• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.237-242
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• 2015

The use of calcite-forming bacteria (CFB) in crack remediation and durability improvements in construction materials creates a permanent and environmentally-friendly material. Therefore, research into this type of application is stimulating interdisciplinary studies between microbiology and architectural engineering. However, the mechanisms giving rise to these materials are dependent on calcite precipitation by the metabolism of the CFB, which raises concerns about possible hazards to cement-based construction due to microbial metabolic acid production. The aim of this study was to determine target microorganisms that possibly can have bio-corrosive effects on cement mortar and to assess multi-functional CFBs for their safe application to cement structures. The chalky test was first used to evaluate the $CaCO_3$ solubilization feature of construction sites by fungi, yeast, bacterial strains. Not all bacterial strains are able to solubilize $CaCO_3$, but C. sphaerospermum KNUC253 or P. prolifica KNUC263 showed $CaCO_3$ solubilization activity. Therefore, these two strains were identified as target microorganisms that require control in cement structures. The registered patented strains Bacillus aryabhatti KNUC205, Arthrobacter nicotianae KNUC2100, B. thuringiensis KNUC2103 and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia KNUC2106, reported as multifunctional CFB (fungal growth inhibition, crack remediation, and water permeability reduction of cement surfaces) and isolated from Dokdo or construction site were unable to solubilize $CaCO_3$. Notably, B. aryabhatti KNUC205 and A. nicotianae KNUC2100 could not hydrolyze cellulose or protein, which can be the major constituent macromolecules of internal materials for buildings. These results show that several reported multi-functional CFB can be applied to cement structures or diverse building environments without corrosive or bio-deteriorative risks.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1860-1868
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• 2004

Geijibokryunghwan has a wide range of therapeutic applications, and some reports have indicated that it has protective activity against atherosclerosis, and more specifically stroke and myocardial infarction. A recent report showed that atherosclerotic plaque volume can be reduced by supplying Geijibokryunghwan extracts for several years. In this study, we used a component of Geijibokryunghwan, which has been used for the prevention of atherosclerosis in Korea for several years, and has proven to be useful in lowering the occurrence of cerebral infarction. In a preliminary study, we found that Geijibokryunghwan potently suppressed platelet aggregation induced by various agonists. In this study, we sought to explore the mechanism by which Geijibokryunghwan inhibits platelet aggregations.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1273-1279
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• 2005

Penicillium oxalicum strain CBPS-3F-Tsa, an efficient phosphate solubilizing fungus, was evaluated for its production of organic acid in vitro and effect of inoculation on the growth promotion of Maize under greenhouse conditions. The fungus solubilized 129.1, 118.8, and 54.1 mg P/1 of tricalcium phosphate [$Ca_{3}(PO_{4})_{2}$], aluminum phosphate ($A1PO_{4}$),and ferric phosphate ($FePO_{4}$), respectively, after 72 h of incubation. Malic acid, gluconic acid, and oxalic acid were detected in the flasks supplemented with various phosphate sources [240, 146, 145 mM/1 $A1PO_{4},\;FePO_{4},\;and\;Ca_{3}(PO_{4})_{2}$, respectively] together with a large amount of malic acid followed by the other two. The effects of inoculation of P. oxalicum CBPS-3F-Tsa on maize plants were studied under pot culture conditions. P. oxalicum CBPS-3F-Tsa was inoculated to maize plants alone or together with inorganic phosphates in the form of fused phosphates (FP) and rock phosphates (RP). Inoculation of P. oxalicum CBPS-3F-Tsa increased the plant growth and N and P accumulation in plants, compared with control plants, and also had positive effects when applied with RP. The results of this study show that the fungus P. oxalicum strain CBPS-3F-Tsa could solubilize different insoluble phosphates by producing organic acids, particularly malic acid, and also improved the efficiency of RP applied to maize plants.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.175-181
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• 1994

