• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.33-43
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• 2021

Along with the widespread use of pesticides in the world, concerns over human health impacts are rapidly growing. There is a large body of evidence on the relationship between the exposure to pesticides and the elevated rate of chronic diseases such as different types of cancers, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson, Alzheimer, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), birth defects, and reproductive disorders. This research assessed the health risk of pesticide residues by the dietary intake of vegetables collected from the agro-based markets of Dhaka, Bangladesh. As some of the banned pesticides were also found in vegetable samples, they may pose a higher risk because of cheaper availability and hence the government of Bangladesh should take strong measures to control these banned pesticides. Five organo phosphorus (chlorpyrifos, parathion, ethion, acephate, fenthion) and two carbamate (carbaryl and carbofuran) pesticide residues were identified in twenty four samples of two common vegetables (tomato and brinjal). The pesticide residues ranged from below a detectable limit (< 0.01) to 0.36 mg·kg^-1. Acephate, chlorpyrifos, ethion, and carbaryl were detected in only one sample, while co-occurrence occurred twice for parathion. Continuous monitoring and strict regulation should be enforced regarding the control of pesticide residues in fresh vegetables and other food commodities in Bangladesh.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.63.1-63.14
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• 2022

Background: Chicken anemia virus (CAV) causes chicken infectious anemia, which results in immunosuppression; the virus has spread widely in chicken flocks in China. Objectives: The aim of this study was to understand recent CAV genetic evolution in chicken flocks in Guangxi Province, southern China. Methods: In total, 350 liver samples were collected from eight commercial broiler chicken farms in Guangxi Province in southern China from 2018 to 2020. CAV was detected by conventional PCR, and twenty CAV complete genomes were amplified and used for the phylogenetic analysis and recombination analysis. Results: The overall CAV-positive rate was 17.1%. The genetic analysis revealed that 84 CAVs were distributed in groups A, B, C (subgroups C1-C3) and D. In total, 30 of 47 Chinese CAV sequences from 2005-2020 belong to subgroup C3, including 15 CAVs from this study. There were some specific mutation sites among the intergenotypes in the VP1 protein. The amino acids at position 394Q in the VP1 protein of 20 CAV strains were consistent with the characteristics of a highly pathogenic strain. GX1904B was a putative recombinant. Conclusions: Subgroup C3 was the dominant genotype in Guangxi Province from 2018-2020. The 20 CAV strains in this study might be virulent according to the amino acid residue analysis. These data help improve our understanding of the epidemiological trends of CAV in southern China.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.3.1-3.11
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• 2023

Background: Studies on the risk of mercury (Hg) in Korean fishery products focus primarily on total Hg levels as opposed to methylmercury (MeHg) levels. None of the few studies on MeHg in tuna investigated tuna from Japanese restaurants. Few have evaluated lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) in tuna. Thus, this study aimed to conduct a risk assessment by evaluating heavy metal concentrations in tuna from Japanese restaurants. Methods: Thirty-one tuna samples were collected from Japanese restaurants in the Republic of Korea. They were classified according to region and species. The concentration of heavy metals in the samples was analyzed using the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Food Code method. The rate of exceedance of maximum residue levels (MRLs) and the risk compared to the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) set by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (%PTWI) were evaluated for risk assessment. Results: The mean of MeHg, Pb, Cd and As concentrations were 0.56 ± 1.47 mg/kg, 33.95 ± 3.74 ㎍/kg, 14.25 ± 2.19 ㎍/kg and 1.46 ± 1.89 mg/kg, respectively. No sample exceeded the MRLs of Pb and Cd, but 9.7% of the samples exceeded the MRL of MeHg. The %PTWIs of MeHg, Pb, Cd and As were 4.2037, 0.0162, 0.0244 and 1.1627, respectively. The %PTWI of MeHg by age group and sex was highest among men aged 19-29 years (10.6494), followed by men aged 30-49 years (7.2458) and women aged 19-29 years (4.8307). Conclusions: We found that 3 out of 31 samples exceeded the MRL of MeHg. The %PTWI of MeHg showed significant differences based on age and sex, and the value was likely to exceed a safe level depending on individuals' eating behaviors. Therefore, improved risk management for MeHg is required.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.50-56
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• 2008

