• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.999-1010
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• 2021

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the environment. They are highly toxigenic and carcinogenic. Probiotic bacteria isolated from fermented foods were tested to check their ability to degrade and/or detoxify PAHs. Five probiotic bacteria with distinct morphologies were isolated from a mixture of 26 fermented foods co-cultured with benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) containing Bushnell Haas minimal broth. Among them, B. velezensis (PMC10) significantly reduced the abundance of BaP in the broth. PMC10 completely degraded BaP presented at a lower concentration in broth culture. B. velezensis also showed a clear zone of degradation on a BaP-coated Bushnell Haas agar plate. Gene expression profiling showed significant increases of PAH ring-hydroxylating dioxygenases and 4-hydroxybenzoate 3-monooxygenase genes in B. velezensis in response to BaP treatment. In addtion, both live and heat-killed B. velezensis removed BaP and naphthalene (Nap) from phosphate buffer solution. Live B. velezensis did not show any cytotoxicity to macrophage or human dermal fibroblast cells. Live-cell and cell-free supernatant of B. velezensis showed potential anti-inflammatory effects. Cell-free supernatant and extract of B. velezensis also showed free radical scavenging effects. These results highlight the prospective ability of B. velezensis to biodegrade and remove toxic PAHs from the human body and suggest that the biodegradation of BaP might be regulated by ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase-initiated metabolic pathway.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.116-120
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• 2014

Light cycle oil (LCO), one of the by-products of the catalytic cracking gasoline manufacturing process, contains a lot of valuable aromatics. In particular, 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene (2,6-DMN) contained in LCO has been becoming important as the basic material of polyethylene naphthalate plastic and liquid crystal polymer, etc. If it were possible to separate and purify the valuable aromatic hydrocarbons (such as 2,6-DMN) from LCO, which have only been used as fuel mixed with heavy oil, it would be very meaningful in terms of the efficient use of resources. We investigated the high-purity purification of 2,6-DMN by the combined method of melt crystallization (MC) and solute crystallization (SC). The enriched DMN isomer mixtures (concentration of 2,6-DMN : 10.43%) recovered from LCO by distillation-extraction combination and the crystal recovered by MC used as raw materials of MC and SC, respectively. The solvent of SC used was a mixture of methanol and acetone (60 : 40 wt%). The crystal of 2,6-DMN with a high-purity of 99.5% was recovered by MC-SC combination. We confirmed that the MC-SC combination was one of the very useful combinations for the high-purity purification of 2,6-DMN contained in the enriched DMN isomer mixtures.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.450-458
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• 2012

In order to reduce the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the South Korean government has announced a special platform of technologies as part of an effort to minimize global climate change. To further this effort, the Korean government has pledged to increase low-carbon and carbon neutral resources for biofuel derived from biomass to replace fossil and to decrease levels of carbon dioxide. In general, second generation biofuel produced form woody biomass is expected to be an effective avenue for reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in road transport. It is important that under the new Korean initiative, pilot scale studies evolve practices to produce biomass-to-liquid (BTL) fuel. This study reports the quality characteristics of F-T(Fischer-Tropsch) diesel for production of BTL fuel. Synthetic F-Tdiesel fuel can be used in automotive diesel engines, pure or blended with automotive diesel, due to its similar physical properties to diesel. F-T diesel fuel was synthesized by Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process with syngas($H_2$/CO), Fe basedcatalyst in low temperature condition($240^{\circ}C$). Synthetic F-T diesel with diesel compositions after distillation process is consisted of $C_{12}{\sim}C_{23+}$ mixture as a kerosine, diesel compositions of n-paraffin and iso-paraffin compounds. Synthetic F-T diesel investigated a very high cetane number, low aromatic composition and sulfur free level compared to automotive diesel. Synthetic F-T diesel also show The wear scar of synthetic F-T diesel show poor lubricity due to low content of sulfur and aromatic compounds compared to automotive diesel.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.187-195
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• 2010

