• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2015

Observed trends in climate change, globalization and an aging population have an effect on public health conditions in Korea, prompting a reevaluation of current environmental regulations. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the total coliform (TC) standard, which is the only microbiological standard in the current regulation regime for hot spring water, by estimating correlation with the presence/absence of Legionella, a non-fecal opportunistic pathogen with heat-tolerance. Microbiological data in 7 studies that surveyed Legionella in hot spring waters were subjected to meta-analyses with the odds ratio (OR) as the effect size. The presence/absence of Legionella was significantly correlated to TC levels [OR = 3.1(1.5–6.4, 95% CI), p = 0.002]. Due to there being no direct explanation as to the reason for the occurrence of TC, mesophilic fecal bacteria, being coupled with Legionella presence, the mechanism of the correlation between the two kinds of bacteria was further investigated. Legionella presence was more prevalent with a high heterotrophic plate count [HPC; 4.0(2.2–7.2); p < 0.001] and water temperature [4.3(1.4–13.6), p = 0.011] when the temperature range was <40℃. However, it was reverse-correlated with water temperature when the temperature was >50℃ [0.2(0.1–0.4), p < 0.001]. Therefore, bacterial standing crops in hot spring waters appear to be determined by water temperature in general, and this forces TC and Legionella levels be correlated. In accordance with this relationship, HPC rather than TC reflect the levels of non-fecal contamination better. Therefore, employing HPC as the sole microbiological standard, or adding HPC into the current standard of hot spring water assessment, is suggested as a proactive measure to prevent health issues arising from contamination.

• 한국가스학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.58-68
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• 2001

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) of carbon steel gas pipeline in soil environments was investigated at field and laboratory MIC is very severe corrosion and it is not easy to distinguish this corrosion from Inorganic corrosion because of its localized, pitting-type character Therefore, it is important to provide proper assessment techniques for the prediction, detection, monitoring and mitigation of MIC. It is possible to predict the MIC risk, i.e., the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) through the analysis of soil environments. Chemical, microbiological and surface analysis of corrosion products and metal attacked could reveal the possibility of the occurrence of MIC. Various electrochemical and surface analysis techniques could be used for the study of MIC. Among these techniques, thin-film electrical resistance (ER) type sensors are promising to obtain localized corrosion rate of MIC induced by SRB. It is also important to study the effect of cathodic protection (CP) on the MIC In case of coated pipeline, the relationship between coating disbondment and the activity of SRB beneath the disbanded coating is also important.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.657-668
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• 2021

We prepared the growth and survival models of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and Campylobacter jejuni in milk as a function of temperature and assessed the microbiological risks associated with the consumption of whole milk. EHEC and C. jejuni were not detected in whole milk (n=195) in the retail market. The minimum growth temperature of EHEC in milk was 7℃. The lag time of EHEC in whole milk was longer than that in skim milk. The survival ability of C. jejuni in milk was better at 4℃ than at 10℃. Lower delta values were observed in whole milk than in skim milk, indicating that C. jejuni survived better in skim milk. The probability of foodborne illness from whole milk consumption was 5.70×10^-5 for EHEC and 9.86×10^-9 for C. jejuni. Sensitivity analysis results show that the market temperature of EHEC and the dose-response model of C. jejuni are correlated with the probability of foodborne illness.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.306-312
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• 2016

Microalgae are the potential bioindicators of environmental changes, for the environmental risk assessment as well as to set limits for toxic chemical release in the aquatic environment. Here, we evaluated the effects of two endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), namely bisphenol A (BPA) and Aroclor 1016, on the green algae Tetraselmis suecica, diatom Ditylum brightwellii, and dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum. Each species showed wide different sensitivity ranges when exposed to these two EDCs; the 72 h effective concentration ($EC_{50}$) for these test species showed that Aroclor 1016 was more toxic than BPA. $EC_{50}$ values for the diatom D. birghtwellii were calculated at 0.037 mg/L for BPA and 0.002 mg/L for Aroclor 1016, representing it was the most sensitive when compared to the other species. In addition, these results suggest that these EDC discharge beyond these concentrations into the aquatic environments may cause harmful effect to these marine species.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.86-93
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• 2009

This study was conducted to determine microbiological assessment on edible ices, which is one of mandatory items for HACCP application, and to provide basic scientific data for the improvement of HACCP system. In HACCP applied edible ice companies, the contamination levels of total counts, yeast and mold, and coliform from raw materials, mixed samples before sterilization, mixed samples after sterilization, and final products of edible ices were lower than those of non-HACCP applied edible ice companies. Foodborne pathogens, such as L. monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., B. cereus, B. aureus, Y. enterocolitica were not detected in all samples of edible ices from HACCP applied edible ice companies, but S. aureus was isolated1 from 1 raw material, 1 mixed samples before sterilization and 1 final product of edible ices from non-HACCP applied edible ice companies, respectively.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.20-26
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• 2017

