• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.309-312
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• 2003

A bacterial strain NB01, isolated from wastewater, was found to utilize nitrobenzene (NB) as the sole source of nitrogen, carbon, and energy. The strain was classified as a member of a high G+C Gram-positive group and identified as Mycobacterium chelonae based on an analysis of its 16S rRNA gene sequence. The strain grew on NB with a concomitant release of about 63% of the total available nitrogen as ammonia, suggesting a reductive degradation mechanism. The optimal pH and temperature for degradation were PH 7.0-8.0 and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. The cell growth was retarded at NB concentrations above 1.8 mM. The degradation of NB followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics within the tolerance range, and the $K_m$ and maximum specific removal rate for NB were 0.33 mM and $11.04\;h^{-1}$, respectively.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.221-226
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• 2007

The high molecular-weight mucilage extracted and purified from cactus fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica var. Saboten was degraded by the cell-free culture filtrate of a fungus isolated from soil. TLC analysis of the polymeric mucilage after incubation with the fungal culture filtrate confirmed its degradation. When the degradation products were tested for their qualitative reactions with ninhydrin and phenol-sulfuric acid, only phenol-sulfuric acid gave positive development, and ninhydrin did not show any observable color reaction. This coloring reaction suggested the presence of a carbohydrate without an amino group within the mucilage. Analyses by HPLC and liquid gel permeation chromatography on sephadex G-100 also provided additional information on degradation of the mucilage by the fungal culture filtrate. The sequences of ITS-5.8S rDNA from the fungal isolate that was cultivated for the preparation of mucilage-degrading enzyme showed 99% similarity to those of Pestalotiopsis aquatica.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2007.07a
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• pp.975-976
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• 2007

Thermal and mechanical stresses, caused by repetitive start and stop and load fluctuation during long time operation, on winding stator bars are one of the main causes for electrical degradation of insulating materials. To understand the degradation process, we manufactured bar specimens with the same processes that make generator winding stator bars and the specimens were subjected to various degrees of thermal cycling. Measurements of the insulation properties, such as dissipation factor, tip-up and partial discharge, for un-aged specimens and for specimens aged by thermal cycling at 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 thermal cycles were performed. Finally all specimens were tested to obtain electrical breakdown voltages. In this paper we present the data and electrical degradation analysis results obtained during this program.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1258-1266
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• 2005

The present study was carried out in order to assess the protective effects of calycosin-7-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside, isolated from Astragali radix (AR), on hyaluronidase (HAase) and the recombinant human interleukin-$1\beta$ (IL-$1\beta$)-induced matrix degradation in human articular cartilage and chondrocytes. We isolated the active component from the n-butanol soluble fraction of AR (ARBu) as the HAase inhibitor and structurally identified as calycosin-7-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside by LC-MS, IR, ${1}^H$ NMR, and ${13}^C$ NMR analyses. The $IC_{50}$ of this component on HAase was found to be 3.7 mg/ml by in vitro agarose plate assay. The protective effect of ARBu on the matrix gene expression of immortalized chondrocyte cell line C28/I2 treated with HAase was investigated using a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and its effect on HAase and IL-$1\beta$-induced matrix degradation in human articular cartilage was determined by a staining method and calculating the amount of degraded glycosaminoglycan (GAG) from the cultured media. Pretreatment with calycosin-7-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside effectively protected human chondrocytes and articular cartilage from matrix degradation. Therefore, calycosin-7-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside from AR appears to be a potential natural ant-inflammatory or antii-osteoarthritis agent and can be effectively used to protect from proteoglycan (PG) degradation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.9
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• pp.487-488
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• 2015

The ubiquitin-proteasome system and the autophagy lysosome system are the two major protein degradation machineries in eukaryotic cells. These two systems coordinate the removal of unwanted intracellular materials, but the mechanism by which they achieve this synchronization is largely unknown. The ubiquitination of substrates serves as a universal degradation signal for both systems. Our study revealed that the amino-terminal Arg, a canonical N-degron in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, also acts as a degradation signal in autophagy. We showed that many ER residents, such as BiP, contain evolutionally conserved arginylation permissive pro-N-degrons, and that certain inducers like dsDNA or proteasome inhibitors cause their translocation into the cytoplasm where they bind misfolded proteins and undergo amino-terminal arginylation by arginyl transferase 1 (ATE1). The amino-terminal Arg of BiP binds p62, which triggers p62 oligomerization and enhances p62-LC3 interaction, thereby stimulating autophagic delivery and degradation of misfolded proteins, promoting cell survival. This study reveals a novel ubiquitin-independent mechanism for the selective autophagy pathway, and provides an insight into how these two major protein degradation pathways communicate in cells to dispose the unwanted proteins. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(9): 487-488]

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.71-81
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• 1996

