• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.136-142
• /
• 2022

According to media reports, the carcasses of euthanized abandoned dogs were processed at high temperature and pressure to make powder, and then used as feed materials (meat and bone meal), raising the possibility of residuals in the feed of the anesthetic ketamine and dexmedetomidine used for euthanasia. Therefore, a simultaneous analysis method using QuEChERS combined with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed for rapid residue analysis. The method developed in this study exhibited linearity of 0.999 and higher. Selectivity was evaluated by analyzing blank and spiked samples at the limit of quantification. The MRM chromatograms of blank samples were compared with those of spiked samples with the analyte, and there were no interferences at the respective retention times of ketamine and dexmedetomidine. The detection and quantitation limits of the instrument were 0.6 ㎍/L and 2 ㎍/L, respectively. The limit of quantitation for the method was 10 ㎍/kg. The results of the recovery test on meat and bone meal, meat meal, and pet food showed ketamine in the range of 80.48-98.63 % with less than 5.00 % RSD, and dexmedetomidine in the range of 72.75-93.00 % with less than 4.83 % RSD. As a result of collecting and analyzing six feeds, such as meat and bone meal, prepared at the time the raw material was distributed, 10.8 ㎍/kg of ketamine was detected in one sample of meat and bone meal, while dexmedetomidine was found to have a concentration below the limit of quantitation. It was confirmed that the detected sample was distributed before the safety issue was known, and thereafter, all the meat and bone meal made with the carcasses of euthanized abandoned dogs was recalled and completely discarded. To ensure the safety of the meat and bone meal, 32 samples of the meat and bone meal as well as compound feed were collected, and additional residue investigations were conducted for ketamine and dexmedetomidine. As a result of the analysis, no component was detected. However, through this investigation, it was confirmed that some animal drugs, such as anesthetics, can remain without decomposition even at high temperature and pressure; therefore, there is a need for further investigation of other potentially hazardous substances not controlled in the feed.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.594-600
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study is to observe the period of mating calls of cicadas in South Korea to identify the emergence period and geographic distribution for each cicada species. The study sites were 19 protection areas nationwide. The mating calls of cicadas were collected over the 12 months of 2019. A bioacoustics measuring device was installed to record the mating calls of cicadas in WAV, 44,100Hz format for 1 minute every hour. The temperature was recorded once or twice every hour using a micro-meteorological measuring device. Nine species of Korean cicadinae were studied. The start and end periods of mating calls were recorded for each cicada species for the subsequent analysis. The analysis results showed that nine cicada species appeared in the 19 protection areas. The chronological order of mating call periods for each species was as follows: Cryptotympana atrata (7/12 - 9/30), Meimuna opalifera (7/27 - 10/20), Hyalessa fuscata (7/25 - 10/9), Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata (7/28 - 9/5), Platypleura kaempferi (7/3 - 9/29), Suisha coreana (9/14 - 10/30), Leptosemia takanonis (6/26 - 8/2), Auritibicen intermedius (7/27 - 9/28), and Meimuna mongolica (8/8 - 9/11). The mating call period was between 35 (Meimuna mongolica) and 89 (Platypleura kaempferi) days, with the average being 62 days. The elevation above sea level for the habitats of each species was as follows: 5 - 386 m for Cryptotympana atrata, 7 - 759 m for Meimuna opalifera, 7 - 967 m for Hyalessa fuscata, 42 - 700m for Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata, 7 - 700 m for Platypleura kaempferi, 5 - 759 m for Suisha coreana, 7 - 759 m for Leptosemia takanonis, 397 - 967 m for Auritibicen intermedius, and 7 - 42 m for Meimuna mongolica. The average temperature of the habitats of each species was as follows: 23.9℃ for Cryptotympana atrata, 21.8℃ for Meimuna opalifera, 22℃ for Hyalessa fuscata, 23℃ for Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata, 22.9℃ for Platypleura kaempferi, 14.6℃ for Suisha coreana, 20.6℃ for Leptosemia takanonis, 19.3℃ for Auritibicen intermedius, and 24.4℃ for Meimuna mongolica. In terms of the habitat distribution of species, Meimuna opalifera, Hyalessa fuscata, and Platypleura kaempferi were distributed in more than 15 protection sites. Cryptotympana atrata was distributed in the lowlands in the southwest. Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata was distributed in the western area of the Korean Peninsula. Suisha coreana was distributed in areas excluding high mountain areas and parts of the southeast area. Leptosemia takanonis was distributed in areas near the mountains. Auritibicen intermedius was distributed locally in the high mountain areas. Meimuna mongolica was distributed locally in flat wetlands.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.19-32
• /
• 2022

