• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.270-276
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• 2005

This study was conducted to examine whether a specific synthetic metalworking fluid (MWF), "A", in use for 10 months without replacement, displayed microbial resistance and to identify the additives associated with the control of microbial growth. Three synthetic MWF products ("A", "B", and "C") were studied every week for two months. Microbial deterioration of the fluids was assessed through evaluation by endotoxin, bacteria and fungi levels in the MWFs. In addition, formaldehyde, boron, ethanolamine, and copper levels were also studied to determine whether they influence microbial growth in water-based MWFs. Throughout the entire study in the sump where MWF "A" was used, bacteria counts were lower than 103 CFU/mL, and endotoxins never exceeded 103 EU/mL. These levels were significantly lower than levels observed in sumps badly deteriorated with microbes. Boron levels in MWF "A" ranged from 91.7 to 129.6 ppm, which was significantly higher than boron levels found in other MWF products. The total level of ethanolamine (EA) in MWF "A" ranged from 35,595 to 57,857 ppm (average 40,903 ppm), which was over ten times higher than that found in other MWFs. Monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA) concentrations in MWF "A" were also significantly higher than seen in other MWFs. However, although EA and boron might improve anti-microbial performance, their abuse can pose a serious risk to workers who handle MWFs. From an industrial hygiene perspective, our study results stress that the positive synergistic effect of boron and EA in reducing microbial activity in MWF must be balanced with the potentially negative health effects of such additives. Our study also addresses the disadvantage of failing to comprehensively report MWF additives on Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Future research in MWF formulation is needed to find the best level of EA and boron for achieving optimal synergistic anti-microbial effects while minimizing employee health hazards.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 2021

The diet plays a fundamental role in the formation of the gut microbiota, determining the interrelationship between the gut microbiota and the host. The current study investigated the effect of Chlorella vulgaris on the gut microbiota by using simulated in vitro digestion and colonic fermentation. Bioaccessibility was measured after in vitro digestion, and SCFAs and microbial profiling were analyzed after colonic fermentation. The bioaccessibility of C. vulgaris was 0.24 g/g. The three major SCFAs (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) increased significantly when compared to the control group. In microbial profiling analysis, microorganisms such as Faecalibacterium, Dialister, Megasphaera, Dorea, Odoribacter, Roseburia, Bifidobacterium, Butyricmonas, and Veillonella were high in C. vulgaris group. Among them, Faecalibacterium, Dialister, Megasphaera, Roseburia, and Veillonella were thought to be closely associated with the increased level of SCFAs. Finally, it can be expected to help improve gut microbiota and health through ingestion of C. vulgaris. However, further studies are vital to confirm the changes in the gut microbiota in in vivo, when C. vulgaris is ingested.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2018

We investigated the levels of microbial contaminants and microbial hazards during dried-laver processing. We analyzed 321 samples obtained from 18 dried-laver Pyropia spp. manufacturing facilities, including water, swab-, and processing samples as well as final products. The levels of microbial contaminants, including viable cell counts (VCC) and coliform bacteria, increased as processing progressed. The sanitary indicator bacterium, Escherichia coli, was not detected in the final products although VCC levels were high, generally exceeding 5 log CFU/g. We also investigated changes in microbial contaminants at each processing step. Both VCC and total coliform dramatically increased after 4 days of continuous processing, indicating that microbial contaminants originated, mainly, from cross contamination during processing.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.394-400
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• 2018

Purpose: This research evaluated five types of nanoparticles to develop a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method for the rapid detection of two Bacillus species (Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis) that are commonly found on fresh produce, which can cause food poisoning. Methods: Bacterial concentrations were adjusted to a constant turbidity, and a total of $30{\mu}L$ of each Bacillus cell suspension was prepared for each nanoparticle. A point-scan Raman system with laser light source of wavelength 785 nm was used to obtain SERS data. Results: There was no qualitative difference in the SERS data of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis for any of the five nanoparticles. Three gold nanoparticles, stabilized in either citrate buffer or ethanol, showed subtle differences in Raman intensities of two Bacillus species at $877.7cm^{-1}$. Conclusions: Among the three types of nanoparticles, the gold nanoparticles stabilized in citrate buffer showed the lowest standard deviation, followed by gold nanoparticles stabilized in ethanol. This result supports the potential application of gold nanoparticles for SERS-based detection of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2005

Molecular ecological studies of microbial communities revealed that only tiny fraction of total microorganisms in nature have been identified and characterized, because the majority of them have not been cultivated. A concept, metagenome, represents the total microbial genome in natural ecosystem consisting of genomes from both culturable microorganisms and viable but non-culturable bacteria. The construction and screening of metagenomic libraries in culturable bacteria constitute a valuable resource for obtaining novel microbial genes and products. Several novel enzymes and antibiotics have been identified from the metagenomic approaches in many different microbial communities. Phenotypic analysis of the introduced unknown genes in culturable bacteria could be an important way for functional genomics of unculturable bacteria. However, estimation of the number of clones required to uncover the microbial diversity from various environments has been almost impossible due to the enormous microbial diversity and various microbial population structure. Massive construction of metagenomic libraries and development of high throughput screening technology should be necessary to obtain valuable microbial resources. This paper presents the recent progress in metagenomic studies including our results and potential of metagenomics in plant pathology and agriculture.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.297-304
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• 2017

