• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.375-381
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• 2000

Quantifying the changes of soil microbial biomass and activity of enzymes are important to understand the dynamics of active soil C and N pools. The dynamics of soil microbial biomass C and N and the activity of enzymes over entire growth period of soybean-(Glycine max (L) Merr.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) sequence on a Typic Haplustert as influenced by organic manure and inorganic fertilizer N were investigated in a field experiment. The application of farmyard manure at 4 to 16 $Mg{\cdot}ha^{-1}\;y^{-1}r^{-1}$ along with fertilizer nitrogen at 50 or 180 $kg{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ increased the mean soil microbial biomass from 1.12 to 2.05 fold over unmanured soils under soybean-wheat system. Irrespective of organic and chemical fertilizer N application, the soil microbial biomass was maximum during the first two months at active growing stage of the crops and subsequently declined with crop maturity. The mean annual microbial activity was significantly increased when manure and chemical fertilizer at 8 $Mg{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ and 50/180 N $kg{\cdot}ha^{-1}$, respectively were applied. The C turnover rate decreased by 47 to 72 % when the level of farmyard manure was increased from 4 to 8 and 16 $Mg{\cdot}ha^{-1}$. There were significant correlations between biomass C, available N, dehydrogenase, phosphatase and yield of the crops.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.225-230
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• 2004

The impact of slash and burning on microbial biomass C, N and P in soils of semi-evergreen tropical deciduous forest were studied from February 1999 to January 2000. The experimental sites were located near Moreh town in the Chandel district of Manipur state (India) along the Indo-Myanmar border between 23° 49' N-24°28'N latitude and 93°45'E-94°16'E longitude. Microbial biomass C ranged from 319.50 ㎍ g/sup -1/ 905.50㎍ g/sup -1/ in the slash and burnt site and from 209.50 ㎍ g/sup -1/ to 708.80 ㎍ g/sup -1/ soil in the forest site. Microbial N ranged from 19.30 ㎍ g/sup -1/ to 99.45 ㎍ g/sup -1/ in the slash and burnt site and from 16.08㎍ g/sup -1/ to 88.90 ㎍ g/sup -1/ in the forest site. Microbial P varied from 10.90 ㎍ g/sup -1/ to 32.21 ㎍ g/sup -1/ in the slash and burnt site and from 2.50 ㎍ g/sup -1/ to 17.60 ㎍ g/sup -1/ in the forest site in different months throughout the year. Microbial biomass C, N and P were recorded to be higher in the slash and burnt site compared to the forest site The conversion of forest into slash and burnt site for agriculture - the traditional shilling cultivation practiced by tribal people in the north- eastern India leads to addition of large amount of organic matter in the soil thereby exhibiting higher values of microbial biomass C, N and P in the recent slash and burnt site than that of the forest site. Relationship between the soil moisture, soil organic C and microbial biomass C, N and P were found to be correlated significantly in both the sites.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.276-288
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• 2013

The present study investigates the effects of elevated soil nitrogen on growth and decomposition of Oryza sativa shoots. The plants were cultivated in greenhouse until leaf senescence and the total biomass of the plant increased 1.9 times at nitrogen addition plot. Total C and N content in shoot increased; however, lignin, C/N, and lignin/N levels decreased in the N-treated soil. The shoot litters collected from the control and N-treated soil were tested for decay and microbial biomass, $CO_2$ evolution, and enzyme activities during decomposition on the control and N-treated soil at $25^{\circ}C$ microcosm. The remaining mass of the shoot litter was approximately 6% higher in the litter collected from the control soil (53.0%) than the litter collected from high N-treated soil (47.1%). However, the high N-containing litter exhibited faster decay in the control soil than in the N-treated soil. The litter containing high N, low C/N, and low lignin/N showed a higher decomposition rate than that of low quality litter. The N-addition showed decreased microbial biomass C and dehydrogenase activity in soil; however, it exhibited high microbial biomass N and urease activity in soil. When the high N-containing litter decays on the N-treated soil, the microbial biomass C increased rapidly at the initial phase of decomposition and decreased thereafter, and dehydrogenase activity was less that of other treatment; however, there was no effect on the microbial biomass N. The urease in the decomposing litter was highest during the early decomposition stage and dramatically decreased thereafter. The present findings suggested that the N-addition increased N content in litter, but inhibited the decomposition process of above-ground biomass in terrestrial ecosystems.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.661-672
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• 1998

