• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.254-262
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• 2019

The impact of free cyanide ($CN^-$) and thiocyanate ($SCN^-$) on the $CN^-$ (CDO) and $SCN^-$ degraders (TDO) to nitrify and denitrify aerobically was evaluated under alkaline conditions. The CDO's were able to nitrify under cyanogenic conditions, achieving $NH_4{^+}-N$ removal rates above 1.66 mg $NH_4{^+}-N.L^{-1}.h^{-1}$, except when $CN^-$ and $SCN^-$ loading was 15 mg $CN^-/L$ and 50 mg $SCN^-.L^{-1}$, respectively, which slightly inhibited nitrification. The TDO's were able to achieve a nitrification rate of 1.59 mg $NH_4{^+}-N.L^{-1}.h^{-1}$ in the absence of both $CN^-$ and $SCN^-$, while the presence of $CN^-$ and $SCN^-$ was inhibitory, with a nitrification rates of 1.14 mg $NH_4{^+}-N.L^{-1}.h^{-1}$. The CDO's and TDO's were able to denitrify aerobically, with the CDO's obtaining $NO_3{^-}-N$ removal rates above 0.67 mg $NO_3{^-}-N.L^{-1}.h^{-1}$, irrespective of the tested $CN^-$ and $SCN^-$ concentration range. Denitrification by the TDO's was inhibited by $CN^-$, achieving a removal rate of 0.46 mg $NO_3{^-}-N.L^{-1}.h^{-1}$ and 0.22 mg $NO_3{^-}-N.L^{-1}.h^{-1}$ when $CN^-$ concentration was 10 and 15 mg $CN^-.L^{-1}$, respectively. However, when the CDO's and TDO's were co-cultured, the nitrification and aerobic denitrification removal rates were 1.78 mg $NH_4{^+}-N.L^{-1}.h^{-1}$ and 0.63 mg $NO_3{^-}-N.L^{-1}.h^{-1}$ irrespective of $CN^-$ and $SCN^-$ concentrations.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.135-146
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• 2022

Obesity is closely associated with profound dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and fatty liver disease. Recent reports have suggested that alterations in gut microbiota can be linked to diet-induced obesity. In this study, the anti-obesity effects of Weissella confusa WIKIM51 isolated from kimchi were investigated, as evidenced by: i) reduced lipid accumulation and downregulated adipogenesis-related genes in 3T3-L1 adipocytes; ii) suppressed gains in body weight and epididymal fat mass; iii) reduced serum lipid levels, for example, triglyceride and total cholesterol; iv) increased serum adiponectin levels and reduced serum leptin levels; v) downregulated lipogenesis and upregulated β-oxidation-related genes in the epididymal fat; and vi) altered microbial communities. The collective evidence indicate the potential value of W. confusa WIKIM51 as a functional food supplement for the prevention and amelioration of obesity.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.165-175
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• 2022

Earthquakes have occurred owing to movements on a fault since several billion years ago. Research on the relationship between earthquakes and groundwater began in the 1960s in the United States, but related works, including hydrogeochemistry research, only began in the 2010s in South Korea. In this study, domestic studies on the relationship between earthquakes and groundwater until 2021 were collected from the Web of Science and characterized by subject area (groundwater level, hydrogeochemistry, combination of the two, and others). The results showed that the number of published articles per year was positively correlated with the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, and 2017 Pohang earthquake, with the maximum numbers observed in 2011, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Most studies on the relationship between earthquakes and groundwater level addressed groundwater level fluctuations in the duration of the subject earthquake, with little consideration of the precursors. Groundwater level monitoring data, as well as hydrogeochemical information and microbial communities, may contribute to a more detailed understanding of groundwater flow and chemical reactions in bedrock caused by earthquakes. Therefore, the establishment of a national groundwater monitoring network for seismic monitoring and prediction is required.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.69-82
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated the bacterial community structure in organic rice-fish mixed farming paddy soil by using high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that compared with the organic rice cultivated soil, the content of AP (available phosphorus) increased by 310.23 % and the content of OM (organic matter) increased by 168.83%. The most abundant phyla in paddy soils were Proteobacteria, Bacteriodetes, and Chloroflexi, whose relative abundance was above 47.83%. Among the dominant genera, the relative abundance of Limisphaera in paddy soils was observed. Alpha diversity indicated that the bacterial diversity of paddy soils was similar among each other. The bacterial community structure was affected by the relative abundance of bacteria, not the species of bacteria. Principal Coordinated Analysis (PCoA) results showed that the bacterial communities in organic rice-fish mixed farming soil and organic paddy soil were correlated to each other; the bacterial community structure was distinctively grouped by four different systems (paddy soil under organic rice-fish mixed farming system, organic rice cultivation, and conventional rice cultivation), where the first two are closely related to each other than the third one. The results provide basal support for organic agri-cultivation while improving an ecological value at the same time.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.54-69
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• 2022

