• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.361-368
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• 1994

Teratogenic and embryotoxic effects of mercury have been reported, however, there is little information about possible antidotes against mercury exposure during gestation. In order to evaluate therapeutic effects of selenium as an antidote against mercury poisoning, pregnant CD-1 mice were exposed to methylmercury chloride(20ppm) through the drinking water with treatment of sodium selenite (1.0mg, 2.0mg or 3.0mg/kg b.w., subcutaneously) or BAL(5.0mg/kg b.w., subcutaneously) under the single or combination base as the therapeutic agents from day 6 to 15 of gestation. Fetal growth parameters such as body weight and crown-rump length in the mice exposed to mercury, were reduced as was placental weight compared to those in the control. Treatment of selenium(alone, combination with BAL) reduced the harmful effects induced by mercury on the fetal growth parameters even though no specific relationship between dose and therapeutic effect. The incidence of dead fetuses/resorptions and malformed fetuses(especially cleft palate) was also increased in the mercury only treated group. Selenium treatment demonostrated reduced the incidence of abnormal fetuses under the exposure of mercury. Relative maternal organ weights(liver, kidney, spleen) were increased significantly but relative brain weight was decreased as evidenced by decreased in the mercury treated mice compared to that in the control. A subtle indication of maternal mercury toxicity evidenced by changes of relative maternal organ weights, decreased water and feed consumption were also prevented efficiently by selenium treatment. The present study suggests that methylmercuric chloride is embrytoxic and teratogenic in CD-1 mice when exposured during organogenesis and that selenium administration may have therapeutic application for the treatment of mercury poisoning although more applicable study in human should be performed with caution in the future.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.195-201
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• 1993

The room temperature fluorescence induction of chloroplasts was utilized as a probe to locate the site of inhibition by mercury, copper and zinc on PS II by mercury. Inhibitory effect of Hg2+ on electron transport activity was notable as compared with Cu2+ and Zn2+. At concentrations of HgCl2 over 50 $\mu$M, activities of PS II and whole-chain electron transport decreased more than 70%, while that of PS I decreased about 10~30%. This suggests that PS II is more susceptible to Hg2+ than PS I is. In the presence of diphenylcarbazide (DPC), 50 $\mu$M HgCl2 inhibited the reduction of dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP) about 50%. Addition of heavy metals induced marked decrease in maximal variable fluorescence/initial fluorescence [(Fv)m/Fo], but no changes in Fo. With various concentrations of heavy metals, changes of chlorophyll a fluorescence emitted by PS II showed gradual decrease in photochemical quenching (qQ), which indicates an increase in reduced state of electron acceptor, QA. Especially, the addition of HgCl2 caused a notable decrease of qQ. In the presence of 50 $\mu$M CuCl2, energy-depended quenching (qE) was completely reduced, whereas in the presence of 50 $\mu$M CuCl2 and ZnCl2 it was still remained. The above results are discussed on the effects of mercury in relation to water-splitting system and plastoquinone (PQ) shuttle system.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.99-107
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• 2016

The adsorption of inorganic mercury, Hg (II), in aqueous solution has been investigated to evaluate the effectiveness of synthesized gold (Au) nanoparticle-coated silica as sorbent in comparison with activated carbon and Au-coated sand. The synthesis of the Au-coated silica was confirmed by x-ray diffraction (Bragg reflections at $38.2^{\circ}$, $44.4^{\circ}$, $64.6^{\circ}$, and $77.5^{\circ}$) and the Au loading on silica surface was $6.91{\pm}1.14mg/g$. The synthesized Au-coated silica performed an average Hg adsorption efficiency of ~96 (${\pm}2.61$) % with KD value of 9.96 (${\pm}0.32$) L/g. The adsorption kinetics of Hg(II) on to Au-coated silica closely follows a pseudo-second order reaction where it is found out to have an initial adsorption rate of $4.73g/{\mu}g/min/$ and overall rate constant of $4.73{\times}10^{-4}g/{\mu}g/min/$. Au-coated silica particles are effective in removing Hg (II) in aqueous solutions due to their relatively high KD values, rapid adsorption rate, and high overall efficiency that can even decrease mercury levels below the recommended concentrations in drinking water.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2020

The effectiveness of in situ sediment capping as a technique for heavy metal risk mitigation in Hyeongsan River estuary, South Korea was studied. Sites in the estuary were found previously to show moderate to high levels of contamination of mercury, methylmercury and other heavy metals. A 400 m × 50 m section of the river was selected for a thin layer capping demonstration, where the total area was divided into 4 sections capped with different combinations of capping materials (zeolite, AC/zeolite, AC/sand, zeolite/sand). Pore water concentrations in the different sites were studied using diffusive gradient in thin film (DGT) probes. All capping amendments showed reduction in the pore water concentration of the different heavy metals with top 5 cm showing %reduction greater than 90% for some heavy metals. The relative maxima for the different metals were found to be translated to lower depths with addition of the caps. For two-layered cap with AC, order of placement should be considered since AC can easily be displaced due to its relatively low density. Investigation of methylmercury (MeHg) in the site showed that MeHg and %MeHg in pore water corresponds well with maxima for sulfide, Fe and Mn suggesting mercury methylation as probably coupled with sulfate, Fe and Mn reduction in sediments. Our results showed that thin-layer capping of active sorbents AC and zeolite, in combination with passive sand caps, are potential remediation strategy for sediments contaminated with heavy metals.

