• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.19 no.10
• /
• pp.1307-1314
• /
• 2010

This study was conducted to isolate and characterize a novel feather-degrading bacterium producing keratinase activity. A strain K9 was isolated from soil at poultry farm and identified as Xanthomonas sp. K9 by phenotypic characters and 16S rRNA gene analysis. The cultural conditions for the keratinase production were 0.3% fructose, 0.1% gelatin, 0.04% $K_2HPO_4$, 0.06% $KH_2PO_4$, 0.05% NaCl and 0.01% $FeSO_4$ with an initial pH 8.0 at $30^{\circ}C$ and 200 rpm. In an optimized medium containing 0.1% chicken feather, production yield of keratinase was approximately 8-fold higher than the yield in basal medium. The strain K9 effectively degraded chicken feather meal (67%) and duck feather (54%), whereas human nail and human hair showed relatively low degradation rates (13-22%). Total free amino acid concentration in the cell-free supernatant was about 25.799 mg/l. Feather hydrolysate produced by the strain K9 stimulated growth of red pepper, indicating Xanthomonas sp. K9 could be not only used to increase the nutritional value of chicken feather but also a potential candidate for the development of natural fertilizer applicable to crop plant soil.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.240-245
• /
• 2013

Electrochemical surface treatment is commonly used to form a thin, rough, and porous oxidation layer on the surface of titanium. The purpose of this study was to investigate the formation of nanotubular titanium oxide arrays during short anodization processing. The specimen used in this study was 99.9% pure cp-Ti (ASTM Grade II) in the form of a disc with diameter of 15 mm and a thickness of 1 mm. A DC power supplier was used with the anodizing apparatus, and the titanium specimen and the platinum plate ($3mm{\times}4mm{\times}0.1mm$) were connected to an anode and cathode, respectively. The progressive formation of $TiO_2$ nanotubes was observed with FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy). Highly ordered $TiO_2$ nanotubes were formed at a potential of 20 V in a solution of 1M $H_3PO_4$ + 1.5 wt.% HF for 10 minutes, corresponding with steady state processing. The diameters and the closed ends of $TiO_2$ nanotubes measured at a value of 50 cumulative percent were 100 nm and 120 nm, respectively. The $TiO_2$ nanotubes had lengths of 500 nm. As the anodization processing reached 10 minutes, the frequency distribution for the diameters and the closed ends of the $TiO_2$ nanotubes was gradually reduced. Short anodization processing for $TiO_2$ nanotubes of within 10 minutes was established.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.161-166
• /
• 2003

Korean ginseng(Panax gmseng C.A. Meyer) is very difficult to obtain stable production of qualified ginseng roots because of variable stresses in soil environments. In environment stresses, soil condition is the most important factor, among which nutrients, especially inorganic materials such as N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, etc., influence greatly on the ginseng growth. However, present ginseng field soils in Korea contain so much amount of such inorganic materials that a variety of remarkable disorders were noted in many ginseng plantations, resulting in decrease of qualitative ginseng production. Therefore, it is required to search for genetic resources and genes tolerant to salt stress for the development of ginseng cultivars. Selection of stress-tolerant ginseng lines in fields is very difficult because it is almost impossible to control properly the environmental conditions of soil. On the contrary, it can be studied with ease to search for stress-tolerant ginseng lines through in vitro culture because of easy manipulation of stress conditions. Murashige & Skoog(MS) media with 2.5 folds of $KNO_3,\;NH_4NO_3,\;MgSO_4\;7H_2O,\;KH_2PO_4,\;and\;CaCl_2\;2H_2O$ was established for the selection of ginseng lines tolerant to salt stress under the embryo culture.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.17-23
• /
• 2011

