• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.552-562
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• 2020

Background: Ginsenosides are the unique and bioactive components in ginseng. Ginsenosides are affected by the growing environment and conditions. In New Zealand (NZ), Panax ginseng Meyer (P. ginseng) is grown as a secondary crop under a pine tree canopy with an open-field forest environment. There is no thorough analysis reported about NZ-grown ginseng. Methods: Ginsenosides from NZ-grown P. ginseng in different parts (main root, fine root, rhizome, stem, and leaf) with different ages (6, 12, 13, and 14 years) were extracted by ultrasonic extraction and characterized by Liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Twenty-one ginsenosides in these samples were accurately quantified and relatively quantified with 13 ginsenoside standards. Results: All compounds were separated in 40 min, and a total of 102 ginsenosides were identified by matching MS spectra data with 23 standard references or published known ginsenosides from P. ginseng. The quantitative results showed that the total content of ginsenosides in various parts of P. ginseng varied, which was not obviously dependent on age. In the underground parts, the 13-year-old ginseng root contained more abundant ginsenosides among tested ginseng samples, whereas in the aboveground parts, the greatest amount of ginsenosides was from the 14-year-old sample. In addition, the amount of ginsenosides is higher in the leaf and fine root and much lower in the stem than in the other parts of P. ginseng. Conclusion: This study provides the first-ever comprehensive report on NZ-grown wild simulated P. ginseng.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.506-510
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• 2018

Nitrogen is a serious contaminant in natural gas because it decreases the energy density. The natural gas specification in South Korea requires a $N_2$ content of less than 1 mol%. Thus, cost-effective $N_2$ removal technology from natural gas is necessary, but until now the only option has been energy-intensive processes, e.g., cryogenic distillation. Using porous materials for the removal process would be beneficial for an efficient separation of $CH_4/N_2$ mixtures, but this still remains one of the challenges in modern separation technology due to the very similar size of the components. Among various porous materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) present a promising candidate for the potential $CH_4/N_2$ separation material due to their unique structural flexibility. A MIL-53(Al), the most well-known flexible metal-organic framework, creates dynamic changes with closed pore (cp) transitions to open pores (ops), also called the 'breathing' phenomenon. We demonstrate the separation performance of $CH_4/N_2$ mixtures of MIL-53(Al) and its derivative $MIL-53-NH_2$. The $CH_4/N_2$ selectivity of $MIL-53-NH_2$ is higher than pristine MIL-53(Al), suggesting a stronger $CH_4$ interaction with $NH_2$.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.1057-1062
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• 1997

In the course of searching for anticancer agents from 32 mushrooms, it was found that methanol extract of Lycoperdon perlatum showed inhibitory effect on topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage. This active methanol extract was sequentially fractionated with hexane, chloroform, n-buthanol and water. Among the solvent-fractionated extracts, $1\;{\mu}g/mL$ hexane fraction of L. perlatum inhibited on topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage. The effect of hexane fraction of L. perlatum was dose- and reaction time-dependent. The hexane fraction of L. perlatum was found to have inhibitory activity on relaxation assay of DNA topoisomerase I. The hexane fraction of cultured L. perlatum, however, had no inhibitory effect on either type of topoisomerase.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.742-753
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• 2012

