• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.152-161
• /
• 2017

Cheese is an excellent substrate for yeast and mold growth. These organisms can cause cheese spoilage, resulting in significant food wastage and economic losses. In the context of cheese spoilage, the presence and effects of spoilage or pathogenic bacteria are well documented. In contrast, although yeasts and molds are responsible for much dairy food wastage, only a few studies have examined the diversity of spoilage fungi. This article reviews the spoilage yeasts and molds affecting cheeses in various countries. The diversity and number of fungi present were found to depend on the type of cheese. Important fungi growing on cheese include Candida spp., Galactomyces spp., Debaryomyces spp., Yarrowia spp., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Geotrichum spp., Mucor spp., and Trichoderma spp.. In addition, several mold spoilage species, such as Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp., are able to produce mycotoxins, which may also be toxic to humans. There are many ways to eliminate or reduce toxin levels in foods and feeds. However, the best way to avoid mycotoxins in cheese is to prevent mold contamination since there are limitations to mold degradation or detoxifications in cheese. Chemical preservatives, natural products, and modified atmosphere packaging have been used to prevent or delay mold spoilage and improve product shelf life and food safety.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.326-329
• /
• 2005

A worker who grinded the inner parts of camshafts for automobile engines using water-soluble metalworking fluid (MWF) for 14 years was diagnosed with sinusitis. We postulated that the outbreak of sinusitis could be associated with exposure to microbes contaminated in water-soluble MWF during the grinding operation. To suggest responsible agents for this outbreak, quantitative exposure assessment for chemical and biological agents and prevalence of work-related respiratory symptoms by questionnaire were studied. The exposure ranges of MWF mist (0.59 $mg/m^3$to 2.12 $mg/m^3$) measured during grinding exceeded 0.5 $mg/m^3$ of the recommended exposure limit (REL). Grinder's exposures to bacteria, fungi and endotoxins were also generally higher than not only the proposed standards, but also those reported by several studies to identify the cause of respiratory effects. Statistical test indicated that the prevalence rate of reported symptoms related to nasal cavities showed no significant differences among the operations. Evaluation on grinding operation characteristics and quantitative exposure assessment indicated that repeated exposure to MWF mist including microbes contaminated from the use of water-soluble MWF may cause respiratory diseases like sinusitis or at least increase susceptibility to the development of sinusitis

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.406-417
• /
• 2011

Objectives: Exposure to bioaerosols in the indoor environment could be associated with a variety adverse health effects, including allergic disease such atopy. The objectives of this study were to assess children's exposure to bioaerosol in home indoor environments and to evaluate the association between atopy and bioaerosol, environmental, and social factors in Ulsan, Korea. Methods: Samples of viable airborne bacteria and fungi were collected by impaction onto agar plates using a Quick Take TM 30 and were counted as colony forming units per cubic meter of air (CFU/$m^3$). Bioaerosols were identified using standard microbial techniques by differential stains and/or microscopy. The environmental factors and possible causes of atopy based on ISAAC (International Study of Allergy and Asthma in Childhood) were collected by questionnaire. Results: The bioaerosol concentrations in indoor environments showed log-normal distribution (p < 0.01). Geometric mean (GM) and geometric standard deviation (GSD) of airborne bacteria and fungi in homes were 189.0 (2.5), 346.1(2.0) CFU/$m^3$, respectively. Indoor fungal levels were significantly higher than those of bacteria (p < 0.001). The concentration of airborne bacteria exceeded the limit recommended by the Korean Ministry of Environment, 800 CFU/$m^3$, in three out of 92 samples (3.3%) from 52 homes. The means of indoor to outdoor ratio (I/O) for airborne bacteria and fungi were 8.15 and 1.13, respectively. The source of airborne bacteria was not outdoors but indoors. GM of airborne bacteria and fungi were 217.6, 291.8 CFU/$m^3$ in the case's home and 162.0, 415.2 CFU/$m^3$ in the control's home respectively. The difference in fungal distributions between case and control were significant (p = 0.004) and the odds ratio was 0.996 (p = 0.027). Atopy was significantly associated with type of house (odds ratio = 1.723, p = 0.047) and income (odds ratio = 1.891, p = 0.041). Some of the potential allergic fungal genera isolated in homes were Cladosporium spp., Botrytis spp., Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Alternatia spp. Conclusions: These results suggest that there this should be either 'was little' meaning 'basically no significant association was found' or 'was a small negative' mean that an association was found but it was minor. It's a very improtant distinction. Association between airborne fungal concentrations and atopy and certain socioeconomic factors may affect the prevalence of childhood atopy.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.479-486
• /
• 2004

