• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.477-491
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• 2013

Natural radionuclides in groundwater in the Danyang area were investigated to characterize the behaviors of uranium and radon with respect to lithology and physico-chemical components, which can aid our understanding of their occurrence, properties, and origins. To this end, a total of 100 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed, and radionuclide levels were used to construct detailed concentration maps. The water type of the groundwater, assessed using a Piper diagram, is mainly Ca-Na-$HCO_3$. The concentrations of uranium range from 0.02 to $251.0{\mu}g/L$ (average, $3.85{\mu}g/L$) and only 1% exceed USEPA's MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level). Uranium is enriched in groundwaters of Cretaceous granites and Precambrian metamorphic rocks, whereas it is depleted in groundwaters of sedimentary rocks. The concentrations of radon range from 13 to 28,470 pCi/L (average, 2397 pCi/L). Only 15% of the samples exceed AMCL (Alternative Maximum Contaminant Level) of 4000 pCi/L. The radon concentration is highest in groundwater of Cretaceous granites and lowest in groundwater of sedimentary rocks. In conclusion, the distribution and occurrence of radionuclides are intimately related to the basic geological characteristics of the rocks in which the radiogenic minerals are primarily contained. The behavior of uranium is only weakly related to that of radon (correlation coefficient = 0.15). There are also weak correlations between radionuclides and the main chemical components, pH, EC, Eh, and well depth. Of note, the correlation coefficient between radon and $SiO_2$ is 0.68, and that between radon and $HCO_3$ is -0.48. Factor analysis shows that radionuclides behave somewhat independently of each other because there are no significant factors that control the behavior of chemical components as well as radionuclides. The detailed concentration maps during this study will be used to establish useful database of radionuclide distribution and geological properties throughout Korea.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.31 no.6 s.119
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• pp.463-473
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• 2006

Automated sensing of soil macronutrients would allow more efficient mapping of soil nutrient spatial variability for variable-rate nutrient management. The capabilities of ion-selective electrodes for sensing macronutrients in soil extracts can be affected by the presence of other ions in the soil itself as well as by high concentrations of ions in soil extractants. Adoption of automated, on-the-go sensing of soil nutrients would be enhanced if a single extracting solution could be used for the concurrent extraction of multiple soil macronutrients. This paper reports on the ability of the Kelowna extractant to extract macronutrients (N, P, and K) from US Corn Belt soils and whether previously developed PVC-based nitrate and potassium ion-selective electrodes could determine the nitrate and potassium concentrations in soil extracts obtained using the Kelowna extractant. The extraction efficiencies of nitrate-N and phosphorus obtained with the Kelowna solution for seven US Corn Belt soils were comparable to those obtained with IM KCI and Mehlich III solutions when measured with automated ion and ICP analyzers, respectively. However, the potassium levels extracted with the Kelowna extractant were, on average, 42% less than those obtained with the Mehlich III solution. Nevertheless, it was expected that Kelowna could extract proportional amounts of potassium ion due to a strong linear relationship ($r^2$ = 0.96). Use of the PVC-based nitrate and potassium ion-selective electrodes proved to be feasible in measuring nitrate-N and potassium ions in Kelowna - soil extracts with almost 1 : 1 relationships and high coefficients of determination ($r^2$ > 0.9) between the levels of nitrate-N and potassium obtained with the ion-selective electrodes and standard analytical instruments.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.540-548
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• 2016

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (CCP) is a long-standing but re-emerging environmental engineering process for production of self-healing concrete, bioremediation, and long-term storage of CO₂. CCP-capable bacteria, two Bacillus strains (JH3 and JH7) and one Sporosarcina strain (HYO08), were isolated from two samples of concrete and characterized phylogenetically. Calcium carbonate crystals precipitated by the three strains were morphologically distinct according to field emission scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry mapping confirmed biomineralization via extracellular calcium carbonate production. The three strains differed in their physiological characteristics: growth at alkali pH and high NaCl concentrations, and urease activity. Sporosarcina sp. HYO08 and Bacillus sp. JH7 were more alkali- and halotolerant, respectively. Analysis of the community from the same concrete samples using barcoded pyrosequencing revealed that the relative abundance of Bacillus and Sporosarcina species was low, which indicated low culturability of other dominant bacteria. This study suggests that calcium carbonate crystals with different properties can be produced by various CCP-capable strains, and other novel isolates await discovery.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.267-272
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• 2005

