• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.257-269
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• 2010

To investigate the possibility of discrimination between organic and non-organic rice using stable isotope nitrogen of natural abundance, organic rice of 17 samples and non-organic rice of 13 samples grown at adjoining organic rice field were collected in 2008. Rice was grinded into brown rice, milled rice and hull, and samples were analysed for nitrogen and $\delta^{15}N$ at NICEM. Authors also made inquiries about N source for both farmers who conduct organic- and non-organic rice cultivation. In order to know whether the $\delta^{15}N$ can be used in discrimination between organic and non-organic rice, discriminant analysis were made with SPSS and logistic method. 1. Organic farmers used manure, rice bran, used mushroom culture, fermented fertilizer (company products), and oil cake, but non-organic farmers applied compound fertilizer. Rice straws were remained in organic rice field while moved out in non-organic field. 2. There were difference in $\delta^{15}N$ among organic rice and its byproduct(7.760????% in hull, 6.720????% in rice), but significant difference was not found between them. And the trend was same between province. Non-organic rice showed similar results. 3. Significant difference of $\delta^{15}N$ were found between organic rice and non-organic rice (p<0.01) and between hull of organic rice and that of non-organic rice hull (p<0.05). $\delta^{15}N$ seemed to be useful criteria for discrimination of organic and non-organic rice. 4. When applied discrimination analysis of SPSS and logistic, there were significant difference between organic rice, non-organic rice and its byproducts except brown rice and hull in SPSS method. Hull can be used as the most useful component for unknown sample prediction with 83.3% probability.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2014

The origin of particulate organic matter (POM) and food web structure were investigated in Shingu reservoir based on stable isotope analysis from pre-monsoon (July) to post-monsoon (September) 2007. According to the depth in Shingu reservoir, the $^{13}C$ and $^{15}N$ values of POM for pre-monsoon period were nonsignificant distinction, while it was significant variation after rainfall period. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of POM in premonsoon period ranged from -25.1‰ to -26.1‰ in whole water column, but the ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of POM in post-monsoon period showed relatively wide range between -23.2‰ and -27.5‰. The apparently lighter values (average -27.5‰) in near bottom water (7 m water depth) demonstrate that POM in high turbid water in post-monsoon period may be derived from the outside terrestrial plants (allochthonous) through heavy rainfall during the summer monsoon period. After rainfall period, $^{13}C$ and $^{15}N$ values of D. brachyurum showed -23.3‰ and 12.2‰, respectively, while B. longirostris showed -27.1% and 8.7%, respectively. It suggested that D. brachyurum mainly feed on POM in autochthonous organic matter pool, but B. longirostris mainly consumed POM in allochthonous organic matter pool after rainfall period. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were markedly different among secondary consumers. The carp (C. carpio) and catfish (S. asotus) were in the higher trophic level and crucian carp (C. auratus) and mudfish (M. mizolepis) were in the lower trophic level. $^{13}C$ and $^{15}N$ values of Z. platypus didn't significantly changed between before and after rainfall period. But P. parva and C. auratus apparently changed the $^{13}C$ and $^{15}N$ values after rainfall period. It is suggested that P. parva and C. auratus seem to feed allochthonous food source while Z. platypus depend on autochthonous food source.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2019

Sources of NOx are both anthropogenic (e.g. fossil fuel combustion, vehicles, and other industrial processes) and natural (e.g. lightning, biogenic soil processes, and wildfires). The nitrogen stable isotope ratio of NOx has been proposed as an indicator for NOx source partitioning, which would help identify the contributions of various NOx sources. In this study, the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_2$ values of vehicle emissions were measured in an urban region, to understand the sources and processes that influence the isotopic composition of NOx emissions. The Ogawa passive air sampler was used to determine the isotopic composition of $NO_2$(g). In urban tunnels, the observed $NO_2$ concentration and ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_2$ values averaged $3809{\pm}2656ppbv$ and $7.7{\pm}1.8$‰, respectively. The observed ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_2$ values are associated with slight regional variations in the vehicular $NO_2$ source. Both $NO_2$ concentration and ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_2$ values were significantly higher near the expressway ($965{\pm}125ppbv$ and $5.9{\pm}1.4$‰) than at 1.1 km from the expressway ($372{\pm}96ppbv$ and $-11.5{\pm}2.9$‰), indicating a high proportion of vehicle emissions. Ambient ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_2$ values were used in a binary mixing model to estimate the percentage of the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_2$ value contributed by vehicular NOx emissions. The calculated percentage of the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_2$ contribution by vehicles was significantly higher close to the highway, as observed for the $NO_2$ concentration and ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_2$.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.1 s.110
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• pp.45-53
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• 2005