Animal-origin food products pose serious threat to public food safety due to high microbial loads. The microbial and radioactive contaminations in commercial cold duck meat products were evaluated. Ten different lots of commercial samples ($C_1-C_{10}$) were classified based on type and smoking process. All samples were highly contaminated (< 4-7 Log CFU/g) with total aerobic bacteria (TAB), yeasts and molds (Y&M), and 7 samples ($C_1-C_7$) were positive for coliforms. Furthermore, three samples were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes ($C_4-C_6$) and one with Salmonella typhimurium ($C_6$). No radionuclides ($^{131}I$, $^{137}Cs$, and $^{134}Cs$) were detected in any sample. The results of DEFT (direct epifluorescent filter technique)/APC (aerobic plate count), employed to screen pre-pasteurization treatments of products, indicated that smoked samples were positive showing DEFT/APC ratios higher than 4. Notably, the samples showed a serious threat to microbial safety, thus were irradiated with electron-beam (e-beam). The $D_{10}$ values for S. typhimurium and L. monocytogenes were 0.65 and 0.42 kGy, respectively. E-beam application at 3 and 7 kGy resulted in reduction of initial TAB, Y&M, and coliform populations by 3 and 6 log cycles, respectively. Thus, e-beam was proven to be a good decontamination approach to improve the hygiene of cold duck meat.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.179-194
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• 2022

In this review, the mycotoxin contamination of Korean cereals and their products is analyzed by crop based on scientific publications since 2000. Barley, rice, and corn were investigated heavier than the others. The common mycotoxins occurred in all cereals and their products were deoxynivalenol and zearalenone. Nivalenol was detected in all samples analyzed but more frequently or mainly in barley, rice, and oat. Fumonisin was commonly detected in corn and sorghum but also in adlay, millet, and rice. Adlay and millet were similar in the contamination pattern that fumonisin and zearalenone were the most frequently detected mycotoxins. Zearalenone was the most commonly detected mycotoxin with concentrations higher than the national standards (maximum limit), followed by deoxynivalenol, and aflatoxin. However, most occurrence levels were below the maximum limits for respective mycotoxins. This result shows that barley, rice, corn, sorghum, millet, and adlay are more vulnerable to mycotoxin contamination than other cereals and therefore continuous monitoring and safety management are necessary.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.440-446
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• 2017

This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of carbohydrate, protein and lipid content of substrate on hydrogen yields and microbial communities. The hydrogen yields were linearly correlated to carbohydrate content of substrates while others (content of proteins and lipids) did not make a significant contribution. The chemical composition of substrates produced effects on the final products of anaerobic hydrogen fermentation. Acetate and butyrate were the main fermentation products, with their concentration proving to correlate with carbohydrate and protein content of substrates. The result of microbial community analysis revealed that the relative abundances of Clostridium butyricum increased and Clostridium perfringens decreased as the carbohydrate content increased.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.809-816
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• 2010

Microbial biotransformations can be used to predict mammalian drug metabolism. The present investigation deals with microbial biotransformation of valdecoxib using microbial cultures. Thirty-nine bacterial, fungal, and yeast cultures were used to elucidate the biotransformation pathway of valdecoxib. A number of microorganisms metabolized valdecoxib to various levels to yield nine metabolites, which were identified by HPLC-DAD and LC-MS-MS analyses. HPLC analysis of biotransformed products indicated that a majority of the metabolites are more polar than the substrate valdecoxib. Basing on LC-MS-MS analysis, the major metabolite was identified as a hydroxymethyl metabolite of valdecoxib, whereas the remaining metabolites were produced by carboxylation, demethylation, ring hydroxylation, N-acetylation, or a combination of these reactions. The hydroxymethyl and carboxylic acid metabolites were known to be produced in metabolism by mammals. From the results, it can be concluded that microbial cultures, particularly fungi, can be used to predict mammalian drug metabolism.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.749-760
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• 2022

α-Galactosidase is a debranching enzyme widely used in the food, feed, paper, and pharmaceuticals industries and plays an important role in hemicellulose degradation. Here, T26, an aerobic bacterial strain with thermostable α-galactosidase activity, was isolated from laboratory-preserved lignocellulolytic microbial consortium TMC7, and identified as Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius. The α-galactosidase, called T26GAL and derived from the T26 culture supernatant, exhibited a maximum enzyme activity of 0.4976 IU/ml when cultured at 60℃ and 180 rpm for 2 days. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the α-galactosidase T26GAL belongs to the GH36 family. Subsequently, the pET-26 vector was used for the heterologous expression of the T26 α-galactosidase gene in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The optimum pH for α-galactosidase T26GAL was determined to be 8.0, while the optimum temperature was 60℃. In addition, T26GAL demonstrated a remarkable thermostability with more than 93% enzyme activity, even at a high temperature of 90℃. Furthermore, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ promoted the activity of T26GAL while Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ inhibited it. The substrate specificity studies revealed that T26GAL efficiently degraded raffinose, stachyose, and guar gum, but not locust bean gum. This study thus facilitated the discovery of an effective heat-resistant α-galactosidase with potent industrial application. Meanwhile, as part of our research on lignocellulose degradation by a microbial consortium, the present work provides an important basis for encouraging further investigation into this enzyme complex.