• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.211-218
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• 2018

Different packaging methods and storage temperatures were tested to determine the storage stability of beef dry-aged for 21 days based on microbial, physicochemical, and sensory qualities. After completion of the dry aging, the dried surface of beef sirloin was trimmed off, and the beef was packaged using two different methods (oxygen-permeable wrap or vacuum packaging) and stored at different temperatures ($3{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ or $-23{\pm}2^{\circ}C$) for 0, 7, 14, or 21 days. Lipid oxidation and the sensory quality of the dry-aged beef were not affected by the packaging method and storage temperature during storage. No microbial growth was observed over the storage period in the vacuum-packaged dry-aged beef, regardless of the storage temperature. However, dry-aged beef in the oxygen-permeable wrap packaging showed microbial spoilage with 8.82 log CFU / g at day 7 of the refrigerated storage. The vacuum-packaged dry-aged beef showed the lowest values (p < 0.05) in $a^*$ and chroma at days 14 and 21 at $3^{\circ}C$, and days 7 and 14 at $-23^{\circ}C$, respectively. Therefore, it is recommended that dry-aged beef with wrap packaging stored in refrigerated conditions should be consumed as quickly as possible due to microbial growth. For long-term storage, dry-aged beef should be frozen because freezing can extend the color stability up to day 21 of storage without adverse effects on the hygienic or meat quality aspects of dry-aged beef.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.325-332
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• 2021

This study sought to investigate the effects of heat-moisture treatment (HMT) and ethanol treatment (EOH) for improving the quality and storage stability of Tteokbokki Tteok. The quality characteristics were evaluated by moisture, pH, color, texture profile analysis, and observing the microbial properties after the heat-moisture treatment or ethanol treatment. As the storage period increased, the moisture content of Tteokbokki Tteok tended to decrease except for the HMT group (p<0.05) while the pH did not show significant variation except for the EOH group (p<0.05). While measuring the color, the L-value tended to increase in all groups during the storage period. The a-value and the b-value showed the highest values in the HMT group and the control (CON) group, respectively. In the texture profile analysis, all groups showed a significant tendency to increase levels of hardness and chewiness as the storage period increased (p<0.05). The HMT group showed an increase in hardness and adhesiveness, which are characteristics of the HMT treatment. The results of examining the microbial properties of Tteokbokki Tteok showed that the total microbial count in the HMT group was 4.52 on the 8^th day of storage, which was lower than the level in the CON group and the EOH group on the 4^th day of storage. Yeast and mold were not measured during the storage period. Thus the results of this study showed that when manufacturing Tteokbokki Tteok, the heat-moisture treatment of rice powder increased the storage stability by delaying microbial growth and also had positive effects on quality.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.474-481
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• 2013

Understanding the microbial community structure of agricultural soils is important for better soil management in order to improve soil quality. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis has been popularly used in determining the microbial community structure in different ecosystems. The microbial community structure of paddy soil under long-term fertilizer treatments was investigated after 45 years using PLFA analysis. Treatments were control (no fertilization, Con), compost (COM), NPK, NPK+compost (NPKC), PK, NK, and NP. Soil chemical properties were mainly affected by the addition of compost and inorganic P fertilizer. Total nitrogen and organic matter contents were significantly higher in treatments with compost while available $P_2O_5$ and exchangeable calcium were significantly higher in treatments with added inorganic P fertilizer. It was found that microbial communities were responsive to the different fertilizer treatments. PLFA results showed that the soils were dominated by gram-negative bacteria, followed by the actinomycetes, then gram-positive bacteria, and fungi. Principal component analysis of the soil chemical properties and PLFA composition proved to be a more reliable tool because it was more responsive to the changes in soil chemical properties.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1073-1085
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• 2012

Soil microbial communities are immensely diverse and complex with respect to species richness and community size. These communities play essential roles in agricultural soil because they are responsible for most of the nutrient cycles in the soil and influence the plant diversity and productivity. However, the majority of these microbes remain uncharacterized because of poor culturability. Next-generation sequencing techniques have revolutionized many areas of biology by providing cheaper and faster alternatives to Sanger sequencing. Among them, amplicon pyrosequencing is a powerful tool developed by 454 Life Sciences for assessing the diversity of complex microbial communities by sequencing PCR products or amplicons. This review summarizes the current opinions in amplicon sequencing of soil microbial communities, and provides practical guidance and advice on sequence quality control, aligning, clustering, OTU- and taxon-based analysis. The last section of this article includes a few representative studies conducted using amplicon pyrosequencing.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.490-496
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• 2000

In vivo digestibility, nitrogen retention and microbial protein yield from diets of 100% ammonia treated rice straw (ARS) ($D_1$); 65% untreated rice straw (URS)+30% rice bran (RB)+5% SBM ($D_2$) and 85% ARS+15% RB ($D_3$) were determined using three Japanese Corriedale wethers in a $3{\times}3$ Latin Square Design. Results showed that DM consumption and organic matter digestibility were highest in $D_3$; but did not promote high protein digestibility, which RB+SBM had effected in URS based-diet. Dry matter intake and OM digestibility were the same for $D_1$ and $D_3$. Solubility of fiber bonds was increased by ammoniation, resulting in higher NDF digestibility. Nitrogen retention and microbial protein yield of rice bran supplemented groups was higher than ARS, but supplementation did not significantly increase efficiency of microbial protein synthesis from ARS which did occur when RB+SBM was added to untreated straw. The quality of ammoniated rice straw could be improved through RB supplementation because of its positive effects on DM digestibility, nitrogen retention and microbial protein yield. However, the addition of RB+SBM to URS resulted to more efficient N utilization.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.325-328
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• 2007

