• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.866-871
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• 2006

The nutrient recovery in phosphate crystallization process was investigated by using laboratory scale uptlow reactors, adopting sequencing batch type configuration. The industrial waste lime was used as potential cation source with magnesium salt($MgCl_2$) as control. The research was focused on its successful application in a novel integrated sludge treatment process, which is comprised of a high performance fermenter followed by a crystallization reactor. In the struvite precipitation test using synthetic wastewater first, which has the similar characteristics with the real fermentation effluent, the considerable nutrient removal(about 60%) in both ammonia and phosphate was observed within $0.5{\sim}1$ hr of retention time. The results also revealed that a minor amount(<5%) of ammonia stripping naturally occurred due to the alkaline(pH 9) characteristic in feed substrate. Stripping of $CO_2$ by air did not increase the struvite precipitation rate but it led to increased ammonia removal. In the second experiment using the fermentation effluent, the optimal dosage of magnesium salt for struvite precipitation was 0.86 g Mg $g^{-1}$ P, similar to the mass ratio of the struvite. The optimal dosage of waste lime was 0.3 g $L^{-1}$, resulting in 80% of $NH_4-N$ and 41% of $PO_4-P$ removal, at about 3 hrs of retention time. In the microscopic analysis, amorphous crystals were mainly observed in the settled solids with waste lime but prism-like crystals were observed with magnesium salt. Based on mass balance analysis for an integrated sludge treatment process(fermenter followed by crystallization reactor) for full-scale application(treatment capacity Q=158,880 $m^3\;d^{-1}$), nutrient recycle loading from the crystallization reactor effluent to the main liquid stream would be significantly reduced(0.13 g N and 0.19 g P per $m^3$ of wastewater, respectively). The results of the experiment reveal therefore that the reuse of waste lime, already an industrial waste, in a nutrient recovery system has various advantages such as higher economical benefits and sustainable treatment of the industrial waste.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.84 no.3
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• pp.286-298
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• 1995

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of forest soil acidification on the distribution of exchangeable cations($Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $Al^{3+}$) and heavy metals(Cu, Zn, Mn, Pb, Cd) in soil, and to understand the relation of the soil chemical properties and the distribution of nutrients and hear metals in fine root and foliage. The results through survey on the long - term change of soil pH and the contents of nutrient and heavy metal in soil, fine root and foliage by 2 sites near Ulsan - Onsan industrial estate and 2 sites in limited development district are summarized as follows : 1. The average forest soil pH(A horizon) in Ulsan had been proceeded down to 3.73 in deciduous forest and 3.86 in coniferous forest in 1994 from 4.45 and 4.78 in 1987, respectively, which indicated serious soil acidification. As comparing soil pH among sites, Dongcheon coniferous forest(pH 4.57) in limited development district showed the highest values and Dangwol deciduous forest(pH 3.19) near Onsan industrial estate showed the lowest values in 1994. 2. Contents of exchangeable calcium in forest soils of limited development district where showed much higher soil pH than industrial estate were 3.5 times more in deciduous forest soil and 11 times more in coniferous forest soil than in industrial estate, and contents of exchangeable magnesium were also 4.5 and 5 times more in limited development district than in industrial estate, respectively. However contents of exchangeable aluminium which had been supposed more in forest soil of industrial estate were more in limited development district. 3. Contents of calcium and magnesium in fine root of deciduous trees(A hirsuta. Q. acutissima) were 3.6 and 1.7 times more in limited development district than in industrial estate, respectively, and those of coniferous trees(P. rigida, P. thunbergii) were 4.6 and 1.5 times more in Limited development district than in industrial estate, respectively. Also contents of calcium and magnesium in foliage of deciduous trees were 1.1 and 2.2 times more in limited development district than in industrial estate, respectively, and those of coniferous trees were 1.8 and 3.3 times more in limited development district, respectively. And contents of aluminium in fine root and foliage were nearly as same as in soil. 4. Ca/Al molar ratios in soil and fine root, which could be related with the dgree of soil acidification and Al toxicity on trees, were Less than 1 in all sites except Dongcheon, suggesting that the soil and fine root in the sites have high sensitivity to soil acidification and the decrease in nutrient uptake and root enlargement. The Ca/Al molar ratios in soil and fine root in coniferous forest were highly correlated with the soil pH one another. 5. Contents of Cu, Zn and Pb in soil, fine root and foliage were more in industrial estate than in limited development district in both deciduous and coniferous forests, however, oppositely contents of Mn and Cd in soil were more in limited development district than in industrial estate.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.207-211
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• 2003