The environmental change of Yong-nup in Mt. Dae-Am, which is located at the northern part of Kangwon-Do, Korea, was assesed with peat sedimentary carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. The surface layer of the peat (0 ${\sim}$ 5 cm) was 190 year BP, and the middle layers (30 ${\sim}$ 35 cm and 50 ${\sim}$ 55 cm) were 870 year BP and 1900 year BP, respectively. Bulk sedimentation rate was estimated to be about 0.4 mm $year^{-1}$ for 0 cm to 30 cm and 0.15 mm $year^{-1}$ for 35 cm to 50 cm. The $^{14}C$ age of the bottom sediment (75 ${\sim}$ 80 cm) collected and measured in this study was about 1900 year BP, although it was measured that the $^{14}C$ of the lowest bottom sediment in Yong-nup was 4105 ${\pm}$ 175 year BP (GX-23200). Since the $^{14}C$ ages for 50 ${\sim}$ 55 cm and 75 ${\sim}$ 80 cm layers were almost the same as 1890 ${\pm}$ 80 fear BP (NUTA 5364) and 1850 ${\pm}$ 90 year BP (NUTA 5462), respectively, we have estimated that the deep layers (55 ${\sim}$ 80 cm) in the high moor were the original forest soil. The low organic C and N contents in the deeper layers supported the inference. The sediment of 50 ${\sim}$ 55 cm layer contains much sandy material and showed very low organic content, suggesting the erosion (flooding) from the surrounding area. In this context, the Yong-nup, high moor, of Mt. Dae-Am, might have developed to the sampling site at about 1900 year BP. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of organic carbon and the ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of total nitrogen in the peat sediments fluctuated with the depths. The profile of ${\delta}^{13}C$ may indicate that the Yong-nup of Mt. Dae-Am have experienced the dry-wet and cool-warm period cycles during the development of the high moor. The ${\delta}^{15}N$ may indicate that the nitrogen cycling in the Yong-nup have changed from the closed (regeneration depending) system to the open (rain $NO_3\;^-$ and $N_2$ fixation depending) system during the development of the high moor.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.289-298
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• 1984

Uraniferous black slates of the Okchon sequence occur in Koesan (northeast) through Miwon-Boun (middle) to the southwest off Taejon (southwest) within the Okchon fold belt. The Uraniferous balck slates in the southwest off Taejon are particularly well developed in Chubu (northeast) and Moksso-ri (middle) areas whereas they are less developed in Jinsan (southwest) area. The uraniferous beds range from less than a meter to 40 meters in thickness and range from less than 0.02% $U_3O_8$ (cut-off-grade) to 0.05% $U_3O_8$ in the southwestern district off Taejon. Electron microprobe analysis of uranium-minerals found in graphitic slate samples enables to estimate their major compositions semi-quantitatively so that uraninite, ferro-uranophane and chlopinite are tentatively identified. Uranium-minerals are closely associated with carbon and metal sulfides. Correlation analysis of trace element concentrations revealed that U and F.C., and U and Mo are lineary correlative respectively and their correlation coefficients are positively high whereas those of U and V, U and Mn, and U and Zr are negatively low, implying that uranium mineralization has been closely related with concentrations of carbon and molybdenum. Stable isotope analyses of pyrite sulfur range widely from +11.5% to -23.3% in ${\delta}^{34}S$ values whereas those of graphite carbon fall within a narrow range between -23.3% and -28.9% in ${\delta}^{13}C$ values. The wide range of ${\delta}^{34}S$ values suggests that the sulfur could be of meteoric origin rather than of igneous source. The narrow range of ${\delta}^{13}C$ values, which are close to those of coal, indicates that the graphite is organic carbon in origin. Therefore, it is concluded that the uranium mineralization in the Okchon sequence took place primarily in sedimentary environment rich in organic matter and sulfide ion, both of which served as the reducing agents to convert soluble uranyl complex to insoluble uranium dioxide.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.278-284
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• 2016

