• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.632-637
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• 2017

The vehicle lubricant occupies upto 35% in a total lubricant market and engine oil occupies upto 77% in the vehicle lubricant market in Korea. A suitable quality management of the circulating engine oil is necessary for driver and engine protection. But, KS and synthetic engine oil products (involved over 30% synthetic oil) are exempt to any quality management under Petroleum and Alternative Fuel Business Act. It is also known that synthetic oils such as PAO (poly alpha olefin) have excellent properties and performance like anti-wear, varnish control and oxidation stability than those of mineral oils. For this reason, PAO has been used for an engine oil, rotary screw and reciprocating compressor in addition to heavy duty and other extreme service applications. In this study, our research group analyzed the chromatogram pattern for the mineral oil, PAO and mineral oil involved a typical ratio of PAO using SIMDIST (simulated distillation). In the SIMDIST chromatogram, the mineral oil showed a broad peak, while PAO showed a sharp typical peak. Also the oil with a large viscosity grade exhibited a long retention time due to the heavy molecular weight and high boiling point. In particular, the blended mineral oil with 20% PAO sample showed a distinctly different pattern compared to that of using the conventional mineral oil. For monitoring PAO contents in distributing engine oils, we analyzed the SIMDIST for 27 kinds of engine oils which were popularly sold in Korea. The analytic results indicate that all kinds of engine oils showed that PAO contents were below 20% in engine oil products. Moreover, the PAO titled product was found to have a small amount of PAO. Thus, we conclude that the related laws for the proper quality management of synthetic oils are needed to be established.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.96 no.1
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• pp.107-114
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• 2007

Establishments of the seedlings inside the natural forest from adjacent artificial forests would be an important factor in forest stand dynamics. This study was conducted to see the invasion of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) seedlings which is not native in this region, into the natural deciduous broad-leaved forest in Gwangneung, Korea. There is no mother tree at the I ha study site while the number of naturally regenerated P. koraiensis seedlings was 345 trees and 56% of them were clumped with more than two seedlings at each point. Applying the image segmentation method to IKONOS satellite image of January, 2003, the distance from the center of 1 ha study site to the nearest mother tree and plantation of Korean pine were 200 m and 270 m, respectively. The average height and root-collar diameter of the seedlings were 34 em and 7 mm, respectively and the age of 207 seedlings (60%) were below 5 years old. Most abundant range of soil moisture gradient and LAl (leaf area index) were from 16 to 20% and those of LAI were from 3.1 to 3.5. To understand the dynamics and seed dispersal pattern of Korean pine in the Gwangneung natural deciduous broad-leaved forests, additional studies not only long-term monitoring of growth and mortality of naturally regenerated Korean pine seedlings but also application of stable isotope analysis and molecular genetic techniques was recommended.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.105-116
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• 2011

Transgenic zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) expressing the bar gene inserted in the plant genome has been generated previously through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. The GM zoysiagrass (event: JG21) permits efficient management of weed control of widely cultivated zoysiagrass fields, reducing the frequency and cost of using various herbicides for weed control. Now we have carried out the environmental risk assessment of JG21 prior to applying to the governmental regulatory agency for the commercial release of the GM turf grass outside of test plots. The morphological phenotypes, molecular analysis, weediness and gene flow from each test plot of JG21 and wild-type zoysiagrasses have been evaluated by selectively analyzing environmental effects. There were no marked differences in morphological phenotypes between JG21 and wild-type grasses. The JG21 retained its stable integration in the host plant in T1 generation, exhibiting a 3:1 segregation ratio according to the Mendelian genetics. We confirmed the copy number (1) of JG21 by using Southern blot analysis, as the transgenic plants were tolerant to ammonium glufosinate throughout the culture period. From cross-fertilization and gene flow studies, we found a 9% cross-pollination rate at the center of JG21 field and 0% at distances over 3 m from the field. The JG21 and wild-type zoysiagrass plants are not considered "weed" because zoysiagrasses generally are not dominant and do not spread into weedy areas easily. We assessed the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of the transgene DNA to soil microorganisms from JG21 and wild-type plants. The bar gene was not detected from the total genomic DNA extracted from each rhizosphere soil of GM and non-GM Zoysia grass fields. Through the monitoring of JG21 transgene's unintentional release into the environment, we found no evidence for either pollen mediated gene flow of zoysiagrass or seed dispersal from the test field within a 3 km radius of the natural habitat.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2015

