• Applied Microscopy
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.241-254
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• 2004

Kidney had recovery functions against toxicants, ischemia, reperfusion-induced damage, acute-renal failure (ARF). Urinary epidermal growth factor (EGF) is produced by the juxtaglomerular apparatus. Kidney accumulates or excretes the EGF. In case of renal diseases, excreted EGF was decreased. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects squalene (SQ) on the prevention of experimental acute renal failure induced by glycerol. In case of in vitro study, we investigated the expression of EGF by RT-PCR. After the proximal tubular cells was isolated, glycerol (1, 2, 4 mM) or glycerol plus squalene (0.1, 0.05 or 0.1%) was added. In case of in vivo study, we investigated the changes of BUN, creatine, and ultrastructure. Experimental groups were divided into four groups. Group 1 was normal mouse. Group 2 was injected with SQ only (180 mg/kg). Group 3 was not treated with squalene after intraperitoneal contamination of glycerol (50%, 8 ml/kg). And, Group 4 was treated with squalene (180 mg/kg) after intraperitoneal contamination of glycerol (50%, 8 ml/kg). All groups were used to 7 mice. In the results, we investigated the glycerol induced renal failure. The expression of EGF mRNA was decreased in renal proximal tubules when treated with only glycerol. SQ increased the mRNA expression of EGF in renal proximal tubules. SQ also quickly recovered the levels of BUN and creatine compared with those of mice treated with only glycerol (P<0.01). In case of ultrastructure, group 3 had heavily damaged mitochondria, but, mitochondria in group 4 had evidences of the recovery. It was concluded that SQ had the recovery effects for the glycerol-induced acute renal failure.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.142-148
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence, toxin gene profiles, and enterotoxin producing ability of Bacillus cereus isolated from environment-friendly vegetables and good agricultural practices (GAP) vegetables. A total of 49 vegetables including 40 environment-friendly vegetables and 9 GAP vegetables were tested. The Vitek 2 system was used to identify B. cereus and the PCR was used to detect 6 toxin genes, respectively. B. cereus was detected in 34 (69.3%) of 49 vegetables and the prevalence of B. cereus in GAP vegetables (44.4%) was lower than in the environment-friendly vegetables (75.0%). The detection rates of entFM, nheA, hblC, and cytK enterotoxin genes, respectively, among all isolates were 100%, 97.0%, 88.2%, and 73.5%, respectively. All of the isolates had at least one or more enterotoxin gene and 20 isolates (58.8%) had hemolysin BL enterotoxin producing ability. The risk of food poisoning from the environment-friendly vegetables and the GAP vegetables has been shown as constant. Thus, it is necessary to expand the supply of GAP vegetables showing lower B. cereus contamination than the environment-friendly vegetables. The characteristics of the environment-friendly vegetables and the GAP vegetables that must be consumed after cleaning should be disseminated to consumers regarding food poisoning prevention.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.237-245
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of latex cover developed for dental handpiece on contamination of microorganisms during dental treatment and to determine whether it can be an alternative to conventional sterilization such as autoclaving. E. fecaelis was used as a experimental microorganism instead of oral flora. Experimental bowl with 2 cm of rectangular cavity was fabricated for handpiece operating instead of oral cavity. Latex covers ($Orokeeper^{(R)}$, Orobiotech Co., Korea) and several handpieces were used after sterilization by autoclave. Four experiments were performed to evaluate bacterial contamination related with (1) various parts of dental handpiece, (2) swabbing time with alcohol sponge, (3) postoperative air-water spraying time and (4) consecutive use of latex covers without autoclaving. The results show that face of handpiece uncovered with latex cover was severely contaminated than the covered area and that most bacteria were removed by swabbing face and head area of dental hand-piece and by air-water spraying more than 15 seconds nearly up to the level of sterilization. Conclusively it can be suggested that use of latex cover for handpiece during dental procedure, swabbing with alcohol sponge is air-water spraying for more than 15 seconds after use of dental handpiece should be very useful and practical for prevention of cross infection and should be an alternative method for the sterilization of dental handpiece under some difficult situations not being able to sterilize a handpiece with autoclave.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2024

