• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.94-101
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• 2018

Although Kimchi has health benefits, food poisoning associated with consumption of Kimchi has been frequently reported. Accordingly, microbiological properties of Kimchi (100 samples) and washing effects on microbial reduction against its ingredients (200 samples) were examined. Total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, and Clostridium perfringens were quantified. In addition, B. cereus, Salmonella spp., Enterohemorrhagic E. coli, C. perfringens, Campylobacter jejuni/coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Yersinia enterocolitica were analysed qualitatively. Total aerobic bacteria count was approximately 1.4-9.0 log CFU/g, which were highest in ginger (8.8 log CFU/g), and Chonggak Kimchi (9.0 log CFU/g). The range of coliform counts detected in all raw materials was 0.5-7.3 log CFU/g and ginger showed the greatest number 7.3 log CFU/g among others. Contamination was decreased to 0.2-3.2, 0.3-2.7, and 1.0-3.9 log CFU/g for total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, and B. cereus, respectively, after washing. Minimising microbial contamination in Kimchi ingredients is necessary to ensure the safety of Kimchi. These results indicate that washing is a useful method to reduce bacterial contamination in Kimchi.

• The Korean Nurse
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.49-69
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• 1997

The urgent needs to establish hospice care systems in Korea arise from the following reasons: 0) a drastic increase in chronically ill patients with the increase of aged population: (2) rapid changes in living environment from the traditional habitation (e. g., Many Koreans living in apartment complexes, which is the most popular form of modern residence in recent years, prefer to die in the hospital.): the overall increase in patients with advanced cancer: (4) recent trends in early discharge of terminally ill patients from the limited hospital facilities to accomodate other medical insurance beneficiaries; (5) easy acceptance of euthanasia owing to the recent social atmosphere that belittles the dignity of human life; (6) medical and nursing care of AIDS patient in terminal stage; (7) and the problem associated with inhumane medical care system, overtreatment, and groundless fears against narcotics. Terminally ill patients were used to be treated in the hospital in the past. In these days, however, they are forced to have home cares with little assistance from the qualified medical personnel because of insufficient hospital facilities, which are even short for the need of emergency patients and provide priority cares to medical insurance beneficiaries with other acute problems. And yet, neither are there any administrative organizations nor systematic medical studies that deal with the level of terminally ill patient's need, their family's problems and resources of hospice care systems in Korea. Thus, most patients are not able to get appropriate medical care at the terminal stage of their lives. The objective of this study is to make comprehensive database for various hospice care organization currently in operation, link them through medical information system, and develop an easily accessible hospice care model that meets the need of most Korean people. Our survey results may be summarized as follows: Nationally there are 40 organizations that provide partial or full hospice care. However, these organizations are not linked to any formal medical service network. Furthermore, the objective of hospice care, care principles, personnel with appropriate training, educational programs, standard for care, costs, consulting service to patients' family members, the extent of medical care from professional staff members, status of hospice facility, and management of those institutions are neither clearly defined nor organized compared to the international hospice care standards. The surveys on patients of terminal stage. grouped in hospice and non-hospice care patients. reveal what they want visiting nursing care to help their pain control. psychological. social and spiritual demands. While the more than 90% of hospice care patients want to reduce their pains. the non-hospice care patients. in addition to their desire for pain control. demanded more psychological. social and spiritual helps as well. The results of this research could be utilized to 0) define the standard of hospice care. (2) provide the guidance for hospice medical care costs. (3) establish the database of hospice care systems. (4) develop softwares. (5) build communication network through Medinet. and (6) provide an organized visiting home nursing care system. These information should be a valuable resource to many medical staffs who are involved in cancer therapy. nursing care. and social welfare programs.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.521-532
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• 2005

The prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) continues to rise in industrialized countries related to Western lifestyle, including dietary habits, especially imbalance of intake of dietary fatty acids. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dietary fatty acids and the assess the blood fatty acid composition and immune parameters in AD patients. AD (n = 50) patients and gender ${\cdot}$ age matched healthy controls (HC) were studied in case-control clinical trail. Current fatty acids intake status was determined by 3-day food record method. Blood sample were collected from 30 subjects in each group and blood fatty acid composition and immune parameters were analysed. AD patients consumed less PUFA and their n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio was higher than that of HC. Both the ratios of PUFA and MUFA were positively correlated with SCORAD in AD patients (p < 0.05). In the AD patients, there were abnormalities in the fatty acid composition of the RBC and WBC, SFA being significantly high and most n-3 PUFA being significantly low. Moreover, both the ratios of EPA and DHA in WBC were negatively correlated with dietary n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio in AD patients (p < 0.05). Serum total IgE and IL-4 levels of AD patients increased significantly compared with the levels of HC (p < 0.01). Ratios of monocyte and eosinophil in WBC of AD patients increased significantly compared with the levels of HC including total WBC count (p < 0.01), and ratios of Iymphocyte and basophil in WBC of AD patients decreased significantly compared with the levels of HC (p < 0.05). Moreover, the ratios of eosinophil in WBC were positively correlated with dietary P/M ratio (p < 0.05), and the ratios of monocyte in WBC were positively correlated with n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio (p < 0.05) in AD patients. This results indicated that AD patients had significantly high intake of dietary n-6/n-3 PUFA compared with HC. Imbalance of intake of dietary fatty acids affected fatty acid compositions in the RBC and WBC, and these lead to immune imbalance and grow worse of AD.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.411-419
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• 2012

