• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제28권5호
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• pp.732-738
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• 2018

Novel carbon-based solid acid catalysts were synthesized through a sustainable route from lipid-extracted microalgal residue of Dunaliella tertiolecta, for biodiesel production. Two carbon-based solid acid catalysts were prepared by surface modification of bio-char with sulfuric acid ($H_2SO_4$) and sulfuryl chloride ($SO_2Cl_2$), respectively. The treated catalysts were characterized and their catalytic activities were evaluated by esterification of oleic acid. The esterification catalytic activity of the $SO_2Cl_2$-treated bio-char was higher ($11.5mmol\;Prod.{\cdot}h^{-1}{\cdot}gCat.\;^{-1}$) than that of commercial catalyst silica-supported Nafion SAC-13 ($2.3mmol\;Prod.{\cdot}h^{-1}{\cdot}gCat.^{-1}$) and $H_2SO_4$-treated bio-char ($5.7mmol\;Prod.{\cdot}h^{-1}{\cdot}gCat.^{-1}$). Reusability of the catalysts was examined. The catalytic activity of the $SO_2Cl_2$-modified catalyst was sustained from the second run after the initial activity dropped after the first run and kept the same activity until the fifth run. It was higher than that of first-used Nafion. These experimental results demonstrate that catalysts from lipid-extracted algae have great potential for the economic and environment-friendly production of biodiesel.

• 농업과학연구
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• 제48권4호
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• pp.787-796
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• 2021

Nitrogen (N) is the most important element during the process of plant growth, and the quality of crops varies depending on the amount of nitrogen present. Most of the nitrogen is used for plant growth, but approximately 10 - 20% of Nitrogen is carried away by the wind in the form of NH₃. This volatilized NH₃ reacts with various oxides in the atmosphere to generate secondary particulate matter. To address this, the present study attempts to reduce NH₃ occurring in the soil using biochar at a specific pH. Biochar was used as a treatment with 1% (w·w^-1) of the soil, and urea was applied at different levels of 160, 320, and 640 kg·N·ha^-1. NH₃ generated in the soil was collected using a dynamic column and analyzed using the indophenol blue method. NH₃ showed the maximum emission within 4 - 7 days after the fertilizer treatment, decreasing sharply afterward. NH₃ emission levels were reduced with the biochar treatment in all cases. Among them, the best reduction efficiency was found to be approximately 25% for the 320 kg·ha^-1 + pH 6.7 biochar treatment. Consequently, in order to reduce the amount of NH₃ generated in the soil, it is most effective to use pH 6.7 biochar and a standard amount (320 kg·N·ha^-1) of urea.

• 한국환경농학회지
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• 제38권2호
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• pp.96-103
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to develop selenium (Se)- and germanium (Ge)-enriched rice by foliar spray application of organic or inorganic Se and Ge. METHODS AND RESULTS: The time and frequency of organic or inorganic Se and Ge treatment were performed at the five main growth stages as followings: effective tillering stage (E), maximum tillering stage (M), booting stage (B), heading stage (H), grain filling stage (G). The main treatment plots were consisted of (1) 'once' treatment (at each E, M, B, H, G stage, Se/Ge single apply), (2) 'twice I' (at H + G stages, organic or inorganic Se/Ge apply), (3) 'twice II' (at H + G stages, mixture apply of Se + Ge + pesticide). The organic or inorganic Se treatment concentration was 20 and 40 ppm, and the Ge was 50 and 100 ppm. The Se and Ge contents in rice grain (brown rice and polished rice) were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The highest Se content was noted in brown rice 'twice I' with Se 40 ppm (1394.06) at H + G stages, but the lowest was in 'once' with Se 40 ppm ($367.79{\mu}g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$) at B stage. The highest of Se content in polished rice was found in 'twice I' of Se 40 ppm (1090.25) at H + G stages, but the lowest was in 'once' with Se 40 ppm ($403.53{\mu}g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$) at E stage. On the other hand, The highest of Ge content in brown rice was found in 'twice I' with Ge 100 ppm (398.66) at H + G stages, but the lowest was in 'once' with Ge 100 ppm ($139.64{\mu}g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$) at B stage. The highest of Ge content in polished rice was found in 'twice I' of Ge 100 ppm (300.29) at H + G stages, but the lowest was in 'once' with Ge 100 ppm ($142.24{\mu}g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$) at B stage. CONCLUSION: Se and Ge contents both in brown rice and polished rice treated with organic Se and Ge forms were higher than those of inorganic Se and Ge. Overall results concluded that the supplementation of organic Se and Ge contents in brown and polished rice contents were comparatively higher than the inorganic Se and Ge. This is results also proved that the foliar spray application of organic Se and Ge has positive nutritive effect on the rice for regular consumption.

