• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.229-241
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• 2018

Microalgae are likely to become a part of our everyday diet in the near future as they are considered to be rich in proteins, carbohydrates, and high density lipoproteins. They will play a pivotal role in the food cycle of many people around the globe. Use of microalgae in treating wastewater is also one of the disciplines which are luring researchers as this contributes to a sustainable way of exploiting resources while keeping the environment safe. In addition, microalgal biomass also has the potential to be used as a feedstock for producing biofuel, bio fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and other bio-based products. This review presents the different value-added products obtained from microalgal biomass and the applicability of these products commercially.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.39-48
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• 2003

The ornamental industry encompasses cut flower, pot plant, turfgrass and nursery stock production and is an important part of the agricultural sector. As internationally traded commodities, cut flowers and plants are an integral part of the economy of a number of developing countries in South America, the Caribbean and Africa. Genetic modification (GM) is a tool with great potential to the ornamental horticulture industry. The rapid progress in our knowledge of plant molecular biology can accelerate the breeding ornamental plants using recombinant DNA technology techniques. Not only is there the possibility of creating new, novel products the driver of the industry but also the potential to develop varieties requiring less chemical and energy inputs. As an important non-food agricultural sector the use of genetically modified (GM) ornamental crops may also be ideal for the intensive farming necessary to generate pharmaceuticals and other useful products in GM plants. To date, there are only a few ornamental GM products in development and only one, a carnation genetically modified for flower colour, in the marketplace. International Flower Developments, a joint venture between Florigene Ltd. in Australia and Suntory Ltd.of Japan, developed the GM carnations. These flowers are currently on sale in USA, Japan and Australia. The research, development and commercialisation of these products are summarised. The long term prospects for ornamental GM products, like food crops, will be determined by the regulatory environment, and the acceptance of GM products in the marketplace. These critical factors will be analysed in the context of the current legislative environment, and likely public and industry opinion towards ornamental genetically modified organisms (GMO's).

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.69-77
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• 2003

The ornamental industry encompasses cut flower, pot plant, turfgrass and nursery stock production and is an important part of the agricultural sector. As internationally traded commodities, cut flowers and plants are an integral part of the economy of a number of developing countries in South America, the Caribbean and Africa. Genetic modification (GM) is a tool with great potential to the ornamental horticulture industry. The rapid progress in our knowledge of plant molecular biology can accelerate the breeding ornamental plants using recombinant DNA technology techniques. Not only is there the possibility of creating new, novel products the driver of the industry but also the potential to develop varieties requiring less chemical and energy inputs. As an important non-food agricultural sector the use of genetically modified (GM) ornamental crops may also be ideal for the intensive farming necessary to generate pharmaceuticals and other useful products in GM plants. To date, there are only a few ornamental GM products in development and only one, a carnation genetically modified for flower colour, in the marketplace. International Flower Developments, a joint venture between Florigene Ltd. in Australia and Suntory Ltd. of Japan, developed the GM carnations. These flowers are currently on sale in USA, Japan and Australia. The research, development and commercialization of these products are summarized. The long term prospects for ornamental GM products, like food crops, will be determined by the regulatory environment, and the acceptance of GM products in the marketplace. These critical factors will be analysed in the context of the current legislative environment, and likely public and industry opinion towards ornamental genetically modified organisms (GMO's).

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.49
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• pp.2.1-2.11
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• 2019

Nanomaterials (NMs) find widespread use in different industries that range from agriculture, food, medicine, pharmaceuticals, and electronics to cosmetics. It is the exceptional properties of these materials at the nanoscale, which make them successful as growth promoters, drug carriers, catalysts, filters and fillers, but a price must be paid via the potential toxity of these materials. The harmful effects of nanoparticles (NPs) to environment, human and animal health needs to be investigated and critically examined, to find appropriate solutions and lower the risks involved in the manufacture and use of these exotic materials. The vast number and complex interaction of NM/NPs with different biological systems implies that there is no universal toxicity mechanism or assessment method. The various challenges need to be overcome and a number of research studies have been conducted during the past decade on different NMs to explore the possible mechanisms of uptake, concentrations/dosage and toxicity levels. This review article examines critically the recent reports in this field to summarize and present opportunities for safer design using case studies from published literature.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2017

Hydrophobins are surface active proteins that are produced by filamentous fungi including mushrooms. Their ability to self-assemble into an amphipathic membrane at any hydrophilic-hydrophobic interface is most intriguing. These small secreted proteins comprise of eight conserved cysteine residues which form four disulfide bridges and an extraordinary hydrophobic patch. Hydrophobins play critical roles in fungal (and/or mushrooms) growth as structural components and in the interaction of fungi and mushrooms with the environment. The biophysical and biochemical properties of the isolated proteins are remarkable, such as strong adhesion, high surface activity and the formation of various self-assembled structures. With the increasing demands of hydrophobins from fungi and mushroom sources, production and purification in large scale is under challenge. Various applications, ranging from food industries, cosmetics, nanotechnology, biosensors and electrodes, to biomaterials and pharmaceuticals are emerging and a bright future is foreseen.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.054-074
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• 2023