A bacterial strain producing highly viscous polysaccharide(A29 POL) was isolated from soil and identified sa Bacillus sp. A29. The cultural conditions of the Bacillus sp. A29 for the polysaccharide prouction were dextrin 12%, soytone 0.2%, SnCl$_{2}$ $\cdot $2H$_{2}$O 0.02%, Na$_{2}$HPO$_{4}$ $\CDOT $12H$_{2}$O 0.36%, L-alanine 0.01%, initial pH6.8, and 30$\circ $C at pH 3 FOR 4 days. Final viscosity of the culture broth was 65, 000 cp and then the amount of produced polysaccharide was 8.3 g/l. A29 POL was composed of glucose and xylose. A29 POL showed high viscosity at low concentration(0.1%) and in the presence of the salts such as NaCl or CaCl$_{2}$. A29 POL showed high viscosity acid condition and at alkali condition and high pseudoplasticity in the presence of a NaCl or CaCl$_{2}$. It was shown that the viscosity at high temperature(80$\circ $C) was decreased but it was recovered at low temperature (20$\circ $C. A29 POL was able to from film and gel in the presence of MgSO$_{4}$ $\CDOT $7H$_{2}$O, Na$_{2}$CO$_{3}$ \CDOT $H$_{2}$O, MnSO$_{4}$ $\CDOT $ 7H$_{2}$O. A29 POL had anionic charge.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.2 s.48
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• pp.99-109
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• 2006

Igneous rocks occurring in the northwesern part of Keumsan area, Chungcheongnam-do were studied petrogeochemically. The geology of this area is composed mainly of the Precambrian biotite gneiss, age-unknown Ogchon supergroup, Jurassic biotite granite, and Cretaceous volcanic rocks, pink feldspar granite and quartz porphyry. The biotite granite is gradually changes to leucocratic nature by going from center to periphery of the rock mass. It shows variation, with distance from the center, in chemical components: $SiO_2,\;Na_2O\;and\;K_2O$ increase, whereas $Fe_2O_3,\;CaO,\;P_2O_5,\;MgO,\;and\;TiO_2$ decrease. Based on geochemical data, the biotite granite and quartz porphyry belong to subalkaline series and I-type. They show calc-alkaline differentiation trend. The biotite granite shows little negative Eu-anomaly pattern, whereas quartz porphyry show marked negative Eu-anomaly pattern, indicating that quartz porphyry was evolved further, when compared with biotite granite.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.555-561
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• 2019

We examined the quality characteristics of four kinds of Alaska pollack Theragra chalcogramma surimi (APS), five kinds of golden threadfin bream Nemipterus virgatus surimi (GTS), and two kinds of giant squid Ommastrephes bartrami surimi (GSS) used in Korea. The volatile basic nitrogen contents of APS, GTS, and GSS increased with decreasing grade to 6.8-9.8, 5.5-8.3, and 143.5-177.7 mg/100 g, respectively. The Ca²⁺-ATPase activities of APS and GTS decreased with decreasing grade to 0.63-0.83 and 0.60-0.80 pi μmole/min/mg, respectively. The Ca²⁺-ATPase activity of RA-grade GSS was 0.82-0.91 pi μmole/min/mg. The whiteness values of APS, GTS, and GSS heat-induced gels were 54.0-71.4, 53.9-71.0, and 52.2-70.3, respectively, and that of both APS and GTS decreased with decreasing grade. The gel strengths of APS and GTS heat-induced gels were 412.3-769.4 and 280.2-456.5 g·cm, respectively, and decreased with decreasing grade. The total amino acid contents of SA-grade APS, SSA-grade GTS, and RA-grade GSS were 17,328.1, 17,965.0, and 14,846.8 mg/100 g, respectively, and the major amino acids were glutamic acid, aspartic acid, arginine, leucine, lysine, proline, alanine, and phenylalanine. The primary minerals were sodium (136.6-164.9 mg/100 g), potassium (45.7-160.4 mg/100 g), phosphorus (35.0-73.5 mg/100 g), sulfur (22.8-56.4 mg/100 g), and calcium (18.0-203.4 mg/100 g).

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.233-239
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• 2010

