• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.64-80
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• 1998

The risk of cross-contamination in dental clinic is very high. Those who are engaged in dental clinic are exposed to various microorganisms in saliva and blood of patient. Potential possibility of cross-contamination of patient to patient, patient to dentist, dentist to laboratory technician always exist, which is important in the view of public health. It is well known that microorganisms may cause cross-contamination by suck-back of microorganisms into the water supply line or air supply line of dental unit and sprayed back into the next patient's oral cavity. The majority of microorganisms coming from dental unit are water microorganisms from the main water supply which have colonized the tube within the units and multiplied in the relatively warm and stagnant conditions. The purpose of this study is to measure the extent of microbial contamination of dental unit and ultrasonic scaler, to evaluate that dental unit water supply is suitable for drinking water, and to assess the effect of flushing on reduction of microbial contamination of dental unit and ultrasonic scaler. In the first experiment, water samples(50ml) from 20 dental units and 10 ultrasonic scalers in Seoul National Univ. Hosp. were tested for the presence of coliform. The samples were filtered by membrane filtration technique.(Microfil system, Millipore Co. U. S. A.) The filter was then placed onto MacConkey agar plate and the plates with filter on it were incubated aerobically at $37^{\circ}C$ for 5 days. The colors and shapes of colonies were examined if those were coliform. To verify the presence of coliform, the colonies were inoculated into phenol red lactose broth and incubated aerobically at $37^{\circ}C$ for 2 days. The fomation of gas was observed. In the second experiment, water samples from 20 handpieces, 10 ultrasonic scalers and 30 A/W syringes after 0, 2, 4, 6 min. flushing respectively were taken. $200{\mu}l$ water samples were spreaded on Brain Heart Infusion agar plate and the plates were incubated aerobically at $37^{\circ}C$ for 5 days. The number of colony was counted. The results obtained were summarized as follows 1. The water from dental unit and ultrasonic scaler was not suitable for drinking water. 2. No coliform was founded in dental unit and ultrasonic scaler water supply. 3. The number of colony of dental unit and ultrasonic scaler was highest in the group of o min. flushing(p<0.05). 4. There was no statistically significant difference in the extent of microbial contamination among handpiece, ultrasonic scaler and A/W syringe (p>0.05). 5. The number of colony was lowest in the group of 4 min. flushing, but there was no statistically significant difference among 2, 4, 6 min. flushing groups.(p>0.05) 6. It is recommended to flush dental unit water line for 4 min. after use on each patient.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2018

In order to analyze the effects of sediment on the occurrence of algal bloom on the Giheung Reservoir, the contamination levels of sediments were evaluated. The concentrations of various organic compounds (ignition loss), as well as the total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and heavy metals (Zn, Cr, Co, Ni, Pb, As, Hg, Cd) were analyzed in the sediments taken at eighteen sites of the reservoir. The concentrations of ignition loss and total nitrogen tended to increase from upstream to downstream, and ranged from 4.38 to 12.93% and 2,153 to 4,723 mg/kg, respectively. Heavy metals were in the order of Zn>Cr>Co>Ni>Pb>As>Hg, and the contamination level of the heavy metals was not high as a whole. The concentrations of the total phosphorus were in the range of 765 ~ 3,238 mg/kg, which exceeded the contamination level of the "Sediment Quality Assessment Guideline of River and Lake Sediment (Rule No. 2015-687 of the National Institute of Environmental Research, Korea)" at two upstream sites, four downstream sites, and all downstream sites. These results indicated that the pollution level of the total phosphorus, which is the main factor related to algal bloom, was found to be serious. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a countermeasure for sediment management in order to control the algal bloom which occurs periodically in the reservoir.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1997

