• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.75-95
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: Increase of heavy metals in agricultural ecosystem has become a social issue nationwide as it is related to public health. This review was performed to find out more systematic and integrated future researches on heavy metals using up to date articles published in the Korean journals related to agricultural environment. METHODS AND RESULTS: Researches on heavy metals in agricultural soils and plant uptake were categorized by the establishment of criteria, analytical methods, monitoring, management of source, characteristics and behavior in soil, plant uptake, bioavailability affecting physico -chemical properties in soil, risk assessment and soil remediation. In the early 1990s, the monitoring for heavy metals in soil has been widely performed. Accumulation of heavy metals in contaminated soil and availability to plants has also attracted interests to study the soil remediation using various physico-chemical methods. The phytoavailability and phytotoxicity of heavy metals have been mainly studied to assess the safety of agro-products using risk assessment techniques in the 2000s. CONCLUSION: Future direction of research on heavy metal in agricultural environment must be carried out by ensuring food safety and sustainability. A steady survey and proper management for polluted regions should be continued. Law and regulation must be modified systematically. Furthermore, studies should expand on mitigation of heavy metal uptake by crops and remediation of polluted fields.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.273-277
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• 2002

Ultra-thin polymer films containing cobalt(II) meso-tetraphenylporphyrin(CoTPP) have been prepared by vacuum codeposition of the metal complex and trans-2-butene as an organic monomer using an inductively coupled RF glow discharge operating at 7-9 Watts. The polymer films were characterized by sorption measurements. Sorption data obtained for polymer films containing CoTPP indicate that the CoTPP molecules are capable of reversibly binding oxygen molecules. It was found that the adjacent CoTPP molecules in the aggregated metal complex phase could irreversibly share the oxygen molecules. A dispersion of the metal complex molecules in the polymer matrix was made to maintain the reversible reactivity of the metal complex molecules with oxygen in the polymer films via vacuum evaporation process. The Henry mode solubility constant, the Langmuir mode capacity constant, the amount of binding oxygen, and the dissociation equilibrium in the dual mode sorption theory were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.279-285
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• 2007

Toxicity evaluations using oxygen uptake rate (OUR) on activated sludge process were investigated. On toxicity evaluations of heavy metals, all toxicants in experiments decreased OUR with respect to the concentrations of the toxicants, while high toxicities with cyanide and mercury were observed respectively. On toxicity evaluations of composite heavy metals, composite toxicities had similar results as to the total sum of each toxicants that presents accurate toxicity evaluation using OUR. From these results, it is concluded that activated sludge is effective indicator for toxicity evaluation on wastewater of biological treatment plants.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.183-186
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• 2000

Recombinant E. coli JM109(pZH3-5/pMT) harboring manganese transport gene(mntA) and metal sequestering protein, metallothionein(MT), was cultivated to accumulate cadmium in aqueous phase. Bioaccumulation followed Michaelis-Menten type kinetics. Equilibrium isotherm showed Langmuir type isotherm. IPTG induction cell showed fast $Cd^{2+}$ uptake and had higher uptake rate than wild type and no-induced cell. The optimum pH and temperature for $Cd^{2+}$ uptake was 7 and $37^{\circ}C$, respectively. Manganese (0.01M) inhibited the $Cd^{2+}$ accumulation. However, $Cu^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$ and $Pb^{2+}$ did not affect the $Cd^{2+}$ bioaccumulation.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.117.2-117.2
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• 2003

The mechanism by which lead enters glial cells was examined. The uptake of lead reached saturation when assays were performed in buffers at pH 5.5 and 7.4. The Vmax and Km was 2.7 pmoles/mg protein/min and 13.4 M in the buffer at pH 7.4, respectively, whereas the Vmax and Km was 329 fmoles/mg and 8.2 M in the buffer at pH 5.5, respectively. Uptake in a buffer at pH 5.5 but not at pH 7.4 was inhibited by iron. Cells treated with the iron chelator desferoxamine displayed higher levels of the divalent metal transporter mRNA and protein. (omitted)

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.385-391
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• 1997

To investigate the degrees of toxification in the serpentine areas, serpentinites and adjacent metamorphic rocks and soils from the serpentinite, metamorphic area and transitional area(mixed soil) between serpentinite and metamorphic rocks are collected from the Hongseong-Gun, Chungnam. A plant, Geochemically, the serpentinites are high in the nickel, chromium and cobalt content whereas the metamorphic rocks show high zinc, scandium, molybdenum and iron contents. The serpentine soils are high in the nickel, chromium and cobalt contents whereas the non-serpentine soils show high zinc and iron contents. Heavy metal contents in the G. oldhamiana are high in the serpentine soil relative to the mixed soil. Ratio of the iron to nickel contents for the G. oldhamiana are low in the serpentine soil(49) relative to the mixed soil(216). Of the G. oldhamiana, most of the heavy metal contents except zinc and molybdenum are high in the root relative to the aboveground vegetation. Comparing with rocks, the G. oldhamiana is low in the all of heavy metal contents relative to the serpentinite. Uptake of zinc by the G. oldhamiana is high in the serpentinites and metamorphic rocks whereas uptake of scandium and iron by the G. oldhamiana is very high in the serpentinite area.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1279-1286
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• 2013

