• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 2013

PURPOSES: To characterize the aging effect on asphalt binder, dynamic shear modulus mastercurve of two typical asphalt binders are developed. METHODS: To develop dynamic shear modulus mastercurve, dynamic shear modulus at high temperature and creep stiffness at low temperature are measured by temperature sweep test and bending beam rheometer test, respectively. RESULTS: It is observed that the aging effect on asphalt binder can be clearly observed from dynamic shear modulus mastercurve and the mastercurve can be utilized to predict behavior of asphalt binder at wide range of temperature. CONCLUSIONS: It is confirmed that SBS 5% modified binder has more desirable mechanical property at low and high temperature as a pavement material comparing to PG64-22 binder and the mastercurve is an effective tool to evaluate the property of asphalt binder.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1147-1149
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• 1996

The trans (2a)-cis (2b) isomerization of [Me2Al(μ-NHtBu)]2 (2) has been studied by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The equilibrium has been observed to follow reversible first order kinetics with ΔH0=2.22±0.07 kJmol-1 and ΔS0=2.85±0.07 JK-1mol-1. The activation parameters for the conversion 2a→2b are ΔH1=49.7±2.3 kJmol-1 and ΔS1=-126.3±0.2 JK-1mo1-1 and for the reverse reaction 2b→2a are ΔH-1=47.5±2.3 kJmol-1 and ΔS-1=-129.1±0.5 JK-1mol-1. The isomerization is markedly accelerated in the presence of Lewis bases. A crossover experiment indicates that the isomer interconversion is a unimolecular process. The large negative entropies of activation suggest either the existence of a sterically congested intermediate or the participation of solvent in the isomerization process.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.308-313
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• 1998

A thermally irreversible photochromic system, 2,3-bis(2,4,5-trimethyl-3-thienyl)maleic anhydride (MTMA), has been studied by semi-empirical molecular orbital methods. There are one pair of stable conformations for the closed-ring form and three pairs for the open-ring form, each pair consisting of two mirror-image conformations. Interconversion between the parallel and anti-parallel conformations of the open-ring form is restricted due to high energy barriers. Only the anti-parallel conformation appears to be responsible for photochromic cyclization. Thermostability of the compound is attributed to an avoided crossing at high energy in the ground states of the isomers, whereas the photoreactivity can be explained by the mutually connected excited singlet (S1) states of the isomers, forming a double well potential with a low energy barrier. The large solvent effects can be partly explained with the low dipole moment of the anti-parallel conformation of MTMA in the S1 state. The large variation of quantum efficiency suggests that excess vibronic energy can be utilized to provide the activation energy for the photochromic reaction.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.215-220
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• 2004

A variety of solid bases such as inorganic bases, basic anion exchange resins, and resin-bound bases were tested as a catalyst for racemization of (S)-naproxen 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl thioester in isooctane at 45$^{\circ}C$. Among the various bases, DIAIOM WA30, which is a weakly basic anion exchange resin with a tertiary amine based on a highly porous type styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer, showed the highest catalytic activity. The second-order interconversion constant of DIAION WA30 was 8.6${\times}$10$\^$-4/ mM$\^$-1/h$\^$-1/ and about 3 times higher than that of trioctylamine under the same conditions. The rate of DIAION WA30-catalyzed racemization decreased with increasing an amount of water added to the reaction medium. Lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution of racemic naproxen 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl thioester was successfully carried out under in situ racemization of substrate with DIAION WA30 in isooctane at 45$^{\circ}C$. More than 60% conversion and 99% enantiomeric excess for the desired (S)-naproxen product were obtained. Furthermore, such a solid base catalyst could be easily separated and reused in contrast to trioctylamine.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.419-426
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• 2010

Aeromonas hydrophila is a bacterial pathogen that infects a large number of eukaryotes, including humans. The UDP-galactose 4'-epimerase (GalE) catalyzes interconversion of UDP-galactose to UDP-glucose and plays a key role in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. This makes it an important virulence determinant, and therefore a potential drug target. Our earlier studies revealed that unlike other GalEs, GalE of A. hydrophila exists as a monomer. This uniqueness necessitated elucidation of its structure and active site. Chemical modification of the 6xHis-rGalE demonstrated the role of histidine residue in catalysis and that it did not constitute the substrate binding pocket. Loss of the 6xHis-rGalE activity and coenzyme fluorescence with thiol modifying reagents established the role of two distinct vicinal thiols in catalysis. Chemical modification studies revealed arginine to be essential for catalysis. Site-directed mutagenesis indicated Tyr149 and Lys153 to be involved in catalysis. Use of glycerol as a cosolvent enhanced the GalE thermostability significantly.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.268-274
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• 2016