Background: The ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1) is the most abundant compound in the root of Panax ginseng. Recent studies have shown that Rb1 has a neuroprotective effect. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect are still unknown. Methods: We used stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture, combined with quantitative mass spectrometry, to explore a potential protective mechanism of Rb1 in ${\beta}$-amyloid-treated neuronal cells. Results: A total of 1,231 proteins were commonly identified from three replicate experiments. Among these, 40 proteins were significantly changed in response to Rb1 pretreatment in ${\beta}$-amyloid-treated neuronal cells. Analysis of the functional enrichments and protein interactions of altered proteins revealed that actin cytoskeleton proteins might be linked to the regulatory mechanisms of Rb1. The CAP1, CAPZB, TOMM40, and DSTN proteins showed potential as molecular target proteins for the functional contribution of Rb1 in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Conclusion: Our proteomic data may provide new insights into the protective mechanisms of Rb1 in AD.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.243-244
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• 2013

Over the past 15 years, several groups have incorporated radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) based instruments before the accelerator in accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) systems for ion-gas interactions at low kinetic energy (＜40 eV). Most AMS systems arebased on a tandem accelerator, which requires negative ions at injection. Typically, AMS sensitivity abundance ratios for radioactive-to-stable isotope are limited to Xr/Xs ＞10^-15, and the range of isotopes that can be analyzed is limited because of theneed to produce rather large negative ion beams and the presence of atomic isobaric interferences after stripping. The potential of using low-kinetic energy ion-gas interactions for isobar suppression before the accelerator has been demonstrated for several negative ion isobar systems with a prototype RFQ system incorporated into the AMS system at IsoTrace Laboratory, Canada (Ontario, Toronto). Requisite for any such RFQ system applied to very rare isotope analysis is large transmission of the analyte ion. This requires proper phase-space matching between the RFQ acceptance and the ion beam phase space (e.g. 35 keV, ${\varphi}3mm$, +-35 mrad), and the ability to control the average ion energy during interactions with the gas. A segmented RFQ instrument is currently being designed at Korea Institute for Science and Technology (한국과학기술연구원, KIST). It will consist of: a) an initial static voltage electrode deceleration region, to lower the ion energy from 35 keV down to ＜40 eV at injection into the first RFQ segment; b) the segmented quadrupole ion-gas interaction region; c) a static voltage electrode re-acceleration region for ion injection into a tandem accelerator. Design considerations and modeling will be discussed. This system should greatly lower the detection limits of the 6 MV AMS system currently being commissioned at KIST. As an example, current detection sensitivity of 41Ca/Ca is limited to the order of 10^-15 while the 41Ca/Ca abundance in modern samples is typically 41Ca/Ca~10^-14 - 10^-15. The major atomic isobaric interference in AMS is 41K. Proof-of-principal work at IsoTrace Lab. has demonstrated that a properly designed system can achieve a relative suppression of KF3-/41CaF3- ＞4 orders of magnitude while maintaining very high transmission of the 41CaF3- ion. This would lower the 41Ca detection limits of the KIST AMS system to at least 41Ca/Ca~10^-19. As Ca is found in bones and shells, this would potentially allow direct dating of valuable anthropological archives and archives relevant to our understanding of the most pronounced climate change events over the past million years that cannot be directly dated with the presently accessible isotopes.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 2019