Phenolic acid concentrates of rice bran(RB-ex) and hydroxycinnamic acids were investigated for their anti-hyperglycemic activities through glucose uptake and glucokinase activity using HepG2 cells and stimulatory effects on insulin secretion using HIT-T15 cells. RB-ex was prepared as an ethylacetate extract after alkaline hydrolysis and hydroxycinnamic acids, found as major compositions of RB-ex, such as ferulic acid(FA), sinapic acid(SA) and p-coumaric acid(p-CA) were investigated to compare with the properties of RB-ex. The properties of glucose uptake in HepG2 cells were examined in the absence of insulin and two different glucose concentrations(5.5 mM and 25 mM). RB-ex and FA showed anti-hyperglycemic activities through the increase of glucose uptake and the stimulation of glucokinase activity in HepG2 cells. RB-ex exhibited higher glucose uptakes with higher glucose concentrations, whereas FA exhibited the same increasing effects on both concentrations of glucose. RB-ex and FA exhibited doubled glucokinase activities relative to control. In the presence of insulin in the 25 mM glucose-containing medium, the levels of glucose uptake were increased in all treatments compared with control. As stimulatory effects of samples on insulin secretion were estimated, RB-ex and FA stimulated insulin secretion at a concentration of 25 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$ and in particular, FA showed the highest amount of insulin-release in HIT-T15 cells. Antioxidative effects on HIT-T15 cells, RB-ex and hydroxycinnamic acids, excluding p-CA, showed inhibitory activities of 78% to 80% at a concentration of 100 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$. On the basis of these results, we conclude that RB-ex and FA could help decrease blood glucose levels and prevent the cell damages via antioxidant activity.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.199-203
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• 2017

$ZrO_2/PSS$ thin film with a high refractive index was fabricated on a glass substrate by a layer-by-layer self-assembly method. The surface morphology and thickness of the fabricated $ZrO_2/PSS$ thin films were measured as a function of the number of $(ZrO_2/PSS)n$. As the number of $(ZrO_2/PSS)n$ increased from n = 5 to n = 20, RMS roughness decreased from 29.01 nm to 8.368 nm. The $ZrO_2$ thin films exhibited high transmittance of 85% or more; and the 15-bilayer thin film exhibited the highest transmittance among the samples. The transmittance of the fabricated $(ZrO_2/PSS)_{15}$ thin film was ca. 90.8% in the visible range. The refractive index of the glass substrate coated by a $(ZrO_2/PSS)_{15}$ thin film with a thickness of 160 nm increased from ca. 1.52 to 1.74 at the 632 nm wavelength.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1015-1020
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• 2012

Antifungal cement mortar or microbiological calcium carbonate precipitation on cement surface has been investigated as functional concrete research. However, these research concepts have never been fused with each other. In this study, we introduced the antifungal calcite-forming bacteria (CFB) Bacillus aryabhattai KNUC205, isolated from an urban tunnel (Daegu, South Korea). The major fungal deteriogens in urban tunnel, Cladosporium sphaerospermum KNUC253, was used as a sensitive fungal strain. B. aryabhattai KNUC205 showed $CaCO_3$ precipitation on B4 medium. Cracked cement mortar pastes were made and neutralized by modified methods. Subsequently, the mixture of B. aryabhattai KNUC205, conidiospore of C. sphaerospermum KNUC253, and B4 agar was applied to cement cracks and incubated at $18^{\circ}C$ for 16 days. B. aryabhattai KNUC205 showed fungal growth inhibition against C. sphaerospermum. Furthermore, B. aryabhattai KNUC205 showed crack remediation ability and water permeability reduction of cement mortar pastes. Taken together, these results suggest that the $CaCO_3$ precipitation and antifungal properties of B. aryabhattai KNUC205 could be used as an effective sealing or coating material that can also prevent deteriorative fungal growth. This study is the first application and evaluation research that incorporates calcite formation with antifungal capabilities of microorganisms for an environment-friendly and more effective protection of cement materials. In this research, the conception of microbial construction materials was expanded.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.37-45
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• 1994

The possibility of reusing the paper sludge as a raw material of composition board mixed with cement was investigated. For the measurement of physical and mechanical properties, wood coment board and sludge combinend cement boards were fabricated with the three weigh ratios of paper sludge 10 % (SI), 20 % (S II) and 30 % (S III) to cement weight. For adding the cement hardning, $CaCl_2$ was also added to each mixed paste with the ratio of 1 %, 3 % and 5 % to cement weight, respectively. Crystal formation in paper sludge-, wood-cement composites was observed by scanning electron microscope. The results were summarized as follows. 1. Density and partial compressive strength of each specimens were relatively high in the order of sludge I, sludge II, Korean pine, Italian poplar and sludge III, sludge I, Korean pine, sludge II, Italian poplar and sludge III. 2. The mechanical properties of sludge-cement boards (S I and II) were higher than that of wood-cement boards prepared with Korean pine and Italian poplar. But the mechanical properties of wood-cement boards were improved by the adding of $CaCl_2$. 3. Water absorption and thickness swelling were increased with increase of sludge content to cement weight. 4. In SEM observation, sludge-cement composites showed sufficiently formed crystals but wood-cement composites showed poorly formed crystals.