Extracellular protease, from Aeromonas hydrophila Ni 39, was purified 16.7-fold to electrophoretic homogeneity with an overall yield of 19.9％, through a purification procedure of acetone precipitation, and Q Sepharose and Sephacryl S-200 chromatographies. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was 6.0 and the molecular mass, as determined by Sephacryl S-200 HR chromatography, was found to be about 102 kDa. SDS/PAGE revealed that the enzyme consisted of two subunits, with molecular masses of 65.9 kDa. Under standard assay conditions, the apparent $K_{m}$ value of the enzyme toward casein was 0.32 mg/ml. About 90％ of the proteolytic activity remained after heating at 60$^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. The highest rate of azocasein hydrolysis for the enzyme was reached at 60$^{\circ}C$, and the optimum pH of the enzyme was 9.0. The enzyme was inhibited by the serine protease inhibitor, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), by about 87.9％, but not by E64, EDTA, pepstatin or 1,10-phenanthroline. The enzyme activity was inhibited slightly by Ca$\^$2＋/, Mg$\^$2＋/ and Zn/supb 2＋/ ions.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.302-304
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• 2002

pharaonis phoborhodopsin (ppR), a photophobic sensor of haloalkaliphilic bacteria, Natronobacterium phar-aonis, has retinal as a chromophore covalently bound to Lys in G-helix via a protonated Schiff base (PSB), as is the same as bacteriorhodopsin (bR). For ppR, the corresponding counter-ion is Asp residue (Asp75) located in C-helix. Here we investigated the influence of the protonated state of this counter-ion and its location on the chromophore configuration. Under alkaline condition, the chromophore configuration of D75E mutant was analyzed by HPLC. D75E had a much larger content of 13-cis isomer: the ratio of 13-cis to all-trans was 6:4 while the wild-type had this ratio of 1 :9. On the other hand, under acidic condition where Glu was associated, D75E had no 13-cis retinal isomer. Mutants whose Asp75 was replaced by neutral amino acids (D75N and D75Q) did not contain 13-cis retinal. Furthermore, retinal isomer compositions and the change in the visible ab- sorption spectra (indicating the dissociation state of Glu75) were measured under varying pH, and these were almost the same dependencies. These results indicate that an important factor determining the 13-cis isomer content is the presence of negative charge of the counter-ion against PSB, but not the size of this residue. Com- parison between the wild-type and D75E in alkaline solutions indicates the influence of the location of the counter-ion.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1999.07d
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• pp.1726-1728
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• 1999

Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of xPb$(Al_{1/2}Ta_{1/2})O_3$-(1-x)Pb$(Zro_{0.52}Ti_{0.48})O_3$ system were investigated. The highest density of $7.80g/cm^3$ for PAT-PZT ceramics of 5mol% PAT was obtained. The relative permittivity of PAT-PZT ceramics of 5mol% PAT was 1.642 at room temperature. The maximum value of electromechanical coupling factor $k_p$ of 55% and $k_t$ of 33% were obtained at the composition of 5mol% PAT. The grain sizes were reduced by increasing the amount of PAT, however mechanical quality factor$(Q_m)$ had a minimum value of 44 at the composition of 5mol% PAT.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.457-464
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• 2008

