• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.65-78
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• 2011

Ozone ($O_3$) is a main component of photochemical oxidants, and a phytotoxic anthropogenic air pollutant. In North America and Europe, the current concentration of $O_3$ has been shown to have significant adverse effects on vegetation. In this review, we summarize the experimental studies on the effects of $O_3$ on the growth and photosynthetic activity of Japanese forest tree species to understand the present knowledge and provide sound basis for future research toward the assessment of $O_3$ impacts on Japanese forest ecosystem. Since the 1990s, several Japanese researchers have conducted the experimental studies on the effects of ambient levels of $O_3$ on growth and physiological functions such as net photosynthesis of Japanese forest tree species. Although the sensitivity to $O_3$ of whole-plant growth is quite different among the species, it was suggested that the current ambient levels of $O_3$ in Japan are high enough to adversely affect growth and photosynthetic activity of Japanese forest tree species classified into high $O_3$ sensitivity group such as Japanese beech. The N load to soil has been shown to reduce the sensitivity to $O_3$ of Japanese larch and increase that of Japanese beech. To establish the critical level of $O_3$ for protecting Japanese forest tree species, therefore, it is necessary to take into account the N deposition from the atmosphere. There is little information on the combined effects of $O_3$ and other environmental factors such as elevated $CO_2$ and drought on growth and physiological functions of Japanese forest tree species. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the experimental study and accumulate the information on the combined effects of $O_3$ and any other abiotic environmental factors on Japanese forest tree species.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.351-362
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• 2020

Adaptive behaviors are one of ubiquitous features in evolutionary dynamics of populations, and certain adaptive behaviors can be witnessed by individuals' movements which are generally affected by local environments. In this paper, by revisiting the previous work, we investigate the sensitivity of species coexistence in the system of cyclic competition where species movement can be affected by local environments. By measuring the extinction probability through Monte-Carlo simulations, we find the relativistic effect of weights of local fitness and exchange rate for adaptive movement on species biodiversity which promotes species coexistence as the relativistic effect is intensified. In addition, by means of basins of initial conditions, we also found that adaptive movement can also affect species biodiversity with respect to the choice of initial conditions. The strong adaptive movement can eventually lead the coexistence as a globally stable state in the spatially extended system regardless of mobility.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.333-342
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• 2023

Phytophthora species, classified under Oomycota, cause significant damage to various crops and trees. The present study introduced Phytophthora species, P. nagaii and P. tentaculata, new to Korea, which pose notable risks to their respective host plants. Our research provided a comprehensive description of these species taking into account their cultural features, morphological characteristics, and molecular phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer rDNA region and cytochrome c oxidase subunit mtDNA genes (cox1 and cox2) sequences. In addition, this study first evaluated the sensitivity of P. nagaii and P. tentaculata to five anti-oomycete fungicides, finding both species most responsive to picarbutrazox and P. tentaculata resistant to fluazinam. The data can guide targeted treatment strategies and offer insights into effective control methods. The findings expand our understanding of the diversity, distribution, and management of Phytophthora species in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.307-313
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• 2012

The Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana) is a representative wetland species distributed across East Asia. The species has been declined to face the threat of species extinctions with estimation of at about 3000 individuals. In order to re-introduce the endangered storks in the field, we developed a baseline model using the program VORTEX, performed sensitivity test, and finally suggested an ideal model based on results of the sensitivity test. The baseline model predicted 12.5% extinction probability with mean time to first extinction of 82.0 year. Sensitivity test revealed that two demographic variables (first-year mortality and percent of adult female breeding) had the greatest impacts on population persistence. Thus, corrected model improved the population persistence, where the extinction probability decreased to 1.0% in 100 years by changing values of two variables within a range of applicable to the population. Our models for stork re-introduction suggest this population will be stable by improving first-year mortality and adult female fecundity.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.753-759
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• 2008

The principal objective of this study was to develop the optimum oligonucleotide primers for the simple detection of Campylobacter in food samples. In order to achieve this goal, a variety of oligonucleotide primers were designed via the modification of 16S rDNA, ceuE and mapA sequences of Campylobacter. Through the subsequent analysis of the specificity and sensitivity of primers, two types of oligonucleotide primers, CB4 and CJ1, were selected for Campylobacter genus-specific and C. jejuni species-specific primers, respectively. The detection limit was found to be $10^0{\sim}10^1$ cells per reaction with the prepared cell suspension, however, the sensitivity in the meat samples was less, at $10^1{\sim}10^2$. We suggested that PCR inhibitors such as hemoglobin or immunoglobulin in pork or beef influenced.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.1129-1139
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• 2005

A series of experiments was conducted to identify the potential of five phytoplankton species as standard test species for marine ecotoxicological tests. The candidate phytoplankton species are Skeletonema costatum, Heterosigma akashiwo, Prorocentrum micans, Isochrysis galbana, and Tetraselmis suecica. Salinity tolerance and sensitivity on potassium dichromate as a reference material were identified. Toxicity of eleven ocean dumped sewage sludges and four red tide expellent extracts were estimated by the inhibition of population growth rates (PGR) of marine diatom S. costatum, While most species revealed relatively weak tolerance on salinity, T. suecica demonstrated the highest salinity tolerance ranged from $5\~35$ psu and the others $15\~35$ psu. H. akashiwo revealed the highest sensitivity as 72h $IC_{50}$=0.76mg/L and T. suecica the lowest as 72h $IC_{50}$=8.89mg/L on potassium dichromate. Sludge extracts from industrial waste, domestic sewage and livestock farm waste sludge showed high toxicity as 72h $IC_{50}$<$2\%$ and lowest toxicity from filtration bed sludge as 72h $IC_{50}$=$30.50\%$ NOEC (No Observed Effective Concentration) of sludge extract ranged from <$0.4\%$ to $1.6\%$ and this indicated high phytotoxicity of ocean dumped sewage sludge. The test sensitivity of phytoplankton PGR inhibition was much higher than those of marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis mortality test and bioluminescent inhibition test by marine bacteria Vibrio fischeri, and comparable with the sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) fertilization test. As a result the phytotoxicity test using phytoplankton PGR inhibition ($IC_{50}$) must be a useful tool for marine phyto-toxicological evaluation of ocean dumped materials.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.349-360
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• 2023