The present study was to investigate the effects of Lycii Cortex Radicis (LCR), the root bark of lycium (Lycium chenese Miller) and ginger (Gin) on body lipid status and serum levels of cytokines. Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats weighing $193.6{\pm}16.8g$ were divided into five groups, including one low fat (LF) and four high fat groups, i.e. HF-Control, HF-LCR, HF-Gin and HF-LCR + Gin groups. Diets for HF-LCR, HF-Gin and HF-LCR + Gin groups contained purified extracts having 0.2 g LCR tyramine, ginerol and 0.1 g tyramine plus 0.02 g gingerol per kg, respectively. Compared with those of the HF-Control total serum cholesterol level decreased, and HDL-cholesterol level increased in the HF-LCR group and serum triglyceride levels decreased in the three experimental groups fed the purified extracts. Liver cholesterol level was lower in the HF-LCR group than the HF-Control group, but triglyceride levels, which were increased by high fat diets were not changed by significantly by LCR or ginger extracts. Fecal lipid excretion was higher in the HF-LCR and HF-Gin groups, but cholesterol excretion was lower in the HF-Gin group than in the HF-Control group. The activities of liver cytosolic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme were lower in the HF-LCR + Gin group than in the HF-Control group. Serum adiponectin levels did not differ among the five groups, while leptin level was lower in the HF-Gin group and C-reactive protein levels were lower in the HF-Gin and the HF-LCR + Gin groups than in the HF-Control group. It is concluded that LCR can be utilized as an ingredient for lipid-lowering functional foods in the form of purified extract and addition of small amount of ginger extract would be useful for reducing one of the inflammatory cytokines to help prevent atherosclerosis.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.502-507
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• 2019

Cephalopods are one of the most important fishery resources in the world because of their desirable taste and nutritional value. In south Korea, one of the countries in which a large amount of seafood is consumed, cephalopods (e.g., octopus, squid, and cuttlefish) have an annual consumption rate of over 400,000 metric tons. In this study, octopus and squid products (n=28) sold on the market were monitored by analyzing sequences of DNA barcode markers (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S ribosomal RNA genes). For species identification, the NCBI BLAST database was screened with the sequences and analyzed as a query. In this BLAST search, twelve squid products showed 99-100% sequence identity to Dosidicus gigas (n=3) and Todarodes pacificus (n=9). In the case of the other 16 products that were declared using octopus as raw materials on the labels, six products were identified as Cistopus taiwanicus (n=1), Amphioctopus marginatus (n=1), Scaeurgus unicirrhus (n=1), and Dosidicus gigas (n=3). Monitoring results indicated that a significant percentage (37.5%) of mislabeling was present in octopus products sold on the South Korean market.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.144-149
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• 2012

Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) has successfully installed two autonomous very broadband three-component seismic stations at the King George Island (KGI), Antarctica, during the 24th KOPRI Antarctic Summer Expedition (2010 ~ 2011). The seismic observation system is originally designed by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Program for Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere Instrument Center, which is fully compatible with the Polar Earth Observing Network seismic system. The installation is to achieve the following major goals: 1. Monitoring local earthquakes and icequakes in and around the KGI, 2. Validating the robustness of seismic system operation under harsh environment. For further intensive studies, we plan to move and install them adding a couple more stations at ice shelf system, e.g., Larsen Ice Shelf System, Antarctica, in 2013 to figure out ice dynamics and physical interaction between lithosphere and cryosphere. In this article, we evaluate seismic station performance and characteristics by examining ambient noise, and provide operational system information such as frequency response and State-Of-Health information.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2015

