• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.172-176
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• 2012

Doenjang is a traditional Korean fermented soybean product that provides a major source of protein. In this study, a total of 18 different home-made doenjang samples were examined for the presence of foodborne pathogens and the total aflatoxin levels. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to assess microbial quality and potential public health risk, we showed that total coliform levels in the doenjang samples ranged from 0 to $4.43{\pm}2.32{\times}10^6\;CFU/g$, and the maximum limit of Bacillus cereus was $4.67{\pm}2.0{\times}10^5\;CFU/g$. However, other foodborne pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp., were not detected among the tested samples. One of the samples (S3) showed a maximum limit of $42.2{\pm}9.1\;{\mu}g/kg$ for aflatoxin levels, which was above the safety limit allowed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) regulatory agency. Further research is necessary to determine whether and how doenjang safety can be improved via elimination/reduction of microbial contamination during fermentation and storage or using microbial starter cultures for its fermentation.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.372-382
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• 2022

Soybean is an important source of protein and for a wide range of agricultural, food, and industrial applications. Soybean is being affected by Xanthomonas citri pv. glycines, a causal pathogen of bacterial pustule disease, result in a reduction in yield and quality. Diverse microbial communities of plants are involved in various plant stresses is known. Therefore, we designed to investigate the microbial community differentiation depending on the infection of X. citri pv. glycines. The microbial community's abundance, diversity, and similarity showed a difference between infected and non-infected soybean. Microbiota community analysis, excluding X. citri pv. glycines, revealed that Pseudomonas spp. would increase the population of the infected soybean. Results of DESeq analyses suggested that energy metabolism, secondary metabolite, and TCA cycle metabolism were actively diverse in the non-infected soybeans. Additionally, Streptomyces bacillaris S8, an endophyte microbiota member, was nominated as a key microbe in the healthy soybeans. Genome analysis of S. bacillaris S8 presented that salinomycin may be the critical antibacterial metabolite. Our findings on the composition of soybean microbiota communities and the key strain information will contribute to developing biological control strategies against X. citri pv. glycines.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제31권11호
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• pp.3399-3402
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• 2010

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• 제38권5호
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• pp.612-617
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• 2009

Fresh vegetable juice is a non-heat treated product and the only step to reduce microbial growth is washing. Therefore, the materials for fresh vegetable juice including Angelica keiskei, Brassica loeracea var. acephala, and Daucus carota L. were treated by ozone after the first washing process and investigated for microbial and chemical changes. The number of the total aerobic bacteria in materials after selection step were $8.2{\times}10^5{\sim}5.0{\times}10^6\;CFU/g$, which was a higher contamination level than the limit of Korea food code ($10^5\;CFU/g$). However, after the 1st washing process and ozone treatment, the total aerobic bacterial number was reduced to $4.7{\times}10^4{\sim}6.7{\times}10^4\;CFU/g$, which showed 2 log microbial reduction. After the 2nd washing step followed by ozone treatment, there was no difference in microbial number. The number of colifroms in the materials of fresh vegetable juice were $8.0{\times}10^3{\sim}3.5{\times}10^3\;CFU/g$ initially but showed $1.5{\times}10^2{\sim}3.0{\times}10^2\;CFU/g$ after the ozone treatment (1 log reduction). On the other hand, there was no changes in the contents of ascorbic acid, flavonoids, polyphenols, minerals (cadmium and lead) during all processes. In addition, no color changes were observed during washing process. Therefore, ozone treatment in the materials of fresh vegetable juice decreased the microbial numbers. Also, chemical characteristics of ozone treated sample were not different when compared with control.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.380-386
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• 2000