The need for polar education was further emphasized, depending on the importance of the pole, which is the best place for climate change detection and prediction, and treasure trove of future technology and resources. Therefore, this study analyzed the general cognitive and affective characteristics of elementary school students' polar literacy, and in addition, analyzed the cognitive and affective characteristics according to the level of diversity about polar experience. The items developed for the study were revised through a pilot survey of 43 fifth graders. They consisted of questions about gender, polar experience, scientific literacy, polar knowledge, polar literacy skills, polar literacy beliefs, and polar literacy attitudes. The types of questions used are selectable, reliable, and Likert (4 points), for a total of 66 questions. The students who participated in the study were 323 fifth grade elementary students. The study found that students were more interested in the dramatic consequences of polar changes than the scientific causes and processes associated with it. This is confirmed through the fact that they are more interested in and familiar with polar creatures suffering from polar changes than understanding ice, which is the main feature of and the central mechanism of polar changes. Students also recognized the issue of polar climate change as a global issue other than their own. They believe that what happens in the Arctic and Antarctica will affect the whole world, but not significantly to himself and his community. The level of knowledge about polar region and the ability to analyze and infer were not significantly related to each other, and students with a higher level of diversity of experience about polar region had a better understanding of polar science and technology. In this research, it is meaningful to check the characteristics related to the students' polar region and to use it as a basic data to show the direction in which polar literacy education should proceed in the future.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.385-393
• /
• 2022

The contamination level of inorganic arsenic, a human carcinogen, was investigated in 87 grains and 66 processed grain foods. Two inorganic arsenic species arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) and four organic arsenic monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, arsenocholine were analyzed using HPLC-ICP/MS with high separation and sensitivity and ICP/MS was used to quantify total arsenic. Inorganic arsenic was detected in all grains. And the total arsenic in grains consists of about 70-85% inorganic arsenic and about 10-20% DMA. The concentration of inorganic arsenic was high in rice and black rice cultivated in paddy soil with irrigated water, while the miscellaneous grain in field was low. Mean concentration of inorganic arsenic in rice germ, brown rice and polished rice was 0.160 mg/kg, 0.135 mg/kg, 0.083 mg/kg, respectively, indicating that rice bran contains more arsenic. In processed grain foods, inorganic arsenic concentration varied according to the kind of ingredients and content, and the detection amount was high in processed food with brown rice and germ. The arsenic content of all samples did not exceed each standard, but the intake frequency is high and it is considered that continuous monitoring is necessary for food safety.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.175-182
• /
• 2022

Heavy metals can be intentionally or unintentionally introduced into plastic food utensils, containers, and packaging (PFUCP) as additives or contaminants, which can be ingested with food by humans. Here, seven-heavy metals (lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium, antimony, copper, and manganese) with toxicity concerns were selected, and risk assessment was done by establishing their migration from 137 PFUCP products made of 16 materials distributed in Korea. Migration of heavy metals was examined by applying 4% acetic acid as a food simulant (70℃, 30 minutes) to the PFUCP products. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was employed for the analysis of migrated heavy metals, and the reliability of quantitative results was confirmed by checking linearity, LOD, LOQ, recovery, precision, and expanded uncertainty. As a result of monitoring, heavy metals were detected at a level of non-detection to 8.76 ± 11.87 ㎍/L and most of the heavy metals investigated were only detected at trace amounts of less than 1 ㎍/L on average. However, antimony migrated from PET products was significantly higher than other groups. Risk assessment revealed that all the heavy metals investigated were safe with a margin of exposure above 311. Collectively, we demonstrated that heavy metals migrated from PFUCP products distributed in Korea appear to be within the safe range.

• Korean Journal of School Psychology
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.17-38
• /
• 2020

This study examined the factor structure of the Child Behavior Checklist Dysregulation Profile(CBCL-DP) for school-aged children in Korea identified differences in the level of maladjustment and problematic behaviors between the clinical group which had characteristics of CBCL-DP and the control group which did not. Confirmative factor analysis was performed on three alternative models from the literature to determine which was the most appropriate factor structure for the CBCL-DP. The result showed that the bi-factor model fit the sample data better than both the one and second-factor models. To confirm that the bi-factor model was the most appropriate factor structure, regression paths with relevant variables examined. The showed that CBCL-DP with the bi-factor model was associated with executive function difficulty as reported by parents and with school adjustment and all sub-factors of strength and difficulty as reported by teachers. The results also showed that this model had a different relationship with anxiety/depression, aggressive behavior, and attention problems than the other models. The clinical group was shown to have more executive function difficulty, worse adjustment of school life and to be less likely to engage in desired behaviors than the control group. These results indicate the CBCL-DP is more related to negative outcomes than any other factor, and that the bi-factor model was found to best fit the sample data, consistent with other studies. The early discovery of CBCL-DP can be used to provide interventions for high-risk children who exhibit emotional and behavioral problems, making its detection a significant diagnostic tool. The implications of these result, the limitations of this study, and areas for future research are discussed in this paper.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.283-298
• /
• 2022