Background: Honey bees play a crucial role in pollination and ecological balance. Apis mellifera L. colonies, especially those located in specific geographic regions, such as the palm garden in Eastern Thailand, are susceptible to potential threats from microbial contaminants. Understanding and detecting microbial organisms in these beehives is essential for the preservation of bee health, honey production, and the broader ecosystem. However, the problem of microbial infection and antibiotic-resistant bacteria is more severe and continuously increasing, resulting in a health, economic, and social crisis. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of microorganisms in A. mellifera beehives in palm gardens in Rayong province, Eastern Thailand. Results: Ten swabs in transport media were swabbed and obtained from different parts of each beehive (1 swab per beehive), for a total of 10 hives. Traditional microbial culture-based methods, biochemical tests, and antimicrobial susceptibility (disc-diffusion) tests were used to detect microbial organisms and antibiotic resistance in bacteria. The swab tests from nine beehives resulted in the detection of Gram-positive bacteria (63.64%), Gram-negative bacteria (27.27%), and fungi/yeast (9.09%). These microorganisms are classified as a group of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. and made up 40.91% of the bacteria discovered. Other bacteria found were Coryneform bacteria (13.64%), Pantoea spp. (13.64%), Bacillus spp. (9.09%), yeast (9.09%), glucose non-fermentative Gram-negative bacilli (9.09%), and Pseudomonas spp. (4.55%). However, due to the traditional culture-based and 0biochemical tests usually used to identify the microbial organisms in clinical specimens and the limitation of identifying some environmental microbial species, the results of the antimicrobial susceptibility test cannot reveal if the organism is resistant or susceptible to the drug. Nevertheless, drug-sensitive inhibition zones were formed with each antibiotic agent. Conclusions: Overall, the study supports prevention, healthcare, and public health systems. The contamination of microorganisms in the beehives may affect the quality of honey and other bee products or even the health of the beekeeper. To avoid this kind of contamination, it is therefore necessary to wear personal protective equipment while harvesting honey and other bee products.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.202-206
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• 2012

$CoSi_2$ was formed through annealing of atomic layer deposition Co thin films. Co ALD was carried out using bis(N,N'-diisopropylacetamidinato) cobalt ($Co(iPr-AMD)_2$) as a precursor and $NH_3$ as a reactant; this reaction produced a highly conformal Co film with low resistivity ($50\;{\mu}{\Omega}cm$). To prevent oxygen contamination, $ex-situ$ sputtered Ti and $in-situ$ ALD Ru were used as capping layers, and the silicide formation prepared by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was used for comparison. Ru ALD was carried out with (Dimethylcyclopendienyl)(Ethylcyclopentadienyl) Ruthenium ((DMPD)(EtCp)Ru) and $O_2$ as a precursor and reactant, respectively; the resulting material has good conformality of as much as 90% in structure of high aspect ratio. X-ray diffraction showed that $CoSi_2$ was in a poly-crystalline state and formed at over $800^{\circ}C$ of annealing temperature for both cases. To investigate the as-deposited and annealed sample with each capping layer, high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) was employed with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). After annealing, in the case of the Ti capping layer, $CoSi_2$ about 40 nm thick was formed while the $SiO_x$ interlayer, which is the native oxide, became thinner due to oxygen scavenging property of Ti. Although Si diffusion toward the outside occurred in the Ru capping layer case, and the Ru layer was not as good as the sputtered Ti layer, in terms of the lack of scavenging oxygen, the Ru layer prepared by the ALD process, with high conformality, acted as a capping layer, resulting in the prevention of oxidation and the formation of $CoSi_2$.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 2018

This study was conducted to analyze the microbiological contamination status of raw beef distributed in Korea, and evaluate the suitability of current aerobic plate count (APC) guidelines. We analyzed five years (2010-2014) of microbiological monitoring data obtained from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and investigated the microbiological status of raw beef collected from meat packing centers and meat shops in the Seoul/Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Chungcheong regions in August 2015. From 2010-2014, most raw beef (>94%) displayed APC levels of < $1.0{\times}10^6CFU/g$. However, raw beef samples collected from all three regions in August 2015 had comparatively higher APC levels than those reported in previous years. To evaluate the relationship between the APC level and quality, changes in beef loin were evaluated during cold storage for 15 days at $4^{\circ}C$. On day 11, the mean APC level ($4.7{\times}10^6CFU/g$) conformed to current guidelines in Korea ($1.0{\times}10^7CFU/g$) and the pH value was 5.82. However, the sensory evaluation score for color and overall acceptability was under 3.0, meaning that the beef loin was not acceptable for eating. These results suggest that current APC guideline for raw beef should be lowered to $1.0{\times}10^6CFU/g$ to improve both the microbiological safety and palatability of raw beef.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.383-389
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• 2004

