• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.487-493
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• 2013

The effects of long-term fertilization on soil biological properties and microbial community structure in the plough layer in a rice paddy soil in southern Korea were investigated in relation to the continuous application of chemical fertilizers (NPK), straw based compost (Compost), combination these two (NPK + Compost) for last 40 years. No fertilization plot (Control) was installed for comparison. Though fertilization significantly improved rice productivity over control, the long-term fertilization of NPK and compost combination was more effective on increasing rice productivity and soil nutrient status than single application of compost or chemical fertilizer. All fertilization treatments had shown significant improvement in soil microbial properties, however, continuous compost fertilization markedly increased soil enzyme and microbial activities as compared to sole chemical fertilization. Results of microbial community structure, evaluated by EL-FAME (ester-linked fatty acid methyl esters) method, revealed big difference among Control, NPK, and Compost. However, both Compost and Compost+NPK treatments belonged to the same cluster after statistical analysis. The combined application of chemical fertilizer and organic amendments could be more rational strategy to improve soil nutrient status and promote soil microbial communities than the single chemical fertilizer or compost application.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.171-183
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• 1994

Soil condition, total number of bacteria, soil amylase activity and microbial biomass $(CO_2-C)$ were measured at soil of different forest types. And the difference of the allelopathic effect was determined between fresh leaf extract of Quercus acutissima and Pinus rigida to the bacteria isolated from soil of different forest types. 1. Total number of bacteria in Carpinus laxiflora forest soil was 4~7 times larger than that in pinus desiflora forest soil. 2. Soil amylase activity was positively correlated with total number of soil bacteria and soil organic matter content. The amylase activity at F layer was 4~5 times larger than that at H layer, and that at H layer was 2~4 times larger than that at A layer. 3. Seasonal changes of microbial biomass showed a peak in summer, and vertical distribution of microbial biomass decreased with increasing soil depth. The microbial biomass in Pinus densiflora forest soil was larger than that in Quercus serrata forest soil. 4. Fresh leaf extract of Pinus rigida and Quercus acutissima showed an acceleration or inhibition effect on the growth of soil bacteria, and that of !. acutissima inhibited larger number of soil bacterial strains than that of P. rigida. 4.2% and 25% of soil bacterial strains isolated from soil of P. rigida and Q. acutissima forests were inhibited by fresh leaf extract of P. rigida and Q. acutissima, respectively.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.399-405
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• 2004

A reticulated PU-g-PAAc foam was modified through the surface treatment of PU foam by one atmospheric pressure plasma. The synthesized PU-g-PAAc foam was prepared for the purpose of immobilizing microbial organisms. We also attempted different plasma treatment methods including simple plasma treatment, plasma induced grafting and plasma induced grafting followed by plasma re-treatment. The effect of grafting on equilibrium water content (EWC) of PU forms was examined by swelling measurements. Adhesion test was performed to investigate the effect of different plasma treatment methods on the improvement of microbial immobilization. Two foams modified by plasma induced grafting and plasma re-treatment after grafting showed 2.7 and 3.0 fold higher microbial immobilization than unmodified one, respectively. Meanwhile, simple plasma treatment showed a little enhancement. FT-IR analysis of each sample verified the contribution of surface functional groups on the enhancement of microbial immobilization. SEM observation confirmed microbial adherence.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.707-713
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• 2012

There are a lot of parameters affecting microbial acclimation/cultivation characteristics such as dynamic conditions, F/M ratio and substrate affinity. From the process control point of view, the effect of high salinity on the removal efficiencies of BOD and SS have been documented by few researchers. In this research, lab-scale CAS(Conventional Activated Sludge) process and modified $A_2O$(Anaerobic/Anoxic/Oxic) process were operated and monitored to evaluate the characteristics of microbial acclimation and cultivation under high salinity wastewater during the period of three weeks. As a result of acute microbial activity test(6hr) at various $Cl^-$ concentration, the appropriate $Cl^-$ concentration for microbial growth and acclimation ranged under 3,100 mg/l. As a result of acclimation/cultivation test, the trend of COD removal efficiency reduced gradually as time elapsed. It is considered that $NH_4$-N removal phenomenon of the conventional pollutants removal mechanisms gave little effect to the microbial acclimation/cultivation under high salinity wastewater.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1114-1118
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• 2015

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have gathered attention as a novel bioenergy technology to simultaneously treat wastewater with less sludge production than the conventional activated sludge system. In two different operations of the MFC and aerobic process, microbial growth was determined by the protein assay method and their biomass yields using real wastewater were compared. The biomass yield on the anode electrode of the MFC was 0.02 g-COD-cell/gCOD-substrate and the anolyte planktonic biomass was 0.14 g-COD-cell/g-COD-substrate. An MFC without anode electrode resulted in the biomass yield of 0.07 ± 0.03 g-COD-cell/g-CODsubstrate, suggesting that oxygen diffusion from the cathode possibly supported the microbial growth. In a comparative test, the biomass yield under aerobic environment was 0.46 ± 0.07 g-COD-cell/g-COD-substrate, which was about 3 times higher than the total biomass value in the MFC operation.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2020