With the advent of the '4th Industrial Revolution', digitalization using AI (Artificial Intelligence), big data, IoT (Internet of Things), cloud computing and mobile is accelerating across all industries and global companies have fundamentally reorganized customer experiences, business models, and operations centering on digital transformation. Business innovation drives productivity improvement, process simplification, price, competitiveness and sustainable expansion. Whether digital transformation will be necessary for the current industrial environment is no longer important, and how quickly companies achieve digitalization has emerged as the utmost crucial element in industrial continuity. As non-face-to-face and remote technologies have begun in earnest, and accelerated in the pharmaceutical industry. They are looking for ways to provide value, generate profits, improve efficiency, and sustain the future. Compared to other industries, the pharmaceutical-related sectors have shown high interest in digital transformation especially to reduce costs and meet the challenge of delivering products during the pandemic environment.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.32 no.5 s.92
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• pp.462-468
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• 2006

Antibiotics are manufactured and used for specific physiological functions, hence they may exert adverse ecological consequences when they are in contact with nontarget organisms. In the last decade, many reports have been made on the occurrences of various antibiotic compounds in surface water, and their potential impact to the environment has become an increasing concern. This study was conducted to prioritize antibiotic substances with potential environment risk in Korea. Human use antibiotics with an EIC (Expected Introduction Concentration) value greater than $1{\mu}g/l$, US FDA's action limit criteria, were selected. In order to calculate a worst-case EIC for each substance, annual production volume (in kg) of each antibiotic substance was derived using the Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (KPMA)'s monetary database. Sixteen substances were preliminarily selected. The EICs of the 16 antibiotic substances were refined with the excretion rate of the parent substances. Ten antibiotic substances were identified to have EIC-corrected greater than $1{\mu}g/l$, which include Amoxicillin ($15.8{\mu}g/l$), Cefaclor ($10.1{\mu}/l$), Roxithromycin ($4.2{\mu}g/l$), Cephradine ($4.5{\mu}g/l$), Cefatrizine ($2.6{\mu}g/l$), Cefadroxil ($3.3{\mu}g/l$), Aztreonam ($2.3{\mu}g/l$), Ceftazidime ($2.8{\mu}g/l$), Ribostamycin ($1.3{\mu}g/l$), and Ceftezole ($1.3{\mu}g/l$). Additional risk assessments for these antibiotic substances are suggested.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.314-321
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• 2020

This study evaluated the applicability of UV-AOP process using medium-pressure UV lamp and H₂O₂ to remove TOC and emerging micropollutants in the effluent from a sewage treatment plant. The UV lamp with higher output(1.6~8.0 kW) showed slightly higher amount of power in removing TOC of 1 mg/L(0.09 kWh/mg/L~0.11 kWh/mg/L), however it was found that there was no significant difference for each cases. In addition, under the condition that the H₂O₂ concentration is sufficient, as the power consumption of the UV lamp increases, the unit TOC removal concentration per unit H₂O₂ decomposition concentration also increases, resulting in effective removal of TOC. The removal rate of 7 new trace contaminants, such as antibiotics by the UV-AOP tested, was at least 89.4%, and the ability to remove the emerging micro pollutants in the process was very effective. But, it was judged that it could not be excluded that the probablity of transforming to oxidated by-product in the case of a low TOC removal efficiency. Depending on the operating conditions of the UV and H₂O₂ processes, a higher BOD concentration is found in the treated water than in the influent, and it is necessary to review the UV power and proper injection conditions of H₂O₂ to maintain the BOD concentration increase below a certain level.

• ALGAE
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.91-106
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• 2020

Incorporating renewable fuel into practice, especially from algae, is a promising approach in reducing fossil fuel dependency. Algae are an exceptional feedstock since they produce abundant biomass and oils in short timeframes. Algae also produce high-valued lipid products suitable for human nutrition and supplement. Achieving goals of producing algae fuels and high-valued lipids at competitive prices involves further improvement of technology, especially better control over cultivation. Manipulating microalgae cultivation conditions to prevent contamination is essential in addition to promoting optimal growth and lipid yields. Contamination of algal cultures is a major impediment to algae cultivation that can however be mitigated by choosing extremophile microalgae. This work describes the isolation of alkali-tolerant / alkaliphilic microalgae native to South Florida with ideal characteristics for cultivation. For that purpose, water samples from Lake Okeechobee were inoculated into Zarrouk's medium (pH 9-12) and incubated for 35 days. Selection resulted in isolation of three strains that were screened for biomass and lipid accumulation. Two alkali-tolerant algae Chloroidium sp. 154-1 and Chlorella sp. 154-2 were poor lipid accumulators. One of the isolates, the diatom Fistulifera sp. 154-3, was identified as a lipid accumulating, alkaliphilic organism capable of producing 0.233 g L^-1 d^-1 dry biomass and a lipid content of 20-30% dry weight. Lipid analysis indicated the most abundant fatty acid within Fistulifera sp. was palmitoleic acid (52%), or omega-7, followed by palmitic acid (17%), and then eicosapentanoic acid (15%). 18S rRNA phylogenetic analysis formed a well-supported clade with Fistulifera species.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.276-287
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• 2013

Domestic sewage contains increasingly more pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), due to rising use of medicines, health supplement food and daily necessities. And various types of industrial wastewater from pollution sources in treatment areas could flow into the public sewerage treatment plants (PSTPs) in metropolitan areas. The conventional PSTPs are designed to treat suspended solids, biodegradable organics, nitrogen and phosphorous from residential and industrial areas and public facilities. However, toxic, conventional, and non-coventional pollutants from non-domestic sources that discharge into sewer system as well as domestic source with various chemicals could not be treated in the conventional PSTPs and discharged untreated to public basin. In this paper we aim to consider the establishment system of effluent standard of PSTPs in comparison with water quality standard of water environment and wastewater discharge regulation. And also we suggest the necessity of regulations on the pretreatment of industrial wastewater as part of efforts to improve water quality in sewerage systems and to protect public basin.