• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.23-34
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• 2024

Sediment, aquifer materials, surface water, and groundwater from brackish Songji lake affected by salinity of seawater, were collected and a pilot scale column experiment was conducted to simulate the nitrogen transport through the hyporheic zone. Upstream experiments of groundwater displayed that groundwater containing a small amount of salt percolated into aquifers and sediments, maintaining low dissolved oxygen concentrations. In addition, partial denitrification occurred in the aquifer due to salinity and low dissolved oxygen, resulting in the accumulation of NO₂^-. In sediments,nitrogenous compounds were reduced due to adsorption by long residence times or microbial-mediated oxidation/reduction reactions. Downstream experiments of surface water displayed that surface water from the brackish lake, containing high concentrations of dissolved oxygen and salts, infiltrated into the sediments and aquifer, supplying high dissolved oxygen concentrations. This resulted in biological nitrification in the sediments and aquifer, which reduced nitrogen-based pollutants despite the high salt concentration in the surface water. Whereas partial denitrification at low dissolved oxygen concentrations in the upwelling mixing zone was observed by salinity and accumulated NO₂^-, nitrification at high dissolved oxygen concentrations in the downwelling mixing zone was not significantly affected by salinity. These results confirm that salinity in the brackish water lake has some influence on the nitrogen behavior of the hyporheic mixing zone, although nitrogen behavior is a complex combination of factors such as DO, pH, substrate concentration, and organic matter concentration.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.363-376
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• 2023

Alternaria black spots or blights in cruciferous crops have been devastating diseases worldwide and led to economic losses in broccoli, Chinese cabbage, kale, radish, rapeseed, etc. These diseases are caused by different Alternaria spp., including A. brassicae, A. brassicicola and A. raphani transmitted from infected seeds or insect vectors. Efforts to excavate disease resistance traits of cruciferous crops against Alternaria black spots or blights have been demonstrated. Genetic resource of disease resistance was investigated in the wild relatives of cruciferous crops, and different cultivars were screened under different inoculation conditions. Development of the disease-resistant lines against Alternaria black spots or blights was also tried via genetic transformation of the cruciferous crops using diverse plant defence-associated genes. Plant immunity activated by pre-treatment with chemicals, i. e. β-amino-n-butyric acid and melatonin, was suggested for reducing Alternaria black spots or blights in cruciferous crops. The disease resistance traits have also been evaluated in model plant Arabidopsis originating from different habitats. Various plant immunity-related mutants showing different disease responses from wild-type Arabidopsis provided valuable information for managing Alternaria black spots or blights in cruciferous crops. In particular, redox regulation and antioxidant responses altered in the Alternaria-infected mutants were discussed in this review.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.5 s.174
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• pp.547-561
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• 2005

General characteristics of groundwater contamination by As were reviewed with several recent researches, and its occurrence in groundwater of Korea was investigated based on a ffw previous studies and a groundwater quality survey in Nonsan and Geumsan areas. In Bangladesh, which has been known as the most serious arsenic calamity country, about $28\%$ of the shallow groundwaters exceeded the Bangladesh drinking water standard, $50{\mu}g/L$, and it was estimated that about 28 million people were exposed to concentrations greater than the standard. Groundwater was characterized by circum-neutral pH with a moderate to strong reducing conditions. Low concentrations of $SO_4^{2-}$ and $NO_3^-$, and high contents of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and $NH_4^+$ were typical chemical characteristics. Total As concentrations were enriched in the Holocene alluvial aquifers with a dominance of As(III) species. It was generally agreed that reductive dissolution of Fe oxyhydroxides was the main mechanism for the release of As into groundwater coupling with the presence of organic matters and microbial activities as principal factors. A new model has also been suggested to explain how arsenic can naturally contaminate groundwaters far from the ultimate source with transport of As by active tectonic uplift and glaciatiion during Pleistocene, chemical weathering and deposition, and microbial reaction processes. In Korea, it has not been reported to be so serious As contamination, and from the national groundwater quality monitoring survey, only about $1\%$ of grounwaters have concentrations higher than $10{\mu}g/:L.$ However, it was revealed that $19.3\%$ of mineral waters, and $7\%$ of tube-well waters from Nonsan and Geumsan areas contained As concentrations above $10{\mu}g/:L.$. Also, percentages exceeding this value during detailed groundwater quality surveys were $36\%\;and\;22\%$ from Jeonnam and Ulsan areas, respectively, indicating As enrichment possibly by geological factors and local mineralization. Further systematic researches need to proceed in areas potential to As contamination such as mineralized, metasedimentary rock-based, alluvial, and acid sulfate soil areas. Prior to that, it is required to understand various geochemical and microbial processes, and groundwater flow characteristics affecting the behavior of As.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 1988