To assess health risk for the intake among residents after the Hebei Spirit oil spill, 16 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood samples from oil contaminated bay were determined by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MSD) and samples were personally collected and purchased by residents. Samples were hydrolyzed with KOH and extracted with methylene chloride. The extracted solution were cleaned up using silica/florisil column and 16 PAHs were eluted by methylene chloride : n-hexane (1:9) mixture and determined by GC-MSD in Selected Ion Monitoring (SIM) mode. The mean recoveries for 16 PAHs ranged from 79% to 85%. The 16 PAHs levels in 126 samples ranged from 0.17 to $6.04\;{\mu}g$/kg and the TEQBaP (Toxic EQuivalents) levels in 126 samples were calculated using benzo(a)pyrene toxic equivalency factor for individual 16 PAHs and ranged from 0 to $0.91\;{\mu}gTEQ$/kg. The average Benzo(a)pyrene dietary exposure of residents was $5.5{\times}10^{-8}\;mg/kg$ bw/day and the average PAHs chronic dietary exposure was $1.3{\times}10^{-5}\;mg$ TEQ/kg bw/day. The margin of exposure (MOE) and the excess cancer risk and were $1.8{\times}10^6$ and $9.8{\times}10^{-8}$, respectively. Therefore, the assessment result was considered as low concern for health risk.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.307-314
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• 1986

Cu(II) binding mechanisms with water soluble organic fractions (WSOF) extracted from an agricultural soil (W), a soil treated with sludge for 6 years ($WS_6$), a sludge-soil mixture incubated for one week ($WS_1$), and sewage sludge (SS) were studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy and potentiometric titrations. Cu(II)-WSOF complexes produced $g_{11}$ values which were larger than $g_{\perp}$ values, indicating that the coordination of Cu(II) complex was an elongated octahedron. At liquid $N_2$ temperature (77K), the Cu(II)-W complex showed an anisotropic ESR spectrum while the Cu(II)-SS complex showed an isotropic spectrum. These spectral results suggest that the oxygen donor ligands of W may form relatively strong bonds with $Cu^{2+}$ due to extensive chelation while ligands of SS may form little or no chelate bonds with $Cu^{2+}$. The ESR spectra of Cu(II)-SS complex also suggest that each of four in-plane ligands (e.g., $COO^-$, $H_2O$, $Cl^-$, etc.) may act independently as monodentate ligands. Oxygen donor ligands such as aromatic carboxyl groups were probably the major Cu(II) binding sites in W. Sulfonate, aliphatic carboxyl group, and N-containing ligands were probably the major binding sites in SS at pH 5. The Cu(II) complexation with N-containing groups increased as sludge was added to the soil. Much higher (6x) pyridine concentrations were required to displace W from Cu(II)-W complex as compared to the Cu(II)-SS complex.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.545-549
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• 2013

Liquid paraffin is a mixture of heavier alkanes derived from petroleum. It can be used as a lubricant in processing machinery, as a coating agent, or as a releasing agent. The purpose of this study was to analyze liquid paraffins in foods by using a gas chromatography-flame ionized detector (GC-FID). Liquid paraffin was extracted from the food samples using n-hexane. Non-polar aromatic or olefinic co-extractives were removed by alkaline permanganate oxidation followed by clean up on an aluminium oxide SPE cartridge before the GC-FID analysis. The results of recovery tests were 91.5-103.2%. Based on this optimized method, we investigated the amount of liquid paraffin in various food samples purchased from domestic markets. The levels of liquid paraffin in bread were $95.5{\pm}156.0$ mg/kg (0.008%), those in capsules were $40.2{\pm}54.5$ mg/kg (0.001%), and those in dried fruits and vegetables were $3.0{\pm}18.1$ mg/kg (0.0001%). No liquid paraffin was detected in fresh fruits and vegetables. We propose that our method can be used to monitor and detect liquid paraffin in foods for food safety management.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2009

Essential oils are mixture of volatile, lipophilic compounds originating from plants. Essential oils have potential biological effects, i.e., antibacterial, antifungal, spasmolytic and antiplasmodial activities and insect-repellent property. In this study, five essential oils, namely R, LG, FR, O, and NM, extracted from various aromatic plants were used to test their antimicrobial activity against the oral microorganisms. The effects of essential oils were investigated against eight important bacteria, Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Streptococcus sanguis (S. sanguis), Streptococcus anginosus (S. anginosus), Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans), Streptococcus sobrinus (S. sobrinus), Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis), and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Essential oils, except NM, effectively inhibited the growth of tested oral pathogenic microorganisms dose-dependently. However, the essential oils didn't show a significant inhibitory effect against E. coli and S. epidermidis. Consequently, these results represented that essential oil-mediated anti-microbial activity was prominent against the oral pathogenic bacteria. For example, minimum bactericidal concentration(MBC) of R, LG, FR oil against A. actinomycetemcomitans was very low as 0.078 mg/mL. In addition, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of R, LG, FR, O oil against S. mutans was low as 0.156 mg/mL in vitro.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.22-31
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• 1999