Copper-containing compounds are introduced into the environment through agricultural chemicals, mining, and metal industries and cause severe detrimental effects on ecosystems. Certain microorganisms exposed to these stressors exhibit molecular mechanisms to maintain intracellular copper homeostasis and avoid toxicity. We have previously reported that the soil bacterial isolate Achromobacter sp. AO22 is multi-heavy metal tolerant and exhibits a mer operon associated with a Tn21 type transposon. The present study reports that AO22 also hosts a unique cop locus encoding copper homeostasis determinants. The putative cop genes were amplified from the strain AO22 using degenerate primers based on reported cop and pco sequences, and a constructed 10,552 base pair contig (GenBank Accession No. GU929214). BLAST analyses of the sequence revealed a unique cop locus of 10 complete open reading frames, designated copSRABGOFCDK, with unusual separation of copCD from copAB. The promoter areas exhibit two putative cop boxes, and copRS appear to be transcribed divergently from other genes. The putative protein CopA may be a copper oxidase involved in export to the periplasm, CopB is likely extracytoplasmic, CopC may be periplasmic, CopD is cytoplasmic/inner membrane, CopF is a P-type ATPase, and CopG, CopO, and CopK are likely copper chaperones. CopA, B, C, and D exhibit several potential copper ligands and CopS and CopR exhibit features of two-component regulatory systems. Sequences flanking indicate the AO22 cop locus may be present within a genomic island. Achromobacter sp. strain AO22 is thus an ideal candidate for understanding copper homeostasis mechanisms and exploiting them for copper biosensor or biosorption systems.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1403-1414
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• 2010

Aspergillus awamori BTMFW032, isolated from sea water, produced tannase as an extracellular enzyme under submerged culture conditions. Enzymes with a specific activity of 2,761.89 IU/mg protein, a final yield of 0.51%, and a purification fold of 6.32 were obtained after purification through to homogeneity, by ultrafiltration and gel filtration. SDS-PAGE analyses, under nonreducing and reducing conditions, yielded a single band of 230 kDa and 37.8 kDa, respectively, indicating the presence of six identical monomers. A pI of 4.4 and a carbohydrate content of 8.02% were observed in the enzyme. The optimal temperature was found to be $30^{\circ}C$, although the enzyme was active in the range of $5-80^{\circ}C$. Two pH optima, pH 2 and pH 8, were recorded, although the enzyme was instable at a pH of 8, but stable at a pH of 2.0 for 24 h. Methylgallate recorded maximal affinity, and $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ were recorded at $1.9{\times}10^{-3}$M and 830 ${\mu}Mol$/min, respectively. The impacts of a number of metal salts, solvents, surfactants, and other typical enzyme inhibitors on tannase activity were determined in order to establish the novel characteristics of the enzyme. The gene encoding tannase, isolated from A. awamori, was found to be 1.232 kb, and nucleic acid sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame consisting of 1,122 bp (374 amino acids) of one stretch in the -1 strand. In silico analyses of gene sequences, and a comparison with reported sequences of other species of Aspergillus, indicate that the acidophilic tannase from marine A. awamori differs from that of other reported species.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1653-1663
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• 2010

The first gene (${\alpha}$-gal1) encoding an extracellular ${\alpha}$-Dgalactosidase from the thermophilic fungus Talaromyces emersonii was cloned and characterized. The ${\alpha}$-gal1 gene consisted of an open reading frame of 1,792 base pairs interrupted by six introns that encoded a mature protein of 452 amino acids, including a 24 amino acid secretory signal sequence. The translated protein had highest identity with other fungal ${\alpha}$-galactosidases belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 27. The ${\alpha}$-gal1 gene was overexpressed as a secretory protein with an N-terminal histidine tag in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. Recombinant ${\alpha}$-Gal1 was secreted into the culture medium as a monomeric glycoprotein with a maximal yield of 10.75 mg/l and purified to homogeneity using Hisbinding nickel-agarose affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme was maximally active at $70^{\circ}C$, pH 4.5, and lost no activity over 10 days at $50^{\circ}C$. ${\alpha}$-Gal1 followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics ($V_{max}\;of\;240.3{\mu}M/min/mg,\;K_m\;of\;0.294 mM$) and was inhibited competitively by galactose ($K_m{^{obs}}$ of 0.57 mM, $K_i$ of 2.77 mM). The recombinant T. emersonii ${\alpha}$-galactosidase displayed broad substrate preference, being active on both oligo- and polymeric substrates, yet had strict specificity for the ${\alpha}$-galactosidic linkage. Owing to its substrate preference and noteworthy stability, ${\alpha}$-Gal1 is of particular interest for possible biotechnological applications involving the processing of plant materials.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.195-205
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet education program tailored to Korean adults and to examine the effect of the DASH diet education program on bone mineral density in middle aged women. Methods: The subjects of this study were 26 middle aged women, pre and post menopause, who attend a church located in Kyung-In district. The DASH group I (n=13) was provided with the DASH diet education program only, while the DASH group II (n=13) was provided with DASH diet education program along with calcium supplements (1 g/day). The DASH diet education program included one lecture on DASH diet, one face to face counseling, and five telephone counseling sessions during the 8 weeks period. Results: The knowledge and subjective compliance level of DASH diet increased significantly in both groups, at 4 and 8 weeks after the intervention. The level of objective compliance of DASH diet in both groups increased over the study period, but it was not significant as compared to those of the baseline. Bone mineral density of both groups decreased at 8weeks as compared to the baseline after the intervention. Conclusion: Although 8weeks of DASH diet education program increased the knowledge and compliance of DASH diet, it was not effective to bring the changes in bone mineral density among the middle aged women.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.551-566
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• 2013

