• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.438-446
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• 2020

Meju and nuruk (respectively soybean and malt) are traditional Korean fermentation starters that are vulnerable to contamination by harmful microorganisms such as aflatoxigenic fungi and their associated aflatoxins (AFs). In this study, Aspergillus spp. were isolated and identified from a total of 57 meju and 18 nuruk samples collected from Korean markets. Their potential aflatoxigenicity was investigated by examining the presence of three aflatoxin biosynthetic genes (aflO, aflP, and aflR) using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) assays. Thereafter, aflatoxin production of isolates and the natural occurrence of AFs in meju and nuruk samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 177 Aspergillus isolates were identified and 130 isolates were obtained from meju samples. Of these, 25 isolates (19.2%) contained all three aflatoxin biosynthetic genes, and five (20%) of these isolates produced aflatoxins. Forty-seven of the Aspergillus isolates were obtained from nuruk samples, five of which (10.6%) expressed all three AF biosynthetic genes; however, none of these strains produced AFs. HPLC analysis showed that 88% (51/58) of the meju samples and 39% (7/18) of nuruk samples were not contaminated with AFs (below limit of detection). Among the isolates isolated from meju and nuruk, there were aflatoxigenic strains containing all three aflatoxin biosynthetic genes or producing aflatoxin in medium, but the frequency of aflatoxin contamination was low in the meju and nuruk samples.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.247-256
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• 1974

The Merit variety of soybean (Glycine max L.), harvested in 1971 was germinated in the dark at $21{\sim}25^{\circ}C$ for 10 days. The soybean sprout were divided into cotyledons and seedling axis and subjected to the determination of lipoxygenase activity and fatty acid composition of triglycerides, free fatty acids, phosholipids and crude fat fractions at two-day intervals during the germination periods. The results are summarized as follows 1) The lipoxygenase activity in cotyledons declined sharply after second day, but the activity in seedling axis inclined slightly after second day. However, the decrease of lipoxygenase activity in cotyledons coincided with decrease of linoleic and linolenic acids in cotyledons and increase of lipoxygenase activity in seedling axis coincided with increase of those acids in seedling axis. 2) The iodine value of neutral fat in cotyledons decreased continuously, but the iodine value of the neutral fat in seedling axis remained almost constant. iodine value in cotyeldons was greater than in seedling axis. 3) In the fatty acid composition of triglycerides in cotyledons, palmitic acid did not changes significantly, stearic acid increased continuously, oleic acid changed irregularly, linoleic and linolenic acids continuously decreased significantly. But in the fatty acid composition of triglycerides in seedling axis, palmitic acid remained unchanged, linoleic and linolenic acids slightly increased continuously, stearic and oleic acids changed irregularly. 4) Composition of free fatty acids in cotyledons and seedling axis changed irregularly, suggesting that all fatty acids produced by hydrolysis of triglycerides by lipase are used(or either biosynthetic Purpose or energy Production at random. 5) Fatty acids with odd-numbered carbon chain were not detected in the triglycerides and free fatty acid fractions during the germination periods, suggesting that all fatty acids are utilized as $C_2$-unit in degradation and biosynthesis. 6) The changes of fatty acids composition of Phospholipid in cotyledons and seedling axis during the germination were similar to these of triglyceride fraction.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.562-571
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• 2017

