• Mycobiology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.120-125
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• 2019

In 2017, small, elliptical, brownish purple spots on spears and ferns of asparagus were found in fields of Gangwon-do. The isolated fungal species was identified as an ascomycete Stemphylium vesicarium based on morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenic analyses including nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and cytochrome b (cytb). A pathogenicity test revealed that S. vesicarium was the causal agent of purple spot disease on asparagus. The occurrence of purple spots caused by S. vesicarium on asparagus is the first report in Korea.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.87-98
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• 2015

Safety assessments of geological radioactive waste disposal systems, need to consider the abnormal scenario in which a system is impacted by external events in addition to a reference scenario. In this study, the characterization and prediction of an earthquake as an external event which will impact disposal systems were conducted probabilistically and statistically for the safety assessment. The domestic earthquake data were analyzed, and the prediction methodologies of the earthquake were suggested with a computational example. From the results, the earthquake occurrence rates in Korea ranged from 0.4 /yr to 36.2 /yr depending on the data set and the completeness magnitude. From a conservative point of view, the earthquake occurrence rate in the disposal system was suggested as 5.4×10^-4 /yr considering the area of the disposal system. At that time, the completeness magnitude of an earthquake was 2.3. This study will be followed by an appraisal of impacts associated with external events on the geological disposal system, and it will contribute to improvements in reliability of the safety assessment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.856-867
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• 2020

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a major gastroenteritis-causing pathogen in many Asian countries. Antimicrobial resistance in V. parahaemolyticus has been recognized as a critical threat to food safety. In this study, we determined the prevalence and incidence of antimicrobial resistance in V. parahaemolyticus in the southern Fujian coast, China. A total of 62 isolates were confirmed in retail aquatic products from June to October of 2018. The serotype O3:K6 strains, the virulence genes tdh and trh, antibiotic susceptibility and molecular typing were investigated. Then plasmid profiling analysis and curing experiment were performed for multidrug-resistant strains. The results showed that the total occurrence of V. parahaemolyticus was 31% out of 200 samples. Five strains (8.1%) out of 62 isolates were identified as the V. parahaemolyticus O3:K6 pandemic clone. A large majority of isolates exhibited higher resistance to penicillin (77.4%), oxacillin (71%), ampicillin (66.1%) and vancomycin (59.7%). Seventy-one percent (44/62) of the isolates exhibited multiple antimicrobial resistance. All 62 isolates were grouped into 7 clusters by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, and most of the isolates (80.6%) were distributed within cluster A. Plasmids were detected in approximately 75% of the isolates, and seven different profiles were observed. Seventy-six percent (25/33) of the isolates carrying the plasmids were eliminated by 0.006% SDS incubated at 42℃, a sublethal condition. The occurrence of multidrug-resistant strains could be an indication of the excessive use of antibiotics in aquaculture farming. The rational use of antimicrobial agents and the surveillance of antibiotic administration may reduce the acquisition of resistance by microorganisms in aquatic ecosystems.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.20 no.2 s.49
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• pp.167-178
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• 2005

This study was carried out to evaluate the temporal, spatial, and seasonal variations of VOC, and to characterize the VOC concentrations in two large industrial complexes located in Pohang and Gumi cities. Twenty -four hours continuous sampling of selected VOC was made with STS 25 sequential tube samplers and double-bed adsorbent tubes. Air samples were collected every three hour interval for 7 consecutive days in each site during summer and winter. VOC were determined by thermal desorption coupled with GC/MS. A total of 27 VOCs of environmental concern were determined, including aliphatic, aromatic and halides. Generally. concentrations of toxic VOC were higher in Gumi than Pohang, and VOC levels in industrial areas were typically several-fold higher than those in residential areas. The most abundant VOC appeared to be toluene for both cities. However, chlorinated VOC were higher in Gumi than Pohang, while aromatic VOC were more abundant in Pohang than in Gumi. Two cities showed relatively different variations of VOC concentrations within a day. It is likely that traffic related sources are major factors affecting the VOC in Pohang, and industrial solvents usages are important sources in Gumi. These results imply that the occurrence and levels of atmospheric VOC are strongly dependent on the type of industries in each city. Therefore, in order to develop any control strategies or to establish the priority rankings for VOC in large industrial complexes, the type of industries and the occurrence of VOC in the atmosphere should be taken into consideration.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.308-315
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• 2018

