ITS (internal transcribed spacer) region. We investigated whether or not the proliferation of HaCaT cells was affected by the identified airborne fungi. Results: In our data, the most isolated airborne fungi by region were Penicillium spp (Seoul, Daegu), Periconia sp (Gyeonggi-do), Iprex sp (Gangwon-do), Phanerochaete sp (Busan), Bjerkandera sp (Gwangju), and Aspergillus sp (Jeju-do). In the public facilities, the most detected fungi were Cladosporium sp (public transport), Penicillium sp (apartment house, retail market, financial institution, karaoke room), Bjerokandera sp (underground parking lot, public toilet, medical institution), Periconia sp (retail store), and Fusarium sp (general restaurant). Next, we selected twenty airborne fungi to examine their cytotoxicity and proliferation of human skin cells. In this experiment, the proliferation of the cells was influenced by most of the identified fungi. In case of the cytotoxicity test, most genera except for Rhodotorula sp and Moesziomyces sp showed cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells. Conclusions: The distribution of mold in the indoor air in multi-use facilities in South Korea differs from region to region, and this is an indicator that should be considered in future health impact studies. In addition, as a result of culturing about 20 types of bacteria dominant in indoor air, it was found that most (90%) inhibit the growth of skin cells, which can be harmful to health. An in-depth study of the health effects of floating fungi is needed.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.54 no.spc1
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• pp.1053-1060
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• 2021

Current water quality monitoring systems in Korea carried based on in-situ grab sample analysis. It is difficult to improve the current water quality monitoring system, i.e. shorter sampling period or increasing sampling points, because the current systems are both cost- and labor-intensive. One possible way to improve the current water quality monitoring system is to adopt a modeling approach. In this study, a modeling technique was introduced to support the current water quality monitoring system, and an artificial neural network model, the computational tool which mimics the biological processes of human brain, was applied to predict water quality of the river. The approach tried to predict concentrations of Total coliform at the outlet of the river and this showed, somewhat, poor estimations since concentrations of Total coliform were rapidly fluctuated. The approach, however, could forecast whether concentrations of Total coliform would exceed the water quality standard or not. As results, modeling approaches is expected to assist the current water quality monitoring system if the approach is applied to judge whether water quality factors could exceed the water quality standards or not and this would help proper water resource managements.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.311-320
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• 2023

Surfactin, one of the most powerful biosurfactants, can be widely applied in agriculture, food, and pharmaceutics. The purpose of the present study was to establish suitable indicators for a rapid detection method that can confirm the surfactin productivity of cheonggukjang. In the present study, changes in the total number of bacteria were quantified according to the fermentation time of chenggukjang. Furthermore, physicochemical factors, such as pH, color value, surface tension, refractive index, absorbance, and protein contents, were assessed in chenggukjang viscous substances, and a correlation analysis between the physicochemical factors and surfactin contents was performed. We found that the protein contents gradually increased up to 48 h (4.21±0.11 mg/mL) without a change in the surface tension. Furthermore, the refractive index, absorbance at 280 nm, and color value were significantly increased as the fermentation time increased; however, there were no statistically significant differences after 36 h of fermentation. Interestingly, this result exhibited a tendency similar to the surfactin content according to fermentation time. These findings suggest that surfactin can be used as a suitable quality indicator and may provide an experimental basis for the fermented food industry.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.254-261
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: Agricultural water is known to be one of the major routes in bacterial contamination of fresh vegetable. However, there is a lack of fundamental data on the microbial safety of agricultural water in Korea. METHODS AND RESULTS: We investigated the density of indicator bacteria in the surface water samples from 31 sites collected in April, July, and October 2018, while the groundwater samples were collected from 20 sites within Jeollabuk-do in April and July 2018. In surface water, the mean density of coliform, fecal coliform, and Escherichia coli was 2.7±0.55, 1.9±0.71, and 1.4±0.58 log CFU/100 mL, respectively, showing the highest bacterial density in July. For groundwater, the mean density of coliform, fecal coliform, and E. coli was 1.9±0.58, 1.4±0.37, and 1.0±0.33 log CFU/ 100mL, respectively, showing no significant difference between sampling time. The survival of E. coli O157:H7 were prolonged in water with higher organic matter contents such as total nitrogen (TN), and nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N). The reduction rates of E. coli O157:H7 in the water showed greater in order of 25, 35, 5, and 15℃. CONCLUSION: These results can be utilized as fundamental data for prediction the microbiological contamination of agricultural water and the development of microbial prevention technology.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.526-533
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate hazardous microorganisms in mixed baby leafy vegetables and various baby leafy vegetables used as raw materials for fresh-cut produce in spring and summer. To estimate microbial loads, a total of 298 samples including 181 samples of mixed baby leafy vegetables purchased in a Korean market and 117 samples of various baby leafy vegetables from distribution companies were collected. Fecal indicators (coliform and Escherichia coli) as well as food-borne pathogens (E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus) were enumerated. As a result, the mixed baby leafy vegetable samples showed significantly higher (P<0.05) coliform bacteria numbers in summer (5.59±1.18 log CFU/g) compared to spring (3.60±2.53 log CFU/g). E. coli was detected in 1.3% (1/79) and 42.2% (43/102) of samples collected in spring and summer, respectively. Only one sample collected from a market in spring was contaminated with S. aureus. In the experiment with baby leafy vegetables, the number of coliforms detected in baby leafy vegetables cultivated in soil in spring was 1.15±1.95 log CFU/g, and that in summer was 4.09±2.52 log CFU/g. However, the number of coliforms recovered from baby leafy vegetables cultivated in media was above 5.0 log CFU/g regardless of season. Occurrences of E. coli were 44.4% (12/27) and 19.0% (4/21) for baby leafy vegetables cultivated in soil and media, respectively. However, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. were not detected. These results are in relation to microbial loads on mixed baby leafy vegetables associated with raw materials. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and implement hygienic practices at baby leafy vegetable farms to enhance the safety of fresh produce.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.139-151
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• 2009