Particle size and metal species are important to both soil microbial toxicity and phytotoxicity in the soil ecosystem. The effects of CuO and ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and microparticles (MPs) on soil microbial toxicity, phytotoxicity, and bioaccumulation in two crops (Cucumis sativus and Zea mays) were estimated in a soil microcosm. In the microcosm system, soil was artificially contaminated with 1,000 mg/kg CuO and ZnO NPs and MPs. After 15 days, we compared the microbial toxicity and phytotoxicity by particle size. In addition, C. sativus and Z. mays were cultivated in soils treated with CuO NPs and ZnO NPs, after which the treatment effects on bioaccumulation were evaluated. NPs were more toxic than MPs to microbes and plants in the soil ecosystem. We found that the soil enzyme activity and plant biomass were inhibited to the greatest extent by CuO NPs. However, in a Biolog test, substrate utilization patterns were more dependent upon metal type than particle size. Another finding indicated that the metal NP uptake amounts of plants depend on the plant species. In the comparison between C. sativus and Z. mays, the accumulation of Cu and Zn by C. sativus was noticeably higher. These findings show that metal oxide NPs may negatively impact soil bacteria and plants. In addition, the accumulation patterns of NPs depend on the plant species.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.1156-1167
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize lead (Pb)-solubilizing bacteria from heavy metal-contaminated mine soils and to evaluate their inoculation effects on the growth and Pb absorption of Brassica juncea. The isolates were also evaluated for their plant growth-promoting characteristics as well as heavy metal and salt tolerance. A total of 171 Pb-tolerant isolates were identified, of which only 15 bacterial strains were able to produce clear haloes in solid medium containing PbO or $PbCO_3$, indicating Pb solubilization. All of these 15 strains were also able to dissolve the Pb minerals in a liquid medium, which was accompanied by significant decreases in pH values of the medium. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the Pb-solubilizing strains belonged to genera Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Brevibacterium, and Staphylococcus. A majority of the Pb-solubilizing strains were able to produce indole acetic acid and siderophores to different extents. Two of the Pb-solubilizing isolates were able to solubilize inorganic phosphate as well. Some of the strains displayed tolerance to different heavy metals and to salt stress and were able to grow in a wide pH range. Inoculation with two selected Pb-solubilizing and plant growth-promoting strains, (i.e., Brevibacterium frigoritolerans YSP40 and Bacillus paralicheniformis YSP151) and their consortium enhanced the growth and Pb uptake of B. juncea plants grown in a metal-contaminated soil. The bacterial strains isolated in this study are promising candidates to develop novel microbe-assisted phytoremediation strategies for metal-contaminated soils.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.87-95
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• 2005

Cadmium is well known as a toxic metal and has insulin mimicking effects in rat adipose tissue. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of CdCl₂ on glucose transport and its mechanism in 3T3 - L1 adipocytes. CdCl₂ exhibits respectively 2.2 and 2.8 fold increases in the 2-deoxyglucose uptake when exposed to 10 and 25 μM of CdCl₂ for 12 hr. To investigate the stimulating mechanism of glucose transport induced by CdCl₂. Wortmannin and PD98059 were used respectively as PI3K inhibitor and MAPK inhibitor, which did not affect 2-DOG uptake. This results suggest that induced 2-deoxy-(l-3H)-D-glucose (2-DOG) uptake by CdCl₂ may not be concerned with the insulin signalling pathway. Whereas nifedipine, a calcium channel blocker inhibited the 2- DOG uptake stimulated by CdCl₂. In addition, we also measured the increased production of Reactive oxygen substances (ROS) and glutathione (GSH) level in 3T3-L1 adipocytes to investigate correlation between the glucose uptake and increased production of ROS with H2DCFDA. CdCl₂ increased production of ROS. Induced 2-DOG uptake and increased production of ROS by CdCl₂ were decreased by N-acetylcystein (NAC). And L-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) a potent inhibitor of γ-GCS, decreased of 2-DOG uptake. Also NAC and BSO changed the cellular GSH level, but GSH/GSSG ratio remained unchanged at 10, 25 μM of CdCl₂.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Fisheries Technology Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.158-159
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• 2003

Although the sub-chronic toxic effects of metal on fishes are well documented, that is mostly in fishes exposed to waterborne metal but few studied have been conducted on the effects of dietary metal (Handy, 1996). The realization that dietary uptake of metal is a major cause of long-term contamination in wild fish has renewed interest in the nutritional and toxicological effects of metal in the food of fishes (Handy, 1996). (omitted)