• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.9-24
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• 1997

Surfactant-aided in situ soil flushing has been proposed as an alternative for the expensive and time consuming 'pump and treat' technology in remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater Injected surfactants can effectively solubilize contaminants sorbed to the soil matrix or nonaqueous phase liquids(NAPLs) in residual saturation. The contaminants solubilized in groundwater are recovered and treated further. The theoretical background of the technology and the results of the field operations, mostly in the US. were summarized. In addition, the factors crucial to the successful application of the technology were discussed. Cost analyses and technical limitations in current applications were also discussed. In conclusion, it is likely that in situ surfactant flushing become a viable option for soil remediation in limited cases. Currently, further advances with respect to operation cost and to treatment efficiency are required for more extensive application of the technology. However, the current trends in soil remediation, specially the growing emphasis on risk based corrective action and natural attenuation, will increase the competitiveness of the technology. For example, removal of easily washable contaminants by short term soil flushing followed by long term monitoring and natural attenuation can greatly reduce the operation cost and time.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.169-177
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• 1985

The studies were carried out to obtain the basic data for maximizing the protoplast yields from the mycelia of P. ostreatus and P. sajor-caju. Some factors affecting the regeneration of the protoplast of both species and the productivity of their reversion were also examined. The maximum yields of protoplasts were obtained from four days cultured mycelia of both species on cellophan membrane placed on the surface of PSA or MCM media in a petri dish. The optimal concentration of lytic enzyme Novozym 234 for protoplast releasing was 5 mg per ml of 0.5 M phosphate buffer solution with 0.6 M sucrose or 0.6 M $MgSO_4$ at pH 6.0. The greatest number of protoplasts was released 3 hours after incubation of the mycelia of P. ostreatus and after 4 hours for the P. sajor-caju in the lytic enzyme solution. Among the osmotic stabilizer solutions tested 0.6 M sucrose and 0.6 M KCl showed the best regeneration rates of the protoplasts of both species. When 0.75 % agar solution was over-layed on the regeneration media immediately after inoculation of the protoplast the regeneration rates were greatly enhanced. The ampicillin added to the agar solution prevented bacteria from infection. The reverted isolates produced the sporophores and basidial spores just like their parents without any mutations when they were cultivated in a broad mouth bottle with sawdust substrates.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.249-254
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• 2002

To determine the abilities as both lactic starter and probiotics for fermented foods, we investigated the potency of acid production, proteolytic activity and lactose metabolism of Lactobacillus amylovorus IMC-1. And the strain was cultured with lactococci in 10% skim milk medium. It was also examined the bactericidal action of antibacterial substance, produced by the strain IMC-1, against pathogenic bacteria. L. amylovorus IMC-1 showed excellent production of acid in 10% skim milk supplemented with yeast extract, and produced 0.8 and 2.7% of acid at 12 and 72 h incubation, respectively. It was found that the activity of ${\beta}-galactosidase$, about $39\;{\mu}M/minute/dry$ cell weight (mg), was stronger than that of $phospho-{\beta}-galactosidase$ in the strain IMC-1. The strain showed weak proteolytic activity in 10% skim milk, thus it produced 6 and $69\;{\mu}g/mL$ of free tyrosine at 12 and 72 h cultivation, respectively. It was known that the strain utilized mainly ${\alpha}-casein$ than ${\beta}-casein$ from patterns of SDS-PAGE. Mixed culture produced more acid than single cultures of L. amylovorus IMC-1 and Streptococcus thermophilus NIAI 510. Single culture of Str. thermophilus and mixed culture showed increasing cheese flavor with incubation times. Optimal fermentation time of mixed culture for the acid production and flora of lactic starter was 16 and 12 h by adding 0.1 and 0.5% of yeast extract to 10% skim milk, respectively. Antibacterial substance produced by the strain IMC-1 reduced about 2 log of the viable cell counts of both Escherichia coli O157 and Shigella flexneri after 24 and 4 h incubation, and they were not detected after 48 and 6 h incubation, respectively.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.397-406
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• 2011

