• Title/Summary/Keyword: Biomass availability

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Biofilm formation on denture base resin including ZnO, CaO, and TiO2 nanoparticles

  • Anwander, Melissa;Rosentritt, Martin;Schneider-Feyrer, Sibylle;Hahnel, Sebastian
    • The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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    • v.9 no.6
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    • pp.482-485
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    • 2017
  • PURPOSE. This laboratory study aimed to investigate the effect of doping an acrylic denture base resin material with nanoparticles of ZnO, CaO, and $TiO_2$ on biofilm formation. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Standardized specimens of a commercially available cold-curing acrylic denture base resin material were doped with 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, or 0.8 wt% commercially available ZnO, CaO, and $TiO_2$ nanopowder. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was used to identify the availability of the nanoparticles on the surface of the modified specimens. Surface roughness was determined by employing a profilometric approach; biofilm formation was simulated using a monospecies Candida albicans biofilm model and a multispecies biofilm model including C. albicans, Actinomyces naeslundii, and Streptococcus gordonii. Relative viable biomass was determined after 20 hours and 44 hours using a MTT-based approach. RESULTS. No statistically significant disparities were identified among the various materials regarding surface roughness and relative viable biomass. CONCLUSION. The results indicate that doping denture base resin materials with commercially available ZnO, CaO, or $TiO_2$ nanopowders do not inhibit biofilm formation on their surface. Further studies might address the impact of varying particle sizes as well as increasing the fraction of nanoparticles mixed into the acrylic resin matrix.

Ingestion on Planktonic Ciliates by Copepod Acartia hongi: A Laboratory Study (섬모충류에 대한 요각류 Acartia hongi의 섭식: 실험실 연구)

  • Yang, Eun-Jin;Choi, Joong-Ki
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.265-276
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    • 2009
  • Acartia hongi is the most dominant and widespread planktonic copepod in Gyeonggi Bay, Yellow sea. Ingestion rates and selectivity of A. hongi on phytoplankton and planktonic ciliates were determined in the laboratory. Ingestion rates of A. hongi on planktonic ciliates and phytoplankton increased in proportion to prey concentration increase. When A. hongi was fed with various mixture combinations of planktonic ciliates and phytoplankton, their ingestion rate on ciliates tended to increase as the percentage of ciliates in prey biomass increased. Clearance rate of A. hongi on planktonic ciliates was higher than for phytoplankton in all experiments without regard to relative percent of ciliate biomass. This trend suggests that A. hongi was preferentially preying on planktonic ciliates. Under mixed prey availability, it is likely that selective feeding and higher clearance rate of planktonic ciliates by A. hongi is related to the higher nutritional value of ciliates compared to phytoplankton. Therefore, our results suggest that selective ciliate feeding by A. hongi will positively benefit its growth and abundance, and as a result negatively impact the population dynamics of planktonic ciliates in Gyeonggi Bay.

Effect of Gamma Ray Irradiation on the Pretreatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Senna tora Stalk (감마선 조사 처리에 의한 결명자 줄기의 전처리와 효소가수분해 효과)

  • Kim, Jo Eun;Gong, Sung Ho;Jung, Jin Tae;Lee, Ok Ran;Lee, Jae Won
    • Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.127-133
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    • 2018
  • Background: The demand of recycling renewable agricultural by-products is increasing. Radiation breeding is a method used to improve saccharification efficiency. Thus, we investigated the effect of gamma ray irradiation on the pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of the stalks of Senna tora, an important medicinal plants. Methods and Results: S. tora seeds were irradiated with gamma ray at doses of 100, 200, 300, and 400 Gy. In the pretreated biomass, glucan and lignin content were higher in the M1 ($1^{st}$ generations of irradiation) S. tora stalks than in the M2 ($2^{nd}$ generations of irradiation) stalks, this can be explained by the higher degradation rate in M1. After oxalic acid pretreatment, the concentration of total phenolic compounds (TPCs) in the hydrolysate increased in the gamma ray treated seeds. The highest relative increase rate in crystallinity in the pretreated biomass was observed in M1-400 Gy and M2-100 Gy. The cellulose conversion rate was higher in M1 than in M2, except for 200 Gy. Conclusions: Gamma ray irradiation at an appropriate dose can be used to improve the efficiency of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, thereby increasing biomass availability.