Background: Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) is a representative traditional herbal medicine with many different pharmacological properties including anticancer, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-diabetes, and anti-inflammatory activities. Only a few studies have explored the molecular mechanism of KRG-mediated anti-inflammatory activity. Methods: We investigated the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of the protopanaxadiol saponin fraction (PPD-SF) of KRG using in vitro and in vivo inflammatory models. Results: PPD-SF dose-dependently diminished the release of inflammatory mediators [nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and prostaglandin $E_2$], and downregulated the mRNA expression of their corresponding genes (inducible NO synthase, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and cyclooxygenase-2), without altering cell viability. The PPD-SF-mediated suppression of these events appeared to be regulated by a blockade of p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and TANK (TRAF family member-associated NF-kappa-B activator)-binding kinase 1 (TBK1), which are linked to the activation of activating transcription factor 2 (ATF2) and interferon regulatory transcription factor 3 (IRF3). Moreover, this fraction also ameliorated HCl/ethanol/-induced gastritis via suppression of phospho-JNK2 levels. Conclusion: These results strongly suggest that the anti-inflammatory action of PPD-SF could be mediated by a reduction in the activation of p38-, JNK2-, and TANK-binding-kinase-1-linked pathways and their corresponding transcription factors (ATF2 and IRF3).

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.394-399
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• 2011

This study evaluated the effect of using waste nutrient solution (WNS) and reclaimed wastewater (WW) on the growth of Chinese cabbage and soil quality. The pH and electrical conductivity (EC) values of waste nutrient solution were 6.3 and $1.5dS\;m^{-1}$ and being 6.8 and $0.4dS\;m^{-1}$ in reclaimed WW, respectively. WNS found to be included more than $10g\;m^{-2}$ of $NO_3^-$, $K^+$, $SO_4^{2-}$ and $Ca^{2+}$, thereby enhancing Chinese cabbage growth. However, $Cl^-$ and $Na^+$ contents were higher than other nutrients in WW. Among the three irrigation resources, no significant differences were found for the growth of Chinese cabbage plants. On the other hand, pH was decreased in WNS-treated soil when compare to that in WW-treated soil which pH was increased. In spite of the uptake of nutrients by the growing plants, irrigation of the WNS led to an increase in available $P_2O_5$ and exchangeable cations such as $K^+$ and $Mg^{2+}$ in the soil when compared to soil that irrigated by groundwater or WW. Taken together, the use of WNS can remarkably reduce the amount of the chemical fertilizer for Chinese cabbage production; however, WNS can possibly cause a problem as nutrients accumulation in soil.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1052-1062
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• 2011

Residual of heavy metals originated from abandoned metal mines in agricultural field can cause adverse effect on ecosystem and eventually on human health. For this reason, remediation of heavy metal contaminated agriculture field is a critical issue. In this study, five different amendments, agriculture lime, dolomite, steel slag, zeolite, and compost, were evaluated for stabilization efficiency of heavy metals in agricultural field. Applied mixing ratio of amendments was varied (2% or 6%) depending on properties of amendments. Result showed that soil pH was increased compared to control (6.1-6.7) after mixing with amendments and ordered as dolomite (7.2~8.3) > steel slag (6.7~8.1) > agriculture lime (6.6~7.4) > zeolite (6.2~6.9) > compost (6.1~7.1). Among other amendments, agriculture lime, steel slag, and dolomite showed the highest stabilization efficiency of heavy metals in soil. For Cd, stabilization efficiency was 49~72%, 51~83%, and 0~36% for agriculture lime, steel slag, and dolomite respectively. In case of Pb, 43~64, 37~73%, and 51~73% of stabilization efficiency was observed for agriculture lime, steel slag, and dolomite respectively. However, minimal effect of heavy metal stabilization was observed for zeolite and compost. Based on result of this study, amendments that can increase the soil pH were the most efficient to stabilize heavy metal residuals and can be adapted for remediation purpose in agricultural field.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.864-871
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• 2010

At the current situation of continuous utilization of heavy metal contaminated upland for agricultural purpose in Korea, minimizing transport of heavy metals from soil to crops is important for securing safety of human health. The present study (in field scale) examined the efficiency of several soil amendments (dolomite, steel slag, lime, zeolite, and compost) on reduction of phytoavailable heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in soil through comparison with no amendment treatment and clean soil cover treatment. For determination of the phytoavailability, 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ extraction and red pepper cultivation were introduced. Among the amendments, in general, dolomite and steel slag were the most effective in reduction of metal (Cd, Pb, and Zn) phytoavailability resulting in less accumulation of these metals in shoot and fruit of red pepper. However, dolomite and steel slag treatment was not as effective as clean soil cover treatment which showed the least metal accumulation in red pepper fruit. Nevertheless, with taking into account the cost, treatment of dolomite or steel slag can be competitive method because the current study showed that dolomite or steel slag treatment reduced accumulated heavy metal concentration effectively in both shoot and fruit of red pepper compared to those from control soil and the concentration in fruit was within the standard value (<0.2 mg $kg^{-1}$ for both Cd and Pb).