Today, environmental pollution has been found to be one of the causes of various diseases, including brain and nervous system diseases. In particular, neurodegenerative diseases have been found to be caused by hyperactivation of immune system cells such as microglia. Preventive and therapeutic measures are needed to suppress them. Hirudo is known as a traditional herbal medicine, based on its multiple biological activities such as anti-eczema and anti-coagulation. In the present study, the anti-neuroinflammatory potential of hirudo extract was investigated in lipopolysccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglial cells and in mice. Hirudo extract significantly inhibited LPS-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production and cytokine (IL-1Ra, KC, MCP-5, and RANTES) expression in a dose-dependent manner without causing cytotoxicity. Pretreatment with hirudo extract suppressed LPS-induced NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation. Moreover, hirudo extract reduced LPS-stimulated microglial acitivation and improved memory impairments. The results demonstrated that hirudo extract exerts anti-neuroinflammation activities, partly through inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway. These findings suggest that hirudo extract might have therapeutic potential with respect to neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases.

The Gwangju Stream is a major tributary of the Yeongsan River. To maintain environmental and ecological functions in the stream, the flow is secured by natural water from the Mudeung Mountain as well as waters discharged from Lake Juam and the Gwangju sewage treatment plants. A substantial amount of water is supplied into the upper reaches of Gwangju Stream from Lake Juam. To examine the ecological effects of the water input from Lake Juam on the Gwangju Stream, a field survey of phytoplankton community species and an evaluation of water properties was conducted at five stations, from station GJ1 before the inflow to station GJ5 in the lower region. Nutrient levels decreased in the vicinity of the Lake Juam inflow, suggesting that this water inflow can contribute to the reduction of eutrophication in the stream. The phytoplankton community was mainly composed of Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, and Cyanophyceae, and the community structure was similar to that of the other study sites located near the water inflow regions. The inflow of water from Lake Juam can affect water quality and the phytoplankton community over a limited area, reducingeutrophication and increasing water flow in the Gwangju Stream.

This study analyzed the temporal and spatial characteristics of water quality for five hydropower dam reservoirs in South Korea. Water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) showed high fluctuations in summer and autumn at all reservoirs, indicating the existence of seasonal effects. At all five reservoirs, the concentrations of suspended solids (SS) and total nitrogen (TN) fell under the “slightly bad” category and those of total organic carbon (TOC) fell under the “slightly good” category or higher, according to “the standard for living environment of lake water quality.” Variations in the concentration ranges and degrees of change in SS, TN, and TOC among reservoirs were observed, indicating the influences of rainfall, surrounding environments, and seasonal changes. Daecheong and Namgang Dam showed high Chl-a concentrations in summer, indicating that the metabolism of microbial communities, such as algae, was active.

Electrical Conductivity (EC) or Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) has been often used to evaluate the water quality in some water education program for children and youth. This study attempted to find out whether EC (or TDS) can be used as a water pollution criteria in water education program. To clarify it, we used the water analysis data of July 2019 and January 2020 from Water Environment Information System. Data from 332 points in Han-river were used to investigate correlation between the parameters, such as BOD, COD, TN, TP vs EC. Correlation(r) for all data of BOD vs. EC was 0.347 for July 2019 and 0.483 for January 2020. No correlation was observed for BOD Ia and BOD Ib for July 2019 (r=-0.041, -0.030, respectively) and BOD Ia for January 2020 (r=0.041). Better correlation for all data of COD vs. EC was obtained (r=0.543 for July 2019 and r=0.610 for January 2020). However, no correlation was observed for COD Ia for January 2020. High vlaue of EC or TDS does not always mean water pollution, especially for clean water environment. Thus, EC (or TDS) alone can not be used as a water pollution criteria.

Concern about water quality and pollution was heightened as contaminants flowed into the Namhan River downstream of the Chungju Dam. Thus, this study calculated the Real-Time Water Quality Index (RTWQI) using monthly average water quality monitoring data for major tributaries that require water quality control, which were obtained between 2010 and 2019. To review the applicability of the RTWQI for water quality assessment in the major tributaries of the Namhan River, it was compared with the living environment standard river. The calculated RTWQI result indicated that Bokhacheon, with 59 points, was in the “fair” grade, and this stream was identified as a tributary that preferentially requires water quality improvement as it showed a decreasing (-) tendency of RTWQI. A comparison between RTWQI and the living environment standard of T-P showed that the categories of “completely coincident” and “different by one grade” accounted for 45% of the total, and the water quality of major tributaries was assessed as low. Therefore, the RTWQI, which applies comprehensive water quality parameters and has higher reliability than assessing a single water quality parameter, was determined to be efficient for water quality assessment of the major tributaries of the Namhan River.