Coastal plant species, Plantago camtschatica Cham. native to the coastal region of the East Sea were sampled and then morphologically different 20 endophytic fungal strains were purely isolated. Phylogenetic analysis of isolates was done by the Bayesian program based on sequenced internal transcribed spacer (ITS-rDNA) region. Culture filtrates of each of 20 isolates were treated to Waito-c rice (WR) seedlings for verifying plant growth-promoting activity, respectively. As the results, E/PC/10/1 strain showed the highest plant growth-promoting activity among them. The culture filtrate of the strain E/PC/10/1 was revealed as containing gibberellins ($GA_1$, $GA_3$, $GA_4$) by using HPLC, and gas GC/MS with selected ion monitoring (SIM). Finally, this strain was identified as novel Penicillium spinulosum species that producing new GAs with microscopic observation and further molecular analysis with beta-tubulin gene sequence.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.22-30
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• 2016

Environmental changes exert harmful effects on organisms inhabiting coastal regions. These changes are also associated with reduced production in aquaculture farms. In this study, we investigated internal and external responses of two Bivalvia species (Crassostrea gigas and Mytilus galloprovincialis) in Gamak Bay under stressful environmental conditions in aquaculture farms. We investigated external responses such as weight, size, and environment exposure time, and analyzed the expression of the HSP70 gene. C. gigas HSP70 gene expression level was significantly high in the C3 aquaculture farm site, but the weight and size of C. gigas were high in the C2 aquaculture farm site. The response of C. gigas HSP70 mRNA was associated with the environmental exposure time in each aquaculture farm. Expression of M. galloprovincialis HSP70 gene was found to be significantly higher in the M2 aquaculture farm site than in the M1 site, whereas the weight of M. galloprovincialis was observed to be higher in the M1 site. The size and environmental exposure time of M. galloprovincialis were similar between M1 and M2 sites. In addition, HSP70 sequences of C. gigas and M. galloprovincialis showed high similarity with that of another marine species. According to our results, there were differences in internal responses following environmental stress in aquaculture farms, with respect to HSP70 gene expression. The results suggest that the HSP70 gene is a useful molecular indicator for monitoring stress responses in Bivalvia species in the field.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.101-105
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• 2008

Enterobacter sakazakii is implicated in severe forms of neonatal infections such as meningitis and sepsis. This organism has been isolated from a wide range of foods, including cheese, vegetables, grains, herbs, and spices, but its primary environment is still unknown. Generally, dried infant milk formula has been epidemiologically identified as the source of E. sakazakii. Sunsik (a powdered mixture of roasted grains and other foodstuffs) is widely consumed in Korea as a side dish or energy supplement. Sunsik is consumed without heat treatment; thus, lacking an additional opportunity to inactivate foodborne pathogens. Therefore, its microbiological safety should be guaranteed. In this study, the prevalence of E. sakazakii was monitored in 23 different sunsik component flours, using FDA recommended methods; but E. sakazakii medium (Neogen) and Chromogenic E. sakazakii medium (Oxoid) were used as the selective media. In total, presumptive E. sakazakii strains were isolated from 8 different sunsik powders. Subsequently, an API 20E test was conducted, and 15 strains from 5 different sunsik flours (sea tangle, brown rice, non-glutinous rice, cheonggukjang, dried anchovy) were confirmed as E. sakazakii. Fifteen strains were again confirmed by PCR amplification, using three different primer sets (tDNA sequence, ITS sequence, 16S rRNA sequence), and compared to ATCC strains (12868, 29004, 29544, 51329). They were once again confirmed by their enzyme production profiles using an API ZYM kit. Finally, RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA)-genotyping was carried out as a monitoring tool to determine the contamination route of E. sakazakii during processing.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.68-76
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• 2015