Phytoestrogens display estrogen-like activity because of their structural similarity to human estrogens and exhibit high affinity binding for the estrogen receptors (ERs). The prevalence of phytoestrogens in our diets and the biological effects that they may cause need to be fully examined. ER is the ancestral receptor from which all other steroid receptors have evolved. Although phytoestrogens serve specific signaling functions between the plants and insects, fungi, and bacteria, many chemical signals are often misinterpreted as estrogenic signals in non-target organisms such as vertebrates. There are no ERs in plants or in their most common partners, insects. However, Rhizobium soil bacteria have NodD proteins which is an intended target of phytoestrogen signaling and share genetic homology with the ER. These two evolutionarily distant receptors both recognize and respond to a shared group of chemical signals and ligands, including both agonists and antagonists. This review briefly summarizes estrogen and estrogen receptors, kinds of important phytoestrogens, their health effects as well as some of the evolutionary aspects of mechanism by which phytoestrogen mimics the endogenous ER signaling in our body.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2020

Canine otitis externa is a common disorder in small animal practice with prevalence up to 20%. In a large percentage of cases, canine otitis externa is a chronic and recurrent disease also associated with drug-resistant bacteria that is difficult to treat with traditional antibiotics. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new strategy to exterminate pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy against canine otitis externa using three photosensitizer (PS); 5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) and Methyl aminolevulinic acid (MAL) with semiconductor laser diode (SLD, 635nm of wave length), Chlorophyll-lipoid complex (CLC) with light-emitting diode (LED, 660nm of wave length). After PDT, dogs showed improved Otitis Index Score (OTIS) in swelling, exudate, odor, and pain. A result of the cytology test revealed decrease of bacteria and malassezia count in the oil immersion field and colony forming units count. PDT was effective as a bacteriocide of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) and a fungicide of Malassezia pachydermatis. MAL and 5-ALA were more effective PS against canine otitis externa than CLC. These results suggest that PDT is a new strategy to exterminate pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. PDT can be considered as a new therapeutic approach for canine recurrent otitis externa and a countermeasure to drug resistance that is a disadvantage of traditional antibiotic and antifungal therapy.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.115-121
• /
• 1985

An aerial survey for fungal flora in Seoul has been carried out by Petri plate exposure method for a period of one year. A total of 2227 fungal spores appeared in the plates. Of these, Cladosporium was the commonest fungus representing 43.5% of the total spore count followed by Penicillium (15.8%). Alternaria (10.5%), and Aspergillus (3.8%). There were seasonal variations in the prevalence of fungal spores. The occurrence of these fungi was greatly affected by climatic conditions. However, Alternaria appeared to prefer warmer weather. A comparison of fungal population from the outdoor and indoor air was also investigated to support the view that Alternaria is abundant population from the outdoor air and that Cladosporium from the indoor air depending on their availability in the atmosphere.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.67-76
• /
• 2014

