• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.210-224
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• 2018

Warqe (Ensete ventricosum) has been traditionally fermented in an earthen pit to yield a carbohydrate-rich food product named kocho, for generations. A fermentation enhancer (gammaa) was added to this fermenting mass to enhance the fermentation process. The objectives of this study were to assess the physicochemical properties and microbiota of the kocho fermentation enhancer culture to reduce losses. Cross-sectional study design was implemented to collect 131 gammaa samples on the first day of fermentation. The samples were further classified into four groups according to the duration of fermentation (14, 21, 30, and 60 days) practised in various households traditionally. The results showed that the fermentation time significantly affected the physicochemical properties and microbial load of gammaa (p < 0.01). As the fermentation progressed from day 1 to 60, the pH decreased and the titratable acidity increased. The total coliform, Enterobacteriaceae, aerobicmesophilic bacteria (AMB), yeast, and mould counts were significantly reduced at the end of fermentation. In contrast, the number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) increased significantly until day 30 of fermentation, because of the ability of the LAB to grow at low pH. Lactobacillus species from LAB isolates and Enter obacteriaceae from AMB isolates were the most abundant microorganisms in gammaa fermentation. However, the Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacilli species count showed decreasing and increasing trends, respectively, as the fermentation progressed. These isolates must be investigated further to identify the species and strain, so as to develop gammaa at the commercial scale.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.289-297
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• 2011

Objectives: To estimate the microbial contaminant load discharged from livestock farms, we randomly selected livestock farmers of cattle, swine, and fowl and collected bacterial strains from domestic animals' feces and compost samples. Recently, as multi-antibiotic-resistant bacteria and super bacteria showing resistance to a variety of antibiotics have been reported one after another, the ecological and health hazard of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is emerging as an important issue. Methods: Monitored indicator microorganism constituents were totak coliform (TC), fecal coliform (FC), and aerobic bacteria. The multi-antibiotic-resistant bacteria were identified from investigated indicator microorganisms by 16S rRNA sequencing. Results: By microbiological analysis, the largest population of aerobic bacteria ($1.5{\times}10^5$ CFU/g) was found in cattle fecal compost, and total coliforms ($1.1{\times}10^7$ CFU/g) and fecal coliforms ($1.0{\times}10^5$ CFU/g) were found primarily in swine fecal compost, while the lowest population was found in fowl fecal compost. Among the 67 strains separated from aerobic bacteria, five strains expressing high antibiotic resistance were selected in each sample. We found the multi-antibiotic resistant strains to be Shigella boydii, Staphylococcus lentus, Acinetobacter sp. and Brevibacterium luteolum. Conclusions: These results suggest that increasing numbers of multi-antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment have a close relation to the reckless use of antibiotics with livestock.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.413-417
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• 2017

Concrete is a material popularly used in construction. Due to the load-bearing and external environmental factors during utilization or manufacturing, its surface is prone to flaws, such as crack and leak. To repair these superficial defects and ultimately and avoid the deterioration of the concrete's durability, numerous concrete surface protective coatings and crack repair products have been developed. Currently, studies are endeavoring to exploit the mineralization property of microbial strains for repairing concrete cracks be the repairing material for crack rehabilitation. This research aims to use bacteria, specifically B. pasteurii, in crack rehabilitation to enhance the flexural and compression strength of the repaired concrete. Serial tests at various bacterial concentrations and the same $Urea-CaCl_2$ medium concentration of 70% for crack rehabilitation were executed. The results prove that the higher the concentration of the bacterial broth, the greater the amount of calcium carbonate precipitate was induced, while using B. pasteurii broth was for crack rehabilitation. The flexural and compression strengths of the repaired concrete test samples were the greatest at 100% bacterial concentration. Compared to the control group (bacterial concentration of 0%), the flexural strength had increased by 32.58% for 1-mm crack samples and 51.01% for 2-mm crack samples, and the compression strength had increased by 28.58% and 23.85%, respectively. From the SEM and XRD test results, a greater quantity of rectangular and polygonal crystals was also found in samples with high bacterial concentrations. These tests all confirm that using bacteria in crack rehabilitation can increase the flexural and compression strength of the repaired concrete.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.5983-5991
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• 2014

Introduction: Upper aero-digestive tract cancer is a multidimensional problem, international trends showing complex rises and falls in incidence and mortality across the globe, with variation across different cultural and socio-economic groups. This paper seeks some explanations and identifies some research and policy needs. Methodological Approach: The literature illustrates the multifactorial nature of carcinogenesis. At the cellular level, it is viewed as a multistep process involving multiple mutations and selection for cells with progressively increasing capacity for proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastasis. Established and emerging risk factors, in addition to changes in incidence and prevalence of cancers of the upper aero-digestive tract, were identified. Risk Factors: Exposure to tobacco and alcohol, as well as diets inadequate in fresh fruits and vegetables, remain the major risk factors, with persistent infection by particular so-called "high risk" genotypes of human papillomavirus increasingly recognised as also playing an important role in a subset of cases, particularly for the oropharynx. Chronic trauma to oral mucosa from poor restorations and prostheses, in addition to poor oral hygiene with a consequent heavy microbial load in the mouth, are also emerging as significant risk factors. Conclusions: Understanding and quantifying the impact of individual risk factors for these cancers is vital for health decision-making, planning and prevention. National policies and programmes should be designed and implemented to control exposure to environmental risks, by legislation if necessary, and to raise awareness so that people are provided with the information and support they need to adopt healthy lifestyles.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.210-214
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• 2001