Saccharomyces fermentati and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were isolated from a traditional kimchi, and then the Leu. mesenteroides was mutated to the acid-tolerant mutant Leu. mesenteroides M-l00. In the result of growth properties in MRS broth with various pHs adjusted with HCl and acid solution (latic acid:acetic acid=1:2), an acid-tolerant mutant Leu. mesenteroides M-100 showed more increased ability for growth than its wild strain at various temperatures. The strains were used as starters for the fermentation of kimchi. The experiments were performed with classified experimental groups (Group I, control kimchi; Group II, addition of YK-19 only; Group III, addition of M-100 only; Group IV, addition of mixture of M-100 and YK-19), and their pH, total acidity, reducing sugars content, organic acid productivity, organoleptic tests, and microfloral changes were compared. As a result, in pH and acidity, the optimal ripening period of Group IV was about 13.5 days (i.e. from the 8.5 to 22 days of fermentation). This result indicates that the optimal ripening period of Group IV was about 1.5 times longer than that of Group I. Furthermore, Group IV was edible to 28 days of fermentation. In addition, high contents of succinc acid was observed in Group IV. Group IV was also highly ranked on the organoleptic test. During the fermentation of kimchi, the number of Leuconostoc sp. in group I reduced after 7 days; however, the number of Leuconostoc sp. in Group II, III, and IV decresed after 14 days of fermentation. An especially high number of Leu. sp. was observed in Group IV, and this gave better flavor of kimchi than any other during the whole fermentation period. Citric acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, and lactic acid were detected in the kimchi, and a significant increase in the concentration of lactic acid during fermentation was observed in the all experimental groups.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.887-894
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• 2014

The screening of the microorganisms degrading chlorinated organic compounds such as PCP (pentachlorophenol) and TCE (trichloroethylene) was conducted with soil and industrial wastewater contaminated with various chlorinated organic compounds. Isolates (GP5, GP19) capable of degrading PCP and isolates (GA6, GA15) capable of degrading TCE were identified as Acetobactor sp., Pseudomonas sp., Arthrobacer sp., Xanthomonas sp. and named Acetobacter sp. GP5, Pseudomonas sp. GP19, Arthrobacer sp. GA6 and Xanthomoas sp. GA15, respectively. The microbial augmentation, OC17 formulated with the mixture of bacteria including isolates (4 strains) degrading chlorinated organic compounds and isolates (Acinetobacter sp. KN11, Neisseria sp. GN13) degrading aromatic hydrocarbons. Characteristics of microbial augmentation OC-17 showed cell mass of $2.8{\times}10^9CFU/g$, bulk density of $0.299g/cm^3$ and water content of 26.8%. In the experiment with an artificial wastewater containing PCP (500 mg/l), degradation efficiency of the microbial augmentation OC17 was 87% during incubation of 65 hours. The degradation efficiency of TCE (300 uM) by microbial augmentation OC17 was 90% during incubation of 50 hours. In a continuous culture experiment, analysis of the biodegradation of organic compounds by microbial augmentation OC17 in industry wastewater containing chlorinated hydrocarbons showed that the removal rate of COD was 91% during incubation of 10 days. These results indicate that it is possible to apply the microbial augmentation OC17 to industrial wastewaters containing chlorinated organic compounds.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.100-108
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• 2014

In this work, a series of molar ratios composed with YD-128 and DDM were chosen based on the viscosity analysis. The mixtures of YD-128 and DDM with the different molar ratios were cured at $170^{\circ}C$ for 15 min followed by post cure at $190^{\circ}C$ for two hours. The thermal properties of the cured samples were investigated with DSC, TGA, DMA, and TMA. The conversion ratio of the mixtures of YD-128 and DDM (1 : 1.1) was calculated by dividing ${\Delta}H$ obtained from DSC experiments for each cured sample by ${\Delta}H$. The TGA data of the cured samples showed that the thermal stability and thermal degradation activation energy were proportional to the amount of DDM in the mixtures. However, the highest tan ${\delta}$, and the lowest thermal expansion data with DMA and TMA respectively were obtained from the stoichiometric mixture of YD-128 and DDM. Furthermore, the different ratio of mixtures were applied to test specimens to be cured at $170^{\circ}C$ to measure single lap shear strength with universal testing machine.