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to analyze the dietary habits and food intake status according to the prevalence of depression in adults. Methods: A total of 496 subjects, 224 men and 272 women aged 50 to 100 years were recruited from more than 13 cities in Korea. The questionnaires consisted of general characteristics, dietary life status, food intakes, the mean mini dietary assessment and satisfaction with food-related life questionnaire of the subjects to ask according to the degree of depression. Depression status was evaluated according to the Korean form of the Geriatric Depression Scale (K-GDS). Results: All subjects were divided into depression or normal groups; the prevalence of depression was 13.8% (male) and 23.9% (female). People aged 65 or older were more likely to have higher prevalence of depression and to be bereaved. People in the depression group had poor appetite, almost never dined-out, and ate alone. The food intake of miscellaneous cereals, beans, tofu, chicken/duck meat, cabbage, carrot/amber, fungi, apple, pear, strawberry, grapes, and banana was significantly higher in the normal group compared with the depression group. In particular, significantly higher intake of vegetables and fruits was observed in the normal group. In addition, subjects in the depression group ate more fatty meat and were more dissatisfied with food-related life than those in the normal group. Conclusion: The results of this study imply that the prevalence of depression may affect the dietary habits, food intake, and dietary behaviors in the older adult population.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.53-59
• /
• 1985

A group of 80 Holstein calves, many with clinical signs of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis in summer seasons, was assembled for bacteriologic and ophthalmologic studies at an integrated dairy farm. Observations were started from 1980 to 1984 but bacteriological study was only carried out from thor spring in 1981 and continued during the Autumn in 1981. Corneal lesions and drugs sensitivity were also observed and the results obtained were as follows: 1. Occurrences of IBK-affected cattle during the 5 years were predominent to calves in summer. 2. Among 142 eyes from 80 cattle, 53 isolates of Moraxella bovis(37.3%) were isolated from 37 cattle(46.3%). The prevalence of the infection for clinical eyes were higher than nonclinical eyes calves. 3. Miscellaneous organisms were found from age groups of 5 months to 9 months old. It were 8 hemolytic Neisseria spp., 3 Fungi, Mycoplasma sp. and 1 Pseudomonas sp., but 9 samples were unknown. 4. Prevalence of infection with M. bovis in bilateral clinical eyes were higher than unilateral eyes. 5. Incidence of corneal lesion was predominent in early stage as a watery tears(21.0%) and late stage as a leukomas of corneal opacity(22.8%). 6. The number of isolations of M. bovis and incidence of IBK varied from year to year; Higher incidence of IBK clinical signs were showed in calves from 5 months to 10 months old and the number of isolations of M. bovis was declined in order 8 months(100.0%), 4 months(75.0%), 5 months(66.6%) and 8 months(66.6%) old calves. 7. Chloramphenicol, Nitrofurantoin and Cephalothin were highly sensitive against M. bovis isolates and then Tetracycline, Neomycin, Erythromycin and Kanamycin were intermediate but low sensitive to Streptomycin, Colistin and Penicillin.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.111-118
• /
• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of honeybee (Apis mellifera) diseases in Gwangju area. From November 2016 to August 2017, 89 samples were collected from 33 apiculture farms and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and real time PCR were conducted. 14 infectious pathogens, including seven viruses, two bacteria, three fungi, and two parasites, were investigated from random apiculture farms in Gwangju. The percentage of infectious pathogens were as follows: Stonebrood (76.4%), Deformed wing virus (51.7%), Nosema (27.0%) in PCR and RT-PCR. This result indicated that Stonebrood was most prevalent disease in Gwangju area. And we could get similar results from real time PCR. 84.8% of farms have more than two of infectious pathogens. Stonebrood and Deformed wing virus were major diseases in almost all seasons and Black queen cell virus disease was especially prevalent in May.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.253-258
• /
• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of honey bee (Apis mellifera) disease in Daejeon. From May to September in 2014, 63 samples were collected from 63 apiculture farms in the regions and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted. A total of 11 infectious pathogens, including 6 virus, 2 bacteria, 2 fungi, and 1 parasite, were investigated in honeybee colonies suffering from symptom of sudden collapse, depopulation or paralysis. The infectious pathogens and infection rates among 63 honeybee colonies detected were as follows: sacbrood virus (12.7%), chronic bee paralysis virus (1.6%), stonebrood (11.1%), American foulbrood (19.0%), European foulbrood (6.3%), respectively. The result indicate that foul-brood was most prevalent disease in apiculture farms in Daejeon area.