The contamination structure and process on SUS 316 under various exposure conditions were investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The metal-oxide, metal-H-oxides, CO, COH, and $C_xH_y$ are the main components of contaminants on the SUS surface. The compositional profiles of the contaminants are shown to be $C_xH_y$/CO(COH)/metal-oxide on SUS. The contamination proceeds in two steps. The oxidation of the metallic constituents followed by adsorption of hydrocarbons. Under UHV conditions the contamination is mainly due to the oxidation, and, as the exposure time increases, the oxidation continues. In HV or higher pressure, most of the oxides are formed almost immediately after exposure and as the exposure time increases the contamination of hydrocarbons continues to grow. For the SUS sample exposed to atmosphere, the metal oxide is distributed deep inside the surface with an exponentially decreasing concentration, and its thickness is nearly in the order of photoelectron mean free path. It is also seen that the Fe oxide is segregated over Cr oxide in the highly oxidized samples.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.1237-1245
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• 2018

In this study, the contamination levels of hygienic indicators and foodborne pathogens in retail meat products were investigated in relation to the various market factors including processing temperature, processing area, and market type. Ground beef samples (n=80) were purchased from 40 meat markets and investigated for microbiological quality. Beefs processed below $20^{\circ}C$ had significantly lower numbers of total coliforms (TC) than these processed over $20^{\circ}C$ (2.01 vs. 2.79 log CFU/g; p<0.05). Interestingly, separation of processing area did not affect the contamination levels. Remarkably, the contamination levels of hygienic indicator differ among market types, indicating that not only processing condition but distribution structure that is directly related with storage period could affect the final microbiological loads of the meat products. In addition, the prevalences of Listeria monocytogenes (a psychrotroph), Enterococcus faecium, and Enterococcus faecalis were 7.5% (6/80), 10.0% (8/80), and 20.0% (16/80), respectively, which is irrelevant to market factors except meat products from wholesale markets where no L. monocytogenes were found among 30 samples. The results of this study indicate that the contamination level of hygiene indicator and foodborne pathogens in retail beef is more related with processing temperature and storage period than other environmental factors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.907-915
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• 2018

With the increase of metal usage in various industries, metal pollution and ecological toxicity in the environmental system have become a significant concern. A geo-statistical index has been widely used to determine contamination level with normalization through a background value. In this study, geo-statistical indexes such as an enrichment factor, accumulation index, and potential ecological risk index were used to assess metal pollution in soil at locations associated with shipbuilding manufacturing industries. Metal contamination, especially of Cu and Pb, was observed in some samples located closer to manufacturing sites. Enrichment factor and accumulation (IGEO) values were indicative of concerning levels of soil contamination in specific samples, and the soil contamination could be induced by anthropogenic sources. In further study, after more detailed sampling for soil and potential pollution sources, high interpretation techniques such as Pb isotope analysis and X-ray analysis will be needed to investigate source identification.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.1098-1108
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• 2008

Batch type and column type experiments were performed in order to predict adsorption and movement within soil. Clay minerals montmorillonite and kaolinite were respectively added to paraquat which is a cationic compound with long residual time, 2,4-D which is an anionic compound with relatively short residual time and napropamide which is an amphoteric compound. Therefore, it is very important to determine the movements of toxic pollutants in the ground soil to establish measures to prevent soil grounds contamination and to restore contaminated soils effectively, because contamination of soil is getting severe due to these toxic wastes, industrial waste water, and agricultural chemicals, etc. Therefore, in this study, we have carried out column and batch experiments by using general toxic organic compounds as test samples in order to restore contaminated soils effectively as well as to prepare a basic data to develop absorbents that will remove various toxic organic compounds, with a grandiose purpose to prevent contaminations of soil and grounds due to various toxic organic compounds.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.363-375
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• 2019

Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) is a surfactant-based separation technique and has been investigated for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater. The performance of heavy metals removal from wastewater through MEUF relies on membrane characteristics, surfactant properties, various operational parameters including operating pressure, surfactant and heavy metal concentration, pH of the solution, temperature, and presence of dissolved solutes and salts. This study presents an overview of literature related to MEUF with respect to the all significant parameters including membranes, surfactants, operating conditions and MEUF hybrid processes. Moreover, this study illustrates that MEUF is an adaptable technique in various applications. Nowadays water contamination caused by heavy metals has become a serious concern around the globe. MEUF is a significant separation technique in wastewater treatment that should be acknowledged, for the reason that removal of heavy metals contamination even at lower concentrations becomes achievable, which is evidently made known in the presented review. Hybrid processes presented the better results as compared to MEUF. Future studies are required to continue the experimental work with various combinations of surfactant and heavy metals, and to investigate for the treatment of concentrated solutions, as well as for real industrial wastewater.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.77-93
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• 2023