An extracellular enzyme (RMEBE) possessing ${\alpha}-(1{\rightarrow}4)-(1{\rightarrow}6)$-transferring activity was purified to homogeneity from Rhodothermus marin us by combination of ammonium sulfate precipitation, Q-Sepharose ion-exchange, and Superdex-200 gel filtration chromatographies, and preparative native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme had an optimum pH of 6.0 and was highly thermostable with a maximal activity at $80^{\circ}C$. Its half-life was determined to be 73.7 and 16.7 min at 80 and $85^{\circ}C$, respectively. The enzyme was also halophilic and highly halotolerant up to about 2M NaCl, with a maximal activity at 0.5M. The substrate specificity of RMEBE suggested that it possesses partial characteristics of both glucan branching enzyme and neopullulanase. RMEBE clearly produced branched glucans from amylose, with partial ${\alpha}-(1{\rightarrow}4)$-hydrolysis of amylose and starch. At the same time, it hydrolyzed pullulan partly to panose, and exhibited ${\alpha}-(1{\rightarrow}4)-(1{\rightarrow}6)$-transferase activity for small maltooligosaccharides, producing disproportionated ${\alpha}-(1{\rightarrow}6)$-branched maltooligosaccharides. The enzyme preferred maltopentaose and maltohexaose to smaller maltooligosaccharides for production of longer branched products. Thus, the results suggest that RMEBE might be applied for production of branched oligosaccharides from small maltodextrins at high temperature or even at high salinity.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.120-128
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• 2003

Alternative medicines such as herbal products are increasingly being used for preventive and therapeutic purposes. Ginseng is the best known and most popular herbal medicine used worldwide. In spite of some beneficial effects of ginseng on the nervous system, little scientific evidence shows at the cellular level. In the present study, I have examined the direct modulation of ginseng total saponins and individual ginsenosides on the activation of $Ca^{2+}$ channels and NMDA-gated channels in cultured rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and hippocampal neurons, respectively. In DRG neurons, application of ginseng total saponins suppressed high-voltage-activated $Ca^{2+}$ channel currents and ginsenoside Rg$_3$, among the 11 ginsenosides tested, produced the strongest inhibition on $Ca^{2+}$ channel currents. Occlusion experiments using selective $Ca^{2+}$ channel blockers revealed that ginsenoside Rg$_3$ could modulate L-, N-, and P/Q-type currents. In addition, ginsenoside Rg$_3$ also proved to be an active component of ginseng actions on NMDA receptors in cultured hippocampal neurons. Application of ginsenoside Rg$_3$ suppressed NMDA-induced [Ca$^{2+}$]$_{i}$ increase and -gated channels using fura-2-based digital imaging and patch-clamp techniques, respectively. These results suggest that the modulation of $Ca^{2+}$ channels and NMDA receptors by ginsenoside Rg$_3$ could be part of the pharmacological basis of ginseng actions in the peripheral and central nervous systems.ous systems.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.617-621
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• 2010

($K_{0.5}Na_{0.5}$)($Nb_{0.96}Sb_{0.04}$)$O_3$+1.2 mol% $K_4CuNb_8O_{23}$ ceramics doped with iron oxide ($Fe_2O_3$) were prepared by a conventional mixed oxide method. And then, their piezoelectric and dielectric properties were investigated as a function of $Fe_2O_3$ addition. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that $Fe^{3+}$ diffuses into the NKN lattices to form a solid solution with a pure perovskite structure at room temperature. At the sintering temperature of $1,060^{\circ}C$, when 0.2 mol% $Fe_2O_3$ was doped, the piezoelectric constant ($d_{33}$), electromechanical coupling factor (Kp), and mechanical quality factor ($Q_m$) showed the excellent values of 131.67 pC/N, 0.436, and 696.36, respectively. Results show that $Fe_2O_3$ deped ($K_{0.5}Na_{0.5}$)($Nb_{0.96}Sb_{0.04}$)$O_3$+1.2 mol% $K_4CuNb_8O_{23}$ lead-free piezoelectric ceramics are a promising lead free material for piezoelectric transformer applications.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.140-145
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• 2012