Long chain plant waxes (n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, and n-alcohols) and their carbon isotopic compositions (${\delta}^{13}C$) in geologic archives are valuable tools for paleovegetation reconstruction. However, the sensitivity of different plant wax constituents to vegetation shift is not well understood. This study explores controls on the variation in ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of long-chain n-alkanes ($C_{27}$ to $C_{33}$) and n-alkanoic acids ($C_{26}-C_{30}$) in the Gulf of Mexico core sediments (ODP 625B) near the Mississippi River delta. n-Alkanoic acids' ${\delta}^{13}C$ values were higher than those of n-alkanes by 1-2‰ on average and such a pattern is the opposite from their isotope fractionation observed in living plants: 1-2‰ smaller in n-alkanes than n-alkanoic acids. We attribute this offset to contributions from aquatic plants or microbes that produce high concentrations of $^{13}C-enriched$ long-chain n-alkanoic acids. The sensitivity of n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids to vegetation and climate varied among chain lengths. The $n-C_{33}$ alkanes were most sensitive to $C_4$ grassland expansion among n-alkane homologues, while no specific trend was observed in n-alkanoic acids. This is due to the similarity in n-alkanoic acid concentrations between $C_3$ and $C_4$ plants by homologues and low terrestrial plant-derived n-alkanoic acid contributions to the sediments. The results of this study suggest that long chain n-alkanoic acids' ${\delta}^{13}C$ values in sediments may be influenced by contributions from different sources such as aquatic plants or microbial inputs and therefore interpretations regarding this matter should be cautiously formulated. We suggest that there is a need for further studies on characterizing long-chain n-alkanoic acids ($C_{26}-C_{34}$) in aquatic plants and microbes from various climates and environments in order to investigate their production and integration into sedimentary archives.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 2009

Stable carbon isotope analysis was used to investigate the autotrophic carbon sources supporting fisheries in three coastal bay systems of the southern coast of Korea. Carbon isotope ratios (${\delta}^{13}C$) of 31 fish species were analysed and compared with those of a range of potential primary food sources [e.g., seagrass (Zostera marina), seagrass epiphytes, benthic microalgae, macroalgae, marine particulate organic matter (marine POM), marsh plant (Phragmites australis) and terrestrial POM]. ${\delta}^{13}C$ values (range, -16.2${\sim}$-8.3‰) of fishes from the coastal embayment systems were overlapped with those of seagrass (-8.3${\pm}$1.9‰), seagrass epiphytes (-12.4${\pm}$0.6‰), benthic microalgae (-15.4${\pm}$1.6‰) and macroalgae (-16.0${\pm}$1.8‰). In addition, fishes (-12.9${\pm}$1.5‰) from the study area had distinctly higher ${\delta}^{13}C$ values compared to those collected in offshore sites (-17.3${\pm}$0.8‰) of the southern sea of Korea and Nakdong River (-23.2${\pm}$1.6‰). This result indicates that carbon supporting fish communities of these coastal bay systems is mainly derived from the local benthic producers.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.109-123
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• 2001

The importance of phytoplankton, benthic vegetation, vascular marsh plants (primarly Phragmites communis and Salix gracilstyla) and riverine particulates inputs to the coastal bay food web was studied in Kwangyang Bay, Korea using stable carbon isotope ratios. Vascular marsh plants (${\delta}^{13}$C=-27.4${\pm}$0.8%o) and riverine particulates (-26.0${\pm}$0.8%o) were isotopically distinct from phytoplankton (-20.7${\pm}$0.8%o), microphytobenthos (-14.2${\pm}$0.6%o) and seagrass (8.8%o). The ${\delta}^{13}$C values of consumers in the study site ranged from -20.2 to -11.3olo suggesting the assimilation of carbon derived from both phytoplankton and benthic vegetation (including algae and seagrass), The relative importance of both pelagic and benthic origins of food sources was likely to vary depending on feeding habit of the consumers. The isotopic difference between pelagic and benthic consumers indicated that plankton-derived carbon was used mostly by pelagic consumers, but the carbon derived from intertidal benthic vegetation was incorporated into food webs through benthic consumers. The ${\delta}^{13}$C values of consumers in the present study differed noticeably from published values of the phytoplankton-based ecosystem, particularly in the $^{13}$C enrichment of benthic grazers, deposit-feeders and demersal feeders of fishes. This tendency of the $^{13}$C enrichment was also found in suspension-feeding bivalves. Taking the biomasses of benthic vegetation into consideration, benthic microalgae was likely to account for the consumer $^{13}$C enrichment. Role of terrestrially derived riverine carbon was limited to the riverine system and was not evident within the bay systems. Phragmites, despite their important biomass, appeared to be of little importance as consumer diet.