• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.477-490
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• 2003

Bottom sediments from Youngil Bay, East Coast of Korea, were analyzed for grain composition as well as elemental compositions and total organic carbon (TOC) content in order to investigate the spatial variability and content of metal elements. Grain size distribution of the sediments seems to be controlled by anticlockwise current pattern with bottom topography of the study area. Spatial variability of TOC and all elemental contents reflects those of grain size, but an exception was found in the harbor area (Old-Port): their contents are high in the central part of the bay with the muddy sediment and decrease toward the sand-dominated coastal zone. However, contents of Ca, Sr, K are high in the sand-dominated coastal zone and contents of some heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn) are high in the Old-Port area and the mouth of Hyeongsan River. The correlation matrix and R-mode factor analyses reveal that four important factors controlling the distribution of metals in the bay are sediment grain size (or quartz dilution effect), the formation of sulfide minerals associated with decomposition of organic matters under anoxic geochemical environment, calcium carbonate (mainly shell fragments) and coarse-grained feldspar mineral. According to the metal content of labile fraction an CER (concentration enrichment ratio) value, high accumulation of some heavy metals in the harbor area seems to result not formed by early diagenetic processes under anoxic environment.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1490-1497
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• 2010

The present study aimed to investigate the level of accumulated heavy metal in various tissues of Carassius auratus after exposure to Cadmium (Cd), histologically and physiologically. After treating C. auratus with Cd, the accumulated Cd in gill tissues was detected to be of the highest content, and showed the lowest content in integument tissues. Also, Cd content increased in a time dependent manner and showed the highest accumulation in the tissues exposed for 20 days. Antioxidant enzyme activities showedhigher activity in the gill and integument than in the kidney and liver tissues. In the case of SOD, antioxidation activity of SOD in all Cd exposed tissues was higher than in unexposed tissues. The activities of SOD and CAT also became higher after Cd exposure. Gill tissues exposed to Cd showed an increased number of mucous cells between lamella in a time dependent manner. In addition, the gills showed morphological changes such as edema, exfoliation of epithelial cells, and fusion of the secondary lamellae. Also, exposure to Cd for 20 days had an effect on gill tissues, causing membrane damage in the mitochondria and nucleus. In kidney tissues, atrophied glomerulus was observed, and the empty space in Bowman's capsule was wider.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.53-62
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• 2002

The physical and chemical properties of cover soils of 10 waste landfill sites in Kyonggi-Do area, where social circumstances at present forces to consider the reuse of landfill, were investigated to provide the informations of soil environment which are necessary to establish the appropriate ecological restoration plan of waste landfills. The pH and electrical conductivity of soils were higher in landfills sites than in reference sites (area around landfill sites), indicating the salt accumulation in surface soil. However, total-N and organic matter contents were lower in landfills sites than in reference sites. In landfill sites, the total-N and plant available-P contents were less than 0.15% and 20mg/kg, respectively. Exchangeable cations (K, Ca, Mg and Na) and heavy metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) contents varied between the landfill sites, but were higher in landfills sites than in reference sites. The major exchangeable cation of soil was Ca. Heavy metal contents were much lower than the critical concentration which phytotoxicity is considered to be possible and the standard for agricultural land of Korean Soil Environmental Preservation Act. Therefore, the proper soil management plan to increase the soil fertility is recommended for the ecological restoration of landfill using natural or artificial vegetation.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 2012

