Publications by authors named "Hwang-Ju Jeon"

Article Synopsis
  • Plastic pollution is a growing concern, as evidenced by the discovery of microplastics (MP) in freshwater fishes in the Han River tributary, with 38 fish analyzed showing significant contamination levels.
  • The prevalent sizes of microplastics found in these fish ranged from 45 to 100 μm, primarily in the form of fragments, with polypropylene being the most common type.
  • The study highlights that the concentration of microplastics in smaller fish depends on their habitat and size, emphasizing the need for continued monitoring of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems.
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The prevalence of microplastic (MP) contamination has become a significant environmental concern due to its pervasive nature and persistent effects. While sediments are considered major repositories for MPs, information on their spatial distribution within these matrices is insufficient. This research examined both the horizontal and vertical presence of MPs in the sediments surrounding Lake Paldang in South Korea, alongside a comprehensive evaluation of the physicochemical characteristics of the samples obtained.

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Soil, particularly in agricultural regions, has been recognized as one of the significant reservoirs for the emerging contaminant of MPs. Therefore, developing a rapid and efficient method is critical for their identification in soil. Here, we coupled HSI systems [i.

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Piperlongumine (PL) and piperine (PP) are alkaloids presented in long pepper (Piper longum), and they exhibit various biological activities, especially anti-cancer properties. With these regards, they are considered as future medicines with high potential. Even they are exposed to humans such a long time, their potential toxicities in the environment have not been studied.

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Trifloxystrobin (TFS) is one of the extensively used strobilurin fungicides, which is composed of four enantiomers and its active form is E,E-TFS. In this study, we assess the acute toxicity of four enantiomers, E,E-, E,Z-, Z,E-, and Z,Z-TFS in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. Among the four enantiomers, only E,E-TFS was found to be acutely toxic, with an estimated LC value of 0.

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Combined toxicity can occur in the environment according to the combination of single substances, and the combination works additively or in a synergistic or antagonistic mode. In our study, 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) and 2-(bromomethyl)naphthalene (2-BMN) were used to measure combined toxicity in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. As the lethal concentration (LC) values were obtained through single toxicity, the lethal effects at all combinational concentrations were considered synergistic by the Independent Action model.

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Regulation of melanin production via the MC1R signaling pathway is a protective mechanism of the skin of living organisms against exposure to ultraviolet rays. The discovery of human skin-whitening agents has been one of the most intense pursuits of the cosmetic industry. The MC1R signaling pathway is activated by its agonist, alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), and mainly regulates melanogenesis.

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Pymetrozine (PYM) is worldwide used to control sucking insect pests in rice-cultivated fields and it is degraded into various metabolites including 3-pyridinecarboxaldehyde (3-PCA). These two pyridine compounds were used to determine their impacts on aquatic environments, particularly on the aquatic animal model zebrafish (Danio rerio). PYM did not show acute toxicities in terms of lethality, hatching rate, and phenotypic changes in zebrafish embryos in the tested ranges up to a concentration of 20 mg/L.

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Chlorpyrifos-methyl (CPM) is one of the thiophosphate insecticides, and it is mainly metabolized to 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) in the environment. As CPM is a strongly toxic and TCP is persistent in the environment, CPM and TCP need to be evaluate their toxicities using animal model organisms. With this regard, CPM and TCP were treated on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos and LC values were determined as over 2000 μg/L and 612.

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Article Synopsis
  • The dataset includes microbial data from spontaneously fermented Ethiopian honey wine collected from three locations, analyzed using culture-independent amplicon sequencing.
  • The analysis revealed lower diversity and richness in both bacterial and fungal communities across all samples, with samples from Debre Markos showing significant differences in their microbial compositions.
  • This information could aid in improving the fermentation process by transitioning to a directed inoculated fermentation approach.
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Ethiopian honey wine, Tej, is spontaneously fermented traditional alcoholic beverage, usually made from honey and "gesho" (Rhamnus prinoides). Till now, limited amount of information is available on the characterization of Tej. Thus, the aim of this paper is to reveal the microbiological diversity and physicochemical properties of Tej samples collected from different areas of Ethiopia.