Mineralogical characteristics of secondary precipitate formed at some mineral water springs in Gyeongbuk Province, Korea were studied in relation to water chemistry. The chemical water types of mineral water springs are mostly classified as $Ca-HCO_3$ type, but $Na(Ca)-HCO_3$ and $Ca-SO_4$ types are also recognized. Ca, Fe, and $HCO_3\;^-$ are the most abundant components in the water. The pH values of most springs lie in 5.76${\sim}$6.81, except Hwangsu spring having pH 2.8. Saturation indices show that all springs are supersaturated with respect to iron minerals and oxyhydroxides such as hematite and goethite. The result of particle size analysis shows that the precipitate is composed of the composite with various sizes, indicating the presence of iron minerals susceptible to a phase transition at varying water chemistry or the mixtures consisting of various mineral species. The particle size of the reddish precipitate is larger than that of the yellow brown precipitate. Based on XRD and SEM analyses, the precipitate is mostly composed of ferrihydrite (two-line type), goethite, schwertmannite, and calcite, with lesser silicates and manganese minerals. The most abundant mineral fanned at springs is ferrihydrite whose crystals are $0.1{\sim}2\;{\mu}m$ with an average of $0.5\;{\mu}m$ in size, characterized by a spherical form. It should be interestingly noted that schwertmannite forms at Hwangsu spring whose pH is very low. At Shinchon spring, Gallionella ferruginea, one of the iron bacteria, is commonly found as an indicator of the important microbial activity ascribed to the formation of iron minerals because very fine iron oxides with a spherical form are closely distributed on surfaces of the bacteria. A genetic relationship between the water chemistry and the formation of the secondary precipitate from mineral water springs was discussed.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2010

The objectives of this study were to investigate the microbial contamination levels on food service in university and to provide the information of microbial contamination to improve food safety. A total of 288 samples were collected during summer and winter season between 2006 and 2008 from 4 food services located in the university in Western Gyeongnam and were used to detect sanitary indicator bacteria [aerobic plate count (APC), coliform, and Escherichia coli] and pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp.). As a result, APC and coliform for hand and kitchen utensils which are used often by the employee were detected at high levels of 1.1~5.5 and 1.3~5.3 log CFU/($100\;cm^2$, hand), respectively. The contamination levels of APC and coliform in cooked foods and drinking water were 0.8~6.4 and 1.3~5.0 log CFU/(g, mL), respectively. Especially, the cooked foods showed the highest contamination for APC (2.1~6.4 log CFU/g) and coliform (1.0~5.0 log CFU/g). We think the reason that the cooked foods may be contaminated with APC and coliform on cooking process by using employee's hand and kitchen utensils. Moreover, S. aureus for hand and kitchen utensils was detected at levels of 2.8~3.0 and 2.0~2.3 log CFU/(g, hand), but Salmonella spp. was not detected. According to the above results, contamination levels of the samples were mostly decreased irrespective of summer and winter season. The results obtained indicated that it is necessary to periodic monitoring for microorganism contamination and education about personal and environmental hygiene to employee for ensuring food safety of food service in university.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.324-329
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• 2013

