• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.24-28
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• 2012

Objectives: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis, that the effectiveness of irrigation in removing smear layer in the apical third of root canal system is dependent on the depth of placement of the irrigation needle into the root canal and the enlargement size of the canal. Materials and Methods: Eighty sound human lower incisors were divided into eight groups according to the enlargement size (#25, #30, #35 and #40) and the needle penetration depth (3 mm from working length, WL-3 mm and 9 mm from working length, WL-9 mm). Each canal was enlarged to working length with Profile.06 Rotary Ni-Ti files and irrigated with 5.25% NaOCl. Then, each canal received a final irrigation with 3 mL of 3% EDTA for 4 min, followed by 5 mL of 5.25% NaOCl at different level (WL-3 mm and WL-9 mm) from working length. Each specimen was prepared for the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Photographs of the 3mm area from the apical constriction of each canal with a magnification of ${\times}250$, ${\times}500$, ${\times}1,000$, ${\times}2,500$ were taken for the final evaluation. Results: Removal of smear layer in WL-3 mm group showed a significantly different effect when the canal was enlarged to larger than #30. There was a significant difference in removing apical smear layer between the needle penetration depth of WL-3 mm and WL-9 mm. Conclusions: Removal of smear layer from the apical portion of root canals was effectively accomplished with apical instrumentation to #35/40 06 taper file and 3 mm needle penetration from the working length.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.83-88
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• 1998

Heavy metal removal by Z. ramigera 115 and soluble slime polymer producing mutant Z. ramigera 115SLR was investigated. Both strains showed similar tolerance against $Cd^{2+}$, $Co^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, $Ni^{2+}$ and $Fe^{2+}$. When cells were cultivated in the presence of 500 ppm $Cd^{2+}$, the mutant strain removed 1.5 fold more metal than the wild type did at same biomass. Metal adsorption capacities were in the order of Z. ramigera l15SLR polymer > Z. ramigera 115 polymer > Z. ramigera 115 cell >Z. ramigera l15SLR cell. The optimum pH for metal adsorption was 7.5. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms indicated that Qmax and 1/n of Z. ramigera l15SLR polymer were 164.2 mg $Cd^{2+}$/g dw and 0.496, respectively. These results showed that the polymer of Z. ramigera l15SLR could be used as an effective metal adsorbate.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.116-126
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• 2009

This study was carried out focused an ecological characteristics and habitat management of Abeliophyllum distichum subpopulations in the Byeonsanbando National Park, Korea. Among three subpopulations of the target species in the studied area, Gamaso region are known as translocation site due to the dam construction while the wild populations which is located at both the lower terrain of the Buandaem bank and Chongnim-ni, which is designated as Natural Monument No 370, is threat due to an intensive site management likes clearance of scrub amongst the Abeliophyllum plants. Vascular plant taxa in the studied sites were summarized as 182 taxa; 65 families, 143 genera, 164 species, 17 varieties and 1 form, and Gamaso area, the lower terrain of the Buandaem and Cheongnim-ni areas are summarized as 75, 102 and 89 taxa, respectively. The plant species likes persimmon tree, paulownia tree and wild mulberry tree are dominant species in the Gamaso subpopulation, while Quercus variabilis is dominant at the lower terrain of the Buandaem. The intensive site management was applied to the Cheongnim-ni subpopulation, one of the original wild habitats of the species. The population dymanics was varied; the one or two sprouting number of stems was over 87% both at Gamaso area and the lower terrain of the Buandam, while the Cheongnim-ni subpopulation recorded as 74.8%. Also three sprouting number recorded as 16% and as 9.2% for sprouting on numbers of four to eleven. The invaded species likes Chenopodium album, Rumex obtusifolius, Phytolacca americana, Pharbitis nil, Solanum lyratum, Erigeron canadensis and Erigeron annuus, were found at the wild habitat of the species, and those invaded species grow faster than Abeliophyllum plants. Among three habitats of the target species in the studied area, the habitat which in located at the lower terrain of the Buandam and Gamaso region are known as translocated due to the dam construction, and wild subpopulation at Chongnim-ni, which is designated as Natural Monument No 370, is under threatened due to an intensive site management likes clearance of scrub amongst the Abeliophyllumplants. It is one of the evidence that Cuscuta japonica at the population indicated an intensive site management likes clearance of scrub is not proper habitat management protocol. Thus, further researches should be followed to determine the effect of canopy removal and other disturbance factors as management techniques.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.529-542
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• 2020

