• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.62-62
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• 2018

Pt is still considered as one of the most active electrocatalysts for ORR in alkaline fuel cells. However, the high cost and scarcity of Pt hamper the widespread commercialization of fuel cells. As a strong candidate for the replacement of Pt catalyst, silver (Ag) has been extensively studied due to its high activity, abundance, and low cost. Ag is more stable than Pt in the pH range of 8~14 as the equilibrium potential of Ag/Ag+ being ${\approx}200mV$ higher than that of Pt/PtO. However, Ag is the overall catalytic activity of Ag for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) is still not comparable to Pt catalyst since the surface Ag atoms are approximately 10 times less active than Pt atoms. Therefore, further enhancement in the ORR activity of Ag catalysts is necessary to be competitive with current cutting-edge Pt-based catalysts. We demonstrate the architectural design of Ag catalysts, synthesized using plasma discharge in liquid phase, for enhanced ORR kinetics in alkaline media. An attractive feature of this work is that the plasma status controlled via electric-field could form the Ag nanowires or dendrites without any chemical agents. The plasma reactor was made of a Teflon vessel with an inner diameter of 80 mm and a height of 80 mm, where a pair of tungsten(W) electrodes with a diameter of 2 mm was placed horizontally. The stock solutions were made by dissolving the 5-mM AgNO3 in DI water. For the synthesis of Agnanowires, the electricfield of 3.6kVcm-1 in a 200-ml AgNO3 aqueous solution was applied across the electrodes using a bipolar pulsed power supply(Kurita, Seisakusyo Co. Ltd). The repetition rate and pulse width were fixed at 30kHz and 2.0 us, respectively. The plasma discharge was carried out for a fixed reaction time of 60 min. In case of Ag nanodendrites, the electric field of 32kVcm-1 in a 200-ml AgNO3 aqueous solution was applied and other conditions were identical to the plasma discharge in water in terms of electrode configuration, repetition rate and discharge time. Using SEM and STEM, morphology of Ag nanowires and dendrites were investigated. With 3.6 kV/cm, Ag nanowire was obtained, while Ag dendrite was constructed with 32 kV/cm. The average diameter and legth of Ag nanowireses were 50 nm and 3.5 um, and thoes values of Ag dendrites were 40 nm and 3.0 um. As a results of XPS analysis, the surface defects in the Ag nanowires facilitated O2 incorporation into the surface region via the interaction between the oxygen and the electron cloud of the adjacent Ag atoms. The catalytic activity of Ag for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) showed that the catalytic ORR activity of Ag nanowires are much better than Ag nanodendrites, and electron transfer number of Ag nanowires is similar to that of Pt (${\approx}4$).

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.162-169
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• 2009

Pure titanium and its alloys are drastically used in implant materials due to their excellent mechanical properties, high corrosion resistance and good biocompatibility. However, the widely used Ti-6Al-4V is found to release toxic ions (Al and V) into the body, leading to undesirable long-term effects. Ti-6Al-4V has much higher elastic modulus than cortical bone. Therefore, titanium alloys with low elastic modulus have been developed as biomaterials to minimize stress shielding. For this reason, Ti-30Ta-xZr alloy systems have been studied in this study. The Ti-30Ta containing Zr(5, 10 and 15 wt%) were 10 times melted to improve chemical homogeneity by using a vacuum furnace and then homogenized for 24 hrs at $1000^{\circ}C$. The specimens were cut and polished for corrosion test and Ti coating and then coated with TiN, respectively, by using DC magnetron sputtering method. The analyses of coated surface were carried out by field emission scanning electron microscope(FE-SEM). The electrochemical characteristics were examined using potentiodynamic (- 1500 mV~+ 2000 mV) and AC impedance spectroscopy(100 kHz~10 mHz) in 0.9% NaCl solution at $36.5{\pm}1^{\circ}C$. The equiaxed structure was changed to needle-like structure with increasing Zr content. The surface defects and structures were covered with TiN/Ti coated layer. From the polarization behavior in 0.9% NaCl solution, The corrosion current density of Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys decreased as Zr content increased, whereas, the corrosion potential of Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys increased as Zr content increased. The corrosion resistance of TiN/Ti-coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys were higher than that of the TiN-coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys. From the AC impedance in 0.9% NaCl solution, polarization resistance($R_p$) value of TiN/Ti coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys showed higher than that of TiN-coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.292-300
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• 2012