This research was conducted to investigate the influence of application rate of liming fertilizers on changes in soil chemical properties and growth of 'Red Madness' petunia in plug production. To achieve this, dolomite (DO) with 0, 1.0, 3.5, 8.0 or 13.0 $g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and calcium carbonate (CC) with 0, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, or 4.0 $g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ were incorporated into peatmoss + vermiculite (1:1, v/v) during the root substrates formulation. The treatments of 3.5 $g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of DO and 2.5 or 3.0 $gL^{-1}$ of CC had acceptable ranges of pH and EC in soil solution such as 5.6~6.2 and 0.7~1.0 $dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, respectively. The faster rising of pH was observed in root media containing CC rather than those of DO. This indicates that the solubility of CC is higher than DO. The soil Ca concentrations in all treatments of CC were 1.8 times as high as those of DO. The treatments of 3.5 or 8.0 $g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of DO had the highest soil Mg concentrations, but all treatments of CC had lower soil Mg concentrations than control treatment indicating that additional application of Mg fertilizers are required. The elevated application rate of DO or CC resulted in the increase of fresh and dry weight. But plant heights were not influenced by application of liming fertilizers. The results of tissue analysis showed that application of DO or CC influenced the $PO_4{^-}P$, Ca and Mg contents, but not influenced the contents of other nutrients such as N, P, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.246-253
• /
• 1996

An obligatory methanotroph Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b was cultivated for the production of poly-${\beta}$-hydroxybutyric acid(PHB) in shake-flask using liquefied natural gas(LNG) as the sole source of carbon and energy. The maximal specific growth rate decreased by 40% using LNG compared with that obtained with pure methane. This is attributed to the inhibition by ethane and propane presents in the LNG as impurities. For the production of PHB, two-stage culture separating the production stage from the growth stage was carried out. PHB accumulation was observed after switching nutrient-sufficient to nutrient-limited condition of non-carboneous component (NO3-, PO43-, K+, Na+, Fe2+, or Mg2+). The limitation of K+ or Mg2+ resulted in relatively high PHB content, but the highest content was obtained by nitrate limitation. The optimal pH and temperature for PHB accumulation was 7.0 and $30^{\circ}C$. Under the optimal condition the maximal PHB content was about 45% after 4-day cultivation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.22 no.9
• /
• pp.482-488
• /
• 2012

To fabricate a precise micro metal mold, the electrochemical etching process has been researched. We investigated the electrochemical etching process numerically and experimentally to determine the etching tendency of the process, focusing on the current density, which is a major parameter of the process. The finite element method, a kind of numerical analysis, was used to determine the current density distribution on the workpiece. Stainless steel(SS304) substrate with various sized square and circular array patterns as an anode and copper(Cu) plate as a cathode were used for the electrochemical experiments. A mixture of $H_2SO_4$, $H_3PO_4$, and DIW was used as an electrolyte. In this paper, comparison of the results from the experiment and the numerical simulation is presented, including the current density distribution and line profile from the simulation, and the etching profile and surface morphology from the experiment. Etching profile and surface morphology were characterized using a 3D-profiler and FE-SEM measurement. From a comparison of the data, it was confirmed that the current density distribution and the line profile of the simulation were similar to the surface morphology and the etching profile of the experiment, respectively. The current density is more concentrated at the vertex of the square pattern and circumference of the circular pattern. And, the depth of the etched area is proportional to the current density.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.16 no.12
• /
• pp.1337-1343
• /
• 2007

The aim of this study was to isolate chicken feather-degrading bacteria with high keratinolytic activity and to investigate cultural conditions affecting keratinolytic enzyme production by a selected isolate. A chicken feather-degrading bacterial strain CH3 was isolated from poultry wastes. Isolate CH3 degraded whole chicken feather completely within 3 days. On the basis of phenotypical and 16S rDNA studies, isolate CH3 was identified as Bacillus thuringiensis CH3. This strain is the first B. thuringiensis described as a feather degrader. The bacterium grew with an optimum at pH 8.0 and $37^{\circ}C$, where maximum keratinolytic activity was also observed. The composition of optimal medium for keratinolytic enzyme production was feather 0.1%, sucrose 0.7%, casein 0.3%, $K_2HPO_4$ 0.03%, $KH_2PO_4$ 0.04%, $MgCl_2$ 0.01% and NaCl 0.05%, respectively. The keratinolytic enzyme had a pH and temperature optima 9.0 and $45^{\circ}C$, respectively. The keratinolytic activity was inhibited ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, and metal ions like $Hg^{2+},\;Cu^{2+}\;and\;Zn^{2+}$. The enzyme activated by $Fe^{2+}$, dithiothreitol and 2-mercaptoethanol.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.568-574
• /
• 2012