Electron beam (EB) was applied to study the sterilizing techniques for powdered red pepper and ginger by determining their quality over gamma radiation (GR) from the microbiological and organoleptic points of view. The samples showed high microbial loads, such as $10^5{\sim}10^6\;CFU/g$ in total aerobic bacteria, negligible levels in yeasts & molds and $10^2\;CFU/g$ in coliforms. EB irradiation at 5 kGy resulted in the reduction of microbial loads by 2 to 3 log cycles, thereby decreasing the levels of total bacteria to $10^2{\sim}10^3\;CFU/g$ and resulting in negative in coliforms. Decimal reduction doses $(D_{10})$ value on the initial bacterial loads in red pepper were $1.50{\sim}1.54\;kGy$ in EB and $1.68{\sim}1.80\;kGy$ in GR, while powdered ginger showed $1.30{\sim}2.27\;kGy$ in EB and $1.45{\sim}2.77\;kGy$ in GR, respectively. EB and GR showed a similar effect on microbial decontamination for both samples. Microbial populations in stored samples for 4 months at room temperature were not remarkably different from the initial loads in all samples. Irradiation caused little changes in Hunter's color parameters, but that were changable during storage. Sensory evaluations on color and odor of powdered samples indicated that no significant differences were observed among the all samples compared. These results revealed that EB irradiation at optimal dose levels for microbial control was not detrimental to the sensory quality of powdered red pepper and ginger.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• 제42권5호
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• pp.413-426
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• 2009

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of indigenous bacteria on geochemical behavior of toxic heavy metals in contaminated paddy soil near an abandoned mine. The effects of sulfate amendment to stimulate microbial sulfate reduction on heavy metal behaviors were also investigated. Batch-type experiments were performed with lactate or glucose as a carbon source to activate indigenous bacteria in the soil under anaerobic condition for 100 days. Sulfate (250 mg/L) was artificially injected at 60 days after the onset of the experiments. In the case of glucose supply, solution pH increased from 4.8 to 7.6 while pH was maintained at 7~8 in the lactate solution. The initial low pH in the case of glucose supply likely resulted in the enhanced extraction of Fe and most heavy metals at the initial experimental period. Lactate supply exerted no significant difference on the amounts of dissolved Zn, Pb, Ni and Cu between microbial and abiotic control slurries; however, lower Zn, Pb and Ni and higher Cu concentrations were observed in the microbial slurries than in the controls when glucose supplied. Sulfate amendment led to dramatic decrease in dissolved Cr and maintenance of dissolved As, both of which had gradually increased over time till the sulfate injection. Black precipitates formed in solution after sulfate amendment, and violarite($Fe^{+2}{Ni^{+3}}_2S_4$) was found with XRD analysis in the microbial precipitates. Conceivably the mineral might be formed after Fe(III) reduction and microbial sulfate reduction with coprecipitation of heavy metal. The results suggested that heavy metals which can be readily extracted from contaminated paddy soils may be stabilized in soil formation by microbial sulfate reduction.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.13-24
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• 2023

Sewage sludge has been widely used as an organic fertilizer in agriculture. However, sewage sludge can cause serious malodor problems resulting from the decomposition of organic compounds in anaerobic conditions. The malodor of sewage sludge mainly occurs due to a low carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N), high moisture, and low temperature, which are ideal conditions for ammonia emissions. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the reduction of the odor-causing ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) in sewage sludge by co-application of microbes and methanol (MeOH). The physico-chemical properties of the municipal sewage sludge showed that the odor was mainly caused by a higher NH₃-N content (2932.2 mg L^-1). Supplementation with MeOH (20%) as a carbon source in the sewage sludge significantly reduced the NH₃-N up to 34.2% by increasing C/N ratio. Furthermore, the sewage sludge was treated with the NH₃-N reducing and plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria Stenotrophomonas rhizophila SRCM 116907. The treatment with S. rhizophila SRCM 116907 significantly increased the seedling vigor index of Lolium perenne (10.3%) and Chrysanthemum burbankii (42.4%). The findings demonstrate that supplementing sewage sludge with methanol significantly reduces ammonia emissions, thereby mitigating malodor problems. Overall, the study highlights the potential of using a microbial and methanol approach to improve the quality of sewage sludge as an organic fertilizer and promote sustainable agriculture.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제6권4호
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• pp.569-576
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• 1993