We report the expression, purification, and characterization of L-asparaginase (AnsA) from Rhizobium etli. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity in a single-step procedure involving affinity chromatography, and the kinetic parameters $K_m$, $V_{max}$, and $k_{cat}$ for L-asparagine were determined. The enzymatic activity in the presence of a number of substrates and metal ions was investigated. The molecular mass of the enzyme was 47 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The enzyme showed a maximal activity at $50^{\circ}C$, but the optimal temperature of activity was $37^{\circ}C$. It also showed maximal and optimal activities at pH 9.0. The values of $K_m$, $V_{max}$, $k_{cat}$, and $k_{cat}/K_m$ were $8.9{\pm}0.967{\times}10^{-3}$ M, $128{\pm}2.8$ U/mg protein, $106{\pm}2s^{-1}$, and $1.2{\pm}0.105{\times}10^4M^{-1}s^{-1}$, respectively. The L-asparaginase activity was reduced in the presence of $Mn^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $Mg^{2+}$ metal ions for about 52% to 31%. In addition, we found that $NH_4{^+}$, L-Asp, D-Asn, and ${\beta}$-aspartyl-hydroxamate in the reaction buffer reduced the activity of the enzyme, whereas L-Gln did not modify its enzymatic activity. This is the first report on the expression and characterization of the L-asparaginase (AnsA) from R. etli. Phylogenetic analysis of asparaginases reveals an increasing group of known sequences of the Rhizobial-type asparaginase II family.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1659-1669
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• 2020

1,3-α-3,6-anhydro-L-galactosidase (α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolase) catalyzes the last step of agar degradation by hydrolyzing neoagarobiose into monomers, D-galactose, and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose, which is important for the bioindustrial application of algal biomass. Ahg943, from the agarolytic marine bacterium Gayadomonas joobiniege G7, is composed of 423 amino acids (47.96 kDa), including a 22-amino acid signal peptide. It was found to have 67% identity with the α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolase ZgAhgA, from Zobellia galactanivorans, but low identity (< 40%) with the other α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolases reported. The recombinant Ahg943 (rAhg943, 47.89 kDa), purified from Escherichia coli, was estimated to be a monomer upon gel filtration chromatography, making it quite distinct from other α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolases. The rAhg943 hydrolyzed neoagarobiose, neoagarotetraose, and neoagarohexaose into D-galactose, neoagarotriose, and neoagaropentaose, respectively, with a common product, 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose, indicating that it is an exo-acting α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolase that releases 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose by hydrolyzing α-1,3 glycosidic bonds from the nonreducing ends of neoagarooligosaccharides. The optimum pH and temperature of Ahg943 activity were 6.0 and 20℃, respectively. In particular, rAhg943 could maintain enzyme activity at 10℃ (71% of the maximum). Complete inhibition of rAhg943 activity by 0.5 mM EDTA was restored and even, remarkably, enhanced by Ca²⁺ ions. rAhg943 activity was at maximum at 0.5 M NaCl and maintained above 73% of the maximum at 3M NaCl. K_m and V_max of rAhg943 toward neoagarobiose were 9.7 mg/ml and 250 μM/min (3 U/mg), respectively. Therefore, Ahg943 is a unique α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolase that has cold- and high-salt-adapted features, and possibly exists as a monomer.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.207-215
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• 2009

There has been a diversity of therapeutic interventions for patients with chronic low back pain. However most of them have been focused on only pain. But the patients usually have a kind of structurally abnormal have fixed in lumbar vertebrae, which can decrease range of joint movement and, what is worse, reduce immediate dynamic balancing ability(IDBA). The reduced IDBA can increase the risk of injury and decrease coping ability in dangerous situation. So we introduced Maitland's manual therapy in this study in order to recover the IDBA in patients with chronic low back pain. Sixty-four patients diagnosed with chronic low back pain were included for the study. Among them, thirty-two patients(experimental group) were managed by Maitland's manual therapy, another thirty-tow patients(control group) were treated by physical science methods(H/P, TENS, U/S). Each group made use of highly reliable(0.81$\sim$0.96) star excursion balance test(SEBT) to compare the possible changes of IDBAs in two groups after treatment. In experimental group, IDBA has increased in forward, rightward, leftward, and backward, but in control group, not changed. According to the results, we concluded that Maitland's manual therapy is effective for increasing IDBA by making joints more flexible in lumbar vertebrae.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.171-176
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• 1975

The rate and extent of decomposition of rice straw and compost in an acid sulfate soil amended with urea and lime and incubated under aerobic and anaerobic(flooded) conditions were investigated in the laboratory. Results are summarized as follows: 1. The rate of compost(alone) decomposition in a flooded soil was more than twice as high as all other treatments, which included rice straw+urea, rice straw+lime, rice straw (alone), and compost+lime. Lime appeared to suppress the decomposition of compost in a flooded soil but actually enhanced its decomposition under aerobic conditions. 2. Compost decomposition in both anaerobic and aerobic environments was characterized by single maximum peak rates of $CO_2$ evolution that were reached soon after the start of incubation. 3. Both urea and lime greatly increased the rate and extent of rice straw decomposition in the soil when incubated aerobically, although urea had a greater effect than did liming. Decomposition rates were characterized by the appearance of two maximum peak rates, a greater primary peak and a smaller secondary peak. 4. The percent decomposition of rice straw in soil incubated aerobically was approximately half (10.8%) that of compost(23.1%). However, percent decomposition of these substrates in soil amended with lime was essentially the same; i.e., rice straw+lime (29.4%) and compost+lime(31.6%). 5. There is a need to investigate the possible interaction between the addition of lime (pH) and supplemental nitrogen applied to acid sulfate soils and how this interaction might affect the decomposition of organic wastes and residues.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.727-733
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• 2011

