• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.255-260
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• 2005

PAHs are aromatic hydrocarbon compunds with two or more benzene rings. Because they are mostly toxic to human life, they need to be converted to non-toxic compunds or to be degraded completely. This work aims to degrade PAHs (phenanthrene and pyrene) using Bacillus bacteria covered on cork or sawdust. The results show that media effect on phenanthrene was negligible whereas biodegradation ability of sawdust carrying the bacteria was better than that of biofilm-covered cork when pyrene was tested. PAH removal was also affected by soil moisture content with $45\~55\%$ of the optimal content.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.561-570
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• 2020

In the present study, dye decolorizing bacteria were isolated from water and soil samples, collected from textile industries in Jodhpur province, India. Two bacterial species namely, Bacillus pumilis and Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus were screened and identified based on biochemical characterization. The degradation efficiency of these two microorganisms was compared through optimization of pH, incubation time, initial dye concentration and inoculum size. B. pumilis and P. thiominolyticus were able to degrade 61% and 67% Red HE3B, 81% and 75% Orange F2R, 49.7% and 44.2% Yellow ME4GL and 61.6% and 59.5% Blue RC CT dyes of 800mg/l concentration respectively. The optimum pH and time were found to be 8 within 24 hours. The FT-IR analysis confirmed that microorganisms were able to degrade toxic azo dyes into a non-toxic product as proved through structural modifications to analyze chemical functions in materials by detecting the vibrations that characterize chemical bonds. It is based on the absorption of infrared radiation by the microbial product. Therefore, Bacillus pumilis and Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus are a promising tool for decolorization of dyes due to its potential to effectively decolorize higher azo dye concentrations (10-800 mg/L) and can be exploited for bioremediation.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.149-160
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• 1983

It has been known that Gentianae macrophyllae Radix is reputed to be effective in removal of 'Pungseub' and 'Heoyeol', and to be analgesic. Since ancient times, however, there have been many examples of substituting Lycoctoni Radix for Gentianae macrophyllae Radix. For that reason, this experiment was conducted to compare the diuretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, anti-bacterial effect, and toxicity of Lycoctoni Radix with those of Gentianae macrophyllae Radix. The results obtained in this work were summarized as follows; In the test of acute toxicity, Lycoctoni Radix was found to be toxic in comparison to Gentianae macrophyllae Radix which was found to be non-toxic. Both herbs were found to be diuretic and Gentianae macrophyllae Radix was more effective than the other and to be ineffective for the blood pressure and respiration. Lycoctoni Radix was found to be more analgesic than the other. Gentianae macrophyllae Radix was found to be more anti-inflammatory of the two and both demonstrated anti-pyretic effect. Anti-bacterial effect was detected only in Lycoctoni Radix. It is concluded that Gentianae macrophyllae Radix has mild diuretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic effect, but Lycoctoni Radix, due to its toxicity, can not be substituted for Gentianae macrophyllae Radix.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.977-984
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• 2014

Nanomaterial have grown from scientific interest to commercial products and the nanomaterial market has grown 19.1 % each year. As the nanomaterial market size increases, it is expected that nanomaterial production will increase and its contamination of outdoor environmental system will also increase in the form of industrial waste. Since most of nanomaterials are known as biologically non-degradable materials, nanomaterials will accumulate in the environment, and this will increase the potential threats to human health along the food chain. Recent studies have investigated the toxicity effect of nanomaterials due to their size, chemical composition and shape. For the development of nanomaterial while taking human health into consideration, a nanomaterial detecting sensor is required. In this paper, we have observed the trend of nanomaterial detecting sensor of mechanical, electrochemical, optical and kelvin probe force microscopy sensors and we believe that this trend will shed the light on the development of real-life nanomaterial detecting sensors.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.167-180
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• 2015

Arsenic is a toxic metalloid that exists ubiquitously in the environment, and affects global health problems due to its carcinogenicity. In most populations, the main source of arsenic exposure is the drinking water. In drinking water, chronic exposure to arsenic is associated with increased risks of various cancers including those of skin, lung, bladder, and liver, as well as numerous other non-cancer diseases including gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neurologic and cognitive problems. Recent emerging evidences suggest that arsenic exposure affects the reproductive and developmental toxicity. Prenatal exposure to inorganic arsenic causes adverse pregnancy outcomes and children's health problems. Some epidemiological studies have reported that arsenic exposure induces premature delivery, spontaneous abortion, and stillbirth. In animal studies, inorganic arsenic also causes fetal malformation, growth retardation, and fetal death. These toxic effects depend on dose, route and gestation periods of arsenic exposure. In males, inorganic arsenic causes reproductive dysfunctions including reductions of the testis weights, accessory sex organs weights, and epididymal sperm counts. In addition, inorganic arsenic exposure also induces alterations of spermatogenesis, reductions of testosterone and gonadotrophins, and disruptions of steroidogenesis. However, the reproductive and developmental problems following arsenic exposure are poorly understood, and the molecular mechanism of arsenic-induced reproductive toxicity remains unclear. Thus, we further investigated several possible mechanisms underlying arsenic-induced reproductive toxicity.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.217-232
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• 1999