Nutrient Turnover by Fine Roots in Temperate Hardwood and Softwood Forest Ecosystems Varying in Calcium Availability

  • Park, Byung Bae
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.96 no.2
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    • pp.214-221
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    • 2007
  • The effect of nutrient availability and forest type on the nutrient turnover of fine roots is important in terrestrial nutrient cycling, but it is poorly understood. I measured nutrient turnover of hardwoods and softwoods at three well studied sites in the northeastern US: Sleepers River, VT; Hubbard Brook, NH; Cone Pond, NH. Significant differences in nutrient turnover by fine roots were observed among sites, but not between forest types. The magnitude of differences for each element ranged from 3 times for P and N to 8 times for Ca and Mg between sites. Smaller differences of 0.2 to 0.8 times were observed between forest types. In hardwoods, the Sleepers River 'new' site had $23kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$ Ca, $7kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$ Mg, and $16kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$ K turnover, owing to high root nutrient contents and turnover. Cone Pond had the highest turnover for Mn ($0.8kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$) and Al ($16kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$), owing to high nutrient contents. The Hubbard Brook hardwood site exhibited the lowest turnover of these elements. In softwoods, the variation in turnover of Ca, Mg, and K was lower than in hardwoods. The Hubbard Brook had the highest turnover for P ($1.6kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$), N ($31kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$), Mn ($0.4kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$), Al ($10kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$), Fe ($6.4kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$), Zn ($0.3kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$), Cu ($34g\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$), and C ($1.1Mg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$). Root Ca turnover exponentially increased as soil percentage Ca saturation increased because of greater root nutrient contents and more rapid turnover at the higher Ca sites. These results imply that nutrient inputs by root turnover significantly increase as soil Ca availability improves in temperate forest ecosystems.

Optimization of Medium Composition for Growth of Leuconostoc mesenteroides

  • Kim, Hyeon;Eom, Hyeon-Ju;Seo, Dong-Mi;Han, Nam-Su
    • 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2003.04a
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    • pp.153-156
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    • 2003
  • The MRS medium is widely used as an optimized medium for the growth of Lactobacillus spp. and also used for the growth of Leuconostoc spp. Leuconostoc mesenteroides shows quite different physicochemical properties compared to Lactobacilli spp. and it is one of the major strain of kimchi fermenting microorganisms with its usefulness in our traditional foods and availability in biotechnology in the future, specifically tailor-made medium is necessary for the growth of Leuconostoc mesenteroides. Sequential experimental designs (Plackett-Burman, fractional factorial, steepest ascent, central composite design and response surface methodology) were introduced to optimize and improve the Leuconostoc medium. Fifteen medium ingredients were investigated and fructose, sodium acetate and ammonium citrate were determined to give a critical and positive effect for cell-growth. The yield of biomass using the optimal medium was improved more than that of the MRS medium and the result of fed-batch culture showed the capability of the improvement in cell mass similar to the E.coli system.

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A Study on Solar Radiation Prediction using Artificial Neural Network (인공지능신경회로망을 이용한 태양광 예측)

  • Zhang, Fengming;Cho, Kyeong-Hee;Lim, Jin-Taek;Choi, Jae-Seok;Lee, Young-Mi;Lee, Kwang-Y.
    • Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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    • 2011.07a
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    • pp.354-356
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    • 2011
  • Renewable energy resources such as wind, wave, solar, micro hydro, tidal and biomass etc. are becoming importance stage by stage because of considering effect of the environment. Solar energy is one of the most successful sources of renewable energy for the production of electrical energy following solar energy. And, the solar/photovoltaic cell generators depend on the solar radiation, which is a random variable so this poses difficulty in the system scheduling and energy dispatching, as the schedule of the photovoltaic cell generators availability is not known in advance. This paper proposes to use the two-layered artificial neural networks for predicting the actual solar radiation from the previous values of the same variable.

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Some Ecological and Physiological Features of the Antarctic Clam, Laternula elliptica (King and Broderip) in a Nearshore Habitat on King George Island

  • Ahn, In-Young;Chung, Ho-Sung;Choi, Kwang-Sik
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.419-424
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    • 2001
  • The Antarctic clam Laternula elliptica, is one of the most representative benthic invertebrates in the Antarctic nearshore waters. Endemic to the Antarctic, L. elliptica is widely distributed around the Antarctica occurring as dense patches in shallow sheltered areas and exhibits high biomass. Despite its apparent ecological importance, L. elliptica has rarely been studied until recently probably due to difficulties in sampling in the ice-impacted waters. Recent studies have revealed various aspects of its ecology and physiology. In this review, some physiological and ecological characteristics of this species are discussed in relation to some prevailing features of its habitat environment, in particular physical instability of habitat substrates and extreme seasonality of food availability.