The cesium (Cs) sorption characteristics of a bead-type polysulfone carrier contained HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal (3 - 5 mm in diameter) in water system were investigated and its Cs removal efficiency as an adsorbent from water was also identified by various laboratory experiments. From the results of batch sorption experiments, the bead-type polysulfone carrier with only 5% HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal (P-5NBC) represented the high Cs removal efficiency of 57.8% for 1 hour sorption time. The Cs removal efficiency of P-5NBC in water after 24 hours reaction maintained > 69% at a wide range of pH and temperature conditions, attesting to its applicability under various water systems. Batch sorption experiments were repeated for P-5NBC coated with two cultivated microorganisms (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus drentensis), which were typical indigenous species inhabited in soil and groundwater. The Cs removal efficiency for two microorganisms coated polysulfone carrier (BP-5NBC) additionally increased by 19% and 18%, respectively, compared to that of only P-5NBC without microorganisms coated. The average Cs desorption rate of P-5NBC for 24 h was lower than 16%, showing the Cs was stably attached on HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal in so much as its long-term use. The maximum Cs sorption capacity (q_m) of P-5NBC calculated from the Langmuir isotherm model study was 60.9 mg/g, which was much higher than those of other adsorbents from previous studies for 1 h sorption time. The results of continuous column experiments showed that the P-5NBC coated with microorganisms packed in the column maintained > 80% of the Cs removal efficiency during 100 pore volumes flushing. It suggested that only 14.7 g of P-5NBC (only 0.75 g of HNO₃ treated bamboo charcoal included) can successfully clean-up 7.2 L of Cs contaminated water (the initial Cs concentration: 1 mg/L; the effluent concentration: < 0.2 mg/L). The present results suggested that the Cs contaminated water can be successfully cleaned up by using a small amount of the polysulfone carrier with HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.58-64
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• 2013

This study proposed a low temperature hydrothermal carbonization to treat and recycle sewage sludge and determined the optimal conditions for the biochar production. The physical and chemical properties of biochar were analyzed and its sorption capacity for heavy metals was evaluated. To produce biochar, 50 g of sewage sludge was heated at 220, 230, and $240^{\circ}C$ for 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 10 hours in a reactor. The optimal conditions to produce biochar was $230^{\circ}C$ and 8 hours. Sorption capacity tests were conducted for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni). Among them, lead was shown the highest heavy metal adsorption efficiency of biochar, followed by copper, cadmium, zinc, and nickel, but arsenic was hardly adsorbed overall.

• Clean Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.151-165
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• 2002

In the treatment of the wastewater containing metals($Cu^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, $Ni^{2+}$, $Cr^{3+}$) by using batch precipitation and flocculation followed by membrane filtration, permeate flux and removal efficiency were investigated according to by the effect of pH and coagulants, and the type of membranes used and pore size. It was found that it is most effective to use $0.45{\mu}m$-polysulfone membrane and coagulant(PAC) at the conditions of the pH of 10.0~10.5 for the case of copper containing wastewater, $0.1{\mu}m$-PVDF membrane and coagulant(PAC) at the conditions of the pH of 10.0~10.5 for the case of zinc containing wastewater, $0.1{\mu}m$-PVDF membrane and coagulant at the conditions of the pH of 11.0~11.5 for the case of nickel containing wastewater, $0.2{\mu}m$ membrane and coagulant at the conditions of the pH of 8.0~8.5 for the case of chromic containing wastewater, and $0.2{\mu}m{\sim}0.45{\mu}m$ membrane and coagulant at the conditions of the pH of 11.0~11.5 for the case mixture wastewater. The permeate flux could higher as to be used coagulants except for the case of copper containing wastewater.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.344-350
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• 2006

Thermoplasma acidophilum is a thermoacidophilic archaeon that grows optimally at $59^{\circ}C$ and pH 2. Along with another thermoacidophilic archaeon, Sulfolobus solfataricus, it is known to metabolize glucose by the non-phosphorylated Entner-Doudoroff (nED) pathway. In the course of these studies, the specific activities of glyceraldehyde dehydrogenase and glycerate kinase, two enzymes that are involved in the downstream part of the nED pathway, were found to be much higher in T. acidophilum than in S. solfataricus. To characterize glycerate kinase, the enzyme was purified to homogeneity from T. acidophilum cell extracts. The N-terminal sequence of the purified enzyme was in exact agreement with that of Ta0453m in the genome database, with the removal of the initiator methionine. Furthermore, the enzyme was a monomer with a molecular weight of 49kDa and followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with $K_m$ values of 0.56 and 0.32mM for DL-glycerate and ATP, respectively. The enzyme also exhibited excellent thermal stability at $70^{\circ}C$. Of the seven sugars and four phosphate donors tested, only DL-glycerate and ATP were utilized by glycerate kinase as substrates. In addition, a coupled enzyme assay indicated that 2-phosphoglycerate was produced as a product. When divalent metal ions, such as $Mn^{2+},\;CO^{2+},\;Ni^{2+},\;Zn^{2+},\;Ca^{2+},\;and\;Sr^{2+}$, were substituted for $Mg^{2+}$ the enzyme activities were less than 10% of that obtained in the presence of $Mg^{2+}$. The amino acid sequence of T. acidophilum glycerate kinase showed no similarity with E. coli glycerate kinases, which belong to the first glycerate kinase family. This is the first report on the biochemical characterization of an enzyme which belongs to a member of the second glycerate kinase family.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 2016