This study investigated and evaluated contamination levels of bacteria on tomatoes at farms stage to evaluate potential hazards associated with fresh tomatoes. A total of 170 samples, 90 samples from 5 sampling sites from 18 farms and 80 samples from 1 sampling site from 4 farms every month for four months, were analyzed to enumerate aerobic bacterial counts, coliforms, E. coli, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes. Aerobic bacterial counts ranged from 0.48 to 6.15 Log CFU/g, with the lowest and the highest bacterial cell counts recorded for A site and E site, respectively. Thirty five percent of the samples from the E site contained more than 2 Log CFU/g. Six samples (6.6%) of 90 samples contained B. cereus less than 1 Log CFU/g. In addition, the contamination level of indicator bacteria and B. cereus in tomatoes were higher on March than on April, May and June (P < 0.05). S. aureus, E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were not detected in the tomato samples. The microbial contamination levels of tomatoes determined in this study may be used as the data for microbiological risk assessment.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2018

In this study, cosmetic materials were developed using a new method of making juice through the fermentation of raw natural materials with microorganisms in order to supplement the advantages and disadvantages of an organic solvent extraction method and a microbial fermentation method. The natural products were selected from two colors (red, green) of paprika known to be rich in various colors and vitamins. The microorganisms used for fermentation were fermented by inoculating paprika with lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum) having sugar-hydrolyzed ability. First, we investigated the changes of physiologically active substances of two kinds of paprika juice and two kinds of fermented paprika juice. Total phenols content and total flavonoids content were higher in the fermented paprika juice than in the paprika juice, and especially in the fermented red paprika juice. Free radical scavenging effect and lipid peroxidation inhibitory effect were also showed an excellent antioxidative effect on paprika fermented juice, among which the effect of red paprika fermentation juice was the highest. The expression of MMP-1 in fermented red paprika juice with high antioxidant activity was inhibited by concentration-dependent expression of MMP-1 mRNA and MMP-1 protein. In the glycation experiments with aging, the anti-glycation effect of fermented paprika juice was highly inhibited by the production of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), which was closely related to the antioxidant effect. In addition, the activity of senescence-associated ${\beta}$-galactosidase (SA-${\beta}$-gal), an indicator of cell senescence, was measured using human dermal fibroblast (HDF). The results showed that the cell senescence was inhibited when the cells were treated with fermented paprika juice. In conclusion, fermented paprika juice using lactic acid bacteria showed better antioxidative and anti-aging effects than paprika juice. Among them, fermented red paprika juice has the best antioxidant and anti-aging effect and can be applied as natural new material of antioxidant and anti-aging.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.83-96
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• 2017

A constructed sea stream in Yeongdo, Busan, Republic of Korea is mostly static due to the lifted stream bed and tidal characters, and receives domestic wastewater nearby, causing a consistent odor production and water quality degradation. Bioaugmentation of a microbial consortium was proposed as an effective and economical restoration technology to restore the polluted stream. The microbial consortium activated on site was augmented on a periodic basis (7~10 days) into the most polluted site (Site 2) which was chosen considering the pollution level and tidal movement. Physicochemical parameters of water qualities were monitored including pH, temperature, DO, ORP, SS, COD, T-N, and T-P. COD and microbial community analyses of the sediments were also performed. A significant reduction in SS, COD, T-N, and COD (sediment) at Site 2 occurred showing their removal rates 51%, 58% and 27% and 35%, respectively, in 13 months while T-P increased by 47%. In most of the test sites, population densities of sulfate reducing bacterial (SRB) groups (Desulfobacteraceae_uc_s, Desulfobacterales_uc_s, Desulfuromonadaceae_uc_s, Desulfuromonas_g1_uc, and Desulfobacter postgatei) and Anaerolinaeles was observed to generally decrease after the bioaugmentation while those of Gamma-proteobacteria (NOR5-6B_s and NOR5-6A_s), Bacteroidales_uc_s, and Flavobacteriales_uc_s appeared to generally increase. Aerobic microbial communities (Flavobacteriaceae_uc_s) were dominant in St. 4 that showed the highest level of DO and least level of COD. These microbial communities could be used as an indicator organism to monitor the restoration process. The alpha diversity indices (OTUs, Chao1, and Shannon) of microbial communities generally decreased after the augmentation. Fast uniFrac analysis of all the samples of different sites and dates showed that there was a similarity in the microbial community structures regardless of samples as the augmentation advanced in comparison with before- and early bioaugmentation event, indicating occurrence of changing of the indigenous microbial community structures. It was concluded that the bioaugmentation could improve the polluted water quality and simultaneously change the microbial community structures via their niche changes. This in situ remediation technology will contribute to an eco-friendly and economically cleaning up of polluted streams of brine water and freshwater.