Enoki mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) was added in preparation of kimchi, and the quality was evaluated during fermentation at $10^{\circ}C$. Kimchi showed a rapid decrease in pH until 11 days, but revealed a retarded decrease thereafter. Titratable acidity increased sharply until 15 days, but increased slowly thereafter. Treatment with 5% enoki mushroom showed a lower pH and titratable acidity than control. Total microbial load and lactic acid bacterial count were maximum at 5 days, and were about $2.0{\times}10^{8}\;CFU/ml$. Radical scavenging activity was greater in enoki mushroom added kimchi after 11 days, and it was mainly due to the materials soluble in methanol and ethanol. Kimchi with 5% enoki mushroom showed higher scores than others in color and taste for sensory evaluation.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.278-282
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• 1994

Ginseng saponins and proximate components were considerably resistant to both gamma irradiation at less than 10 kGy and commercial ethylene oxide cycle, while sulfur-containing amino acids, reducing sugar, pH, and acidity of white ginseng powder were significantly changed by EO fumigation. The contents of saponins, reducing sugar, pH and acidity were relatively liable to change under the higher relative humidity (90%), especially in the non-treated control sample. However, irradiated samples at optimum-dose range (5 to 10 kGy) depending on the microbial load following airtight packaging showed a good chemical quality for 7 months of storage at $30{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ irrespective of relative humidity.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.188-197
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• 2010

In this study, the quality characteristics and storage properties of gat kimchi added with oyster shell powder and Salicornia herbacea powder were investigated during a storage time of 80 days at $5^{\circ}C$. After storage for 80 days, the average calcium contents were significantly higher in the kimchi containing the oyster shell powder and Salicornia herbacea powder than the control. In addition, the average hardness value was significantly higher in the OS4 group(oyster shell powder at 4% and Salicornia herbacea powder at 2%) than the control group, as well as the OS10 group(oyster shell powder at 10% and Salicornia herbacea powder at 2%) during storage for 80 days. The hunter b value of the OS4 group was significantly lower than the control group. During fermentation, gat kimchi containing the oyster shell powder and Salicornia herbacea powder had a higher pH and a lower acidity value than the control group. In terms of sensory evaluation, there were no significant differences between the control and calcium-added kimchi during fermentation. After 40 days of storage, the OS4 group showed a lower total viable count, as well as lower lactic acid bacteria, yeast and E. coli, as compared with the control and OS10 groups. Based on the microbial load, the gat kimchi containing the oyster shell powder showed limitations in terms of shelf life.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.25-29
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• 2000

General composition and microbial load of brine recycled to 6 times for Chinese cabbage salting and the quality of Kimchi using every brined cabbage were investigated. The concentration of salt(NaCl) in brine after soaking dropped 1.35-2.49% and pH of the brine changed significantly until 4 times recycling. The acidities were increased as number of recycling increased. The total viable cell count in recycled brine increased from 1.58$\times$10$^{6}$ /mL in the first soaking brine to 2.3$\times$10$^{9}$ /mL in 4th soaking brine which was highest in number. The pure soluble solid and vitamin C content in brine were accumulated to 0.93% and 0.55 mg% respectively after 6th recycling. The pH, acidity and sensory evaluation results of Kimchi prepared by Chinese cabbage salted by each brine recycled 6 times showed no significant difference. It means there is a possiblity reusing brine for salting of cabbage for the preparation of Kimchi to 6 times.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.242-250
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• 2007

This study evaluated the storage stability of a variety of sauce products in the Korean market, determined primary quality indices for three typical products, and proposed functional relationships that are useful for determining shelf life at different temperatures. Most of the products examined were found to combine hurdles of low pH, low water activity, and the use of heat processing as methods for producing the required storage stability while maintaining the sensory quality of the products. For a meat extract solution produced for cold noodles (pH=4.3; $a_w=0.98$), the primary quality change determining shelf life was lipid oxidation, determined here by the TBA value. The primary quality index of a soybean paste seasoning mix (pH=4.0; $a_w=0.78$), which had a microbial load of 2.8 log (CFU/g), was a decrease in its pH. The primary quality index for a sandwich spread (pH=4.0; $a_w=0.88$) was changes in its surface color. The temperature dependence of changes in the primary quality indices can be described by the Arrhenius equation, which can estimate the shelf life at any arbitrary limit as a function of temperature. The activation energies for changes in the primary quality indices of the meat extract solution, the soybean paste seasoning, and the sandwich spread were 20.3, 27.2, and 43.5 kJ/mol, respectively.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.273-278
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• 2018

Due to the lack of water in arid and semi-arid areas, reuse of wastewater can be a suitable way to compensate for water scarcity. Therefore, in this research, evaluation of the quality of wastewater of Kashan Treatment Plant to use for irrigation was studied. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016. pH, TSS, TDS, turbidity, COD, BOD5, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus, Total Coliform, fecal coliform, nematode eggs of inlet and outlet of wastewater treatment plant in Kashan were studied. Mean and standard deviation and wastewater quality parameters before and after treatment were tested with SPSS 22 (2014) software. The mean wastewater output of COD, BOD5, TSS, TDS and turbidity were respectively 86.6, 41.2, 11.11, 1095 mgL-1 and 17.5 NTU and the pH was equal to 7.22. Also, the average of Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen and phosphorus were 22.4 and 2.2 mgL-1 respectively. The mean of Total Coliform and fecal coliform were 225, 161 MPN / 100 ml respectively. In addition, no nematode eggs were found in final effluent. The results indicated that the treatment plants had a significant role in the control of microbial and organic pollution load of wastewater. Also, it is concluded that all parameters were in accordance with the standards of Iran's Department of Environment, so, it can be used for unrestricted irrigation.