Objectives : ST8SIA2 (ST8 alpha-N-acetyl-neuraminide alpha-2, 8-sialyltransferase 2 gene) is located at 15q26, a susceptibility locus for schizophrenia. Some previous research had indicated that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region of ST8SIA2 were associated with schizophrenia in Japanese and Chinese populations. We investigated the association between SNPs in the promoter region of ST8SIA2 and schizophrenia in the Korean population. Methods : The study subjects were 190 Korean patients with schizophrenia and 190 healthy controls. We performed allelic, genotypic, and haplotypic association analyses for rs3759916, rs3759915 and rs3759914 of ST8SIA2. All genotypes were determined by direct sequencing. Results : In the genotype-based analysis, rs3759914 showed a nominally significant association with schizophrenia under recessive genotypic model (p = 0.047). However, this association did not remain statistically significant after correction for multiple testing. Both allelic and haplotype analyses did not show any significant association. Conclusions : These findings suggest that ST8SIA2 does not play a major role in the susceptibility to schizophrenia in the Korean population. Further studies with a larger number of subjects are required to definitively rule out minor effects of this gene on schizophrenia vulnerability.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.94-94
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• 2009

전기 에너지를 기계적 에너지 변환하고 또한, 기계적 에너지를 전기 에너지로 변환할 수 있는 압전 세라믹스는 압전 변압기 (piezoelectric transformer), 초음파모터, 센서등과 같은 응용분야에 넓게 사용되고 있다. 특히, 압전 변압기의 설계와 제조방법에 대해서는 이미 상당히 많은 연구가 수행되어 왔다. 특히, 전원장치에 있어서는 현재 주요부품으로 사용되고 있는 권선형 변압기와 같은 전자 변환기의 대체품으로서 누설손실이 없는 압전세라믹스 소재의 특성을 이용한 압전변압기의 개발과 응용연구가 국내외적으로 활발히 진행 중이다. 하지만 지금 까지 널리 사용된 PZT계 압전 세라믹스는 환경문제에 있어서 문제점을 가지고 있다. $1200^{\circ}C$ 이상에서 소결되는 PZT계열의 압전세라믹스 소재를 사용한 전자부품의 60~70%이상이 PbO로 구성되어 있기 때문에 $1000^{\circ}C$ 부근에서 급격한 휘발특성을 보이는 PbO로 인한 환경오염문제가 대두되고 있다. 압전변압기, 초음파모터등에 사용될 수 있는 무연계 압전재료 중에 PZT 압전소자의 기능을 대체할 만한 물질로는 높은 큐리온도와 우수한 압전특성을 보이는 $(Na,K)NbO_3$세라믹스가 가장 유력한 것으로 알려져 있다. 즉, 압전변압기용 조성 세라믹스는 높은 에너지 변환효율을 위해서 전기기계 결합계수($k_p$)가 커야 되며, 발열에 의한 온도 상승을 억제하기 위하여 기계적 품질계수($Q_m$)가 큰 것이 바람직하다. 또한, 높은 전류를 발생하기 위해서는 유전상수가 커, 압전변압기의 출력측 정전용량을 크게 하여야 한다. 본 연구에서는 무연계 압전세라믹스를 개발하고, 이를 이용한 전력밀도(power density)가 높은 무연계 압전변압기를 제작하여 그에 대한 전기적 특성을 조사하였다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 무연 압전변압기용 압전 세라믹스를 개발하기 위해 뛰어난 압전 및 유전특성을 가진 무연$(Na,K)NbO_3$계 세라믹스를 기본조성으로 하였고, KCN을 복합 첨가하여 볼 변화에 따른 미세구조, 압전 및 유전특성을 조사하고. 가장 우수한 조성으로 비납 압전변압기를 제작하여 전기적특성을 조사하였다.