A new Korean standard for the determination of Cr(VI) in soils has been officially published as ES 07408.1 in 2009. This analytical method is based on the hot alkaline digestion and colorimetric detection prescribed by U.S. EPA method 3060A and 7196A. The hot alkaline digestion accomplished using 0.28 M $Na_2CO_3$ and 0.5 M NaOH solution (pH 13.4) at $90{\sim}95^{\circ}C$ determines total Cr(VI) in soils extracting all forms of Cr(VI), including water-soluble, adsorbed, precipitated, and mineral-bound chromates. This aggressive alkaline digestion, however, proved to be problematic for certain soils which contain large amounts of soluble humic substances or active manganese oxides. Cr(III) could be oxidized to Cr(VI) by manganese oxides during the strong alkaline extraction, resulting in overestimation (positive error) of Cr(VI). In contrast, Cr(VI) reduction by dissolved humic matter or Fe(II) could occur during the neutralization and acidic colorimetric detection procedure, resulting in underestimation (negative error) of Cr(VI). Futhermore, dissolved humic matter hampered the colorimetric detection of Cr(VI) using UV/Vis spectrophotometer due to the strong coloration of the filtrate, resulting in overestimation (positive error) of Cr(VI). Without understanding the mechanisms of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) transformation during the analysis it could be difficult to operate the experiment in laboratory and to evaluate the Cr(VI) results. For this reason, in this paper we described the theoretical principles and limitations of Cr(VI) analysis and provided useful guidelines for laboratory work and Cr(VI) data analysis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.145-152
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• 2024

Seaweeds represent a widely harnessed marine resource that are valued for their abundant supply of essential nutrients, particularly proteins and amino acids. In Korea, where over 500 species of seaweed thrive and more than 50 are utilized for culinary purposes, seaweed has become a staple in regular diets. In this study, we focused on five of the most commonly consumed seaweed species in Korea: Capsosiphon fulvescens, Hizikia fusiforme, Porphyra yezoensis, Saccharina japonica, and Undaria pinnatifida. We closely examined the amino acid compositions of these five species. High-performance liquid chromatography showed that aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine, and leucine were the most abundant amino acids in the seaweeds. Principal component analysis revealed that the five seaweed species could be classified into three clusters according to their amino acid composition, partially corroborating findings from the phylogenetic analysis. Among various amino acids, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and alanine were the primary amino acids driving differentiation. Notably, U. pinnatifida and C. fulvescens, which demonstrated close phylogenetic proximity, exhibited remarkably similar amino acid profiles. Conversely, although P. yezoensis and S. japonica shared a phylogenetic relationship, they displayed distinctly different amino acid compositions. H. fusiforme emerged as a distinct group in both analyses.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.3
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• pp.25-48
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• 1962

