• 한국방재학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.02a
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• pp.827-830
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• 2008

Enterococcus is a fecal indicator bacterium and often used to indicate fecal contamination in the environment. Carbohydrates fermentation patterns of Enterococcus isolates were investigated as a way to differentiate the source of fecal contamination. Total 1826 Enterococcus isolates were obtained from cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, and humans in two geographically different locations. Distributions of carbohydrate fermentation patterns showed discrepancies among sources. This study suggest that the possibility of the use of Enterococcus in microbial source tracking.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2016

This study was aimed to assess microbiological contamination level of Liriope platyphylla farms (A, B, and C) located in Cheongyang, Chungnam province. Specimens sampled from those farms and L. platyphylla tuberous roots were assessed for sanitary indication bacteria such as total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, and Escherichia coli and pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, quantitatively and qualitatively. As a result, those farms are not contaminated by E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., at all. And S. aureus was only found qualitatively from workers' gloves at a farm. As a whole, those farms (soil, harvest container, harvester, cleanser, washing water and tray) were maintained in a low level of microbiological contamination. However a cleanser was contaminated by coliforms ($4.35log\;CFU/100cm^2$), and it is required to improve farm hygiene. Microbiological contamination level of L. platyphylla tuberous root was decreased in the postharvest process including washing and drying.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.102-112
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• 2024

Background: Despite the rise in the number of domestic indoor climbing gyms, there is a lack of specific hygiene standards and research on the holds installed in them. Holds can act as vectors for microbial transmission through the hands, posing a risk of infectious diseases, especially with damaged skin. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the contamination level and species of microorganisms on holds according to the management methods practiced in indoor climbing gyms and identify effective strategies for reducing microbial contamination. Methods: We investigated factors that may influence microbial contamination of holds, including hold management methods, user information, and hygiene management at three climbing gyms in Seoul. A total of 72 holds were sampled, 18 for each management method of brushing, high-pressure washing, and ethanol disinfection. Samples were cultured on LB and blood agar at 37℃ for 48 hours to calculate CFUs. PCR assay targeting 16S rRNA was carried out to identify microorganisms. Dunn-Bonferroni was employed to see the microbial reduction effect of the management method and the difference in microbial contamination by management method and climbing gym. Results: As a result of microbial identification, microorganisms such as Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Micrococcus, which were derived from various environments such as skin and soil, were discovered on the surface of the climbing hold. Among the discovered microorganisms, some species had potential pathogenic properties that could cause food poisoning, gastrointestinal disease, bacteremia, and sepsis. All hold management methods were effective in reducing microorganisms (p<0.05), with ethanol disinfection being the most effective (p<0.001). Conclusions: Our results indicate that there are potential pathogens on holds that demand thorough management for microbial prevention. Proposed methods include regular brushing and ethanol disinfection in addition to high-pressure washing with long cycles, which are the existing forms of hold management. Further studies on shoe management are advised to curb soil-derived microorganisms.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.333-338
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• 2017

This study was performed to assess microbial contamination of Aronia melanocarpa, blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry sold in several markets. We investigated total aerobic bacteria and detected foodborne bacteria by multiplex PCR from Aronia melanocarpa, blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry. Total aerobic bacteria of each sample showed mean 3.54 log CFU/g for Aronia melanocarpa, mean 1.90 log CFU/g for blueberry, and mean 1.40 log CFU/g for raspberry, but not detected in cranberry. Specially, Aronia melanocarpa contained high total aerobic bacteria contamination among various berries and contamination level reached 4.17 log CFU/g in sample 5. To evaluate the effect of distribution conditions, we also investigated total aerobic bacteria of various berries. Total aerobic bacteria showed mean 2.89 log CFU/g for berries in refrigerated distribution and 1.40 log CFU/g in frozen distribution, but not in dry distribution. For assessment of foodborne bacteria contamination, we conducted PCR with multiplex primers of E. coli O157, S. aureus, B. cereus, V. parahaemolyticus, L. monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. Among these foodborne bacteria, B. cereus was amplified in Aronia melanocarpa in sample 4 and blueberry in sample 1, 2, 3, and 5. The result of quantitative analysis of B. cereus contamination showed 4.08 log CFU/g of Aronia melanocarpa in sample 4 and higher contamination rate 4.07 log CFU/g of blueberry in sample 3. These results suggest that strict food safety control in harvest and distribution of various berries is necessary to prevent foodborne disease and improve microbiological safety.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.48-50
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• 1963

The authors have investigated about the microbial contamination of goods which is a criterion of hygienic control. Conducting on investigation, a special attention has been paid on the rate of microbial contamination in the goods, especially in manufacturing process of the softdrink. The authors also made an experiment on total microbes which is the criterion of contamination in each step of the process and in raw materials together with materials to be used for subdividing. Results obtained were as follows : 1) The orgin of microbial contamination was found in bottle cap and in tap water, that is, there appeared 9 colony per ml in bottle cap and 31-74 colony per ml in tap water, respectively. 2) It was found that microbial contamination are 4 colony per ml in average through year. However, it appeared 1 colony per ml in winter and 8 colony per ml in summer. 3) Coliform groups are not detected in goods through a year. 4) There was no variation in number of total microbes after ion exchange resin passage in purification process of tap water. 5) The number of microbes in goods are decreased when the raw materials are treated in high temperature short time (HTST) sterilization.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.191-196
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• 2007