In this study, we investigated the anti-oxidant activities [electron-donating ability (EDA), 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging ability, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) inhibitory activity], anti-wrinkle activities [collagenase inhibitory activity, suppression and/or phosphorylation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity], and mRNA expression levels using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay in ultraviolet (UV) B ray ($50mJ/cm^2$)-irradiated human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. Josaengheugchal, Sinneungheugchal (SE), Shintoheug rice, Heugjinju rice, and Heugseol (HE) among colored rice varieties were reported to have excellent antioxidant properties. In the EDA and ABTS radical scavenging assays, extracts of the five colored rice varieties had scavenging activities of 72% at concentrations higher $50{\mu}g/mL$. In the collagenase inhibition assay, ethanol extracts of the five colored rice varieties showed high inhibitory effects of about 60% at concentrations higher $25{\mu}g/mL$. In the ROS inhibition assay, ethanol extracts of HE and SE showed very excellent inhibition efficacies at all concentrations. We determined molecular biological mechanisms of MMPs (MMP-1, -3, -8, and -13) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) with HE, and the results show that HE suppressed expression of MMPs and phosphorylation of MAPK and increased expression of pro-collagen type I in UVB-irradiated cells. It was also confirmed by RT-PCR that HE reduced expression of MMPs mRNA. Therefore, these results suggest that HE has anti-wrinkle and collagen production effects and may be used as a material in the development of functional food and cosmetic industries.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2014

Many community gardens in large cities worldwide grow vegetables; however, no information regarding the levels of sanitary indicator bacteria and prevalence of foodborne pathogens in vegetables grown in urban community gardens is available. To evaluate the microbiological quality of vegetables from urban community gardens in Korea, 530 samples (nine types of vegetable, including Chinese cabbage, lettuce, radish leaves, spinach, mustard leaves, crown daisy, leek, Korean cabbage, and chicory) were collected at 11 urban community gardens in Seoul, Korea from September through October 2012. The levels of total aerobic bacteria, Escherichia coli, total coliforms, Salmonella spp. Listeria monocytogenes, and E. coli O157:H7 were evaluated quantitatively and/or qualitatively. The mean numbers of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms were 6.3 log CFU/g (range 3.8-8.1 log CFU/g) and 4.3 log CFU/g (range 2.1-6.4 log CFU/g), respectively. Total coliforms were detected on 67% of whole vegetables. Chicory showed the highest number of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms, whereas the lowest number of coliforms was detected on leeks. E. coli was detected on 2.3% of whole vegetables, including lettuce, radish leaves, mustard leaves, and chicory; however, foodborne pathogenic bacteria were not detected on any of the vegetable samples using this highly sensitive and validated procedure. Based on these findings, the presence of coliforms and E. coli demonstrates that opportunity for improvement of microbiological safety exists throughout the produce production chain, although no major foodborne pathogens were present in vegetables grown in urban community gardens.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.53-62
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• 2017

Electric power which is the energy source of economy and industries requires long distance transportation due to regional difference between its production and consumption, and it is supplied through the multi-loop transmission and distribution system. Prior to its actual use, electric power flows through several transformations by voltage transformers in substations depending on the characteristics of each usage, and a transformer has the structure consisting of the main body, winding wire, insulating oil and bushings. A transformer fire that breaks out in substations entails the primary damage that interrupts the power supply to houses and commercial facilities and causes various safety accidents as well as the secondary economic losses. It is considered that causes of such fire include the leak of insulating oil resulting from the destruction of bottom part of bushings, and the chain reaction of fire due to insulating oil that reaches its ignition point within 1 second. The smoke detector and automatic fire extinguishing system are established in order to minimize fire damage, but a difficulty in securing golden time for extinguishing fire due to delay in the operation of detector and release of gas from the extinguishing system has become a problem. Accordingly, this study was carried out according to needs of active mechanism to prevent the spread of fire and block the leak of insulating oil, in accordance with the importance of securing golden time in extinguishing a fire in its early stage. A bushings fireproof structure was developed by applying the high temperature shape retention materials, which are expanded by flame, and mechanical flame cutoff devices. The bushings fireproof structure was installed on the transformer model produced by applying the actual standards of bushings and flange, and the full scale fire test was carried out. It was confirmed that the bushings fireproof structure operated at accurate position and height within 3 seconds from the flame initiation. It is considered that it could block the spread of flame effectively in the event of actual transformer fire.