Foodborne disease outbreaks associated with produces have been increasing in occurrence worldwide. This study investigated microbial contamination levels on thirteen kinds of agricultural products from farms stage to evaluate potential hazards associated with foodborne illness. A total of 1,820 samples were collected in major cultivating area from 2013 through 2015, and analyzed to enumerate aerobic bacterial counts, coliforms/E. coli, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the prevalence study for four kinds of microorganisms (Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes) was performed on each sample. Aerobic bacterial counts ranged from 0.01 to 7.18 log CFU/g, with the highest bacterial cell counts recorded for watermelon. Coliforms were detected in 651 samples (35.8%) with a minimum of 0.01 log CFU/g and a maximum of more than 5 log CFU/g. B. cereus was detected in 169 samples (9.3%) ranging from < 0.01 to 2.48 log CFU/g among total samples analyzed. S. aureus was detected in 14 samples (0.7%) with a minimum of 0.01 log CFU/g and a maximum of 1.69 log CFU/g. E. coli was detected in 101 samples (5.5%) among 1,820 samples. E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were not detected in any of the samples. The microbial contamination levels of several agricultural products determined in this study may be used as the fundamental data for microbiological risk assessment (MRA).

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.324-329
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• 2013

This study investigated and evaluated contamination levels of bacteria on tomatoes at farms stage to evaluate potential hazards associated with fresh tomatoes. A total of 170 samples, 90 samples from 5 sampling sites from 18 farms and 80 samples from 1 sampling site from 4 farms every month for four months, were analyzed to enumerate aerobic bacterial counts, coliforms, E. coli, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes. Aerobic bacterial counts ranged from 0.48 to 6.15 Log CFU/g, with the lowest and the highest bacterial cell counts recorded for A site and E site, respectively. Thirty five percent of the samples from the E site contained more than 2 Log CFU/g. Six samples (6.6%) of 90 samples contained B. cereus less than 1 Log CFU/g. In addition, the contamination level of indicator bacteria and B. cereus in tomatoes were higher on March than on April, May and June (P < 0.05). S. aureus, E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were not detected in the tomato samples. The microbial contamination levels of tomatoes determined in this study may be used as the data for microbiological risk assessment.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.103-110
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• 2001

Predictive food microbiology(PFM) is an emerging area of food microbiology since the later 1980’s. It does apply mathematical models to predict the responses of microorganism to specified environmental variables. Although, at present, PFM models do not completely developed, models can provide very useful information for microbiological responses in HACCP(Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) system and Risk Assessment. This study illustrates the possible use of PFM models(PMP: Pathogen Modeling Program win5.1) with milk in several elements in the HACCP system, such as conduction of hazard analysis and determination of CCP(Critical Control Points) and CL(Critical Limits). The factors likely to affect the growth of the pathogens in milk involved storage fixed factors were pH 6.7, Aw 0.993 and NaCl 1.3%. PMPwin5.1 calculated generation time, lag phase duration, time to level of infective dose for pathogens across a range of storage (Critical Control Points) and CL(Critical Limits). The factors likely to affect the growth of the pathogens in milk involved storage temperature, pH, Aw and NaCl content. The factors likely to affect the growth of the pathogens in milk involved storage temperature, pH, Aw and NaCl content. The variable factor was storage temperature at the range of 4~15$^{\circ}C$ and the fixed factors were pH 6.7, Aw 0.993 and NaC 1.3%. PMPwin5.1 calculated generation time, lag phase duration, time to level of infective dose for pathogens across a range of storage temperature.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.270-274
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• 2013

The bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, has played an important role as one of the alternative pollinators since the outbreak of honeybee collapse disorder. Recently, pathogens and parasites such as viruses, bacteria and mites, which affect the life span and fecundity of their host, have been discovered in B. terristris. In order to detect the microsporidian pathogen, Nosema spp. in the field populations of B. terristris, we collected adults and isolated their genomic DNA for diagnostic PCR. The PCR primers specific for Nosema spp. were newly designed and applied to gene amplification for cloning. Only small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene of N. ceranae was successfully amplified among examined genes and sequenced, which indicates that N. ceranae mainly infects the examined field population of B. terristris. To detect of SSU rRNA gene, two regions of SSU rRNA gene were selected by primary PCR analysis and further analyzed in quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that SSU rRNA of N. ceranae was detected at concentration as low as $0.85ng/{\mu}l$ genomic DNA. This result suggests that the detection via qRT-PCR can be applied for the rapid and sensitive diagnosis of N. ceranae infection in the field population as well as risk assessment of B. terristris.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.694-698
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• 2020

The consumption of Gwamegi, a semi-dried saury Cololabis saira, and its vegetable sides has increased owing to its availability online. Therefore, this study investigated the microbial contamination levels in Gwamegi and its accompanying vegetable sides bought online by measuring total viable bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and fungi. The total viable bacteria ranged from 3-5 log CFU/g. The fungi in Gwamegi and garlic were 3.4 and 3.9 log CFU/g, respectively. The positive rate of bacterial contamination was 100% (2-3 log CFU/g) in Gwamegi, cabbage Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis, and green chili Capsicum annuum, whereas the contamination positive rate was 80% and 60% (< 2 log CFU/g) in chives Allium ascalonicum L. and garlic A. sativum L., respectively. The positive rates of E. coli were 0%, 20%, 60%, and 40% in Gwamegi, green chili, cabbage, and chives, respectively. The contamination levels of E. coli were 1-2 log CFU/g. S. aureus was detected at < 1 log CFU/g in all raw materials. The data on microbial contamination levels may be used for microbial risk assessment of Gwamegi and vegetables for controlling the level of microbial contamination and securing microbiological safety.