Direct Sky Blue-5B is an Azo dye known as general for staining of textile and leather, etc., and as materials which are difficult to be biodegraded in nature. The bacterium strain which could degrade direct Sky Blue-5B was isolated from activated sludge of dyeing factory and identified as Proteus sp. by experiment on morphological, cultural and biochemical characteristics, and so named Proteus sp. ST-1. The optimum condition of the strain for degradation of Sky Blue-5B were at about 35$^{\circ}C$ and PH 7~8. The strain had been capable of degradation with organic nitrogen effectively and had completely degraded 200mg/1 of the dye within 12hrs at 37$^{\circ}C$. The enzyme system related to degradation of Azo dye may be intracellular, and so degraded the dye after absorption into cell. The degradation products of Sky Blue-5B by Proton sp. 57-1 were analyzed by Gas Chromatography /Mass Spectrometry and Spectrophotomer, from this observation, it may be infered that the strain degraded the dye directly without any mediate.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.665-670
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• 2016

This study deals with the possible degradation of toluene and acetic acid when subjected to cell-free enzyme system from the toluene degrading bacteria Pseudomonas putida and acetic acid degrading bacteria Cupriavidus necator. P. putida produces toluene dioxygenase only under the existence of toluene in culture medium and toluene is degraded to cis-toluene dihydrodiol by this enzyme. C. necator produces acetyl coenzyme A synthetase-1 and converts acetic acid to acetyl CoA in order to synthesize ATP to need for growth or PHA which is biodegradable polymer. In case of toluene degradation, the experiment was conducted before and after production of toluene dioxygenase as this enzyme, produced by P. putida, is an inducible enzyme. Toluene was detected using gas chromatography (GC). Similar amount of toluene was found in control group and before production of toluene dioxygenase (experimental group 1). However, reduction in toluene was detected after the production of toluene dioxygenase (experimental group 2). Acetic acid was detected through application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The results showed the acetic acid peak was not detected in the experimental group to apply cell-free enzyme system. These results show that the cell-free enzyme system obtained from P. putida and C. necator retained the ability to degrade toluene and acetic acid. However, P. putida needs to produce the inducible enzyme before preparation of the cell-free enzyme system.

• Clean Technology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2008

There have been great attentions on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) due to their advantageous characteristics such as zero emission of hazardous pollutant and high energy density. In this work, we evaluated degradation phenomena and stability of single cell performance via one dimensional single cell modeling. Here, CO poisoning on anode on anode was considered for cell performance degradation. Modeling results showed that the performance and stability were highly degraded with CO concentration in fuel gas. In addition, cell performance was reduced by slow oxygen reduction on cathode in long term operation. In order to overcome, it is required to increase ratio o#hydrogen in the fuel gas of anode and high Pt loading contained in the cathodic catalyst layer.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.110-113
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• 2005

Under the condition of nutritional deprivation, actively growing cells prepare to enter $G_0$-like stationary phase. Protein modification by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation or ubiqutination contributes to transfer cells from active cell cycle to dormant stage. We show here that Psp1/Sds23, which functions in association with the 20S cyclosome/APC (1) and is essential for cell cycle progression in Schizosaccharomyces pombe (2), is phosphorylated by stress-activated MAP kinase Sty1 and protein kinase A, as well as Cdc2/cyclinB, upon entry into stationary phase. Three serines at the positions 18,333 and 391 are phosphorylated and overexpression of Psp1 mutated on these sites causes cell death in stationary phase. These modifications are required for the binding of Spufd2, a S.pombe homolog of multiubiquitin chain assembly factor E4 in ubiquitin fusion degradation pathway. Deletion of Spufd2 gene led to increase cell viability in stationary phase, indicating that S. pombe Ufd2 functions to inhibit cell growth at this stage to maintain cell viability. Moreover, Psp1 enhances the multiubiquitination function of Ufd2, suggesting that Psp1 phosphorylated by sty1 and PKA kinases is associated with the Ufd2-dependent protein degradation pathway, which is linked to stress tolerance, to maintain cell viability in the $G_0$-like stationary phase.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2004

A 12-cell PEMFC stack was fabricated using the TiN-coated 316 stainless steel bipolar plates as substitute for the expensive and brittle graphite bipolar plates. Open cirtuit voltage and the maximum power of the stack was 12.08 V and 1.197 kW (199.5 A @ 6 V), respectively. Volumetric and gravimetric power density of the stack was calculated to be 373 W/L and 168 W/kg, respectively. Performance of each cell was quite uniform initially while degraded at a singnificantly different rate. During the 1,000 hr-operation at a constant load of 48 A, stack voltage decreased from 9.0 to 7.98 V at a degradation rate of 11 %/1,000 hr. However, degradation rate of each cell was in the wide rage from 1.2 to 31 %/1,000 hr.