The author made a special review on/red-tides from the following points: definition, terms, yearly progress of researches, causative organisms, searching the causes, toxins, a loss of lives, damages of aquatic products, reducing aquacultural damages and removal efficiency. Red-tides in Korea were caused by diatoms in the early 1960’s, in the end of 1970’s it was caused by non-toxic dinoflagellates when marine pollutions were growing more and more serious. In the end of 1980’s, red-tides were caused by toxic dinoflagellates. Red-tide was only found in selected areas at first, but recently large-scaled red-tides are frequently found in the southern coastal waters of Korea, causing huge losses of marine life. A plan is greatly needed to reduce the damaging red-tides, and removal systems need to be developed.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.250-254
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• 1998

Harmful micro algae isolated from Korean coastal waters, were tested with FITC-conjugated lectins and observed by epifluorescent microscopy to distinguish each other. Strain-specific sugar composition at the cell surface was suggested by the affinity of lectins to different microalgae. The micro algae Cochlodinium polykrikoides (CP-1) and Gymnodinium $A_3\;(GA_{3-1}\;1)$, are morphologically similar, but exhibited different binding activity with the lectins ECA, HPA and WGA. In Peridiniales, the micro alga Alexandrium tamarense (AT) bound HPA and WGA, but Scrippsiella trochoidea (ST-1) did not bind those lectins. Three species of Prorocentrum also exhibited different binding specificity with HPA, PHA and SBA. A non­toxic Korean isolate of Heterosigma akashiwo (HA-2) bound ConA, PEA and UEA. These results suggest that lectins are useful in discriminating morphologically similar species, as well as different species or strains within the same genus.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.100-106
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• 1999

Use of chemical preservative for controlling harmful microorganisms in food products has been debated due to public concerns about food quality because of perceived toxic and carcinogenic potential. Thus, use of non toxic natural antimicrobial agents has become essential. This study was investigated to determine the antimicrobial activity of water or ethanol extract of commercially available tea, and of solvent fractionated ethanol extracts obtained from steamed green tea. Both of water and ethanol extracts of green tea(steamed or roasted), oolong tea and black tea exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against gram positive and negative bacteria, but not effective against yeast and mold. Also, antimicrobial activity of ethanol extract of 4 different kinds of tea was stronger than that of water extract. Among 4 different tea, ethanol extract of steamed green tea was further fractionated. One thousand g/disk buthanol extract had the strongest antimicrobial activity against bacteria and mold. The concentration of the antimicrobial activity of buthanol extract in tested microorganisms ranged from 125~1000 g/disk except for Rhizopus javanicus. Antimicrobial activity of buthanol extract of steamed green tea was not destroyed by heating at 100oC for 60 min and at 121oC for 15 min, which is very stable over heat treatment. The inhibitory effect of the buthanol extract on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus was investigated. Growth of both strains was started in the presence of 250 and 500 g/ml after 12 and 24 hour respectively, whereas complete inactivation of both strains was occurred in the presence of 1000 g/ml.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.649-655
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• 2005

Microcystis aeruginosa is common form of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) capable of producing toxic heptapeptide (microcystin) that cause illness or death. The comparison of molecular genetic method with the morphological characteristics of cyanobacteria was conducted. We have designed PCR primers (JJM98F, JJM1141R) for cyanobacterial 16S rRNA and phycocyanin intergenic spacer (PC-IGS) gene domain. To confirm the production of microcystins, PCR primers for the N-methyltransferase (NMT) domain of microcystin synthetase gene mcyA were designed using 21 cyanobacteria strains Most of isolated strains from the Nakdong River was classified as Microcystis aeruginosa and the similarities were $99\%$ with M. aeruginosa AF 139292. $38.1\%$ of isolated strains contained microcystin synthesis gene. NMT (N-methyltransferase) were not detected in isolated strain in several strains, which means non-toxic. However, the NMTs of the strains were detected during the cultivation.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.510-514
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• 2018

Colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), because of the novel optical and electrical properties that stem from their three-dimensional confinement, have attracted great interest for their potential applications in such fields as bio-imaging, display, and opto-electronics. However, many semiconductors that can be exploited for QD applications contain toxic elements. Herein, we synthesized non-toxic ZnTe/ZnSe (core/shell) type-II QDs by pyrolysis method. Because of the unique type-II character of these QDs, their emission can range over an extended wavelength regime, showing photoluminescence (PL) from 450 nm to 580 nm. By optimizing the ZnSe shell growth condition, resulting ZnTe/ZnSe type-II QDs shows PL quantum yield up to ~ 25% with 35 nm PL bandwidth. Using a simple two step cation exchange reaction, we also fabricated ZnTe/ZnSe type-II QDs with absorption extended over the whole visible region. The visible-light sensitized heavy metal free ZnTe/ZnSe type-II QDs can be relevant for opto-electronic applications such as displays, light emitting diodes, and bio-imaging probes.