A polypropylene fraction collected from the stream of post-consumer plastics was pyrolyzed. The aim of this study is to observe the dependence of yield of BTEX-aromatics normally used as solvent on the reaction temperature. To reach the goal, three experiments were carried out at different temperature between 650 and $700^{\circ}C$, using a fluidized bed reactor that shows an excellent heat transfer. In the experiments, product gases were used as a fluidizing medium to maximize the amount of BTEX-aromatics at fixed flow rate and feed rate during the pyrolysis. Oil, gas and char were obtained as product fractions. Product gases were analyzed with GCs(TCD, FID) and with a GC-MS system for qualitative analysis. For an accurate analysis of product oil, the product oil was distilled under vacuum, and separated the distillation residues from oil fractions that were actually analyzed with a GC-MS system. As the reaction temperature went higher, the content of BTEX-aromatics increased. The maximal yield of BTEX-aromatics was obtained at $695^{\circ}C$ with a value of about 30%. The main compounds of product gas were $CH_4$, $C_2H_4$, $C_2H_6$, $C_3H_6$, $C_4H_{10}$ and the product gas had an higher heating value about 45MJ/kg. It could be used as a heat source for a pyrolysis plant or for other fuel applications.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.628-633
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• 2012

This study investigated the washing efficiency of electrolyzed water for the removal of microorganisms and pesticide residues from Chinese cabbage. Initial total bacteria and coliform counts were 6.64 and 3.56 log cfu/g respectively. After washing, total bacteria count of tap water (TW) were 5.97 log cfu/g and low alkaline electrolyzed water (LAlEW) and strong acidic electrolyzed water (SAcEW) were 1.63-4.67 log cfu/g. Especially SAcEW-100 was found to the most effective method of washing the cabbages. After washing, the coliform count was dramatically reduced. The removal rate of pesticide residues by NaClO treatment (36.93-50.13%) was greater than that of TW treatment (32.28-38.46%). The removal rate of LAlEW-100 and SAcEW-100 was 63.79 and 78.30% respectively, and was higher than those of TW and NaClO treatments. The vitamin C content of the Chinese cabbages after all treatments did not differ significantly. Consequentially, the electrolyzed water was found to be effective to remove bacteria and pesticide residues from Chinese cabbage without affecting quality.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.113-119
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• 2004

Persistence of the triazole fungicides, bitertanol and tebucnazole was investigated after their application at recommended and double rate on greenhouse-grown peppers. The half-life of bitertanol and tebuconazole on peppers at recommended and double rate was $5.2{\sim}6.1$ and $4.6{\sim}5.2$ days, respectively. Half-lives of bitertanol and tebuconazole on pepper leaves $(16.8{\sim}22.5\;days)$ was longer than those in the peppers. Residual concentration of bitertanol and tebuconazole on pepper leaves 24 days after application were 10.1 and 17.5 mg/kg, respectively, and these levels were higher than MRL which had been established at 3.0 and 5.0 mg/kg in Korea. Pattern of dissipation was well fitted to the first-order kinetics. In household washing experiment with surfactant, dislodgeable portions on pepper leaves of bitertanol and tebuconazole were occupied 36% and 48% of the residues found 24 days after application.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.586-593
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• 2014

Newly reclaimed tidal land is known to be in low status of soil fertility. The incorporation of crop residue is an effective method to improve soil properties and fertility in reclaimed saline soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of rice straw (RS) application to improve physico-chemical properties of saline-sodic soil and its contribution to productivity of whole crop barley. Increasing rate of rice straw improved growth parameter related to yield of whole crop barley, which increased tiller number significantly (p<0.05).The yield increased by 15% (F.W) and 9% (D.W) in rice straw-amended plots. The content of soil organic matter (SOM) in the surface soil (0-20cm) with rice straw incorporation increased by 5~9% (RS 2.5~RS 7.5) compared to RS 0, in which the content of SOM decreased after two consecutive cultivations. Rice straw incorporation promoted soil physico-chemical properties and nutrient-availability of the test crop, as indicated in change in soil bulk density, porosity and increased nutrient uptake of plant. Especially, the P content and uptake of whole crop barley increased with increasing the rate of rice straw application. In conclusion, the rice straw application at rates of $5.0-7.5ton{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ in reclaimed saline soils effectively improved soil properties and crop productivity, which has potentials to reduce the loss of chemical fertilizers and facilitate the favorable condition for crop growth under adverse soil condition.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2013