Root-knot nematodes 'Meloidogyne spp' are the most destructive group of plant parasitic nematodes causeing serious losses in vegetables crops and this damages worsened when crops grown under greenhouses conditions. In this sutdy, the distribution and characterization of root-knot nematode species collected from the Souss region of Morocco where vegetables crops intensively cultivated were determined by using both morphological and molecular tools. Out of the 110 samples collected from different greenhouses 91 (81.7%) were found to be infested with root-knot nematodes. Thirty-seven populations of root-knot nematodes were morphologically identified based on perineal patterns as well as molecularlly using species-specific primers. The obtained results indicated that Meloidogyne javanica and M. incognita were identified in 86.4% and 13.5% of the total populations, respectively. The lowest incidence of root-knot nematodes (64%) was found in Toussous, whereas the highest frequencies of 100% and 90% were detected in Taddart and Biogra, respectively. As the majority of the samples have been infested with Meloidogyne species; this indicates that there is an urgent need to provide farmers with a proper control strategy.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.127-136
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• 2017

The object of this study was to assess availability of meteorological drought index for agricultural dorught estimation in ungauged area of agricultural drought parameters which are reservoir water level and soil moisture. The IADI (Integrated Agricultural Drought Index) and the SPI (Standard Precipitation Index), which are the criteria for determining agricultural drought and meteorological drought, were calculated and compared. For this purpose, the droughts that occurred in the Baeksan reservoir in Gimje and the Edong reservoir in Suwon were evaluated by using the IADI and SPI drought indecies. In addition, we compared and analyzed the depth of drought based on the two drought indices. Evaluations derived form the IADI and SPI showed that the standard precipitation index tended to indicate the occurrence of drought earlier than the integrated agricultural drought index. However, the integrated agricultural drought index was better than the standard precipitation index at evaluating the severity of drought during the period of irrigation. The relationship between these two drought indices seems to be useful for decision making in the case of drought, and it is considered that more studies are needed to examine the applicability of these drought indexes.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.136-145
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• 2012

Resistance spot welding of TRIP780 steels was investigated to enhance understanding of weld fracture mode after tensile shear testing (TST) and L-shape tensile testing (LTT). The main failure mode for spot welds of TRIP780 steels was partial interfacial fracture (PIF). Although PIF does not satisfy the minimum button diameter (4${\surd}$t) for acceptable welds, it shows enough load carrying capacity of resistance spot welds for advanced high strength steels. In the analysis of displacement controlled L-shape tensile test results, cracks initiated at the notch of the faying surface and propagated through the interface of weldments, and finally, cracks change path into the sheet thickness direction. Use of the ductility ratio and CE analysis suggested that the occurrence of PIF is closely related to high hardness and brittle welds, which are caused by fast cooling rates and high chemical compositions of TRIP steels. Analysis of the hold time and weld time in a welding schedule demonstrated that careful control of the cooling rate and the size of a weld nugget and the HAZ zone can reduce the occurrence of PIF, which leads to sound welds with button fractures (BFs).