We conducted a field survey from 2018 to 2020 to analyze the spatial distribution of phytoplankton communities at 13 stations in the East Sea. The diatom Chaetoceros curvisetus appeared as the dominant species in winter, and small flagellates less than 20 ㎛ prevailed in all seasons except winter. The seasonal average range of the micro (>20 ㎛), nano (20 ㎛≥Chl-a>3 ㎛), and picophytoplankton (≤3 ㎛) was 20.6-26.2%, 27.1-35.9%, and 40.8-49.0%, respectively. The composition ratio of nano and picophytoplankton was high at the surface mixed layer from spring to autumn when the water columns were strongly stratified. Especially, the stability of the water mass was increased when the summer surface water temperature was higher than that of the previous year. As a result, the nutrient inflow from the lower layer to the surface was reduced as the ocean stratification layer was strengthened. Therefore, the composition ratio of nano and picophytoplankton was the highest at 77.9% at the surface mixed layer. In conclusion, the structure of the phytoplankton community in the East Sea has been miniaturized, which is expected to form a complex microbial food web structure and lower the carbon transfer rate to the upper consumer stage.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.23-31
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• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of livestock manure compost and fish-meal liquid fertilizer on the growth of cucumber and the soil properties for the stable production of organic cucumber. Cucumber was transplanted in greenhouse on the $6^{th}$ of April in 2017, and this experiment contained five treatments: livestock manure compost 100% (LC 100%), livestock manure compost 50% + fish-meal liquid fertilizer 50% (LC50 + LF50), livestock manure compost 50% (LC50), chemical fertilizer (NPK), and no fertilizer (NF). As a result, it was shown that soil chemical properties of LC50 + LF50 plot is not different from that of LC100 plot except for the EC content, but soil chemical properties of LC50 + LF50 plot is statistically significantly different from that of NPK plot except for pH. As a result of evaluating the functional diversity of soil microbial communities using Biolog system, the substrate richness (S) and the diversity index (H) were the highest in LC50 + LF50 plot. As a result of comparing the cucumber growth and yield, it was found that there was no statistically significant difference between the plant height and the fresh weight of LC100, LC50 + LF50, and NPK plot, but the plant height and the fresh weight of LC100, LC50 + LF50, and NPK plot were different from that of LC50 and NF plot. The yield of cucumber was the highest in NPK plot r(7,397 kg/10a), but there was no statistically significant difference in the yield of cucumber between NPK plot and LC100, LC50 + LF50 plot. The above-described results suggested that the livestock manure compost and fish meal liquid fertilizer can be used for organic cucumber production under greenhouse condition.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.808-819
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• 2023

This study was conducted to develop a selection marker for the identification of the Bacillus licheniformis K12 strain in microbial communities. The strain not only demonstrates good growth at moderate temperatures but also contains enzymes that catalyze the decomposition of various polymer materials, such as proteases, amylases, cellulases, lipases, and xylanases. To identify molecular markers appropriate for use in a microbial community, a search was conducted to identify variable gene regions that show considerable genetic mutations, such as recombinase, integration, and transposase sites, as well as phase-related genes. As a result, five areas were identified that have potential as selection markers. The candidate markers were two recombinase sites (BLK1 and BLK2), two integration sites (BLK3 and BLK4), and one phase-related site (BLK5). A PCR analysis performed with different Bacillus species (e.g., B. licheniformis, Bacillus velezensis, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus cereus) confirmed that PCR products appeared at specific locations in B. licheniformis: BLK1 in recombinase, BLK2 in recombinase family protein, and BLK3 and BLK4 as site-specific integrations. In addition, BLK1 and BLK3 were identified as good candidate markers via a PCR analysis performed on subspecies of standard B. licheniformis strains. Therefore, the findings suggest that BLK1 can be used as a selection marker for B. licheniformis species and subspecies in the microbiome.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.343-348
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• 2008