Geophysical surveys were performed in three abandoned mines: Jangpoong, Kwangyang, Imchon. The main objectives of the researches include delineating the pathways of leachate from acid mine drainage(AMD), mapping buried rock wastes and tailings, detecting drainage pipes, and investigating the gallery and membrane, if they exist, Geophysical responses were well correlated with the results from water sample data(i.e., pH, EC, heavy metal contents, $SO_4^{-2}$). Main pathways of the leachate were successfully detected in electrical resistivity sections and self-potential(SP) profiles, whereas waste rocks, drainage pipes, and membranes were effectively located by incorporating seismic refraction, electrical resistivity and GPR methods.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.931-937
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• 2006

The full-length cDNA of the porcine SMPX gene was obtained by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The nucleotide sequences and the predicted protein sequences share high sequence identity with both human and mouse. The promoter of SMPX was sequenced and then analyzed to find the promoter binding sites. The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that SMPX has a high level of expression in heart and skeletal muscle, a very low expression in lung and spleen and no expression in liver, kidney, fat and brain. Moreover, SMPX has a differential expression level in skeletal muscle, the expression in 65-day embryos being higher than other stages. The porcine SMPX was mapped to SSCXp24 by using a somatic cell hybrid panel (SCHP) and was found closely linked to SW1903 using the radiation hybrid panel IMpRH. An A/G single nucleotide polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) was detected in eight breeds. The analysis of allele frequency distribution showed that introduced pig breeds (Duroc and Large White) have a higher frequency of allele A while in the Chinese indigenous pig breeds (Qingping pig, Lantang pig, YushanBlack pig, Large Black-White pig, Small Meishan) have a higher frequencies of allele G. The association analysis using an experimental population (188 pigs), which included two cross-bred groups and three pure-blood groups, suggested that the SNP genotype was associated with intramuscular fat content.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.1469-1476
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• 2007

Jeot-gal is a traditional Korean fermented seafood and has long been used for seasoning. We isolated 188 strains from shrimp, anchovy, and yellow corvina Jeot-gal, and screened sixteen strains that showed strong fibrinolytic activities on a fibrin plate. Among those strains, the strain that had the largest halo zone was chosen and identified as Bacillus licheniformis by using 16S rDNA sequencing and an API CHB kit. The fibrinolytic activity of Bacillus licheniformis was characterized and designated as bpKJ-31. The active component of bpKJ-31 was identified as a 37 kDa protein, designated bacillopeptidase F, by internal peptide mapping and N-terminal sequencing. The optimum activity of bpKJ-31 was shown at pH 9 and $40^{\circ}C$, with a chromogenic substrate for plasmin. It had high degrading activity for the $B{\beta}$-chain and $A{\alpha}$-chain of fibrin(ogen), and also acted on thrombin, but not skim milk and casein. The amidolytic activity of bpKJ-31 was inhibited by 1 mM phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, but 1 mM EDTA did not affect the enzyme activity, indicating that bpKJ-31 is an alkaline serine protease, like a plasmin. The bpKJ-31 showed approximately 14.3% higher fibrinolytic activity than the plasmin. These features of bpKJ-31 make it attractive as a health-promoting biomaterial.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.579-587
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• 2020