• Geosystem Engineering
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.344-351
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• 2018

It is reported that the flooding rate in low permeability sandstones is low and the oil recovery is hard to increase after water breakthrough. Understanding characteristics of waterflood is hence important for the recovery improvement. In this work, flooding tests on low permeability sandstones were conducted. The corresponding flooding characteristics were investigated by means of CT scanning and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Effects of irreducible water and different rates were also discussed in detail. Experimental results reveal a piston-like displacement at a low rate in low permeability samples. The saturation profile is steep and almost vertical to the forward direction. The results at a low rate confirm that once water broke through, increasing the flooding rate or flooding time can hardly reduce the remaining oil inside the sample. It is probably due to the high pore-throat ratio proven by rate-controlled mercury. Results also confirm that the presence of initial water enhanced sweep efficiency substantially. On one hand, because water had previously occupied the small pores, the subsequent oil can only invade relatively large pores and became more movable. On the other hand, stable collars can not form due to the steep front, which may suppress the snap-off.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.535-537
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• 2005

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.801-809
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• 2012

Long-term measurement of total mercury (TM) and dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) were performed in Yangsuri marsh. Average TM and DGM concentrations were $2.0{\pm}2.0$ ng/L and $15.0{\pm}2.8$ pg/L, respectively, indicating that only 2.6% of TM existed as the form of DGM in Yangsuri marsh. While TM did not show the seasonal variation a statistically high DGM concentration was observed in warm season, indicating that DGM was effectively produced by strong solar radiation and high water temperature. There was no relationship between TM and DGM concentrations in Yangsuri marsh, as observed in other studies. DGM in Yangsuri marsh was supersaturated for most of sampling period; therefore, one can conclude that $Hg^0$ in water surface can readily volatilize to the atmosphere.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.69-75
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• 1994

Pregnant CD-1 mice were exposed to methylmercury in the drinking water at concentration of 20ppm with subcutaneous treatment of thiaminHCl(vitamin $B_1$) (100mg, 200mg or 300mg/ kg b.w.) or BAL(5.0 mg/kg b.w.) under the alone or combined base at the therapeutic agents from day 6 to 15 of gestation. Fetal growth parameters, including body weight and crown-rump length in the mice exposed to mercury, were reduced as placental weight compared to those in the control group(no treatment). The incidence of dead fetuses/resorption and malformed fetuses(especially cleft palate) was also increased even in the group treated with thrapeutic agents as well as in the mercury only treated group. However, all kinds of alteration indicated above, possibly induced by mercury, reduced/or decreased significantly compared to those of control. A subtle indication of maternal toxicity was noted in most experimental animals as evidenced by decreased water consumption and increased relative liver weight. The present study confirmed that methylmercuric chloride is embrytoxic and teratogenic in CD-1 mice when administered during organogenesis and that thiamin administration may have therapeutic application for the treatment or prevention against of deleterious effects induced by mercury during gestation period.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 1975

This is a study to determine the content of the mercury compound and the distribution of microorganisms in the waste waters flowing from the chemical plants in the Ulsan area (at 4 stations). The summary of the result of this study is as follows: 1. The content of the mercury compound has ranged from non-detection to 0.075 ppm with an average of 0.03 ppm. The highest content has been detected from the water at station A. 2. As for the distribution of the microorganisms, one species each of bacteria, Mucor, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Trichothecium (T. roseum); 4 species of Penicillium; and 3 species of Sterile hyphae; a total of 12 species have been isolated. 3. The following results have been found with regard to the growth of these microorganisms in terms of the content of the mercury compound. In the case of an inorganic mercury compound, most of the microbes can grow in water with a content of up to 10 ppm. Pe. sp No. 1 particularly can grow even in 50 ppm. In the case of an organic mercury compound, the growth of the microbes seems to be somewhat restrained even in 2 ppm.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.167-172
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• 2020

The effectiveness of in situ sediment capping as a technique for heavy metal risk mitigation in Hyeongsan River estuary, South Korea was studied. Sites in the estuary were found previously to show moderate to high levels of contamination of mercury, methylmercury and other heavy metals. A 400 m x 50 m section of the river was selected for a thin layer capping demonstration, where the total area was divided into 4 sections capped with different combinations of capping materials (zeolite, AC/zeolite, AC/sand, zeolite/sand). Pore water concentrations in the different sites were studied using diffusive gradient in thin film (DGT) probes. All capping amendments showed reduction in the pore water concentration of the different heavy metals with top 5 cm showing %reduction greater than 90% for some heavy metals. The relative maxima for the different metals were found to be translated to lower depths with addition of the caps. For two-layered cap with AC, order of placement should be considered since AC can easily be displaced due to its relatively low density. Investigation of methylmercury (MeHg) in the site showed that MeHg and %MeHg in pore water corresponds well with maxima for sulfide, Fe and Mn suggesting mercury methylation as probably coupled with sulfate, Fe and Mn reduction in sediments. Our results showed that thin-layer capping of active sorbents AC and zeolite, in combination with passive sand caps, are potential remediation strategy for sediments contaminated with heavy metals.