The polysaccharide C prepared from gum tragacanth powder (U. S. P. grade) by the precipitation method with 85% ethanol was a neutral polysaccharide, $[{\alpha}]^{30}_D-72.2$. The polysaccharide C consisted of L-rhamnose, D-xylose, L-arabinose and D-galactose in the molar ratio 2:1:17:9 (Table 1, 2, 3, ). The polysaccharide C was methylated with dimethylsulphate and 40% NaOH, and Purdies regent. The hydrolyzate of fully methlated product ($[{\alpha}]^{22}_D-102$ in chloroform, the methoxy content 40.6%) was composed of 2, 3, 5-tri-O-methyl-L-arabofuranose (I), 3,4-di-O-methyl-L-rhamnopyranose (II), 2,3-di-O-methyl-D-xylose (III), 2,3,4-tri-O-methyl-D-galactopyranose (IV), 2,4-di-O-methyl-L-arabopyranose (?), 2,4-di-O-methyl-D-galactose(VI), 2-O-methyl-D-arabinose (VII), and L-arabopyranose(VIII) (Table 4, 5, and Fig. 4). The first partial hydrolysis (A) of the polysaccharide C with 0.05N-HCl for 4.5 hours at $80-85^{\circ}C$ released only L-arabinose: the second hydrolysis (B) with 0.1N-HCl for 5 hours at $80-85^{\circ}C$, L-arabinose and D-galactose; and the third hydrolysis (C) with 0.3N-HCl at $90-95^{\circ}C$ in sealed tube, L-rhamnose, D-xylose, L-arabinose and D-galactose. From the unhydrolyzate A' were found L-rhamnose, D-xylose, L-arabinose, and D-galactose; from B' L-rhamnose, d-xylose, L-arabinose and D-galactose; and from C' D-xylose and D-galactose respectively (Table 6). The periodate consumption and formic acid production of the polysaccharide C were measured at various time intervals. After 120 hours periodat was consumed by 1.23 mole per $C_5H_8O_4$ and formic acid was produced 0.78 mole per $C_5H_8O_4$ (Table 7). Although a definite chemical structure for this polysaccharide C may not be formulated, experimental data, especially, from methylation, partial hydrolysie and determination of its molar ratio, and periodate analysis showed that the polysaccharide C is a highly branched polysaccharide and would be constructed of galactoaraban as a main chain residue and L-arabofuranose, D-galactopyranosyl $(1{\rightarrow}1)$-L-arabofuranose, D-xylopyranosyl $(1{\rightarrow}2)$-L-rhamnopyranosyl $(1{\rightarrow}1)$-L-arabofuranose, and L-rhamnopyranosyl $(1{\rightarrow}1)$-arabofuranose, and D-galactopyranosyl-$(1{\rightarrow}2)$-L-arabopyranosyl-$(1{\rightarrow}1)$-I-arabofuranose as a branch chain or end group (page 21).

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.2 s.27
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• pp.45-53
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• 1980

Lipid peroxidation in vitro has been identified as a basic deteriorative reaction in cellular mechanism of aging processes, such as air pollution oxidant damage to cell and to the lung, chlorinated hydrocarbon hepatotoxicity. Many experimental evidences were reported by several investigators that lipid peroxidation could be one of the principle causes for the hepatotoxicity produced by $CCl_4$. It is now reasonably established that $CCl_4$ is activated to a free radical in vivo, that lipid peroxidation occurs very quickly in microsomes prepared from damaged livers, that the peroxidation is associated with loss of enzyme activity of microsomes, and that various antioxidants can protect animals against the hepatotoxic effect of $CCl_4$. Recent studies have drawn attention to some other feature of microsomal lipid peroxidation. Incubation of liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH has led to a loss of cytochrome $P_{450}$. However, the presence of an antioxidant prevented lipid peroxidation and preserved cytochrome $P_{450}$. Decrease of cytochrome $P_{450}$ in microsomes under in vitro incubation can be enhanced by $CCl_4 and these changes were parallel to a loss of microsomal polyunsaturated fatty acid and formation of malonaldehyde. The primary purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of riboflavin tetrabutylate on lipid peroxidation, specially, the relationship between lipid peroxidation and drug metabolizing enzyme system which is located in smooth endoplasmic recticulum as well as the effect of ritoflavin tetrabutylate on drug metabolizing enzyme system of animal treated with $CCl_4$. Albino rats were used for experimental animal. In order to induce drug metabolizing enzyme system, phenobarbital was injected intraperitoneally. $CCl_$ and riboflavin tetrabutylate were given intraperitoneally as solution in olive oil. Microsomal fraction was isolated from liver of animals and TBA value as well as the activity of drug metabolizing enzyme were measured in the microsomal fractions. The results are summerized as following. 1) The secobarbital induced sleeping time of $CCl_4$ treated rat was about 2 times longer than that of the control group. However, the pretreatment with riboflavin tetrabutylate inhibited completely the lengthened sleeping time due to $CCl_4$ treatment. Furthermore TBA value was significantly increased in $CCl_4$ treated rat in comparison to control group tut the increase of TBA value was prevented by the pretreatment with riboflavin tetrabutylate. On the other hand, the activity of hepatic drug metabolizing enzyme was decreased in $CCl_4$ group, however, the pretreatment with riboflavin tetrabutylate also prevented the decrease of the enzyme activity caused by $CCl_4$. 2) The effect of riboflavin tetrabutylate on TBA value and the activity of drug metabolizing enzyme in vitro was similar to in vivo results. Incubation of liver microsome from rat in the presence of $CCl_4$, $Fe^{++}$, or ascorbic acid has led to the marked increase of TBA value, however, the addition of riboflavin tetrabutylate in incubation mixture prevented significantly the increase of TBA value, suggesting the inhibition of lipid peroxidation. In accordance with TBA value, the activity of drug metabolizing enzyme was inhibited in the presence of $CCl_4$, $Fe^{++}$, ascorbic acid but the addition of riboflavin tetrabutylate protected the loss of the enzyme activity in microsome under in vitro incubation.