When copper alloy is used in etching process for the production of lead frame, the high concentration of heavy metals, such as iron, nickel and zinc may be included in the etching waste. Those etching waste is classified as a specified one. Therefore a customized design was designed for the purification process of the lead frame etching waste liquid containing high concentrations of heavy metals for the production of an electroplating copper(II) oxide. Since the lead frame etching waste solution contains highly concentrated heavy metal species, an ion exchange method is difficult to remove all heavy metals. In this study, a copper(I) chloride was manufactured by using water solubility difference related to the reduction-oxidation method followed by the reunion of copper(II) chloride using sodium sulfate as an oxidant. The hydrazine was chosen as a reducing agent. The optimum added amount was 1.4 mol per 1.0 mol of copper. In the case of removal of heavy metals by using the combination of reduction-oxidation and ion exchange resin methods, 4.3 ppm of $Fe^{3+}$, 2.4 ppm of $Ni^{2+}$ and 0.78 ppm of $Zn^{2+}$ can be reused as raw materials for electroplating copper(II) oxide when repeated three times.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1546-1554
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• 2010

A bacterial strain capable of producing extracellular ${\alpha}$-galactosidase was isolated from a sample of sugarcane industrial waste. Microbiological, physiological, and biochemical studies revealed that the isolate belonged to Bacillus sp. Furthermore, based on a 16S rDNA sequence analysis, the new isolate was identified as Bacillus megaterium VHM1. The production of ${\alpha}$-galactosidase was optimized based on various physical culture conditions. Guar gum and yeast extract acted as the best carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. The optimum pH was 7.5 and the enzyme remained stable over a pH range of 5-9. The enzyme was optimally active at $55^{\circ}C$ and thermostable with a half-life of 120 min, yet lost 90% of its residual activity within 120 min at $60^{\circ}C$. One mM concentrations of $Ag^2$, $Cu^2$, and $Hg^{2+}$ strongly inhibited the ${\alpha}$-galactosidase, whereas the metal ions $Fe^2$, $Mn^{2+}$, and $Mg^{2+}$ had no effect on the ${\alpha}$-galactosidase activity, and $Zn^{2+}$, $Ni^{2+}$, and $Ca^{2+}$ reduced the enzyme activity slightly. When treated with the B. megaterium VHM1 enzyme, the flatulence-causing sugars in soymilk were completely hydrolyzed within 1.5 h.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 1999

Deposition is one of the important removal mechanisms for the ambient aerosol, and it also leads to adverse environmental and economic impacts. The purpose of this study was to investigate chemical compositions and spatial distributions of fall-out aerosols. A total number of 340 samples were collected at 35 sampling sites in Suwon area from January to November, 1996. Twelve inorganic elements (Al, Ba, Cd, Cr, K, Pb, Sb, Zn, Cu, Fe, Ni, and V) and eight ionic components ($F^-$, Cl, $NO_3^-$, $SO_4^{2-}$, $Na^+$, $NH_4^+$, $Mg^{2+}$, and $Ca^{2+}$) were analyzed by AAS and IC, respectively. The monthly variation showed that the flux of fall-out particles was increased in the spring season(March, April, and May) and decreased from August to October. Arithmetic mean flux of fall-out particles was 176.8 kg/$ extrm{km}^2$/day during the study period. The fluxes of each chemical species were $SO_4^{2-}$ 12.414, $Ca^{2+}$ 7.369, $NO_3^-$ 5.812, $Cl^-$ 3.566, $NH_4^+$ 3.176, Fe 3.107 kg/$\textrm{km}^2$/day, and so on. By using a kriging analysis, spatial distribution pattern of those fluxes was intensively studied. Total fluxes estimated in Suwon city were 8424.72t/y of fall-out particles, 519.27t/y of $SO_4^{2-}$, 336.79t/y of $Ca^{2+}$,267.34 t/y of $NO_3^+$, 155.36t/y of $Cl^-$, 147.79t/y of Fe.