In order to increase the availability of filefish scrap, the ordinary and low salt sauce were prepared, and identified their taste compounds in their products. To process the filefish scrap sauce, chopped filefish scrap was mixed with koji, 25% brine, slat and glucose (25.0 : 65.0 : 12.5 : 7.0, w/w) and fermented at $25{\pm}4^{\circ}C$ for 120 days. The same process was also carried out to process the low salt sauce adding sorbitol, lactic acid and ethyl alcohol (7.0 : 0.7 : 9.0. w/w) instead of salt. While amino nitrogen and volatile basic nitrogen(VBN) of products were decreased, pH and reducing sugar were increased all alone the fermentation period. The major free amino acids of products at final stage of fermentation were glutamic acid, alanine, leucine, lysine and aspartic acid. And the contents of total amino acid in the ordinary and low salt sauce were 4126.6(mg/100m1 sauce), 4519.5(mg/100m1 sauce) after fermentation. Hypoxanthine was revealed as the major constituent among nucleotides and their related compounds through fermentation. Free amino acid-N in the filefish scrap sauces were from 56.3%(ordinary) to 60.7%(low salted) of extractive nitrogen. From the sensory evaluation, the quality of products from filefish scrap sauce were almost equal to sold soy sauce on the market.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.379-392
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• 2019

The current study investigated the effect of Gabjubaekmok (Diospyros kaki) ethanolic extract (GEE) on $H_2O_2$-induced human neuroblastoma MC-IXC cells and amyloid beta $(A{\beta})_{1-42}$-induced ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) mice. GEE showed significant antioxidant activity that was evaluated based on ABTS, DPPH scavenging activity, and inhibition of malondialdehyde (MDA) and acetylcholinesterase activity. Further, GEE inhibited ROS production and increased cell viability in $H_2O_2$-induced MC-IXC cells. Administration of GEE ameliorated the cognitive dysfunction on $A{\beta}$-induced ICR mice as evaluated using Y-maze, passive avoidance, and Morris water maze tests. Results of ex vivo test using brain tissues showed that, GEE protected the cholinergic system and mitochondrial functions by increasing the levels of antioxidants such as ROS, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) against $A{\beta}$-induced cognitive dysfunction. Moreover, GEE decreasd the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins such as $TNF-{\alpha}$, p-JNK, p-tau, BAX and caspase 3. While, expression levels of p-Akt and $p-GSK3{\beta}$ increased than $A{\beta}$ group. Finally, gallic acid was identified as the main compound of GEE using high performance liquid chromatography.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.60-77
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• 1973