In order to optimize the gold leaching process from refractory sulfide concentrate, a chlorine-hypochlorite solution with varying concentrations and temperatures were applied to salt-roasted concentrate. The concentrate consisted of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and galena, which were turned into hematite through air-roasting at $750^{\circ}C$. Also these concentrates were changed into hematite and nantokite (CuCl)) through salt (NaCl)-roasting at $750^{\circ}C$. The results of the gold leaching experiments showed that the best gold leaching parameters were obtained when the hydrochloric acid-sodium hypochlorite mix was at a ratio of 1 : 2, the added concentration was 1.0 M concentration, the pulp density was 1.0%, and the leaching was done at a $60^{\circ}C$ leaching temperature. The leaching rate for gold was much greater in the roasted concentrate than in the raw concentrate. The leaching rate was greater in the salt-roasted concentrate than in the plain roasted concentrate too. From XRD analysis, quartz was found in the salt-roasted concentrate and in the solid residue from the chlorine-hypochlorite leaching solution at $60^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1255-1261
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• 2006

An alkaliphilic bacterium, Bacillus sp. strain BK, was found to produce extracellular cellulase-free xylanolytic enzymes with xylan-binding activity. Since the pellet-bound xylanase is eluted with 2% TEA from the pellet of the culture, they contain a xylan-binding region that is stronger than the xylan-binding xylanase of the extracellular enzyme. The xylanases had a different molecular weight and xylan-binding ability. The enzyme activity of xylanase in the extracellular fraction was 6 times higher than in the pellet-bound enzyme. Among the enzymes, xylanase had the highest enzyme activity. When Bacillus sp. strain BK was grown in pH 10.5 alkaline medium containing xylan as the sole carbon source, the bacterium produced xylanase, arabinofuranosidase, acetyl esterase, and $\beta$-xylosidase with specific activities of 1.23, 0.11, 0.06, and 0.04 unit per mg of protein, respectively. However, there was no cellulase activity detected in the crude enzyme preparation. The hydrolysis of agricultural residues and kraft pulps by the xylanolytic enzymes was examined at 50$^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0. The rate of xylan hydrolysis in com hull was higher than those of sugarcane bagasse, rice straw, com cop, rice husk, and rice bran. In contrast, the rate of xylan hydrolysis in sugarcane pulp was 2.01 and 3.52 times higher than those of eucalyptus and pine pulp, respectively. In conclusion, this enzyme can be used to hydrolyze xylan in agricultural residues and kraft pulps to breach and regenerate paper from recycled environmental resources.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.39-44
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• 1998

Three pesticides for paddy rice, iprobenfos, isoprothiolane, and diazinon were examined on some environmental factors, their hydrolysis, microbial degradation, and photolysis in aqueous systems. Iprobenfos was mainly degraded by microorganisms and its half-life was 5.7 days at $28^{\circ}C$ in aqueous systems. Hydrolysis of iprobenfos was accelerated by the higher temperature, but its photodegradation was accelerated by the lower pH. Isoprothiolane was rapidly decomposed by two factors, microorganisms and sunlight. The half-life of isoprothiolane by sunlight was 91 days at pH 9.0, while it was 13 days at pH 4.0 and 16 days at pH 7.2. However, it was shortened under low pH condition. In aqueous system, diazinon was degraded by all of three factors and its degradation rate was remarkably accelerated by acidic solution. Main degradation factors of iprobenfos, isoprothiolane, and diazinon in the aqueous system were investigated by microbial degradation, photolysis, and hydrolysis, respectively. The strains of microbial degradation for iprobenfos, isoprothiolane, and diazinon in the aqueous environment were identified as Pseudomonas putida, Alcaligenes xylosoxydans ss, Klebsiella planticola/ornithinllytica, respectively. The similarity rates of identity were $54.8{\sim}86.2%$ with biolog-system.