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Polyhalogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPAHs) represent a major environmental concern due to their persistency and toxicity. Among them, mono-halogenated (HNs) and halomethyl naphthalenes (HMNs) are not well-studied, and the toxicity of many HNs to fishes has not been reported. In this study, we exposed zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos to naphthalene and five HNs at concentrations ranging from 0.

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Pyrethroid and organochlorine insecticides are enormously used to control agricultural and indoor insect pests. The metabolites of pyrethroid and endosulfan were used to evaluate environmental toxicities using a representative animal model, zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos in this study. The LC values in 3-phenoxy benzoic acid (3-PBA) and endosulfan sulfate (ES) were 1461 μg/L and 1459 μg/L, respectively.

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Toxicological studies of O-ethyl-O-(4-nitrophenyl) phenylphosphonothioate (EPN) to aquatic vertebrates have been reported, but no reports on toxic mechanism was reported. As zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were exposed to EPN, no changes in their survival and hatching rates were observed until 96 h post fertilization (hpf), even at the highest treated concentration of 500 μg/L. In both 250 μg/L and 500 μg/L, edemas were observed in the heart and yolk sac, and a blood pool was also found.

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The increase in worldwide trade has caused the quality maintenance of commercialized agriproducts to be crucial in keeping its economic value. In recent years, methyl bromide (MB) has been used dominantly during quarantine and pre-shipment, despite it being an environmental hazard with global repercussions. Through this study, it was shown that Arabidopsis thaliana's 2 h exposure to the MB treatment displayed no signs of phytotoxicity, whereas its 4 h exposure significantly interfered with growth.

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Melanogenesis represents a series of processes that produce melanin, a protective skin pigment (against ultraviolet rays), and determines human skin color. Chemicals reducing melanin production have always been in demand in the cosmetic market because of skincare interests, such as whitening. The main mechanism for inhibiting melanin production is the inhibition of tyrosinase (TYR), a key enzyme for melanogenesis.

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Azoxystrobin (AZ) and pyraclostrobin (PY) are strobilurin fungicides that inhibit fungal mitochondrial respiration. In this study, a representative model, zebrafish (Danio rerio), was used as a test species for acute and developmental toxicity. Survival and malformation rates were observed only PY-treated embryos, with an LC value of 77.

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In this study, fluorene (FL), FL-1-carboxylic acid (FC-1), and FL-9-carboxylic acid (FC-9) were investigated to understand their acute toxicity by measuring inhibitory effects on hatching rates and developmental processes of zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio). For exposure concentrations up to 3000 μg/L, FC-1 alone showed acute toxicity at 1458 μg/L for LC value. FC-1 caused yolk sac and spinal deformities, and pericardial edema.

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Alcoholic liver disease is the most prevalent chronic liver disease. Melatonin is known to control many vital processes. Here, we explored a novel molecular mechanism by which melatonin-induced SIRT1 signaling protects against alcohol-mediated oxidative stress and liver injury.

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Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a hormone that is vital for the regulation of metabolic homeostasis. In the present study, we report that Kruppel-like factor 15 (KLF15) is a novel mediator of b-cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2)-induced FGF21 biosynthesis. The expression levels of hepatic Fgf21, Btg2, and Klf15, and the production of serum FGF21 increased significantly in fasted and forskolin (FSK)-treated mice.

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Individual and combined toxicities of endosulfan (ENDO) with phenanthrene (PHE) were evaluated using zebrafish (Danio rerio) adults. The 96-h LC values for ENDO and PHE were 4.6 μg L and 920 μg L, respectively.

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For monitoring and risk assessment, levels and distributions of Σ PCBs in paddy soil samples collected from Gwangyang (10 sites) and Ulsan (20 sites), heavily industrialized cities in Korea, were investigated using high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry. Overall, total concentrations of Σ PCBs in Gwangyang (216.4-978.

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The genus Serratia incorporates many agriculturally important species. Serratia fonticola strain GS2, isolated from a sesame rhizosphere, can produce N-acyl homoserine lactone quorum sensing signal molecules and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Here we report the complete genome sequence and phenotypic characteristics based on genomic information of this bacterium.

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α-Endosulfan and some polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) are persistent in the environment and can reach crop products via contaminated agricultural soils. They may even be present as mixtures in the soil and induce mixture toxicity in soil organisms such as earthworms. In this study, the combined toxicities of PAHs with α-endosulfan were determined in Eisenia fetida adults using an artificial soil system.

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