To investigate the effects of incorporation of green manures (GM) into a sandy loam soil on growth, yield, and nutrient uptake of tomato (Lycoperiscon esculentum Mill.) and nutrient balances (input minus offtake of nutrients), five tomato production systems were compared under the condition of plastic film house: 1) a no input system (no additional amendment or inputs, 0-To-0-To); 2) a conventional system (application of N-P-K chemical fertilizers, Cf-To-Cf-To); 3) a leguminous GM-containing system (hairy vetch-tomato-soybean-tomato, Hv-To-Sb-To); 4) a graminaceous GM-containing system (rye-tomato-sudan grass-tomato, Ry-To-Sd-To); and 5) system mixed with leguminous and graminaceous GMs (rye-tomatosoybean- tomato, Ry-To-Sb-To). Here, hairy vetch and rye were cultivated as winter cover crops during late $Dec{\sim}late$ Feb and soybean and sudan grass were cultivated as summer cover crops during late $Jun{\sim}mid$ Aug. All of them cut before tomato planting and then incorporated into soil. Biomass of GMs was greater in summer season than that of winter season. Nitrogen amount fixed by a leguminous plants was about $126\;kg\;ha^{-1}$ per a cropping season, corresponding to 60% N level needed for tomato production, which was comparable to 50 and $96\;kg\;ha^{-1}$ fixed by rye and sudan grass. As a result, tomato yield of Hv-To-Sb-To system (legume GM treatment) was similar to Cf-To-Cf-To (conventional), but that in Ry-To-Sd-To system (graminaceous GM treatment) was not attained to a half level of conventional treatment. Nutrient budgets for N, P and K on the conventional farm were balanced or somewhat positive exception for minus-balanced K. Ry-To-Sd-To system showed a positive N, P and K budgets due to the depressed growth of tomato which is caused by high C/N ratio and low N-fixing capacity of the GMs. Inversely, those of Hv-To-Sb-To system were negative in all of N, P and K budgets because of increased growth and yield of tomato with high nitrogen-supplying capacity as well as low C/N ratio of leguminous GM. In conclusion, although conventional cultivation has an advantage in relation to N, P and K nutrient budgets rather than GM-incorporated systems, a leguminous GMs could be recommended as nitrogen reservoir and soil amendment because the yield of tomato between use of leguminous GM and conventional cultivation was not only significantly difference, but also GMs commonly reduce nutrient loss and improve microbial communities.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.85-96
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• 2023

The study involved the categorization of domestic lakes located in South Korea into three groups based on their salinity levels: upstream reservoirs with salinity less than 0.3 psu, estuarine reservoirs with salinity ranging from 0.3 to 2 psu, and brackish lagoons with salinity exceeding 2 psu. Subsequently, the research assessed variations in the concentrations of total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus (T-P) in the sediment of these lakes using statistical analysis, specifically one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Additionally, a laboratory core incubation test was conducted to investigate the benthic nutrient fluxes in Songji lagoon (salinity: 11.80 psu), Ganwol reservoir (salinity: 0.73 psu), and Janggun reservoir (salinity: 0.08 psu) under both aerobic and anoxic conditions. The findings revealed statistically significant differences in the concentrations of T-N and T-P among sediments in the lakes with varying salinity levels (p<0.05). Further post-hoc analysis confirmed significant distinctions in T-N between upstream reservoirs and estuarine reservoirs (p<0.001), as well as between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). For T-P, a significant difference was observed between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). Regarding benthic nutrient fluxes, Ganwol Lake exhibited the highest diffusive flux of NH₄⁺-N, primarily due to its physical characteristics and the inhibition of nitrification resulting from its relatively high salinity. The flux of NO₃^--N was lower at higher salinity levels under aerobic conditions but increased under anoxic conditions, attributed to the impact of salinity on nitrification and denitrification. Additionally, the flux of PO₄^3--P was highest in Songji Lake, followed by Ganwol Lake and Janggun Reservoir, indicating that salinity promotes the diffusive flux of phosphate through anion adsorption competition. It's important to consider the influence of salinity on microbial communities, growth rates, oxidation-reduction processes, and nutrient binding forms when studying benthic diffusive nutrient fluxes from lake sediments.