Objectives: The purpose of this experiment is to understand the phosphorus removal ratio effects of iron plates per unit of surface area through the iron electrolysis system, which consists of an anoxic basin, aerobic basin, and iron precipitation apparatus. Methods: Iron electrolysis, which uses an iron precipitation reactor in anoxic and oxic basins, consisted of iron plates with total areas of 400 $cm^2$, 300 $cm^2$ and 200 $cm^2$ respectively. The FNR process was operated with a hydraulic retention time and a sludge retention time of 12 hours and three days, respectively. Wastewater used in the experiments was prepared by dissolving $KH_2PO_4$ in influent water. Results: The iron plates 400 $cm^2$ (16.6 $mA/cm^2$), 300 $cm^2$ (13.3 $mA/cm^2$) and 200 $cm^2$ (7.3 $mA/cm^2$) in surface area in the phosphorus reactor had respective phosphorus of 2.4 mg/l, 2.7 mg/l and 3.2 mg/l in the effluent and phosphorus removal respective efficiencies of 90.3%, 89.1% and 87.1%. The effluent in the reactor, where the iron plate was not used, had relatively very low phosphorus removal efficiency showing phosphorus concentration of 15.3 mg/l and a phosphorus removal efficiency about 38.3%. Phosphorus removal per ferrous was 0.472 mgP/mgFe in the iron electrolysis system where the surface area of iron was low. Phosphorus pollution load per active surface area and the phosphorus removal efficiency had an interrelation of RE = -0.27LS + 89.0 (r = 0.85). Conclusion: With larger iron plate surface area, the elution of iron concentration and phosphorus removal efficiency was higher. The removal efficiency of phosphorus has decreased by increasing the initial phosphate concentration in the iron electrodes. This shows a tendency of decreasing phosphorus removal efficiency because of decreasing of iron deposition as the phosphorus pollution load per active surface area increases.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.461-467
• /
• 2009

This paper provides two case studies of environmental impacts with socio-economic values. The first case is on flood protection levees conducted from 2003 to 2004 in Phu Tan district, An Giang province. The impacts were found by comparing full flood protection levees area (FFPL) to non-full flood protection levees area (NFFPL). Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools per each group of rich, middle, and poor people were used to list the impacts. Then, major impacts were selected by ranking and interviewing 60 households per site, and assessed by Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) in rice production from 1996 to 2002 between two areas. The tested research indicated moving system of NFFPL to that of FFPL lost about 11 million VND/ha/year. The second case is on impacts of Penaeid shrimp farming conducted in Duyen Hai District, Tra Vinh Province in 2004-2005. Ninety households and 12 local officials were interviewed. Four PRAs were conducted and 36 water samples were taken inside and outside shrimp pond to measure values of DO, COD, Fe total, TSS, N-$NO_3{^-}$, N-$NH_4{^+}$, P-$PO{_4}^{3-}$, and Chlorophyll-a. Research results showed only 36.7% of the households got profit from shrimp farming. Highest financial efficiency was 0.72 for the semi-intensive system. Tested water indicators showed surface water quality did not match Vietnamese standard for surface water in coastal area (TCVN 5943-1995) and in rain. The water was very muddy and contaminated by organic aluminum. Summarily, the impacts were clarified more obviously via adding socio-economic values to assessment. Importantly, the values were transformed to household's income which is an indicator for policy-makers to consider the impacts obviously. Besides, data of different group of people impacted are cases contributing to consideration of the impacts in an appropriate social level.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.99-103
• /
• 1996

A bacterial strain producing a novel endo-inulinase, hydrolysing inulin into oligosaccharides was isolated from soil and identified as Arthrobacter sp. S37 The enzyme production was induced by inulin and jerusalem artichoke extract. The maximum enzyme production was obtained with medium containing 1.5% jerusalem artichoke extract, 1.0% yeast extract, $0.5%\;NaNO_3,\;0.05%\;MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O,\;0.05%\;KCl,\;0.0016%\;FeCl_3{\cdot}6H_2O\;and\;0.05%\;KH_2PO_4$. The optimum temperature and pH for the enzyme production were $30^{\circ}C$ and 8.0, respectively. Under the optimum condition, the enzyme activity in the culture broth reached at maximum, 10.8 units/ml after cultivation for 24 hours.