• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.82-87
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• 2018

Proliferation of algae on the surface of concrete or mortar in aquatic habitat has a negative impact on maintenance of concrete-based structures. Growth of algae may decrease stability of structure by bio-deterioration. In this study, we developed a functional mortar for restraining bio-deterioration by using $Cu^{2+}$ ion. The mortar contains soluble glass beads made of $Cu^{2+}$ ion, which can dissolve into water slowly. Mortars prepared with different ratio of glass beads (0, 2, 5, 10, and 15%) were placed in a culture medium with algae and incubated over a month period. Water chemistry, chlorophyll-a, and extracellular enzyme activities were measured. The incubation was conducted in both freshwater and seawater conditions, to assess applicability to both aquatic conditions. Overall, mortar with Cu glass exhibited lower chlorophyll-a content, suggesting that the functional mortar reduced algal growth. DOC concentration increased because debris of dead algae increased. Cu glass also decreased phosphatase activity, which is involved in the regeneration of inorganic P from organic moieties. Since, P is often a limiting nutrient for algal production, algal growth may be inhibited. Activities of ${\beta}$-glucosidase and N-acetylglucosaminidase were not significantly affected because carbon and nitrogen mineralization may not be influenced by the Cu glass beads. Our study suggests that functional mortar with Cu glass beads may reduce the growth of algae on the surface, while it has little environmental impact.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.238-243
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• 1999

This study was undertaken to test for anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity of the aqueous extracts prepared from 9 medicinal plants of Korea (Cornus officinalis, Caesalpinia sappan, Rubus coreanus, Lycium chinense, Artemisia capillaris, Isatis tinctoria, Phyllanthus urinaria, Lysimachia christinae, Lonicera japonica). Aqueous extracts were tested for cytotoxicity and assayed for inhibition of HBV replication by measurement of HBV DNA and surface antigen (HBsAg) levels in the extracellular medium f HepG2 2.2.15 cells. The extract from Rubus coreanus, Artemisia capillaris, Phyllanthus urinaria decreased the levels of extracellular HBV virion DNA at concentrations ranging from 128 to $256\;{\mu}g/ml$ and inhibited the production fo HBsAg dose-dependently without showing cytotoxicity. Our findings suggest that these three hebal medicinal plants may have potential to develop as specific anti-HBV drugs in the future.

• Mycobiology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.166-172
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• 2003

Chemical analysis of salted fish was analyzed in 60 samples collected from various moloha markets in Sohag, Qena and Aswan Governorates, Upper Egypt. Moloha contained 52.9% water content, while organic matter content represented 71.79% of dry weight and 33.81%($338.12{\pm}8.64mg\;g^{-1}$) of fresh weight. Total salts and soluble salts represented 13.29% and 10.19%($132.88{\pm}7.65\;and\;101.93{\pm}5.76mg\;g^{-1}$ of fresh weight), respectively. pH values were more or less neutral. Mycological investigation of examined samples revealed that fifty-five fungal species and one variety belonging to 11 genera were identified. The fungal genera of highest occurrence and their respective number of species were Aspergillus(A. flavus, A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. montevidensis, A. ficuum, A. parasiticus and A. mangini) and Penicillium(P. citrinum, P. puberulum, P. aurantiogriseum and P. roquefortii). On the other hand, yeast represented 18.2% and 3.0% of total counts of fungi on Czapeks-dextrose agar and 15%NaCl-Czapeks-dextrose agar media, respectively. Samples were assayed for potential presence of mycotoxins. Ten out of 60 samples(16.7%) were proved to be toxic. It is the first record of mycotoxins contamination of salted fish in Egypt. The ability of 340 isolates of recovered fungi was screened for production of mycotoxins and extracellular enzymes.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.439-447
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• 1997

A specific disease syndrome, which led to massive mortality on the Korean mandarin fish fingerling (Sinperca scherzeri) at Chongpyong Inland Fisheries Institute was atudied. The causetive agent isolated from the diseased fish was identified as Aeromonas hydrophila on the basis of biochemical and physiological characteristics. Infection experiments in the Korean mandarin fish fingerling, weighting 3-4 g with A. hydrophila were conducted by immersion, oral administration, intramuscular injection, and injection of the soluble extracellular products secreted from it. Motality rate was higher virulence in intramuscular injection group than other experimental groups. In injection group of the soluble extracellular products, all fish treated with high concentration ($8{\times}10^9$ cfu/ml) were repidly killed into 3-6 hrs. There results show that the Korea mandarin fish fingerling has high susceptibility to A. hydrophila.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.125-130
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• 2000

To overproduce endoxylanase from a recombinant Bacillus subtilis harboring the pJHKJ4 plasmid, the effects of carbon and nitrogen sources on the cell growth and expression level of endoxylanase were investigated in the flask cultures. Among the various carbon and nitrogen sources tested, glucose and maltose as carbon source and yeast extract as nitrogen source were found to be the most effective for the cell growth and the endoxylanase expression. When the concentration of glucose was increased from 0.5% to 5%, the highest activity of extracellular endoxylanse, 166 unit/$m\ell$, was observed at 2% glucose. In case of maltose, the endoxylanase was stably produced at the level of 180 unit/$m\ell$, regardless of the concentration of maltose. The higher the concentration of yeast extract, the greater cell growth and endoxylanase expression were obtained. However, the highest endoxylanase activity per unit cell mass was observed with 1% yeast extract. With the optimized medium (2% glucose, 1% yeast extract, etc), about 630 unit/$m\ell$ of endoxylanse was expressed through the batch fermentation in a fermentor, which expression level corresponded to about 0.7 g-endoxylanase protein /$\ell$. It was also found that the plasmid was stably maintained above 70% level, and more than 90% of endoxylanase activity was detected in the extracellular medium.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.185-189
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• 1985