Movement and accumulation of cadmium in male Sprague-Dawley rats, fed with brown rice from nearby Janghang smeltery area were investigated. The rat fed with five different cadmium level diets made with Cd-polluted during 12 weeks. The brown rice-polluted with 0.87 ppm Cd (PBR) was sampled from products in the Janghang smeltery area. Diets of brown rice group were brown rice (BR, 0.002 ppm Cd), each 50% of BR and PBR (BR+PBR 50%, 0.44 ppm Cd) and PBR (PBR 100%, 0.87 ppm Cd). To compare with BR+PBR 50%, the another group diet composed the feed (FE, 0.002 Cd ppm) and each 50% of FE and PBR (FE+PBR 50%, 0.44 ppm Cd). Accumulation of Cd, Zn and Cu in blood, liver and kidney rats was measured by GF-AAS. The weight gain in BR groups and FE groups were different 0.22-0.26 and 1.08-1.26 g/day, respectively. Daily intake cadmium was 10.77 and 22.36 ${\mu}g/rat$ in BR+PBR 50% and PBR 100%, and 8.83 ${\mu}g/rat$ in FE+PBR 50%. Cadmium contents in diets were higher, and total intake of the heavy metals was more increased on the whole. Weights of liver and kidney in FE+PBR 50% group was 2.64 and 2.27 folds higher than those in BR+PBR 50% group. Cadmium contents in blood were increased with intake of BR diet, but Zn and Cu were decreased with them. In the diet groups with the same Cd concentration, Cd content of FE+PBR 50% was higher 1.27 times than that of BR+PBR 50%. In the diet group of BR, BR+PBR 50%, and PBR 100%, the increase of Cd concentration was significantly different to the increase of Cd content in the livers. In the same condition of Cd concentration, Cd contents were higher in the BR+PBR 50% group. In the diet groups of BR, BR+PBR 50%, and PBR 100%, the increase of Cd content in the kidneys led to the increase of Zn and Cu contents. In the same condition of Cd concentration, the diet group with the addition of BR was shown to be 3.11 times higher than with the addition of FE. In view of the results so far achieved, It was closely related with Cd, Zn, and Cu content.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.502-513
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• 2016

In this study, heavy metal distributions in the tissues of feral pigeon (Columba livia) were characterized using samples collected from bio-monitoring sites (Hangang Park and Hampyeong Park) of the NESB (National Environmental Specimen Bank), Korea, in order to evaluate the feasibility of feral pigeons as an indicator for the environmental monitoring. Cadmium (Cd) was analyzed to be accumulated in kidneys at higher concentration than in the other tissues. Such trend can also be found in the reviews on the Cd accumulations of the 34 cases including 17 avian species which showed that 31 cases had the highest Cd concentrations in the kidney among tissues. However, lead (Pb) was found to be richest in the bones in this study. 17 cases out of 30 reviewed cases had the highest Pb concentration in bones, whereas other 10 cases showed the highest concentration in kidneys, and 3 cases in livers. Therefore, kidneys together with bones can be a main target organ to test cadmium exposure to different habitat environments depending on physiological traits of birds. Zinc (Zn) was found to be the highest concentration in the pigeon livers of Hangang Park, but not in the bones. In contrast, the 13 cases of 16 reviewed cases had the highest Zn concentration in bones, and the 3 cases in livers. In addition, the heavy metal distribution patterns in relations to the metal accumulation mechanisms (a competition between Pb and Ca, a function of methallothionein protein, and etc.) were discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.996-1004
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• 2020

Various genetically engineered microorganisms have been developed for the removal of heavy metal contaminants. Metal biosorption by whole-cell biosorbents can be enhanced by overproduction of metal-binding proteins/peptides in the cytoplasm or on the cell surface. However, few studies have compared the biosorption capacity of whole cells expressing intracellular or surface-displayed metal-adsorbing proteins. In this study, several constructs were prepared for expressing intracellular and surface-displayed Ochrobactrum tritici 5bvl1 ChrB in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells. E. coli cells expressing surface-displayed ChrB removed more Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions than cells with cytoplasmic ChrB under the same conditions. However, intracellular ChrB was less susceptible to variation in extracellular conditions (pH and ionic strength), and more effectively removed Cr(VI) from industrial wastewater than the surface-displayed ChrB at low pH (<3). An adsorption-desorption experiment demonstrated that compared with intracellular accumulation, cell-surface adsorption is reversible, which allows easy desorption of the adsorbed metal ions and regeneration of the bioadsorbent. In addition, an intrinsic ChrB protein fluorescence assay suggested that pH and salinity may influence the Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of ChrB-expressing E. coli cells by modulating the ChrB protein conformation. Although the characteristics of ChrB may not be universal for all metal-binding proteins, our study provides new insights into different engineering strategies for whole-cell biosorbents for removing heavy metals from industrial effluents.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.24
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• pp.43-47
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• 2006

The soils of plastic film houses in which intensive cultivation takes place suffer from the serious problems such as severe salinity and accumulation of heavy metals etc. The objective of this research was to examine the change in soil properties with repeated cucumber cultivation under plastic film house at Gunwi-Gun area. The soils were classified mainly to Danbuk and SinJung series. Clay content is lower in the soils of plastic film house than in the field soil. Available $P_2O_5$ and exchangeable cations were accumulated at the level higher than the optimum range. The content of extractable heavy metals were higher in the soils of plastic film house than in those of the field. For optimum yield, much attention should be paied to the management of soils by the pre-soil survey.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.32-37
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• 2005