Mesophilic aerobic bacterial counts were measured and compared for seasoned soybean sprouts produced in different seasons and sold in different market types. Very significant differences in microbial counts were found among seasoned soybean sprouts produced in different seasons (winter, spring, and summer) and among different market types (a traditional market, discount store, and department store). However, there was no significant difference among the stores within each market group. The interactions were significant at a 1% significance level. The variance of summer counts was much lower than spring and winter counts. Discount and department stores showed a higher variation in microbial counts than traditional markets. The microbial counts differed substantially from season to season in the same market group (summer > spring > winter) except between spring and summer in traditional markets. The microbial loads in the winter and spring seasons of seasoned soybean sprouts in traditional markets were clearly higher than in other market groups, while discount stores had the highest microbial count in summer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1955-1970
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• 2018

Several genetic strategies have been proposed for the successful transformation and expression of microbial transgenes in model and crop plants. Here, we bring into focus the prominent applications of microbial transgenes in plants for the development of disease resistance; mitigation of stress conditions; augmentation of food quality; and use of plants as "bioreactors" for the production of recombinant proteins, industrially important enzymes, vaccines, antimicrobial compounds, and other valuable secondary metabolites. We discuss the applicable and cost-effective approaches of transgenesis in different plants, as well as the limitations thereof. We subsequently present the contemporary developments in targeted genome editing systems that have facilitated the process of genetic modification and manifested stable and consumer-friendly, genetically modified plants and their products. Finally, this article presents the different approaches and demonstrates the introduction and expression of microbial transgenes for the improvement of plant resistance to pathogens and abiotic stress conditions and the production of valuable compounds, together with the promising research progress in targeted genome editing technology. We include a special discussion on the highly efficient CRISPR-Cas system helpful in microbial transgene editing in plants.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.395-402
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• 2023

Objectives: Microbial contamination of face masks used by healthcare professionals can vary depending on the degree of exposure to bioaerosols in various healthcare environments. However, research on this topic is limited. Therefore, we analyzed microbial contamination of N95 respirators used in hospital offices, wards, and outpatient settings. Methods: Samples isolated from N95 respirators worn for 2, 4, and 6 hours were incubated at a temperature of 35-37℃ or 25-28℃ for 24 hours or for 3-7 days, and colony-forming units were counted in chocolate agar, tryptic soy agar, and Sabouraud dextrose agar plates. Total indoor airborne bacteria were also measured in the healthcare environments. Finally, microbial species were identified using Gram staining with a microscopic speculum. Results: The three types of environments did not deviate from the maintenance of standard indoor air quality. There was no difference between the microbial species identified in the healthcare environment and mask contamination. However, the number of bacteria in the masks worn in each environment differed, and the degree of contamination increased with mask-wearing time (p<0.05). Conclusions: Therefore, care must be taken to avoid recontamination of masks due to improper use and exposure to biological hazards in healthcare environments. In conclusion, scientific evidence is necessary for safe mask-wearing times. Based on the results of this study, we hope to conduct further research to establish guidelines for the safe use of face masks during respiratory disease epidemics.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.45-50
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• 2008

The effect of aqueous chlorine dioxide ($ClO_2$) treatment on microbial growth and quality of chicken leg during storage was examined. Chicken leg samples were treated with 0, 50, and 100 ppm of $ClO_2$ solution and stored at $4^{\circ}C$. Aqueous $ClO_2$ treatment significantly decreased the populations of total aerobic bacteria, yeast and mold, and coliforms in chicken leg. One hundred ppm $ClO_2$ treatment reduced the initial populations of total aerobic bacteria, yeast and mold, and coliforms by 0.93, 1.15, and 0.94 log CFU/g, respectively. The pH and volatile basic nitrogen values in the chicken leg decreased with increasing aqueous $ClO_2$ concentration, while concentrations thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) increased during storage regardless of aqueous $ClO_2$ concentration. Sensory evaluation results revealed that the quality of the chicken leg treated with aqueous $ClO_2$ during storage was better than that of the control. These results indicate that aqueous $ClO_2$ treatment can be useful for improving the microbial safety of chicken leg during storage.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.122-129
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• 2005

Chlorine dioxide $(ClO_2)$ treatment was evaluated for microbial growth inhibition and its effects on the quality of vacuum-packaged chicken breasts. Chicken breast samples were treated with 3, 50, and 100 ppm of $ClO_2$ solution, respectively. After $ClO_2$ treatment, chicken breast samples were individually vacuum-packaged and stored at $4^{\circ}C$, a typical storage temperature for meat and meat product, for 7 days. The vacuum-packaged chicken breasts treated with $ClO_2$ had significantly lower total bacteria, yeast and mold, total coliform, and Salmonella spp. were significantly reduced by $ClO_2$ treatment. $D_{10}-values$ of total bacteria count, yeast and mold, total coliform, and Salmonella spp. in vacuum-packaged chicken breasts was 93, 83, 85, and 50 ppm, respectively. The pH of vacuum-packaged chicken breasts decreased with increasing $ClO_2$ concentration. Thiobarbituric acid reacted substance (TBARS) values of vacuum-packaged chicken breasts increased during storage, regardless of $ClO_2$ concentration. $ClO_2$ treatment caused negligible changes in Hunter L, a, and b values in the vacuum-packaged chicken breasts. Sensory evaluation of the vacuum-packaged chicken breasts showed that there were no significant changes among the samples treated with various $ClO_2$ concentration. These results indicate that $ClO_2$ treatment could be useful in improving the microbial safety and quality of meat products.