Novel silane grafted bentonite was obtained using the natural bentonite as precursor material. The material which is termed as nanocomposite was characterized by the Fourier Transform Infra-red (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The surface imaging and elemental mapping was performed using Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM/EDX) technique. The electroanalytical studies were performed using the nanocomposite electrode. The electroactive surface area of nanocomposite electrode was significantly increased than the pristine bentonite or bare carbon paste based working electrode. The impedance spectroscopic studies were conducted to simulate the equivalent circuit and Nyquist plots were drawn for the carbon paste electrode and nanocomposite electrodes. A single step oxidation/reduction process occurred for As(III) having ΔE value 0.36 V at pH 2.0. The anodic stripping voltammetry was performed for concentration dependence studies of As(III) (0.5 to 20.0 ㎍/L) and reasonably a good linear relationship was obtained. The detection limit of the As(III) detection was calculated as 0.00360±0.00002 ㎍/L having with observed relative standard deviations (RSD) less than 4%. The presence of several cations and anions has not affected the detection of As(III) however, the presence of Cu(II) and Mn(II) affected the detection of As(III). The selectivity of As(III) was achieved using the Tlawng river water sample spiked with As(III).

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.141-146
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• 1984

Variation of soil characteristics and purity were examined within mapping unit and estimates were given for the number of samples required to reach predetermined levels of accuracy for black soil, VDBr. soil, DBr. soil, and brown soil in Jeju. Variation of chemical properties except pH and CEC was higher than that of physical properties. Brown soil showed the lowest variation and hence required the smallest sample size. The soils examined were correctly classified with regard to brown soil at purity 74.1, to DBr. soil 60.8, to black soil 55.6, and to VDBr. soil 46.9%. Sample calculation was presented which showed approximate sample sizes required to detect the difference of 10 and 20% of the mean with 0.95 confidence level.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.570-583
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• 2023

Objective: Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) play critical roles in embryo development, and immune responses to infectious diseases. In this study, to investigate the roles of FGFs, we performed genome-wide identification, expression, and functional analyses of FGF family members in chickens. Methods: Chicken FGFs genes were identified and analyzed by using bioinformatics approach. Expression profiles and Hierarchical cluster analysis of the FGFs genes in different chicken tissues were obtained from the genome-wide RNA-seq. Results: A total of 20 FGF genes were identified in the chicken genome, which were classified into seven distinct groups (A-F) in the phylogenetic tree. Gene structure analysis revealed that members of the same clade had the same or similar exon-intron structure. Chromosome mapping suggested that FGF genes were widely dispersed across the chicken genome and were located on chromosomes 1, 4-6, 9-10, 13, 15, 28, and Z. In addition, the interactions among FGF proteins and between FGFs and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) proteins are limited, indicating that the remaining functions of FGF proteins should be further investigated in chickens. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway analysis showed that FGF gene interacts with MAPK genes and are involved in stimulating signaling pathway and regulating immune responses. Furthermore, this study identified 15 differentially expressed genes (DEG) in 21 different growth stages during early chicken embryo development. RNA-sequencing data identified the DEG of FGFs on 1- and 3-days post infection in two indigenous Ri chicken lines infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 (HPAIV). Finally, all the genes examined through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and RNA-Seq analyses showed similar responses to HPAIV infection in indigenous Ri chicken lines (R² = 0.92-0.95, p<0.01). Conclusion: This study provides significant insights into the potential functions of FGFs in chickens, including the regulation of MAPK signaling pathways and the immune response of chickens to HPAIV infections.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.522-528
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• 2009

This study focused on establishing prediction models using visible-near infrared spectrum to simultaneously detect multiple components of soils and enhancing the performance quality by suitably transformed input spectra and classification of soil spectral types for prediction model input. The continuum-removed spectra showed significant result for all cases in terms of soil properties and classified or bulk predictions. The prediction model using classified soil spectra at an absorption peak area around 500nm and 950nm efficiently indicating soil color showed slightly better performance. Especially, Ca and CEC were well estimated by the classified prediction model at $R^{2}$ > 0.8. For organic carbon, both classified and bulk prediction model had a good performance with $R^{2}$ > 0.8 and RPD> 2. This prediction model may be applied in global soil mapping, soil classification, and remote sensing data analysis.