• 한국정밀공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국정밀공학회 2012년도 추계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.899-900
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• 2012

• BMB Reports
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• 제46권5호
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• pp.244-251
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• 2013

Lignocellulosic materials are commonly used in bio-$H_2$ production for the sustainable energy resource development as they are abundant, cheap, renewable and highly biodegradable. In the process of the bio-$H_2$ production, the pretreated lignocellulosic materials are firstly converted to monosaccharides by enzymolysis and then to $H_2$ by fermentation. Since the structures of lignocellulosic materials are rather complex, the hydrolysates vary with the used materials. Even using the same lignocellulosic materials, the hydrolysates also change with different pretreatment methods. It has been shown that the appropriate hydrolysate compositions can dramatically improve the biological activities and bio-$H_2$ production performances. Over the past decades, hydrolysis with respect to different lignocellulosic materials and pretreatments has been widely investigated. Besides, effects of the hydrolysates on the biohydrogen yields have also been examined. In this review, recent studies on hydrolysis as well as their effects on the biohydrogen production performance are summarized.

• 한국토양비료학회지
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• 제45권6호
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• pp.936-942
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• 2012

This review was to elucidate the fate of Bentazon(3-isopropyl-1H-2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4(3H)-one-2,2-dioxide) and its metabolites in soil. Bentazon is rapidly degraded to form polar metabolites which are mostly adsorbed to soil components, such as humin or fulvic acid, as non extractable forms and mineralized into $CO_2$ by light or micro-organisms in both aerobic or nonaerobic condition. The degradation of Bentazon is dependent on the rate of organic matters in soil and the use of land for the tillage. The degradation rate is decreased as the amount of organic matters in soil increases and if the land is under use for tillage. Sorption and mobility of Bentazon depends on soil pH and the content of organic matters in soil. Usually, the sorption of the metabolites of Bentazon is decreased with increase in the mobility and pH. Almost all of Bentazon is degraded within rhizosphere or forms conjugate bonds with soil organic matters before it reaches to the ground water.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• 제51권4호
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• pp.299-304
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• 2008

A ${\beta}$-1,4-endoglucanase gene from Bacillus subtilis H12 was cloned into Escherichia coli JM109 (pBC8) and sequenced. The endoglucanase gene with an insert DNA of 2.5 kb possessed an open reading frame of 1,500 bp encoding a mature protein of 499 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 55 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence showed similarity to those of the known neutral cellulase genes of B. subtilis PAP115 (99.2%) and BSE616 (97.8%), as well as the alkaline gene of Bacillus sp. N4 (55.1%). The endoglucanase activity expressed by E. coli (pBC8) was localized in the periplasmic fraction (80%) and the cytoplasmic fraction (20%). An endoglucanase was purified from the periplasmic fraction by performing gel filtration and anion exchange chromatography. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 31 kDa by SDS-PAGE, and the maximum activity occurred at pH 7 and $40^{\circ}C$. The enzyme easily hydrolyzed soluble substrates such as carboxymethyl cellulose and barely ${\beta}$-glucan, whereas the sigmacell and xylan, the known insoluble substrates, were not entirely hydrolyzed.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제30권8호
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• pp.1835-1838
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• 2009

Inhibition of human phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (hPNMT) has been proposed as a method for the treatment of several mental processes which related on adrenaline metabolism. We performed in silico screening to identify flavonoid inhibitors of hPNMT using automated docking method and selected 9 inhibitor candidates based on ligand score (LigScore) and binding free energy (${\Delta}G_{bind}$) estimation. Among 9 flavonoid candidates, 7 flavonoids belong to flavones while the rest of them belong to flavanone. All candidates have common chemical features; two hydrogen bond interactions with side chain of Lys75 and backbone carbonyl oxygen of Asn39, and two hydrophobic interactions. One hydrophobic site is formed by Val53, Leu262, and Met258 and the other is made up of Phe182, Ala186, Tyr222, and Val269. This study can be helpful to understand the structural features for inhibition of PNMT and showed flavonoids as promising inhibitor candidates for hPNMT.

• BMB Reports
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• 제41권8호
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• pp.609-614
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• 2008

The concentrations and catalytic activities of enzymes control metabolic rates. Previous studies have focused on enzyme concentrations because there are no genome-wide techniques used for the measurement of enzyme activity. We propose a method for evaluating the significance of enzyme activity by integrating metabolic network topologies and genome-wide microarray gene expression profiles. We quantified the enzymatic activity of reactions and report the 388 significant reactions in five perturbation datasets. For the 388 enzymatic reactions, we identified 70 that were significantly regulated (P-value < 0.001). Thirty-one of these reactions were part of anaerobic metabolism, 23 were part of low-pH aerobic metabolism, 8 were part of high-pH anaerobic metabolism, 3 were part of low-pH aerobic reactions, and 5 were part of high-pH anaerobic metabolism.

• 한국자기공명학회논문지
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.147-161
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• 2012

Human melanocortin-4 receptor (hMC4R) among MC-Rs, expressed in the brain, is in charge of the control on energy homeostasis and food intake. The structure and function of human MC4R have been studied to understand their essential function and roles. To investigate the structure and function, it is necessary to prepare sufficient amounts of proteins. However, their expression and purification is demanding and time-consuming due to their innate insoluble and toxic properties. The heterozygous mutations of hMC4R, exchange of Asp 90 to Asn located in second transmembrane, cause severe obesity in human. To obtain purified hMC4R wt-TM2 for structural studies, it was first over-expressed and purified by fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) and then solution NMR studies were performed to get high-resolution spectra. In here, we established optimized purification scheme to get more purified target peptide.