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of a range of concentrations of ruminal fluid ammonia ($NH_3$-N) on forage digestibility, microbial growth efficiency and the mix of microbial species. Urea was either continuously infused directly into the rumen of sheep fed 33.3 glh of oaten chaff (Exp. I) or sprayed onto the oaten chaff (750 g/d) given once daily (Exp. 2). Concentrations of $NH_3$-N increased with incremental addition of urea (p < 0.01). Volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentrations and 24 h in sacco organic matter digestibility in the rumen were higher when supplemental urea was given (p < 0.01). The (C2 + C4) : C3 VFA ratio was lower (p < 0.05) when $NH_3$-N was above 200 mgN/I. The fungal sporangia appearing on oat leaf blades were significantly higher when urea was supplemented, indicating that $NH_3$-N was a growthlimiting nutrient for fungi at levels of $NH_3$-N below 30 mgN/l. The density of protozoa was highest when $NH_3$-N concentrations were adjusted to 30 mgN/I for continuously fed ($4.4{\times}10^5/ml$) and to 168 mgN/1 for once daily feeding ($2.9{\times}10^5/ml$). Thereafter increasing concentrations of $NH_3$-N, were associated with a concomitant decline in protozoal densities. At the concentration of $NH_3$-N above 200 mgN/l, the density of protozoa was similar to the density of protozoa in ruminal fluid of the control sheep ($1.8{\times}10^5/ml$). The efficiency of net microbial protein synthesis in the rumen calculated from purine excretion was 17-47% higher when the level of $NH_3$-N was above 200 mgN/1. The possibilities are that 1) there is less bacterial cell lysis in the rumen because of the concomitant decrease in the protozoal pool and/or 2) microbial growth per se in the rumen is more efficient with increasing $NH_3$-N concentrations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.265-273
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• 1997

The minimum amounts of leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) required to improve the performance of cattle on a straw diet has been studied. Four levels of leucaena, namely 0 (0%), 2 kg (10%), 4 kg (18%) and 6 kg (27% of dietary dry matter intake) were supplied to 4 adult indigenous bulls ($355{\pm}21.5kg$ weight) fed rice straw alone, in a $4{\times}4$ latin square design. Measurements were made on intake, digestibility, N balance and microbial N yield. Up to 10% level of leucaena supplementation, there were no significant improvement on intake, digestibility, microbial N yield and N balance. Both straw and total dry matter intake showed diminishing return to increasing levels of leucaena supplementation and the maximum intake was observed at around 20% level. However, dietary N and digestible organic matter intake, the microbial N yield and the N balance increased linearly to the increasing levels of leucaena supplementation. On a rice straw based diet, the minimum level of leucaena required to improve the animal performance would probably be at around 20% of the dietary intake.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.397-403
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• 2008

Nikkomycins are a group of peptidyl nucleoside antibiotics with potent fungicidal, insecticidal, and acaricidal activities. sanN was cloned from the partial genomic library of Streptomyces ansochromogenes 7100. Gene disruption and complementation analysis demonstrated that sanN is essential for nikkomycin biosynthesis in S. ansochromogenes. Primer extension assay indicated that sanN is transcribed from two promoters (sanN-P1 and sanN-P2), and sanN-P2 plays a more important role in nikkomycin biosynthesis. Purified recombinant SanN acts as a dehydrogenase to convert benzoate-CoA to benzaldehyde in a random-order mechanism in vitro, with respective $K_{cat}/K_m$$ values of $3.8mM^{-1}s^{-1}\;and\;12.0mM^{-1}s^{-1}$ toward benzoate-CoA and NADH, suggesting that SanN catalyzes the formation of picolinaldehyde during biosynthesis of nikkomycin X and Z components in the wild-type stain. These data would facilitate us to understand the biosynthetic pathway of nikkomycins and to consider the combinatorial synthesis of novel antibiotic derivatives.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.13-24
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• 2023