Understanding flow pattern of water and solute in subsurface is essential for the reduction and prevention of contamination of soil and groundwater and for the investigation and remediation of contaminated site. The objective of this study is to examine the infiltration pattern in a soil developed from the Jurassic granite using (Brilliant Blue FCF $C_{37}H_{34}N_{2}Na_{2}O_{9}S_{3}$), the nonfluorescent and nontoxic food dye. All image processing was conducted using geographic image processing software, ER Mapper, Version 6.2. The dye coverage was determined by counting the stained pixels in the photographs (80${\times}$80cm, 80TEX>${\times}$5cm) for the vertical and horizontal view. A homogeneous matrix flow occurred in the A horizon with weak, medium granular structure and fingering at the interface of finer-textured A horizon and coarser-textured C horizon. Pegmatitic vein originated from the granite and plant root in C horizon induced preferential flow.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.241-247
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to compare the ultrasound gel container washing methods for the sterilization of contaminants and to find the useful methods for the prevention of infection caused by the ultrasonic gel containers. In this experiment, a 250 mL ultrasonic gel container was used, and the ultrasonic gel used was a non-sterile gel (ECO GEL 99, SeungWon Medical, Korea). In order to evaluate the degree of contamination, new 250 mL 15 containers were divided into 5 groups to perform five types of washing by no treatment, washing with water, washing with soap, washing with bottle cleaner and high disinfection level washing. After the washing process, filled the gel container with gel and after 2 weeks, the number of colonies in the gel container was sampled repeatedly twice in the same ultrasonic laboratory and compared before and after washing. As a result of among the five cleaning methods used in this study, 87.2% and 88.9% of the soapy water washing (p = 0.028) and high level washing (p = 0.027) showed significant bacterial reduction rates, respectively. Our findings conclusively an ultrasonic gel container cleaning method for removing contaminants has been found to be an effective sterilization method at a low cost with a soapy water cleaning method. Therefore, it is expected that it will be helpful to prevent the infection caused by the ultrasonic gel container by suggesting the sterilization cleaning method that is practically useful in this study.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.43-51
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• 2020

About 90% of groundwater wells in Jeju Island are reported to be under the threat of contamination by infiltration of the surface pollutants. Most of those wells have improperly grouted annulus which is an empty space between the well and the inner casing. As a remedy to this problem, some of the wells were re-grouted by filling the annulus with cement without lifting an inner casing. In order to evaluate whether this method is appropriate for the geological structure of Jeju Island, two wells (W1 and W2) were selected and this method was applied. The water holding capacity did not decrease while the nitrate levels decreased from 16.8 and 20.2 to 6.8 and 13.8 mg/L in W1 and W2, respectively. The higher nitrate level in W2 is deemed to be influenced by the livestock farms located in the upper area of the well. In addition, transmissivity of the vedose zone was higher in W2 than W1, potentially facilitating the transport of nitrate to the groundwater. The overall result of this study suggests re-grouting of wells for the purpose of protecting water quality of goundwater should take into account geological structure of vadose zone as well as appropriate source control of the contaminants.

• 보존과학연구
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• s.31
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• pp.103-120
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• 2010

Most of the important stone cultural heritage (National treasures and Treasures) in Korea are mainly located outdoor and considerably affected by the changes of the temperature, humidity and rainfalls. 541 of the stone cultural heritage are preserved as National treasure and Treasure. The pagodas occupy 187 remains and next 127 Buddha statues, 68 monuments, 60 stupas, and the others 74 stone cultural heritages. The shelter has been installed for one pagoda, 60 Buddha statues, 36 monuments and two stupas. The shelters are categorized in three shapes as traditional shape, modern shape, and others (tradition+modern). Approximately 100 of shelters that have constructed in traditional ways, and about nine of shelters have modern ways, and the only one has the combination shape of tradition and modern, which has been constructed since mid 1900s and repaired from the 1980s~2000s. Many researchers are studying for improvement of manners such as repairing, remodeling or removing of the shelter because problems have occured on shelters. Architectural form of traditional style of Korean timber building is respected, but it has problems on importing natural sunlight to the inside as well as ventilation and spacial problems. However, it needs to supplement policies to improve the positive roles of shelters such as prevention of artificial damage, blocking acid rain, and so on. For instance, the rock-carved Buddha Triad in Seosan, it had problems with viewing, contamination, and dew condensation on the surface. These problems decreased after dismantling the shelter, the space was made for improvement of viewing and dew condensation, and moisture problems were in better conditions. The velocity wind is an important factor in drying conditions on the surface of the rock, therefore the condition has improved after dismantling the shelter.