There is no willow riparian vegetation in Jeju Island, Korea. Instead, a genetically-isolated population of Adina rubella is found in some parts of the riparian system. We describe its syntaxonomy and synecology. A total of 27 phytosociological relev$\acute{e}$s were collected, 11 relev$\acute{e}$s from 91 sites and 16 relev$\acute{e}$s from the previously published relevant materials. Data were analyzed by traditional Braun-Blanquet method and multivariate PCoA (Principal coordinates analysis). New syntaxa are distinguished, Adinion rubellae all. nov. and its type association Tripogono-Adinetum rubellae ass. nov. with two subassociations, typicum and rhododendretosum poukhanensae. Adino-Rhododendretum poukhanensae Itow et al. 1993 was discarded owing to mismatch of syntaxonomy and syngeography of Adina and Rhododendron phytocoena. The alliance Adinion is Jeju's regional and partly ombrotrophic vegetation occurring in pothole and rock crevice where are independent on ground-water table. We also suggest a revised alliance, Rhododendrion poukhanensae Lee 2004 ex. hoc loco in Korean peninsula, as a corresponding syntaxon to Adinion, which completely differs from Phragmito-Salicion. Finally we pointed out that Adina phytocoena requiring an absolutely monitoring has been threatened by river maintenance project of local government.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.172-178
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• 2014

In this work, we describe an electrochemical immunosensor for simple, fast and quantitative detection of a urinary hippuric acid (HA). Urinary HA, of molecular weight 180 DA, is one of the major metabolites and biological indicators in toluene-exposed humans. Simple and ubiquitous monitoring of exposure to toluene is very important in occupational health care. We propose the electrochemical immunoassay based on the dopamine-antigen conjugate for detecting hippuric acid. Our electrochemical immunoassay system employs a conjugate of dopamine (DA) as an electrochemical active molecule and hippuric acid (HA) as an antigen. As an electrochemical aspect, dopamine (DA) containing two hydroxyl group can show excellent redox signal. Also, dopamine-tethered hippuric acid (DA-HA) shows the reversible redox signal in the immunoassay. The competition between HA and DA-HA generated electric signals proportional to HA concentration. The electrochemical immunoassay was performed with DA-HA on the screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs), and then applies the mixture antigen (HA) and HA-antibody. The electrical signals were proportional to HA in the range of 0.010~2.500 mg/mL which is enough range to be used for the point-of-care.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.121-130
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• 2010

Metals and sulfate can be considerably dissolved at low pH condition in the acid mine drainage(AMD) and it would make an environmental problems. There are only few of acid mine drainage treatment systems in Korea which are operating, but these still have an effect on the surrounding stream. In this study, quantification of indicator microorganisms was conducted to judge the environmental impact of AMD on microflora by quantitative real-time PCR in the drainage samples of four mines and the water samples of each surrounding stream. Two species of iron reducing bacteria(Rhodoferax ferrireducens T118 and Acidiphilium cryptum JF-5) were selected for indicator bacteria based on 16S rRNA cloning analysis, and sulfate reducing bacteria(Desulfosporosinus orientus), iron and sulfur oxidizing bacteria(Acidothiobacillus ferrooxidans) and iron oxidizing bacteria(Leptosprillum ferrooxidans) were included into indicator since these were found in the previous studies on the mining area. Thereafter, the comparative analysis of four mines were established by the microbiological variation index and it was determined that the biological environment effect of AMD is highest in Samtan mine which doesn t contain treatment system by the value.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1718-1723
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• 2012

Ten endophytic fungi with different colony morphologies were isolated from the roots of Suaeda japonica Makino growing naturally in Suncheon Bay. Plant growth promotion was verified by treating waito-c rice seedlings with culture filtrates from the endophytic fungi. The bioassays showed that the Sj/7/4 fungal strain induced effective growth promotion in the seedlings. The gibberellins (GA) produced by fungal strain Sj/7/4 were analyzed by gas chromatography /mass spectroscopy with selected ion monitoring (GC/MS SIM). The culture filtrate of Sj/7/4 fungal strain was confirmed to contain $GA_4$ through quantitative analysis. The Sj/7/4 fungal strain was identified to determine the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions with universal primers ITS-1 and ITS-4 by using polymerase chain reactions (PCR). Molecular analysis of the Sj/7/4 fungal strain showed high similarity to Fusarium solani. The Sj/7/4 fungal strain isolated from the root of S. japonica was therefore designated as F. solani Sj/7/4.