• Proceedings of the Korean DIstribution Association Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.29-51
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• 2005

Brands are important in the consumer market. They are the interface between consumers and the company, consumers may develop loyalty to brands. also, The late development of industrial marketing explains the near absence of research on Brand Equity in business to business. With recent change, industrial companies have shifted from a production focus to a customer focus. industrial brand is fast developing. The basic purpose of this study is to investigate industrial brand trust and loyalty affecting the Result of business relationship between industrial buyers and suppliers. Factors hypothesized to influence trust in a brand include a number of brand characteristics, company characteristics and consumer-brand characteristics. This research presented a comprehensive constructive model consisting of components of industrial brand trust and loyalty, and then propose the research model base on prior researches and studies about relationships among components of industrial brand loyalty. Data were gathered from respondents who work in industrial buying center. For this study, Data were analyzed by SPSS 10.0 and AMOS 4.0. The results of this research analysis were as fallow. Industrial brand trust and loyalty were positively related with a number of industrial brand characteristics, supplier characteristics and buyer-brand characteristics. relationship commitment. This research newly proposed the concept of 'industrial brand trust and loyalty affecting the Result of business relationship between industrial buyers and suppliers'

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2019

The health benefits associated with consumption of fresh produce have been clearly demonstrated and encouraged by international nutrition and health authorities. However, since fresh produce is usually minimally processed, increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has also led to a simultaneous escalation of foodborne illness cases. According to the report by the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 10 people suffer from foodborne diseases and 420,000 die every year globally. In comparison to other processed foods, fresh produce can be easily contaminated by various routes at different points in the supply chain from farm to fork. This review is focused on the identification and characterization of possible sources of foodborne illnesses from chemical, biological, and physical hazards and the applicable methodologies to detect potential contaminants. Agro-chemicals (pesticides, fungicides and herbicides), natural toxins (mycotoxins and plant toxins), and heavy metals (mercury and cadmium) are the main sources of chemical hazards, which can be detected by several methods including chromatography and nano-techniques based on nanostructured materials such as noble metal nanoparticles (NMPs), quantum dots (QDs) and magnetic nanoparticles or nanotube. However, the diversity of chemical structures complicates the establishment of one standard method to differentiate the variety of chemical compounds. In addition, fresh fruits and vegetables contain high nutrient contents and moisture, which promote the growth of unwanted microorganisms including bacterial pathogens (Salmonella, E. coli O157: H7, Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus) and non-bacterial pathogens (norovirus and parasites). In order to detect specific pathogens in fresh produce, methods based on molecular biology such as PCR and immunology are commonly used. Finally, physical hazards including contamination by glass, metal, and gravel in food can cause serious injuries to customers. In order to decrease physical hazards, vision systems such as X-ray inspection have been adopted to detect physical contaminants in food, while exceptional handling skills by food production employees are required to prevent additional contamination.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.922-929
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• 2019

Objective: Mutations in low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), which encodes a critical protein for cholesterol homeostasis and lipid metabolism in mammals, are involved in cardiometabolic diseases, such as familial hypercholesterolemia in pigs. Whereas microRNAs (miRNAs) can control LDLR regulation, their involvement in circulating cholesterol and lipid levels with respect to cardiometabolic diseases in pigs is unclear. We aimed to identify and analyze LDLR as a potential target gene of SSC-miR-20a. Methods: Bioinformatic analysis predicted that porcine LDLR is a target of SSC-miR-20a. Wild-type and mutant LDLR 3'-untranslated region (UTR) fragments were generated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cloned into the pGL3-Control vector to construct pGL3 Control LDLR wild-3'-UTR and pGL3 Control LDLR mutant-3'-UTR recombinant plasmids, respectively. An miR-20a expression plasmid was constructed by inserting the porcine premiR-20a-coding sequence between the HindIII and BamHI sites in pMR-mCherry, and constructs were confirmed by sequencing. HEK293T cells were co-transfected with the miR-20a expression or pMR-mCherry control plasmids and constructs harboring the corresponding 3'-UTR, and relative luciferase activity was determined. The relative expression levels of miR-20a and LDLR mRNA and their correlation in terms of expression levels in porcine liver tissue were analyzed using reverse-transcription quantitative PCR. Results: Gel electrophoresis and sequencing showed that target gene fragments were successfully cloned, and the three recombinant vectors were successfully constructed. Compared to pMR-mCherry, the miR-20a expression vector significantly inhibited wild-type LDLR3'-UTR-driven (p<0.01), but not mutant LDLR-3'-UTR-driven (p>0.05), luciferase reporter activity. Further, miR-20a and LDLR were expressed at relatively high levels in porcine liver tissues. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that porcine liver miR-20a and LDLR levels were significantly negatively correlated (r = -0.656, p<0.05). Conclusion: LDLR is a potential target of miR-20a, which might directly bind the LDLR 3'-UTR to post-transcriptionally inhibit expression. These results have implications in understanding the pathogenesis and progression of porcine cardiovascular diseases.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.169-178
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• 2021