This study aims to evaluate the industrial cluster policy implemented in Korea during the last decade or so, examine whether it can still be a valid policy measure in the creative economy regime, and propose policy directions for the future. It is evaluated that the cluster policy has contributed to increasing productivity by improving networks between companies, universities and research centers and thus strengthening innovation infrastructure. The policy, however, by its characteristics of government-domination, failed to develop open-ended and flexible spontaneous clusters. Industrial clusters have the capability to contribute to the virtuous circle of creative economy by enhancing creativity and innovativeness, and subsequently by increasing value-added. In order to maximize these positive effects, a few suggestions are made, including being faithful to the very nature of clusters, e.g. geographical proximity and connectedness, intending clusters with creativity well maintained, orienting toward multi-scalar clusters with a mixture of local and global perspectives, and matching regional and industrial policies with regards to clusters.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.75-83
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• 2014

Suction bucket foundation is installed with the differential pressure created by pumping water out of bucket. Bucket foundation has usually been utilized in mooring anchor for offshore platform or floating oil and gas production facilities in the open sea. After suction bucket foundation successfully was applied as the foundation for offshore wind turbines in Europe, it recently attracts much attention in Korea, too. To estimate the penetration resistance of the suction bucket foundation is one of the important matters that should be considered during its installation. This study carried out a series of model tests to investigate the penetration resistance of suction bucket foundation. And the mobilized soil strength factor was reviewed through comparing the experimental results by two installation ways (e.g., push-in-load and suction) and the results calculated by the conventional equation.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2010

The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of air-borne microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, gram negative bacteria (GNB), endotoxins, and respirable suspended particles (RSPs), and their correlation with environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels) in duck houses. The mean concentrations of bacteria, fungi, and GNB were very high (> $10^6\;CFU/m^3$), and endotoxin levels exceeded $10^3\;EU/m^3$. Among the various work stages, in the task of receiving ducks, bacteria were $6.2{\times}10^6;CFU/m^3$, and GNB were $5.4{\times}10^6\;CFU/m^3$, while RSPs levels were $397.6\;{\mu}g/m^3$ and endotoxin levels were $47.2{\times}10^3\;EU/m^3$ in the task of dividing the ducks, and fungi were $4.9{\times}10^6\;CFU/m^3$ in the task of shipping the ducks. The concentrations of RSPs and endotoxins were significantly higher in tasks involving greater movement of ducks in the house, relative to tasks involving little movement of ducks (p<0.05). Further, with progression in growth of the ducks, the concentrations of bacteria, GNB, endotoxins, and RSPs were significantly increased. There was significant correlation between levels of GNB with bacteria (r=0.75) and fungi (r=0.86), endotoxins with RSPs (r=0.75), bacteria with fungi (r=0.39), and carbon dioxide with RSPs (r=0.38), bacteria (r=0.33), and endotoxins (r=0.31). These results suggest considerable respiratory hazard for farmers in these environments.