To industrialize meju, four kinds of meju (Korean-style soybean koji) were made with humidity-controlled fermentation for 12 days at $28^{\circ}C$ after they were inoculated with selected strains such as Aspergillus otyzae (AO meju), Aspergillus sojae (AS meju), combined Aspergillus sojae and Bacillus subtilis (ASBS meju), and combined Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus subtilis (AOBS meju) as starter microorganisms. The changes in the quality characteristics in the four kinds of meju were investigated during fermentation. Their enzyme activities were compared with those of the traditional meju that is made in Sunchang Folk Village according to the traditional method. In the meju that were inoculated with selective strains, the aerobic bacteria counts and mold counts exceeded 8 log cfu/g and 6 log cfu/g respectively, which were the highest fermentation values after 2 days. The aerobic bacteria counts were maintained from 2-day to the 12-day fermentation. The mold counts tended to decreased gradually after the 2-day fermentation. The amino-type nitrogen contents reached 430.5-577.5 mg%, which were the highest values after 2-day fermentation. The neutral protease activities of these mejus had the highest levels in the following order: traditional meju, $1,258.0{\pm}38.8$; AS meju, $1,238.3{\pm}38.6$; AO meju. $1,204.1{\pm}24.1$; ASBS meju, $1,040.6{\pm}10.6$; and AOBS meju, $1,033.5{\pm}11.2$ unit/g. The acidic protease activities of these meju had the highest levels in the following order: AO meju, $1,030.1{\pm}19.1$, traditional meju, $1,007.7{\pm}30.5$; AS meju, $990.9{\pm}25.0$; AOBS meju, $910.9{\pm}15.3$; and ASBS meju, $888.2{\pm}15.7$ unit/g.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.804-812
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• 2020

The giant mealworm beetle, Zophobas atratus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) has been used as a protein source for small pets and mammals. Recently, it was temporarily registered in the list of the Food Code. We previously performed an in silico analysis of the Zophobas atratus transcriptome to identify putative antimicrobial peptides and identified several antimicrobial peptide candidates. Among them, we assessed the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of zophobacin 1 that was selected bio-informatically based on its physicochemical properties against microorganisms and mouse macrophage Raw264.7 cells. Zophobacin 1 showed antimicrobial activities against microorganisms without inducing hemolysis and decreased the nitric oxide production of the lipopolysaccharide-induced Raw264.7 cells. Moreover, ELISA and Western blot analysis revealed that zophobacin 1 reduced expression levels of pro-inflammatory enzymes such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). We also investigated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 and interleukin-1β) production through quantitative real time-PCR and ELISA. Zophobacin 1 markedly reduced the expression level of cytokines through the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling. We confirmed that zophobacin 1 bound to bacterial cell membranes via a specific interaction with lipopolysaccharides. These data suggest that zophobacin 1 could be promising molecules for development as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 1993

Background: In order to establish the etiology of the pleural effusion, routine analysis of the fluid, bacteriologic studies, cytologic tests and pleural biopsies are currently being employed. However, even with the above mentioned tests, the exact causes cannot be determined in approximately 10-20% of cases. The purpose of our study is to determine the diagnostic value of measuring ADA activity and CEA simultaneously in various pleural fluids which their etiologies have confirmed Methods: We have studied 61 cases of tuberculous pleural effusions, 17 cases of suspected tuberculous pleural effusions, 17 cases of malignant pleural effusions, 22 cases of suspected malignant pleural effusions, and 7 cases of parapneumonic pleural effusions. We have measured the ADA activity and CEA level simultaneously in pleural fluid samples in each cases. Results: 1) The ADA activity in tuberculous pleural effusion was significantly higher than that in malignant effusion. 2) The CEA level in malignant pleural effusion was significantly higher than that in tuberculous effusion. 3) With the cut-off values of the pleural fluid ADA activity more than 40 U/L and the CEA level less than 12 ng/mL, the sensitivity was 86.9%, and the specificity was 100% in the diagnosis of tuberculous effusion. With the cut-off values of the pleural fluid CEA level more than 12 g/mL and the ADA activity less than 40 U/L, the sensitivity was 76.5%, and the specificity was 100% in the diagnosis of malignant effusion. Conclusion: It is suggested that the combined assay of pleural fluid ADA activity and CEA level is very useful in the differential diagnosis of tuberculous and malignant pleural effusion.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.301-308
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• 2013

Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) is one of the important immune-inhibitory molecules which was expressed in T cells, B cells, NKT cells, and macrophages activated by various immune activating factors. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the major component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, is one of the crucial immunogens for PD-1 expression. However, there are only a few reports on the expression mechanisms of PD-1 in innate immune cells. In this study, we investigate the expression mechanisms of PD-1 in LPS-stimulated Raw264.7 cell lines by RT-PCR, Western Blot, flow cytometry as well as ChIP assay and co-immunoprecipitation. When Raw264.7 cells were stimulated with LPS, PD-1 expression was greatly up-regulated via PI3K and p38 signaling. Primary macrophages isolated from LPS-injected mice were also shown the increased expression of PD-1. In promoter assay, NF-${\kappa}B$ and IRF-1 binding regions in mouse PD-1 promoter are important for PD-1 expression. We also found that the co-activation of NF-${\kappa}B$ and IRF-1 is indispensable for the maximum PD-1 expression. These results indicate that the modulation of PD-1 expressed in innate immune cells could be a crucial for the disease therapy such as LPS-induced mouse sepsis model.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to characterize the lactic acid bacteria found in makgeolli in terms of bacterial identity and gastric compatibility. Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from commercial raw makgeolli and separated into six strains that are resistant to gastric acidity and bile acid. These strains were identified by analysis of their 16S rDNA, as Lactobacillus plantarum BSM-2 and EHJ-1, Lactobacillus casei GSM-3 and EHJ-2, Lactobacillus brevis BSM-3 and Pediococcus pentosaceus TJH-1. All strains exhibited adhesion to intestines, showing that they were probiotic. We also found that L. plantarum BSM-2 had excellent resistance to bile acid as well as antioxidant activity. Taken together with its antibacterial properties and ability to lower cholesterol, our data suggest that L. plantarum BSM-2 was the most beneficial probiotic among the six strains.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.186-192
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• 2010

Streptococcus mutans, one of the major causal agents of dental caries, is component of the dental plaque. It produces various organic acids such as lactic acid which is the end-product of glycolysis, and this leads to dental caries. A new system using species-specific monoclonal antibodies was developed to detect Streptococcus mutans in saliva. The system quickly detects salivary Streptococcus mutans in 30min and classifies the result into two levels. The purpose of this study was to investigate correlation between monoclonal antibody-based detecting system and selective medium-based detecting methods. Children's deft indices were also compared with Streptococcus mutans counts in MSB agar plate. Subjects consisted of 15 children in the age of 3 to 6 years. They were assigned to three groups : Group I(deft index = 3), Group II(deft index $\leqq$3), Group III(deft index $\geqq$4). The results are as follows : 1. The rate of children with positive response was 13.3% and with negative response was 86.7% in the result of Saliva-checkTM Mutans test kit. 2. There was a positive correlation between monoclonal antibody-based detecting system and selective medium-based detecting methods(p<0.05). 3. Streptococcus mutans counts in MSB agar plate were irrelevant to deft of children(p=0.34).

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.603-613
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• 2019

This study was carried out to examine the antagonistic effect against phytopathogenic fungi of isolated strains from soil samples collected from Busan, Changwon, and Jeju Island: Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum, Corynespora cassiicola, Fusarium sp., Rhizoctonia solani, Phytophthora capsici, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. According to results of our studies, isolated strains showed an antagonistic effect against phytopathogenic fungi. Such an antagonistic effect against phytopathogenic fungi is seen due to the production of siderophores, antibiotic substances, and extracellular amylase, cellulase, protease, and xylanase enzyme activities. Extracellular enzymes produced by isolated strains were significant, given that they inhibited the growth of phytopathogenic fungi by causing bacteriolysis of the cell wall of plant pathogenic fungi. This is essential to break down the cell wall of plant pathogenic fungi and thus help plant growth by converting macromolecules, which cannot be used by the plant for growth, into small molecules. In addition, they are putative candidates as biological agents to promote plant growth and inhibit growth of phytopathogenic fungi through nitrogen fixation, indole-3-acetic acid production, siderophore production, and extracellular enzyme activity. Therefore, this study suggests the possibility of using Bacillus subtilis ANGa5, Bacillus aerius ANGa25, and Bacillus methylotrophicus ANGa27 as new biological agents, and it is considered that further studies are necessary to prove their effect as novel biological agents by standardization of formulation and optimization of selected effective microorganisms, determination of their preservation period, and crop cultivation tests.