Sewage sludge has been widely used as an organic fertilizer in agriculture. However, sewage sludge can cause serious malodor problems resulting from the decomposition of organic compounds in anaerobic conditions. The malodor of sewage sludge mainly occurs due to a low carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N), high moisture, and low temperature, which are ideal conditions for ammonia emissions. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the reduction of the odor-causing ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) in sewage sludge by co-application of microbes and methanol (MeOH). The physico-chemical properties of the municipal sewage sludge showed that the odor was mainly caused by a higher NH₃-N content (2932.2 mg L^-1). Supplementation with MeOH (20%) as a carbon source in the sewage sludge significantly reduced the NH₃-N up to 34.2% by increasing C/N ratio. Furthermore, the sewage sludge was treated with the NH₃-N reducing and plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria Stenotrophomonas rhizophila SRCM 116907. The treatment with S. rhizophila SRCM 116907 significantly increased the seedling vigor index of Lolium perenne (10.3%) and Chrysanthemum burbankii (42.4%). The findings demonstrate that supplementing sewage sludge with methanol significantly reduces ammonia emissions, thereby mitigating malodor problems. Overall, the study highlights the potential of using a microbial and methanol approach to improve the quality of sewage sludge as an organic fertilizer and promote sustainable agriculture.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.23-29
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• 2012

Objective : Sanguisorbae Radix(SO). that belong to Rosaceae is widely distributed in Asia including Korea, Japan and China. It has been used as traditional medicine from old times as a treatment for anti-inflammatory drugs. This study was designed to investigate the effects of n-BuOH fractions of SO on anti-oxidant effect and anti-microbial effect on $Streptococcus$ $mutans$ ($S.$ $mutans$). Methods : The anti-microbial effect of $n$-BuOH fractions of SO. was assessed by the paper disk diffusion method and anti-oxidant effect was assessed by the DPPH radical scavenging effect, Superoxide anion radical scavenging effect and SOD like ability. Results : DPPH radical scavenging of the $n$-BuOH fraction from SO in 50 ug/mL was shown to be Fr-2 (89.9%), Fr-3 (88.7%), Fr-4 (76.3%), Fr-1 (59.4%), Fr-5 (56.2%). Superoxside anion radical scavenging activity of the n-BuOH fraction from SO. in 50 ug/mL for Fr-3 was shown to be 78%. SOD-like activity of n-BuOH fraction from the SO in 1000 ug/mL for Fr-3 were shown to be 76.1% respectively. The $n$-BuOH fraction from the SO had high anti-microbial effect on $S.$ $mutans$. Conclusion : As a result, the $n$-BuOH fraction from SO. has good anti-microbial and anti-oxidant effects in a concentration-dependent manner.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.281-286
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• 2005

The effect of oyster shell meal, which is made of a simple crushing and alkaline calcium materials, on soil microbial properties, microbial biomass C, N and P contents, and enzyme activities were evaluated in silt loam soil. The oyster shell meal fertilizer was added at the rates of 0, 4, 8, 12 and $16Mg\;ha^{-1}$. Microbial biomass C, N and P contents were significantly increased with increasing application of oyster shell meal. Soil enzyme activities, such as urease, ${\beta}$-glucosidase and alkaline phosphomonesterase were increased significantly by shell meal application, due to increased soil pH towards neutral range and increased nutrient availability in soil. In particular, the increased microbial biomass P content and phosphomonoesterase activities were strongly correlated with available P content in soil. Conclusively, oyster shell meal fertilizer could be a good supplement to improve soil microbial activities.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.395-402
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• 2023

Objectives: Microbial contamination of face masks used by healthcare professionals can vary depending on the degree of exposure to bioaerosols in various healthcare environments. However, research on this topic is limited. Therefore, we analyzed microbial contamination of N95 respirators used in hospital offices, wards, and outpatient settings. Methods: Samples isolated from N95 respirators worn for 2, 4, and 6 hours were incubated at a temperature of 35-37℃ or 25-28℃ for 24 hours or for 3-7 days, and colony-forming units were counted in chocolate agar, tryptic soy agar, and Sabouraud dextrose agar plates. Total indoor airborne bacteria were also measured in the healthcare environments. Finally, microbial species were identified using Gram staining with a microscopic speculum. Results: The three types of environments did not deviate from the maintenance of standard indoor air quality. There was no difference between the microbial species identified in the healthcare environment and mask contamination. However, the number of bacteria in the masks worn in each environment differed, and the degree of contamination increased with mask-wearing time (p<0.05). Conclusions: Therefore, care must be taken to avoid recontamination of masks due to improper use and exposure to biological hazards in healthcare environments. In conclusion, scientific evidence is necessary for safe mask-wearing times. Based on the results of this study, we hope to conduct further research to establish guidelines for the safe use of face masks during respiratory disease epidemics.