The aim of this study was to estimate the microbial metabolic activity of indigenous soil microbes under the radon exposure with different intensity and times in the secured laboratory radon chamber. For this purpose, the soil microbes were collected from radon-contaminated site located in the G county, Korea. Thereafter, their metabolic activity was determined after the radon exposure of varying radon concentrations of 185, 1,400 and 14,000 Bq/㎥. The average depth variable concentrations of soil radon in the radon-contaminated site were 707, 860 and 1,185 Bq/㎥ from 0, 15, and 30 cm in deep, respectively. Simultaneously, the soil microbial culture was mainly composed of Bacillus sp., Brevibacillus sp., Lysinibacillus sp., and Paenibacillus sp. From the radon exposure test, higher or lower radiation intensities compared to the threshold level attributed the metabolic activity of mixed microbial consortium to be reduced, whereas the moderate radiation intensity (i.e. threshold level) induced it to the pinnacle point. It was decided that radon radiation could instigate the microbial metabolic activity depending on the radon levels while they were exposed, which could consequently address that the certain extent of threshold concentration present in the ecosystem relevant to microbial diversity and population density to be more proliferated.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.863-869
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• 2001

A systematic study of microbial fuel cells comprised of alkalophilic Bacillus sp. B-31 has been carried out under various operating conditions. A significant amount of electricity was generated when redox mediators were used. Among the phenothiazine-type redox dyes tested, azure A was found to be the most effective both in maintaining a high cell voltage and for the long-term operation. The maximum efficiency was and for the long-term operation. The maximum efficiency was obtained at ca. $50^{\circ}C$ giving an open circuit voltage of 0.7V. A small change in temperature did not significantly affect the cell performance, but a rapid decrease in performance was observed below $20^{\circ}C$ and above $70^{\circ}C$. It was noticeable that fuel cell efficiency and discharge pattern depended strongly on the carbon source used in the initial culture medium. Regardless of the initial carbon sources, only glucose and trehalose were utilized as substrates. Galactose, however, was not substantially utilized except when galactose was used in the initial medium. Glucose, in particular, showed $87\%$ coulombic efficiency, which was the highest value ever reported, when Bacillus sp. was cultured in a maltose-containing medium. This study demonstrates that highly efficient microbial fuel cells can be constructed with alkalophilic microorganisms by fine-tuning the operating conditions and by carefully selecting carbon sources in the initial culture medium.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.120-125
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• 2009

Water stress has become a major concern in agriculture. Korea suffers from limited agricultural water supply, and wastewater reuse has been recommended as an alternative solution.A study was performed to examine the effects of microorganism concentration in the ponded-water of a paddy rice field with reclaimed-water irrigation for evaluating the microbial risk to farmers and neighborhoodchildren.Most epidemiological studies were performed based on an upland field, and they may not directly applicable to paddy fields. Beta-Poisson model was used to estimate the microbial risk of pathogen ingestion. Their risk value increased significantly high level after irrigation and precipitation.It implies that agricultural activities such as plowing, and fertilizing, and precipitation need be practiced a few days after irrigation considering health risks. The results about field application of the microbial risk assessment using E. coli showed difference according to monitoring time and treatment plot. Result of the microbial risk assessment showed that risk values of ground-water and reclaimed secondary waste water irrigation were lower than directly use of wastewater treatment plants' effluent. This paper should be viewed as a first step in the application of quantitative microbial risk assessment of E. coli to wastewater reuse in a paddy rice farming.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.23-29
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• 2008

This study was performed to improve the printability of Hanji using a microbial cellulose from Saprolegnia ferax through investigating the printability of Hanji sized with the mixture of the microbial cellulose and various kinds of sizing agents. Conclusions obtained from the results of this study were as follows. The proper concentration of a microbial cellulose in sizing a printable Hanji with it was 0.5%. In general, there was no remarkable effect but some effect on the opacity and ink density. Hanji was sized with the mixture(5:5) of microbial cellulose(0.5%) and AKD(1.0%). As a result, ink spread was remarkably improved by the girth reduction of ink spot. There was remarkable effect because the mixture(5:5) of a microbial cellulose(0.5%) and CMC(1.0%) improved not only the gloss but also the density and girth of ink spot. Mixing(7:3) with corn starch(3.0%) showed the smallest girth of ink spot among applied sizing agents. Mixing(7:3) with PVA(5.0%) also showed some effect in the density and girth of ink spot.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.152-156
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• 2003

Through enrichment on two nutrient agars, 57 Thermus isolates were recovered from 15 hot spring samples taken from the Rehai geothermal area, Tengchong, China. Unique growth characteristics were observed when the strains were transferred from YIM14 medium to Thermus medium. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the 16S rDNA sequences of the isolates and clones from the Rehai geothermal area farmed a monophyletic group on the phylogenetic tree. A secondary structure comparison showed that their 16S rRNAs have unique secondary structure characteristics.