The non-enzymatic browning phenomenons of red ginseng were studied to identify these compounds which function as the factors for browning. The samples were classified into five divisions; Fresh ginseng, blanched ginseng, sun dried red ginseng, dehydrated red ginseng, and browning accelerated red ginseng respectively, and the various compounds in each of them were analyzed quantitatively and investigated the compounds which were thought to function for browning during the drying and the dehydration processes; the results were as follows. 1. The chemical compositions among five divisions did not show any difference except a) total and reducing sugars, b) total acids, c) water soluble extracts; a) and b) were decreased during the drying process, c) was decreased about 6-7% in red ginseng divisions. 2. Sixteen free amino acids; asp., thr., ser., glu., gly., ala., val., cys., met., ileu., leu., tyr., phe., lys., his., and arg, were identified in each division. Among them the arg, was extremly high. All of the essential amino acids were contained, while generally these amino acids were decreased in drying period and their rates were smaller in dehydrated red ginseng than in sun dried red ginseng. 3. Three kinds of sugars; fructose, glucose and sucrose were identified and other four kinds of unidentified sugars were seperated. The content of sucrose was 80% and all kind of sugars were generally less in red ginseng divisions than in the other two divisions. The decreasing rate of sngars was higher in the sun dried red ginseng than in the dehydrated red ginseng. Especially the decreasing rate of the reducing sugars was high as compared with that of sucrose. 4. Almost all the ascorbic acid was decomposed during the blanching whereas there could'nt be shown any change of the ascorbic acid content during the period of drying. 5. Eleven kinds of volatile acids; acetic acid, propionic acid, acrylic acid, iso-butyric acid, n-butyric acid, isovaleric acid, n-valeric acid, isoheptylic acid, n-heptylic acid, and an unknown volatile acid were identified. They showed a little decrease during the period of blanching perhaps on account of their volatility whereas they were increased in drying period. 6. Six kinds of non-volatile acids; citric acid, malic acid, ${\alpha}-ketoglutaric$ acid, succinic acid, pyruvic acid and glutaric acid were identified. The content of them were decreased during the drying procedures in red ginseng but only that of succinic acid was increased. 7. Three kinds of polyphenols; 3-caffeyl quinic acid, 4-caffeyl quinic acid, 5-caffeyl quinic acid and an unknown polyphenol were identified. The content of them showed considerable decrease during the drying procedures, especially in sun drying. 8. The intensity of the browning in each divisior was as follows; browning accelerated red ginseng> sun dried red ginseng> dehydrated red ginseng. 9. In the process of red ginseng preparation, a. certain relationship could be found between the decreasing rates of amino acids, reducing sugars, polyphenols and the intensity of browning. Therefore the browning phenomenon may be concluded that nonenzymatic browning reactions of the amino-carbonyl reaction and autoxidation of polyphenols are the most important processes, furthermore, as their reactions could be controlled it is thought to be possible to accelerate effectively browning within a relatively short period.

• Clean Technology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.316-323
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• 2019

In order to enhance combustion efficiency and reduce atmosphere pollutants, it is essential to measure carbon monoxide (CO) concentration precisely in combustion exhaust. CO is the important gas species regarding pollutant emission and incomplete combustion because it can trade off with NOx and increase rapidly when incomplete combustion occurs. In the case of a steel annealing system, CO is generated intentionally to maintain the deoxidation atmosphere. However, it is difficult to measure the CO concentration in a combustion environment in real-time, because of unsteady combustion reactions and harsh environment. Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS), which is an optical measurement method, is highly attractive for measuring the concentration of certain gas species, temperature, velocity, and pressure in a combustion environment. TDLAS has several advantages such as sensitive, non-invasive, and fast response, and in-situ measurement capability. In this study, a combustion system is designed to control the equivalence ratio. Also, the combustion exhaust gases are produced in a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)/air flame. Measurement of CO concentration according to the change of equivalence ratio is confirmed through TDLAS method and compared with the simulation based on Voigt function. In order to measure the CO concentration without interference from other combustion products, a near-infrared laser at 4300.6 cm^-1 was selected.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1091-1097
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• 2015