In this study, we investigated the mineral geochemistry of the albite-spodumene pegmatite, associated exogreisen, and wall rock from the Boam Li deposit, Wangpiri, Uljin, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. The paragenesis of the Boam Li deposit consists of two stages; the magmatic and endogreisen stages. In the magmatic stage, pegmatite dikes mainly composed of spodumene, albite, quartz, and K-feldspar intruded into the Janggun limestone formation. In the following endogreisen stage, the secondary fine-grained albite along with muscovite, apatite, beryl, CGM(columbite group mineral), microlite, and cassiterite were precipitated and partly replaced the magmatic stage minerals. Exogreisen composed of tourmaline, quartz, and muscovite develops along the contact between the pegmatite dike and wall rock. The Cs contents of beryl and muscovite and Ta/(Nb+Ta) ratio of CGM are higher in the endogreisen stage than the magmatic stage, suggesting the involvement of the more evolved melts in the greisenization than in the magmatic stage. Florine-rich and Cl-poor apatite infer that the parental magma is likely derived from metasedimentary rock (S-type granite). P₂O₅ contents of albite in the endogreisen stage are below the detection limit of EDS while those of albite in the magmatic stage are 0.28 wt.% on average. The lower P₂O₅ contents of the former albite can be attributed to apatite and microlite precipitation during the endogreisen stage. Calcium introduced from the adjacent Janggun formation may have induced apatite crystallization. The interaction between the pegmatite and Janggun limestone is consistent with the gradual increase in Ca and other divalent cations and decrease in Al from the core to the rim of tourmaline in the exogreisen.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.173-178
• /
• 2022

A lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) method using carbon nanodot@silica as a signaling material was developed for analyzing the concentration of retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), one of the lung cancer biomarkers. Instead of antibodies mainly used as bioreceptors in nitrocellulose membranes in LFIA for protein detection, aptamers that are more economical, easy to store for a long time, and have strong affinities toward specific target proteins were used. A 5' terminal of biotin-modified aptamer specific to RBP4 was first reacted with neutravidin followed by spraying the mixture on the membrane in order to immobilize the aptamer in a porous membrane by the strong binding affinity between biotin and neutravidin. Carbon nanodot@silica nanoparticles with blue fluorescent signal covalently conjugated to the RBP4 antibody, and RBP4 were injected in a lateral flow manner on to the surface bound aptamer to form a sandwich complex. Surfactant concentrations, ionic strength, and additional blocking reagents were added to the running buffer solution to optimize the fluorescent signal off from the sandwich complex which was correlated to the concentration of RBP4. A 10 mM Tris (pH 7.4) running buffer containing 150 mM NaCl and 0.05% Tween-20 with 0.6 M ethanolamine as a blocking agent showed the optimum assay condition for carbon nanodot@silica-based LFIA. The results indicate that an aptamer, more economical and easier to store for a long time can be used as an alternative immobilizing probe for antibody in a LFIA device which can be used as a point-of-care diagnosis kit for lung cancer diseases.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.143-148
• /
• 2022

This study was to investigate an analytical method for determining dieckol content in Ecklonia stolonifera extract. According to the guidelines of International Conference on Harmonization. Method validation was performed by measuring the specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ) of dieckol using high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array. The results showed that the correlation coefficient of calibration curve (R²) for dieckol was 0.9997. The LOD and LOQ for dieckol were 0.18 and 0.56 ㎍/mL, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision values of dieckol were approximately 1.58-4.39% and 1.37-4.64%, respectively. Moreover, intra- and inter-day accuracies of dieckol were approximately 96.91-102.33% and 98.41-105.71%, respectively. Thus, we successfully validated the analytical method for estimating dieckol content in E. stolonifera extract.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.216-224
• /
• 2022

This study was aimed at validating the analysis methods for deacetylasperulosidic acid (DAA), total sugar, galacturonic acid, glucose, and galactose, which are the indicator components of fermented Morinda citrifolia polysaccharide extract (Vitalbos). We modified the previously reported methods for validating the analytical methods. The specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ) were measured using phenol-sulfuric acid method and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The retention time and spectrum of the standard solution of Vitalbos coincided, confirming the specificity. The calibration curve correlation coefficient (R²), of five indicator components, ranged from 0.9995-0.9998, indicating excellent linearity of 0.99 or more. The intra-day and inter-day precision range of the assay was 0.14-3.01%, indicating a precision of less than 5%. The recovery rate was in the range of 95.13-105.59%, presenting excellent accuracy. The LOD ranged from 0.39 to 0.84 ㎍/mL and the LOQ ranged from 1.18 to 2.55 ㎍/mL. Therefore, the analytical method was validated for DAA, total sugar, galacturonic acid, glucose, and galactose, in Vitalbos. The indicator component content in Vitalbos was determined using a validated method. The contents of DAA, total sugar, galacturonic acid, glucose, and galactose were 2.31±0.06, 475.92±5.95, 72.83±1.05, 71.63±2.44, and 67.30±2.31 mg/g of dry weight, respectively. These results suggest that the developed analytical method is efficient and could contribute to the quality control of Vitalbos, as a healthy functional food material.