Extracellular $\beta$-galactosidase from the culture broth of L. sporogenes was purified to apparent homogeniety by procedures including ammonium sulfate fractionation, Sephadex G-200 gel filtration, DEAE-Sephadex A-50 ion exchange chromatography, and Hydroxyapatite adsorption chromatography. The purifying procedures resulted in 347-fold purification with the overall yield of 39.5％ The purified enzyme had a specific activity(using ONPG as a substrate) of about 1, 585 units per mg protein. The molecular weight of the enzyme protein was estimated to be 140, 000 by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electorphoresis showed that the enzyme consisted of two identical subunits with a molecular weight of 72, 000.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.337-353
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• 2017

Membrane fouling at different solids retention times (SRT) (7, 12 and 20 days) was studied under well-controlled conditions in a laboratory-scale aerobic submerged membrane bioreactor under constant biomass concentration using a synthetic high strength wastewater. An increase in SRT was found to improve membrane performance and this correlated to changes in the total production of bound extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and the composition and properties of bound EPS using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and floc sizes. A larger amount of total bound EPS was found at the lowest SRT (7 days) tested but the ratio of proteins (PN) to carbohydrates (CH) in bound EPS increased with an increase in SRT. Similarly, the quantity of soluble microbial products (SMP) decreased with an increase in SRT and the SMP PN/CH ratio increased with an increase in SRT. SMP concentrations positively correlated to the percentage of membrane pore blocking resistance. The quantity of total bound EPS and total SMP positively corresponded to the membrane fouling rate, while the PN/CH ratio in the bound EPS and SMP negatively correlated to the membrane fouling rate. The results show that both the quantity and composition of bound EPS and SMP and floc sizes are important in controlling membrane fouling.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.677-687
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• 2019

This study evaluated the biosorption properties of calcium ion using Aerobic Granular Sludge (AGS). A sequencing batch reactor was used to induce the production of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) through salinity injection, and the calcium ion adsorption efficiency was analyzed by a batch test. The EPS contents showed significant changes (104-136 mg/g MLVSS) at different salinity concentrations. The calcium ion adsorption efficiency was highest for AGS collected at 5.0% salinity, and it was confirmed that the biosorption efficiency of AGS was increased owing to the increase in EPS content. The results of the Freundlich isotherms showed that the ion binding strength (1/n) was 0.3941-0.7242 and the adsorption capacity ($K_f$) was 2.4082-3.3312. The specific surface area and the pore size of the AGS were $586.1m^2/g$ and 0.7547 nm, respectively, which were not significantly different from each other. It was confirmed that the influence of biological properties, such as EPS content, was relatively large among the factors affecting calcium ion adsorption.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.93-99
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• 2022

Lysosome organelle extract (LOE) was derived from egg whites. The lysosome is an intracellular organelle that contains several hydrolysis enzymes. Previous studies have reported that LOE performs important functions, such as melanin de-colorization and anti-melanin production in B16F10 melanoma cells. However, its principal molecular and cellular mechanisms have not been elucidated till date. In non-cytotoxic conditions, LOE significantly inhibited α-MSH induced melanin synthesis of murine B16F10 cells. The anti-melanogenic activity of LOE was mediated by suppressing the mRNA expression of tyrosinase enzyme, tyrosinase related protein-1/2 (TRP-1/2), and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) genes. By performing western blot analysis, we found that LOE significantly attenuated melanogenesis. In this case, LOE helped in increasing extracellular receptor kinase (ERK) phosphorylation in α-MSH induced B16F10 cells. Furthermore, MITF is found to be a key regulatory transcription factor in melanin synthesis; it was down-regulated by LOE through ERK phosphorylation. In this experiment, PD98059 (MEK inhibitor) was used to check whether LOE directly regulated the activity of ERK. Although LOE exerted inhibitory effect on melanin synthesis, we could not observe this effect in PD98059-treated α-MSH induced B16F10. These results strongly indicate that LOE is related to ERK activation and MITF degradation in anti-skin pigmentation. Hence, LOE should be utilized as a whitening agent of skin in the near future.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.193-201
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• 2022

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) are major causes of hospital- and community-acquired infections. The treatment of biofilm-related infections caused by these bacteria is a global healthcare challenge. Therefore, the development of alternative therapeutics is required. An essential oil extracted from Curcuma zedoaria (CZ) Rosc, also known as white turmeric, has been reported to possess various antimicrobial activities. In the present study, we evaluated the antibiofilm activities of an ethanolic extract of the CZ rhizome against MRSA and MSSA. The results showed that the CZ extract with the highest sub-minimum inhibitory concentration (sub-MIC), 1/2 MIC (0.312 mg/ml), significantly inhibited biofilm production by up to 80-90% in both tested strains. Subsequently, we evaluated the ability of the CZ extract to prevent cell-surface attachment to a 96-well plate and extracellular DNA (eDNA) release from the biofilm. The CZ extract demonstrated an inhibitory effect on bacterial attachment and eDNA release from the biofilm biomass. The CZ extract may inhibit biofilm formation by preventing eDNA release and cell-surface attachment. Therefore, this CZ extract is a potential candidate for the development of alternative treatments for biofilm-associated MRSA and MSSA infections.