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Super tree development by pyramiding heterologous functional genes

  • Noh, Eun-Woon
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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    • 2005.11a
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    • pp.120-125
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    • 2005
  • Continuous degradation of forest in both quality and quantity threatens wood security in the future. Thus in the future, most wood and pulp will be expected to be produced from plantation forests. We attempt to produce superior trees suitable for such plantations with maximum productivity in limited land area. Tree productivity could be enhanced either by promoting growth and wood quality or by reducing loss caused by abiotic and biotic stresses. Genetic transformation techniques may offer ways to improve the productivity by enabling trees to tolerate the stresses or to covert limited resources into big biomass. With the availability of information on various functional genes and gene transfer techniques, it should be possible to develop such trees. In this presentation, our work to produce such trees at Korea Forest Research Institute is briefly introduced.

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Distribution of Nutrients and Phytoplankton Biomass in the Area Around the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica (남극 남쉐틀랜드군도 주변 해역의 영양염과 식물플랑크톤 생물량 분포)

  • Kim, Dong-Seon;Kang, Sung-Ho;Kim, Dong-Yup;Lee, Youn-Ho;Kang, Young-Chul
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.77-95
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    • 2001
  • Temperature, salinity, nutrients, chlorophyll-a, and primary production were measured within the upper 200 m water column in the area around the South Shetland Islands in January, 2000. Surface temperature was relatively high in the Drake Passage north of the South Shetland Islands and low in the northeastern area of the Antarctic Peninsula. In contrast, surface salinity was low in the Drake Passage and increased toward the Antarctic Peninsula, reaching the maximum value in the northeastern area of the Antarctic Peninsula. Surface nutrients were low in the Drake Passage and high in the area near the South Shetland Islands. Surface chlorophyll-a was also low in the Drake Passage and near the Antarctic Peninsula and high in the area of the northern King George Island. The study area could be classified as four geographical zones based on the characteristic shape of the T/S diagrams;the Drake Passage, the Bransfield Strait, the mixed zone, and the Weddell Sea. Each geographical zone showed apparently different physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Phytoplankton biomass was relatively low in the Drake Passage and the Weddell Sea and high in the Bransfield Strait and the mixed zone. The low phytoplankton biomass in the Weddell Sea could be explained by the low water temperature and deep surface mixing down to 200 m. The high grazing pressure and low availability of iron could be responsible for the low phytoplankton biomass in the Drake Passage.

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Growth Difference between the Seedlings of Quercus serrata and Q. aliena under light, moisture and nutrient Gradients (광, 수분, 영양소에 따른 졸참나무와 갈참나무 유식물의 생육 차이)

  • Lim, Hoon;Kim, Hae-Ran;You, Young-Han
    • Journal of Wetlands Research
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    • v.14 no.2
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    • pp.237-242
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    • 2012
  • In order to determine the ecological characteristics of Quercus serrata and Q. aliena, which are potential natural vegetation of riverine in Korea, we cultivated the seedlings of two oak species under light, soil moisture and nutrient gradients from April to October in glasshouse. Then, we measured aboveground, belowground and total plant biomass and analyzed the differences in growth between two oak species. The two oak species showed decreasing growth with lower light intensity, but reduction in growth of Q. aliena was greater than that of Q. serrata. Q. serrata and Q. aliena had a constant growth state under soil moisture gradients, but Q. aliena grew well more than Q. serrata in lower soil moisture gradient. As soil nutrient availability decreased, the growth of Q. aliena was greater than Q. serrata. These results mean that the growth of two oak species is not affected by soil moisture, but the part of growth in Q. serrata may be positively affected in lower soil moisture condition. Also, Q. serrata has strong shade tolerance and the ability to adapt high nutrient condition relative to Q. aliena. Thus, Q. serrata and Q. aliena will be advantageous for the growth in stream ecosystem due to high light availability, but Q. serrata will be distributed near the lowlands by the water environment. Also, because the two oak species need high soil nutrient, it is important to preserve herbaceous vegetation to prevent nutrients that flowed in the streams.