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.105-117
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• 2023

Climate change and invasive alien plant species (IAPs) are having a significant impact on mountain ecosystems. The combination of climate change and socio-economic development is exacerbating the invasion of IAPs, which are a major threat to biodiversity loss and ecosystem functioning. Species distribution modelling has become an important tool in predicting the invasion or suitability probability under climate change based on occurrence data and environmental variables. MaxEnt modelling was applied to predict the current suitable distribution of most noxious weed A. adenophora (Spreng) R. King and H. Robinson and analysed the changes in distribution with the use of current (year 2000) environmental variables and future (year 2050) climatic scenarios consisting of 3 representative concentration pathways (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) in Bhutan. Species occurrence data was collected from the region of interest along the road side using GPS handset. The model performance of both current and future climatic scenario was moderate in performance with mean temperature of wettest quarter being the most important variable that contributed in model fit. The study shows that current climatic condition favours the A. adenophora for its invasion and RCP 2.6 climatic scenario would promote aggression of invasion as compared to RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 climatic scenarios. This can lead to characterization of the species as preferring moderate change in climatic conditions to be invasive, while extreme conditions can inhibit its invasiveness. This study can serve as reference point for the conservation and management strategies in control of this species and further research.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.85.1-85.13
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• 2023

Background: A recent increase in the occurrence of canine skin and soft tissue infections, including otitis externa and pyoderma, caused by antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and S. schleiferi has become a significant public and veterinary health issues. Objective: We investigated the virulence potentials associated with the occurrence of canine otitis externa in S. pseudintermedius and S. schleiferi. Methods: In this study, the prevalence of genes encoding leukocidins, exfoliative toxins, and staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) was investigated using previously characterized S. pseudintermedius (n = 26) and S. schleiferi (n = 19) isolates derived from canine otitis externa. Susceptibility to cathelicidins (K9CATH and PMAP-36) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was also examined in both staphylococcal species. Results: A high prevalence of genes encoding leukocidins (lukS/F-I, lukS1/F1-S, and lukS2/F2-S), exfoliative toxins (siet, expB, and sset), and SEs was identified in both S. pseudintermedius and S. schleiferi isolates. Notably, S. pseudintermedius isolates possessed higher number of SE genes, especially newer SE genes, than S. schleiferi isolates harboring egc clusters. Although no significant differences in susceptibility to K9CATH and H₂O₂ were observed between the two isolate groups, S. pseudintermedius isolates exhibited enhanced resistance to PMAP-36 compared to S. schleiferi isolates. Conclusions: These findings suggest that high a prevalence of various toxin genes together with enhanced resistance to cathelicidins may contribute to the pathogenicity of S. pseudintermedius and S. schleiferi in canine cutaneous infections.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.274-281
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• 2024

Background: One of the major causes of pathogenic E. coli is the feces of infected livestock, and the management of the livestock environment is necessary to prevent pathogenic E. coli. Objectives: The prevalence of pathogenic E. coli was identified from livestock environments, and the molecular characteristics and antibiotic resistance profiles of the isolated pathogenic E. coli strains were analyzed. Methods: In 2022 and 2023, nine points of livestock houses at sites in Chungcheongnam-do Province were selected, and 100 cow feces or soil samples around the livestock houses were collected once per month. Pathogenic E. coli was isolated by selective culture and identified using multiplex PCR. Antibiotic resistance was tested on the isolated strains by using VITEK-2, and candidate strains were selected to perform 16s rRNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Results: A total of 100 samples were tested, and 60 pathogenic E. coli strains were isolated. Of these, 45 and 15 isolates were determined to be single and hybrid pathogenic E. coli , respectively. Among the 15 hybrid pathogenic E. coli strains, eight, five, and two strains were respectively identified as EHEC/ETEC, EHEC/EPEC, and EHEC/ETEC/EPEC hybrids. All 45 isolates showed resistance to at least one antibiotic, and they were susceptible to cefotaxime, amikacin, nalidixic acid, and ciprofloxacin. The highest resistance was against cefalotin, tetracyclin, and ampicillin (20.0%~58.3%). The 16s rRNA sequences of candidate isolates revealed nucleotide sequence identities of 99.1% to 100%. Conclusions: In order to manage pathogenic E. coli from the One Health animal environment perspective, the characteristics of the occurrence of pathogenic E. coli from the livestock environment and molecular biology and antibiotic resistance to isolated strains were analyzed. In order to prevent and manage the occurrence of pathogenic E. coli, these monitoring studies must be continuously conducted.