The water can be contaminated by natural sources or by industrial effluents. One such contaminant is fluoride. Fluoride contamination in the water environment due to natural and artificial activities has been recognized as one of the major problems worldwide. Among the commonly used treatment technologies applied for fluoride removal, the adsorption technique has been explored widely and offers a highly efficient simple and low-cost process for fluoride removal from water. This review paper the recent developments in fluoride removal from surface water by adsorption methods. Studies on fluoride removal from aqueous solutions using various carbon materials are reviewed. Various adsorbents with high fluoride removal capacity have been developed, however, there is still an urgent need to transfer the removal process to an industrial scale. Regeneration studies need to be performed to more extent to recover the adsorbent in field conditions, enhancing the economic feasibility of the process. Based on the review, technical strategies of the adsorption method including the Nano-surface effect, structural memory effect, anti-competitive adsorption and ionic sieve effect can be proposed. The design of adsorbents through these strategies can greatly improve the removal efficiency of fluoride in water and guide the development of new efficient methods for fluoride removal in the future. This paper describes brief discussions on various low-cost adsorbents used for the effective removal of fluoride from water.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.152-156
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• 2010

Disposable contact lenses, which are one type of soft contact lenses, provide convenience in use, but also cause various ocular infectious diseases. Microorganisms that cause eye diseases include Acanthamoeba, bacteria, Fungi, and so on. It is impossible to prevent microorganism contamination completely due to the use of hands as wearing contact lenses. The contamination by various microorganisms leads to infectious keratitis, but it is not well known for the exact microorganisms that affect the disease. For this reason, to identify the microorganisms, two groups that are commonly used for disinfection of lenses were divided: normal saline solution and multiple purpose solution. Using these solutions the degree of microorganism contamination was observed according to the days of 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15. Twenty students by two groups from Ophthalmic Optics department at D college in Daegu Metropolitan city participated in the experiment after their ocular health conditions were checked. During they wore one-day disposable lenses for 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 days, bacteria were cultured in media. The results, which were Gram stained by selecting the cultured colonies, show as followings: Gram positive cocci 33%, Gram-negative cocci 2%, Gram positive bacilli 34%, and the Gram negative bacilli 31%, respectively. As for the identification of potential pathogens, VITEK system and API kit methods were used. Keratitis caused by bacteria known as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa were detected as a result of wearing contact lenses. This study examined the distribution of bacteria as wearing one-day disposable contact lenses and pathogenic bacteria according to the duration of wearing them. In conclusion, the importance of hygiene when using contact lenses is suggested.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.1280-1285
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• 2006

The presoaking conditions of soybeans in various solution for decreasing microbial contamination and improving germination were investigated. Soybeans were treated with presoaking solutions (sterilized water, 0.1% grape fruit extract, 0.1% vitamin $B_1$ derivate solution AS5 and vitagen) at $25^{\circ}C,\;35^{\circ}C,\;45^{\circ}C\;and\;55^{\circ}C$ for $3\sim12$ hr and germinate at $25^{\circ}C$, 95%RH for 3 days. Total bacterial count and coliform count of soybeans were $6.0\times10^5CFU/g$ and $3.0\times10^5CFU/g$, respectively, and the most of presoaking treatments decreased the microbial contamination. The increase of presoaking time induces low germination ratio compared with unsoaked soybeans and the germination of soybeans was not detected at $55^{\circ}C$. The germination of soybeans was effected by presoaking solutions, temperature, and time. The optimal presoaking condition for decreasing microbial contamination and promoting initial germination was using grape fruit extract at $35^{\circ}C$ for 6 hr.