• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.66-77
• /
• 2006

This review inquired the recently applied molecular biological and biochemical methods analyzing the microbial community structure of groundwater and, as a result, summarized the functional or taxonomic groups of active microorganisms with major contaminants in groundwater. The development of gene amplification through PCR has been possible to figure out microbial population and identification. Active microbial community structures have been analyzed using a variety of fingerprinting techniques such as DGGE, SSCP, RISA, and microarray and fatty acid analyses such as PLFA and FAME, and the activity of a specific strain has been examined using FISH. Also, this review included the dominant microflora in groundwater contaminated with fuel components such as n-alkanes, BTEX, MTBE, and ethanol and chlorinated compounds such as TCE, PCE, PCB, CE, carbon tetrachloride, and chlorobenzene.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
• /
• 2006.06a
• /
• pp.319-324
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this study Is to evaluate the efficacy of multizone simulation that enables to grasp of details about microbial contaminant problem in an multistoried apartment. We used actual indoor test data to figure up microbial contaminant level as initial value for the multizone simulation and estimated the various effects of indoor occupant infected with germs and the performance of air sterilization by using multizone simulation in substitute for infeasible experimental approach. The results show that natural ventilation make ourselves generally useful for removing indoor microbial contaminants. The results also show that the performance of air sterilization reach the maximum in the case of using mechanical ventilation and UVGI air sterilizer. The conclusion is that this multizone simulation is useful tool for actual design method for Immune building systems.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.7-18
• /
• 2015

The characteristics of As and heavy metals depend on the oxidation/reduction condition of the soil environment. The most heavy metals are immobilized by the reduction condition whereas As, Fe and Mn become more soluble. Therefore this study estimated the stabilization efficiency of the agricultural paddy soil in the vicinity of the abandoned mine using a flooded column test including analysis of the soil solution, contaminants fractionation and rice grain. Limestone and steelmaking slag were used as amendments for stabilization of the contaminated soil. In an analysis of the soil solution, the mobile characteristics of Fe and Mn, which were used as electron acceptors of the microorganisms, were controlled by increasing the pH by adding alkali amendments. This means that the contaminants combined with Fe and Mn can be stable under flooded reduction condition. However, the concentrations of cationic heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Zn) were also decreased without amendments because the carbonates produced from microbial respiration increased the pH of the soil solution. In the amended soil, the specific sorbed fraction of As and carbonates fraction of heavy metals were increased when compared to the control soil at the end of the column test. Especially in heavy metals, the increase of carbonates fraction seems to be influenced by alkali amendments rather than microbial respiration. Because of the stabilization effect in the flooded paddy soil, the contents of As and Zn in rice grain from amended soil were lower than that of the control soil. But additional research is needed because of the relatively higher Pb content identified in the rice grain from the amended.

• Advances in environmental research
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.61-80
• /
• 2013

Quantification of viable forms of microbial community (bacteria and fungi) using culture-dependent methods was done in order to characterize the indoor air quality (IAQ). Role of those factors, which may influence the concentration of viable counts of bacteria and fungi, like ventilation, occupancy, outdoor concentration and environmental parameters (temperature and relative humidity) were also determined. Volumetric-infiltration sampling technique was employed to collect air samples both inside and outside the schools. As regard of measurements of airborne viable culturable microflora of schools during one academic year, the level of TVMCs in school buildings was ranged between 803-5368 cfu/$m^3$. Viable counts of bacteria (VBCs) were constituted 63.7% of the mean total viable microbial counts where as viable counts of fungi (VFCs) formed 36.3% of the total. Mean a total viable microbial count (TVMCs) in three schools was 2491 cfu/$m^3$. Outdoor level of TVMCs was varied from 736-5855 cfu/$m^3$. Maximum and minimum VBCs were 3678-286 cfu/m3 respectively. Culturable fungal counts were ranged from 268-2089 cfu/$m^3$ in three schools. Significant positive correlation (p < 0.01) was indicated that indoor concentration of viable community reliant upon outdoor concentration. Temperature seemed to have a large effect (p < 0.05, p < 0.01) on the concentration of viable culturable microbial community rather than relative humidity. Consistent with the analysis and findings, the concentration of viable cultural counts of bacteria and fungi found indoors, were of several orders of magnitude, depending upon the potential of local, spatial and temporal factors, IO ratio appeared as a crucial indicator to identify the source of microbial contaminants.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2019

Recently, groundwater contamination by mixed occurrence of arsenic (As) and nitrate ($NO_3{^-}$) has been a serious environmental issue all around world. In this study, we investigated the microbial As(III) oxidation characteristic under denitrification process to examine the feasibility of the microbial consortia in wetland sediment to simultaneously treat these two contaminants. The detail objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of $NO_3{^-}$ on the oxidation of As(III) in anaerobic environments and observe the microbial community change during the As oxidation under denitrification process. Results showed that the As(III) was completely and simultaneously oxidized to As(V) under denitrification process, however, it occurred to a much less extent in the absence of sediment or $NO_3{^-}$. In addition, the significant increase of As(III) oxidation rate in the presence of $NO_3{^-}$ suggested the potential of As oxidation under denitrification by indigenous microorganisms in wetland sediment. Genera Pseudogulbenkiania, and Flavisolibacter were identified as predominant microbial species driving the redox process. Conclusively, this study can provide useful information on As(III) oxidation under denitrifying environment and contribute to develop an effective technology for simultaneous removal of As(III) and $NO_3{^-}$ in groundwater.