The slaughter process for cattle will inevitably transfer some bacteria onto the carcasses. The goal of food safety programs is to minimize and effectively remove this contamination. This study was attempted by the Verif $EYE^{TM}$ machine-vision technology that might be useful for reducing microbial indicator counts and could reduce the contamination chance of E coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp on beef carcasses. For the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Verif $EYE^{TM}$ technology, 80 samples were examined by the inspection device over 15 days. On an examination of FDS-positive samples compared to negative controls from the same carcasses, aerobic plate counts were bigger than the negative control samples (5.26 vs 4.60 log). Enterobacteriaceae counts were greater on the positive samples than the corresponding negative control samples (2.07 vs 1.17log). There was a consistent correlation between samples detected by the Verif $EYE^{TM}$ system with detectable counts. For example, 100% of positive samples had detectable APC and 91.2% of positive samples had detectable TCC. Therefore, if areas detected as positive for contamination by the Verif $EYE^{TM}$ system were removed from the carcasses, significant sources of microbial contamination will be reduced for objective compliance with HACCP. This results suggest that the use of Verif $EYE^{TM}$ machine-vision technology might be useful for reducing microbial indicator counts (APC, TCC) and could help reduce the risk of presence of E coJi O157:H7 and Salmonella spp on Beef carcasses.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.11-15
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• 2013

In order to find a sanitary logistic way to handle library books, papers and environmental sources contacting the books were tested in their microbial contamination load and methods to decontaminate the books were investigated. Generally bacterial load of inner book pages was very low, but increased when contaminated with liquid such as saliva. In contrast, their lateral ends showed much higher bacterial contamination presumably due to dry dust contamination on there. As operations to improve the sanitary book conditions, turbulent air blow was found to be workable for reducing dry dusty contamination and 280 nm ultra-violet (UV) light emitting diode (LED) was so for decontaminating wet surface contamination. Microbial inactivation by the UV LED could be realized with irradiation for more than 5 minutes at 2 cm distance. Air blow of 5.5 m/s for 0.5~1 minute could reduce the dusty contamination on a model book surface.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.437-442
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• 2022

Squid jeotgal is a very popular traditional, salted, and fermented seafood in Korea. Due to the development of a distribution structure, a lot of imported squid jeotgal has recently entered Korea. In this study, we analyzed and compared the microbial contamination levels of domestic and imported squid jeotgal. The total viable bacterial count in domestic and imported jeotgal was 5.20 and 5.38 log CFU/g, respectively. The highest contamination level was 6.94 log CFU/g in one of the imported squid jeotgal samples. Coliforms were not detected in domestic jeotgal but were detected at 50% with 2.21 log CFU/g in imported jeotgal. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were not detected (ND: <1 log CFU/g) in both domestic and imported jeotgal. All samples of jeotgal were negative for Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens. The microbial contamination levels determined in the current study may be utilized as primary data to execute microbial risk assessments on domestic and (or) imported jeotgal.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.407-417
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• 2021

In order to investigate frequency of fungal contamination in ginseng sprout, we collected 18 types of retail ginseng sprouts and analyzed them. Overall frequency of fungal contamination ranged from 113.3 to 174.1% with the highest occurrence of Penicillium spp. Fungal detection rate was significantly higher in moss than in stem, leaf and root of ginseng sprout. Penicillium spp. occurred in leaf and stem with the highest incidence and Fusarium spp., in root. Among Penicillium spp. and Fusarium spp., P. olsonii and F. oxysporum were dominant, respectively. Nine Fusarium species, Aspergillus westerdijkiae, Aspergillus flavus, and 11 Penicillium species were identified by phylogenetic analysis. PCR screening of mycotoxigenic potential revealed that 19 out of 25 isolates tested were positive for respective mycotoxin biosynthetic gene. Two 2 A. flavus and 11 A. westerdijkiae isolates produced varying amount of aflatoxin or ochratoxin A in czapek yeast extract brothsome of which showed high levels of mycotoxin production. These results suggests a need for continuous monitoring and management program to control fungal contamination in the ginseng sprout production chain.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.195-206
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• 2016

Today, application of additives to replace cement in order to improve concrete mixes is widely promoted. Micro-silica is among the best pozzolanic additives which can desirably contribute to the concrete characteristics provided it is used properly. In this paper, the effects of AP2RC and P1RB micro-silica gels on strength characteristics of normal concrete are investigated. Obtained results indicated that the application of these additives not only provided proper workability during construction, but also led to increased tensile, compressive and flexural strength values for the concrete during early ages as well as ultimate ones with the resulting reduction in the porosity lowering permeability of the micro-silica concrete. Furthermore, evaluation of microbial contamination of the mentioned gels showed the resultant contamination level to be within the permitted range.