We have isolated and characterized an ascorbate peroxidase (APx) gene, OsAPx1 from rice. Northern and Western blot analyses indicated that at young seedling stage, OsAPx1 mRNA was expressed highly in root, shoot apical meristem (SAM) and leaf sheath than leaf. In mature plant, OsAPx1 gene expressed highly in root, stem and flower but weakly in leaf. OsAPx1 gene and protein expression level was induced in leaves inoculated with Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae) and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). Phytohormones treatment showed that OsAPx1 was up-regulated by jasmonic acid (JA), but was down regulated by ABA and SA co-treatments with JA, resulting that they have antagonistic effect on pathogen responsive OsAPx1 expression. Phylogenetic analysis illustrated that Arabidopsis AtAPx1 has a close relationship with OsAPx1. In AtAPx1 knock out lines, the accumulation of O₂^- and H₂O₂ are all highly detected than wild type, revealing that the high concentration of exogenous H₂O₂ cause the intercellular superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide accumulation in AtAPx1 knockout plant. These results suggested that OsAPx1 gene may be associated with the pathogen defense cascades as the mediator for balancing redox state by acting ROS scavenger and is associated with response to the pathogen defense via Jasmonic acid signaling pathway.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1110-1117
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• 2014

Tidal flats are continuously contaminated by human activities. This study assessed the bioremediation efficiency of tidal flat soil using microcosm reactors and microorganisms originating from the tidal area. We screened 135 bacterial strains that produce extracellular enzymes from the tidal area located in the North port of Incheon bay. Two bacterial strains (Pseudoalteromonas sp. and IC35 Halothiobacillus neapolitanus IC_S22) were selected and used in the microcosm reactors, which were specially designed to functionally mimic the ecological conditions of the tidal flats. Pseudoalteromonas sp. IC35 was selected based on its relatively high activity of the enzymes amylase, cellulose, lipase, and protease. Halothiobacillus neapolitanus IC_S22 was selected for oxidation of sulfur. The M1 and M2 microcosm reactors were operated by continuous feeding of seawater under the same conditions, but M2 was first inoculated with Pseudoalteromonas sp. IC35 before the seawater feeding. The initial COD in both the M1 and M2 microcosm reactors was 320 mg/l. The final COD was 21 mg/l (M1) and 7 mg/l (M2). The M3 and M4 microcosm reactors were operated by continuous feeding of seawater under the same conditions, but M4 was first inoculated with H. neapolitanus IC_S22. The initial sulfate concentration in both the M3 and M4 microcosm reactors was 660 mg/l, and the maximum sulfate concentration was 1,360 mg/l (M3) and 1,600 mg/l (M4).

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.895-903
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• 2007

As for the increasing demanding on the development of direct-ecological landfill monitoring methods, it is needed for critically defining the condition of landfills and their influence on the environment, quantifying the amount of enzymes and bacteria mainly concerned with biochemical reaction in the landfills. This study was thus conducted to understand the fates of contaminants in association with groundwater quality parameters. For the study, groundwater was seasonally sampled from four closed unsanitary landfills(i.e. Cheonan(C), Wonju(W), Nonsan(N), Pyeongtaek(P) sites) in which microbial diversity was simultaneously obtained by 16S rDNA methods. Subsequently, a number of primer sets were prepared for quantifying the specific gene of representative bacteria and the gene of encoding enzymes dominantly found in the landfills. The relationship between water quality parameters and gene quantification were compared based on correlation factors. Correlation between DSR(Sulfate reduction bacteria) gene and BOD(Biochemical Oxygen Demand) was greater than 0.8 while NSR(Nitrification bacteria-Nitrospira sp.) gene and nitrate were related more than 0.9. A stabilization indicator(BOD/COD) and MTOT(Methane Oxidation bacteria), MCR(Methyl coenzyme M reductase), Dde(Dechloromonas denitrificans) genes were correlated over 0.8, but ferric iron and Fli(Ferribacterium limineticm) gene were at the lowest of 0.7. For MTOT, it was at the highest related at 100% over BOD/COD. In addition, anaerobic genes(i.e., nirS-Nitrite reductase, MCR. Dde, DSR) and DO were also related more than 0.8, which showing anaerobic reactions generally dependant upon DO. As demonstrated in the study, molecular biological investigation and water quality parameters are highly co-linked, so that quantitative real-time PCR could be cooperatively used for assessing landfill stabilization in association with the conventional monitoring parameters.