A feeding trial was conducted to determine the effectivity of microbial treatment on eliminating the toxicity of weevil-infested sweet potato roots, and to assess intake level and performance of broilers fed microbiologically-treated, weevil-infested sweet potato meal. Weevil-infested sweet potato meal was treated with Aspergillus awamori (terpene-degrading fungus), dried, and mixed with other ingredients. One hundred twenty (120) broiler chicks were randomly distributed to treatment diets containing 3 types of sweet potato meal (healthy, weevil-infested, and microbiologically-treated, weevil-infested) incorporated at 2 levels (12% and 24%) in the ration, following the $2{\times}3$ factorial in CRD with 4 replicates per treatment. Voluntary intake was high with healthy sweet potato meal, even at 24% in the ration, especially at later stage of broiler development. Weevil infestation of sweet potato meal, even at 24% in the ration, especially at later stage of broiler development. Weevil infestation of sweet potato roots significantly reduced voluntary intake and broiler performance even at 12% level in the diet, much more at 24% level (p<0.01). Microbial treatment, however, was found to alleviate such problem, especially at 24% level of incorporation (p<0.01). "Toxicity" of weevil infestation, in terms of enlargement of liver and spleen, in the absence of mortality, was only apparent at 24% level of incorporation in the ration. Again, this was minimized by microbial treatment (p<0.01), and is therefore recommended at high levels of incorporating weevil-infested sweet potato meal in broiler diets. Microbial treatment constitutes an added cost, so that economic analyses should be done to find out whether increases in broiler performance, or reduction in the toxic effects of terpenoid compounds, outweigh the cost of treatment before a definite recommendation can be made for its commercial application.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• 제19권11호
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• pp.1355-1362
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• 2010

This study was carried out in order to observe how the bay sediment would be changed with microbial treatments and a chemical oxidant like $CaO_2$. The sediment during the treatments was analyzed in terms of pH, ORP, volatile organics content, COD, AVS, T-N, and T-P. With $CaO_2$ treatment, pH was kept over 9.66 and ORP ranged from +4.70~+46.0, which meant an aerobic state meanwhile with the microbial treatment those were worse. In addition the chemical treatment showed better environmental index values than the microbial one: volatile organics content and COD values in the former were 12.9% and 37.9% while those in the latter were 4.5% and 18.7%, respectively. AVS and T-P were 71.1% and 100% versus 56.5% and 85.8%, respectively. However, the microbial treatment was better for T-N(66% higher). On the other hand, both treatment at a time enhanced all the environmental indices but COD meantime pH and ORP values were lower than with the chemical treatment only. Thus additional input of an oxygen generator like $CaO_2$ could improve the environmental state of a bay sediment where the biological treatment is going on.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.188-193
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• 2011

The effects of coagulants on the microorganisms when they are injected directly into the biological treatment facility for T-P removal have been easily observed from the results of past experiments. As such this study is set out to derive the effective plans for the coagulant dosage by analyzing the effects of the injected coagulant on the microbial activity during the chemical treatment for T-P removal. The research methods entailed the assessment of removal efficiency of T-P according to the coagulant dosage while changing the molar ration between Alum and influent phosphorus. At the same time Specific Oxygen Uptake Rate (SOUR) according to the coagulant dosage was measured. SOUR was used as a method for indirect assessment of the microbial activity according to the coagulant dosage. The results from the study showed that with the increase in the alum dosage, the removal efficiency T-P tended to increase. On the other hand, the increase in coagulant dosage resulted in the decrease in SOUR, which indicates the decrease in the microbial activity. Such reduction in the activity could be explained by the increase in the concentration of removal efficiency of $TBOD_5$. Based on experiment results from the study, it is determined that coagulant dosage affects the microbial activity. Moreover, the indirect assessment on the microbial activity using SOUR is considered possible.