The Korean girl group "Kara" has suffered the trilemma of its de facto failure to debut, the crisis of team breakup, and the CEO crisis of the agency. But the group has made an outstanding achievement in the history of Korean pop music after overcoming all odds. Their success strategy has never been disclosed by insiders involved in Kara's total music projects. This study has been carried out in the analysis of the strategy to provide academic implications and to honor the contribution of the late CEO Ho-yeon Lee and Kara's key member Ha-ra Gu. Therefore, between Nov. and Dec. 2020, we conducted in-depth interviews with managers, composers, stylists and Ha-ra Gu(Only in 2019, before her death) who took part in the project. The research model is set up by combining Porter's Competitive Advantage Strategy and the music value chain model into categories of "Product Innovation Differentiation (PD)" (producing, album production, performance activities) and "Marketing Differentiation (MD)" (market targeting, image specialization, promotion and communication). The analysis showed that the PD focused on complete rediscovered harmonization and revalued members' personality and sincerity with peppy songs and dainty dances as well as emission of "bright energy" which caused healing effects instead of mimicking other star singers recklessly. In terms of MD, they selected Japan's 10-20s as their main market, increasing intimacy with fans and media with the image of cute+pretty+classy+sexy. The result suggests that Poter's differentiation can function as a meaningful strategy frame in the fostering, hit, and revival of idol groups. In addition, it reaffirmed that spontaneous and passionate activities of early-stage or celebrity fan may serve as a valid catalyst for realizing differentiation, as Kara's caller of Japanese actor Gekidan Hitori caused a strong "priming effect" that drove Kara's unexpected wonderful success in Japan.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.253-264
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated the occurrence of viral diseases in the early growth stage of soybean to establish management practices. We collected 83 soybean samples showing abnormal symptoms, approximately 3-4 weeks after seeding in the breeding field of the National Institute of Crop Science. Viruses were detected in the collected samples using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and metatranscriptome analysis of all those samples. The incidence of viral diseases in the field was less than 1% overall and up to 50% in certain cultivars and lines. RT-PCR and metatranscriptome analysis detected Soybean yellow mottle mosaic virus (SYMMV), Soybean mosaic virus (SMV), Soybean yellow common mosaic virus, Peanut stunt virus, and soybean geminivirus A (SGVA). Among these detected viruses, SYMMV and SMV were identified as major viruses causing infection in the early growth stage of soybean, with detection rates of 53.7% and 42.6%, respectively. Soybeans infected with SYMMV showed typical mosaic symptoms, whereas those infected with SMV showed a variety of symptoms such as mosaic, mottle, stunt, and chlorotic spots. Transmission characteristics of these viruses are variable, such that SMV is primarily transmitted by seeds, whereas SYMMV could be transmitted by insects, soil, and seeds. In this study, SGVA was detected in the early growth stage of soybean, and research on the current status and its effects on soybean after the early growth stage should be conducted.