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

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.282-290
• /
• 2018

This research was to evaluate microbial contamination levels in meat samples at hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP)-implemented processing plants that produce beef, pork, and chicken. During a period of about a year, a total of 178 samples (76 from beef, 89 from pork, and 13 from chicken) were obtained from raw materials (21.3%) and final products (78.7%). All samples were determined for each 25 g homogenized one. Samples were analyzed to determine the total aerobic plate count (APC), coliform count (CC), and E. coli count (ECC). By month, APC levels were the highest in September and the lowest in February (p<0.001). In comparison among season, APC levels in meat samples were the highest in the summer and the lowest in winter (p<0.001). By month, the highest CC prevalence was found in August, followed by October and then July (p<0.001). By season, the highest CC was obtained in summer, followed by autumn and then spring (p<0.001). All samples were negative for ECC. There was a direct correlation between the product form and coliform presence (p<0.001). In addition, there was a positive correlation between the APC and CC (r=0.261). The APCs in analyzed samples ranged from below <$10^1CFU/g$ to <$10^7CFU/g$. In conclusion, the month and season had significant effects on microbial contamination levels at HACCP implemented processing plants. Interrelationships between (i) the product form and coliform, (ii) the APC and CC were revealed.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.590-598
• /
• 2006

In-situ Air sparging (IAS) is a groundwater remediation technique, in which organic contaminants volatilize into air form the saturated to vadose zone. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of sludge and soil microbial community structure on air sparging of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) contaminated groundwater soils. In the laboratory, diesel (10,000 mg TPH/kg) contaminated saturated soil. The Air was injected in intermittent (Q=1500 mL/min, 10 minute injection and 10 minute idle) modes. For Terminal-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of eubacterial communities in sludge of wastewater treatment plants and soil of experiment site, the 16S rDNA was amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) from the sludge and the soil. The obtained 16S rDNA fragments were digested with Msp I and separated by electrophoresis gel. We found various sequence types for experiment with sludge soil samples that were closely related to Agrococcus, Flavobacterium, Thermoanaerobacter, Flexibacter and Shewanella, etc, in the clone library. The results of the present study suggests that T-RFLP method may be applied as a useful tool for the monitoring in the TPH contaminated soil the fate of microorganisms in natural microbial community.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.556-562
• /
• 2015

In order to remove the organic substances and the nitrate-nitrogen contained in wastewater, some researchers have studied the simultaneous removal of organics and nitrogen by using different biocathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The operating conditions for removing the contaminants in the MFCs are the external resistances, HRTs, the concentration of the influent wastewater, and other factors. This study aimed to determine the effect of the external resistors and organic loading rates, from the changing HRT, on the removal of the organics and nitrogen and on the production of electric power using the Denitrification Biocathode - Microbial Fuel Cell (DNB-MFC). As regards the results of the study, the removal efficiencies of $SCOD_{Cr}$ did not show any difference, but the nitrate-nitrogen removal efficiencies were increased by decreasing the external resistance. The maximum denitrification rate achieved was $129.2{\pm}13.54g\;NO_3{^-}-N/m^3/d$ in the external resistance $1{\Omega}$, and the maximum power density was $3,279mW/m^3$ in $10{\Omega}$. When the DNB-MFC was operated with increasing influent organic and nitrate loading by reducing the HRTs, the $NO_3{^-}-N$ removal efficiencies were increased linearly, and the maximum nitrate removal rate was $1,586g\;NO^3{^-}-N/m^3/d$ at HRT 0.6 h.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.47-53
• /
• 2011

In Korea, groundwater is main water source in livestock farms. Most dairy and cattle farms have constructed their own wells for human drinking and livestock farming. However, these private residential wells have not been controlled by government and also there was scant study about livestock drinking water quality. Therefore this study was to monitor of the livestock farms' groundwater quality in Korea. Water samples were collected at 123 dairy and cattle farms and were analysed forty six substances with quality standard for drinking water approved by the Minister of Environment. Seventy eight (63.4%) of 123 samples failed to drinking water stand a test. The most frequent contaminants were nitrate-nitrogen and microbial. 22.8% (n=28) of samples showed nitrate-N concentration of higher than 10 mg/L meant that can't be used drinking water for human and the Nitrate-N concentration analysed in the range of 0.2 to 61.2 mg/L. All of 78 failed to drinking samples had microbial problems, especially 5.7% (n=7) of samples indicated water could be contaminated by feces. Other contaminants detected were zinc and evaporation residue. Especially detected zinc concentration (32 mg/L) was about ten times higher than standard of zinc (3 mg/L). Regression analysis indicated that groundwater pH did not influence to nitrate-N concentration but the hardness and chloride could affect to nitrate-N concentration in the groundwater. Most livestock farms were adjacent to crop farmland in Korea. This could cause contamination of groundwater with nitrate-N and pesticide that could accumulate livestock product. Moreover Heavy metal such as zinc and copper could be released from a corrosive plated water pipe in livestock farm. Put together, Korea livestock system is indoor, not pasture-based, hence livestock could be exposed to potential contaminated water consistently. Therefore on the basis of these data, appropriate livestock drinking water quality standards should be prepared to keep livestock healthy and their product safe. Further, livestock drinking water quality should be monitored continuously in suitable livestock drinking water standards.