Purpose: Ketogenic diets (KDs) have anti-obesity effects that may be related to glucose control and the gut microbiota. This paper hypothesizes that KD reduces body weight and changes the insulin sensitivity and gut microbiota composition in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity. Methods: In this study, C57BL/6 male mice were assigned randomly to 3 groups. The assigned diets were provided to the control and high-fat (HF) diet groups for 14 weeks. The KD group was given a HF diet for 8 weeks to induce obesity, followed by feeding the KD for the next 6 weeks. Results: After the treatment period, the KD group exhibited a 35.82% decrease in body weight gain compared to the HF group. In addition, the KD group demonstrated enhanced glucose control, as shown by the lower levels of serum fasting glucose, serum fasting insulin, and the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, compared to the HF group. An analysis of the gut microbiota using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing revealed a significant decrease in the proportion of Firmicutes when the KD was administered. In addition, feeding the KD reduced the overall alpha-diversity measures and caused a notable separation of microbial composition compared to the HF diet group. The KD also led to a decrease in the relative abundance of specific species, such as Acetatifactor_muris, Ligilactobacillus_apodemi, and Muribaculum_intestinale, compared with the HF group. These species were positively correlated with the body weight, whereas the abundant species in the KD group (Kineothrix_alysoides and Saccharofermentans_acetigenes) showed a negative correlation with body weight. Conclusion: The current study presents supporting evidence that KD reduced the body weight and altered the insulin sensitivity and gut microbiota composition in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.62-70
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• 2015

Background: Animal skin provides an ideal medium for the propagation of microorganisms and it is used like raw material in the tannery and footware industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate and identify the microbial load in oropharyngeal mucosa of tannery employees. Methods: The health risk was estimated based on the identification of microorganisms found in the oropharyngeal mucosa samples. The study was conducted in a tanners group and a control group. Samples were taken from oropharyngeal mucosa and inoculated on plates with selective medium. In the samples, bacteria were identified by 16S ribosomal DNA analysis and the yeasts through a presumptive method. In addition, the sensitivity of these microorganisms to antibiotics/antifungals was evaluated. Results: The identified bacteria belonged to the families Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Neisseriaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Xanthomonadaceae, of which some species are considered as pathogenic or opportunistic microorganisms; these bacteria were not present in the control group. Forty-two percent of bacteria identified in the tanners group are correlated with respiratory diseases. Yeasts were also identified, including the following species: Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, and Candida krusei. Regarding the sensitivity test of bacteria identified in the tanners group, 90% showed sensitivity to piperacillin/tazobactam, 87% showed sensitivity to ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, 74% showed sensitivity to ampicillin/sulbactam, and 58% showed sensitivity to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Conclusion: Several of the bacteria and yeast identified in the oropharyngeal mucosa of tanners have been correlated with infections in humans and have already been reported as airborne microorganisms in this working environment, representing a health risk for workers.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2017

Biotic ligand model (BLM) and species sensitivity distribution (SSD) were used to determine the site-specific Cu threshold concentration (5% hazardous concentration; HC5) in soil pore water. Model parameters for Cu-BLM were collected for six plants, one collembola, and two earthworms from published literatures. Half maximal effective concentration ($EC_{50}\{Cu^{2+}\}$), expressed as $Cu^{2+}$ activity, was calculated based on activities of major cations and the collected Cu-BLM parameters. The $EC_{50}\{Cu^{2+}\}$ varied from 2 nM to $251{\mu}M$ according to the variation in environmental factors of soil pore water (pH, major cation/anion concentrations) and the type of species. Hazardous activity for 5% (HA5) and HC5 calculated from SSD varied from 0.076 to $0.4{\mu}g/L$ and 0.4 to $83.4{\mu}g/L$, respectively. HA5 and HC5 significantly decreased with the increase in pH in the region with pH less than 7 due to the decrease in competition with $H^+$ and $Cu^{2+}$. In the region with pH more than 7, HC5 increased with the increase in pH due to the formation of complexes of Cu with inorganic ligands. In the presence of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), Cu and DOC form a complex, which decreases $Cu^{2+}$ activity in soil pore water, resulting in up to 292-fold increase in HC5 from 0.48 to $140{\mu}g/L$.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.345-352
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• 2000

Food production is a major role of agriculture. It has been projected that the world population continues to increase by the middle of the 21st century, and the population growth results in raising a serious problem of food shortage. Thus we have to increase food as possible. A considerable amount of crops have been abandoned due to short-life after postharvest. Ethylene is a factor responsible for the postharvest loss in crops, especially horticultural crops. If we can reduce ethylene production or sensitivity by genetic engineering, we can develop, so called,“long-life crop”conferring long postharvest lives. During last two decades, intensive research for molecular dissection of ethylene biosynthesis has been carried out, and the researchers have succeeded in engineering ethylene productivity in some crops. On the other hand, after the successful isolation of Arabidopsis ethylene receptor gene ETR1, the homolog genes have been isolated in various plant species. Currently the characterization of these genes and alteration of ethylene sensitivity using the genes are in progress. This review summarizes current progress in the analysis of these genes, and discusses genetic engineering of ethylene sensitivity using these genes.