The soil properties of the royal tombs (managed by cultural properties administration) located in Seoul and suburban Gyonggi area were investigated to see the influence of the change in soil environment on the royal tomb s이I. To compare the soil chemical properties of four royal tombs soil of Changdeokgung, Jongmyo, Seooneung, and Dongguneung, pH, organic content, available phosphate, extractable calcium, extractable potassium, extractable magnesium, cation exchange capacity, degree of base saturation, and total nitrogen content were measured. The concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Cu measured as the degree of heavy metal contamination can be an indication of atmospheric pollution in the soil environment. To estimate the degree of soil compaction, soil hardness, pore space, porosity, bulk density, and soil atmosphere were analyzed. Through these studies, following conclusions were made: 1. The soil hardness and pore space which can be used as indexes of soil compaction, were worse in the soil of Seooneung than in those of Changdeokgung and Dongguneury. These phenomena seem to be the result of increase in visitors in Seooneung and Dongguneung better and soil management in Changdeokgung and Dongguneung. When three different regions of forest area, prohibited area, and soil compaction area in Seooneung soil were compared, the degree of compaction in the forest area was less than compaction area, indicating the need for the employment of soil resting period in the compaction area. 2. The pH measurements of all four royal tombs soil were higher in top soil than sub soil. The higher soil pH values in Jongmyo and Seooneung seem to result from the application of soil conditioner. In the case of Seooneung, the values for soil pH and organic content were higher in the forest area than those in compaction area. It is thought that active soil management was employed in the forest area through application of organic matters and soil conditioners. 3. The heavy metal contents from soil of Changdeokgung and Jongmyo were higher than that from soil of Dongguneung. Since Changdeokgung and Jongmyo are located inside Seoul, it is thought that the high level of heavy metal concentrations in these royal tomb soil is the result of accumulation of pollutants from the city.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.141-146
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• 2004

This paper reports on Pb and Cd concentrations in the tissues of 76 individuals of 16 rare bird species found dead across Korea. In most of species, Pb concentration was higher in kidney and bone than in liver. The range of the mean liver Pb was 0.47 (Cygnus cygnus)∼3.74 ㎍/wet g (Asio flammeus). Based on hepatic Pb concentrations, 39 (51.3%) of the 76 individuals were classifed as background level (〈2㎍/wet g), 35 (46.1%) were elevated level (〉2㎍/wet g) and 2 (2.6%) were poisoned level (〉10㎍/wet g). These results were indicated many rare birds were suffered from chronic Pb exposure. Cd concentration was generally higher in kidney than in liver and bone. The range of the mean kidney Cd was 0.06 (Bubo bubo)∼l.75㎍/wet g (falco subbuteo). Only one of the 76 individuals had elevated Cd concentration (〉2.7㎍/wet g) in kidney. These results indicated most of rare birds had low Cd accumulations.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.21 no.2 s.53
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• pp.115-126
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• 2006

This study was conducted to find out survival rate, activity, growth and change of the organ structure of bivalves exposed to heavy metal. The results of the study confirmed that zinc (Zn) induces reduction of survival rate and activity, abnormality of organ structure of the equilateral venus, Gomphina veneriformis. Experimental groups were composed of one control condition and three Zn exposure conditions ($0.64mg\;Zn{\iota}^{1},\;1.07mg\;Zn{\iota}^{-1},\;1.79mg\;Zn{\iota}^{-1}$). As the concentration of zinc increased the accumulation of lipofucin increased in the digestive gland. Survival rate was the lowest in the lowest Zn exposure group at $0.64mg;Zn{\iota}^{-1}$. Growth was not significantly different between the control and exposure group. Activity. with the exception of the lowest Zn exposure group at $0.64mg\;Zn{\iota}^{-1}$, was similar between the control and exposure group. Histological analysis of organ system illustrated expansion of hemolymph sinus, loss of striated border of inner epidermis, increase in the number of mucous cell in the mantle. Also, histological degenerations as epithelial necrosis and hyperplasia of mucous cells are recognized in the gill and foot.