In this study, the antibiotic components in the final effluent from the 12 wastewater treatment facilities located in the Nakdong River basin were investigated, and the correlation between organic matters, nutrients and antibiotics was analyzed. In the final effluent of the wastewater treatment facilities, three sulfonamides antibiotics (sulfamethazine, sulfathiazole, sulfachlorpyridazine) and tetracyclines antibiotics (oxytetracycline, doxycycline) were detected. Sulfamethazine were detected at all points and ranged from 10.398 to 278.784 ng/L. Sulfathiazole were detected at 6 points (Andong, Gumi, Hapcheon, Miryang, Uiryeong, Haman), and ranged from 23.773 to 144.468 ng/L. The correlation coefficients between sulfathiazole and TSS, COD, TOC, NH3-N, NO2-N, and T-N components were high in the range of 0.73 to 0.92. The correlation coefficient between sulfamethazine and T-N was 0.48, and the correlation with the rest of the water quality components was low. The correlation coefficient between sulfamethazine and sulfathiazole was 0.78. Through this study, it was confirmed that the concentration of sulfonamides antibiotics was higher than the concentration of tetracyclines antibiotics in the final effluent of 12 wastewater treatment facilities in the Nakdong River basin, and the concentration of sulfathiazole increased with organic matters and nutrients.

Water and sediment qualities were investigated in the Oncheon Stream and at the Wondong bridge of the Suyoung River, during the summer rainy season, 2019. Dissolved oxygen (DO) showed the lowest levels at 4.7 and 5.0 m/L, and biogeochemical oxygen demand (BOD) showed the highest at 5.3 mg/L downstream where the tributary flows into the main river. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) increased from 2.0 to 5.9 mg/L on average as it flowed downstream, The COD/BOD ratio decreased gradually as it flowed downstream, reaching 1.0. However, COD/BOD ratio at the Wondong bridge was 5.8-22.2, indicating that easily biodegradable and non-biodegradable organic matter flows into the Oncheon Stream and Suyoung River, respectively. Total nitrogen (T-N) / total phosphorus (T-P) ratio tended to decrease from 72 to 21 as it flowed downstream, measuring 71 to 86 at the Wondong bridge. The water quality index (WQI) generally improved better than grade IV after heavy rainfalls. However, DO and T-P were the parameters that deteriorated the WQI. Ignition loss (IL), COD, T-N, and T-P of sediments had distribution of 1.44 ± 1.01%, 0.35 ± 0.16%, 43 ± 63 mg/kg, and 10.9 ± 21.9 mg/kg, respectively. These were several times lower than the annual averages of IL, T-N, and T-P in 2017 before the dredging project was conducted in the first half of 2018.

Korea's protected horticulture is rapidly increasing in scale due to various advantages such as year-round harvesting, labor savings through automation and shortened culture period, and greater income generation. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of protected horticulture on water quality. The results of this study are expected to provide basic data contributing to improvements towards sustainable agriculture and eco-friendly design of protected horticulture complex. The average T-N and T-P loads from vinyl greenhouses were 286.55± 143.98 mg/L and 59.14±13.77 mg/L, respectively and those from glass greenhouses 380.68 ± 150.41 mg/L and 61.85±20.72 mg/L. The annual discharge of wastewater derived from the monthly discharge from the horticulture greenhouses were estimated at 2597 ton/ha, with the annual phosphorus load amounting to 155.3 kg/ha. The average T-N and T-P loads in the tested greenhouse effluents were in excess of 8.3- and 13.5-fold the standards for the Korean wastewater plant effluent. The waste nutrient solution discharged from a protected horticulture complex can cause water contamination. Therefore, there is a need to conduct follow-up research using a water purification system or a trench method to develop a eco-friendly protected horticulture complex for sustainable agriculture.

In this study, water quality levels were classified and water quality indices were calculated and analysed by using the water quality components of living environmental standards monitored 10 years (2008 ~ 2017) at four stations in the West Nakdong River. As a result of analyzing the monthly variation of the water quality components of the living environmental standards, the water quality in the West Nakdong River was worse downstream than upstream, and pollution at the WNR3 located in the downstream of the Jomangang was the most serious. As a result of classification of water quality levels, BOD and COD levels were the lowest, so water quality pollution in the West Nakdong River was found to be highly influenced by organic matters. The water quality index was the lowest in July and August at four stations, so water quality is showing the worst in summer. As a result of analyzing the correlation between the water quality components and the water quality index, the correlation between the TOC and the water quality index was high in the four stations, and the water quality index in the West Nakdong River was dominated by organic matters and nutrients.

Statistical analysis was carried out to identify the influence on environmental factors between paddy water chemical properties and Chl-a concentration (algae biomass index) using water samples collected in June for 3 years at rice paddy field. As a result of correlation analysis, there was a significantly negative relationships in DO(-0.366) and pH(-0.141). In contrast, significantly positive relationships were founded in COD(+0.431) and TOC(+0.422). According to the result of factor analysis, 3 factors were obtained and indicated that PC1 were Ca, K, Mg cation, PC2 were TOC, T-P, PO4 3--P and DO, and PC3 were T-N and NH4 +-N. As a result of linear regression analysis to develop a prediction model for chl-a concentration, the total amount of explanation was 20.6%, PC2 had the greatest influence on the increase of chl-a concentration and PC1 also showed a positive correlation but the PC3 has a negative correlation. In conclusion, carbon and phosporous content are the main factors for the increase algae blooms of rice paddy.