Filariasis causing nematode Brugia malayi is shown to harbor wolbachia bacteria as symbionts. The sequenced genome of the wolbachia endosymbiont from B.malayi (wBm) offers an unprecedented opportunity to identify new wolbachia drug targets. Hence the enzyme carbonic anhydrase from wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi (wBm) which is responsible for the reversible interconversion of carbon dioxide and water to bicarbonate and protons (or vice versa) is chosen as the drug target for filariasis. This enzyme is thought to play critical functions in bacteria by involving in various steps of their life cycle which are important for survival, The 3D structure of wBm carbonic anhydrase is predicted by selecting a suitable template using the similarity search tool, BLAST. The BLAST results shows a hexapeptide transferase family protein from Anaplasma phagocytophilum (PDB ID: 3IXC) having 77% similarity and 54% identity with wBm carbonic anhydrase. Hence the above enzyme is chosen as the template and the 3D structure of carbonic anhydrase is predicted by the tool Modeller9v7. Since the three dimensional structure of carbonic anhydrase from wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi has not yet solved, attempts were made to predict this protein. The predicted structure is validated and also molecular docking studies are carried out with the suitable inhibitors that have been solved experimentally.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.504-509
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• 2014

Twenty-five stations of the urban monitoring network in Seoul were assessed with a focus on surveillance function of the exceedances of 8-hour ozone and 24-hour $PM_{10}$ standards. The two standards were selected because their attainment rates were particularly low. Two hierarchical cluster analyses were performed to group stations with similar atmospheric environments-one using daily highest 8-hour [$O_3+NO_2$], 8-hour $O_3$ concentrations plus corresponding 8-hour $NO_2$ concentrations considering the interconversion of $O_3$ and $NO_2$, and the other using 24-hour $PM_{10}$ concentrations. An index to measure higher concentration and exceedances of the standards was introduced. Within a cluster, sufficiently high score was assigned to the trends station or the station with higher index. Scores for $O_3+NO_2$ and $PM_{10}$ of a given station were added and ranked in the descending order to determine the relative importance.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.826-828
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• 2002

In our previous studies, we have cloned and characterized a gene region from Bradyrhizobium japonicum ,which is involved in the synthesis of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In this study, we have expanded the sequence analysis of the region and found an additional open reading frame (orf), which appeared to be divergently transcribed from the rfaF gene. Sequence alignment of the orf revealed a significant similarity with rfaD genes of Salmonella typhimurium , Escherichia coli, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These genes encode a heptose-6-epimerase, which catalyzes the interconversion of ADP -D -glycerol-D-manno-heptose to ADP-L-glycero-D-manno-heptose. This divergent organization of the rfaF and rfaD genes is different from that of other Gram-negative bacteria where two genes form an operon. A rfaD- mutant of E. coli was successfully transformed with plasmid constructs containing the rfaD gene of B. japonicum. Novobiocin sensitivity test showed that the rfaD gene from B. japonicum could complement the rfaD mutation in E. coli, which confirms the functionality of the cloned B. japonicum gene.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.361-364
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• 2012

The mature cyst of Acanthamoeba is highly resistant to various antibiotics and therapeutic agents. Cyst wall of Acanthamoeba are composed of cellulose, acid-resistant proteins, lipids, and unidentified materials. Because cellulose is one of the primary components of the inner cyst wall, cellulose synthesis is essential to the process of cyst formation in Acanthamoeba. In this study, we hypothesized the key and short-step process in synthesis of cellulose from glycogen in encysting Acanthamoeba castellanii, and confirmed it by comparing the expression pattern of enzymes involving glycogenolysis and cellulose synthesis. The genes of 3 enzymes, glycogen phosphorylase, UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, and cellulose synthase, which are involved in the cellulose synthesis, were expressed high at the 1st and 2nd day of encystation. However, the phosphoglucomutase that facilitates the interconversion of glucose 1-phosphate and glucose 6-phosphate expressed low during encystation. This report identified the short-cut pathway of cellulose synthesis required for construction of the cyst wall during the encystation process in Acanthamoeba. This study provides important information to understand cyst wall formation in encysting Acanthamoeba.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 1998

Changes of chlorophyll fluorescence and xanthophyll cycle pigment contents in maize leaves were investigated dunng desiccation in darkness or in the light. In darkness, a drastic dehydration of detached maize leaves down to 50% relative water content (RWC) affected photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and pht)tochemical quenching (qP) only slightly. In contrast, desiccation in the light with a moderate intensity led to a pronounced reduction in Fv/Fm with a Fo quenching when RWC was greater than 70%. This reduction in Fv/Fm could be recovered in darkness under hutrod condition. In leaves with RWC below 70%, significant reduction in Fv/Fm was accompanied by an increase of Fo, which could not be reversed within 5 h in darkness under humid condition. The nonphotochemical quenching increased during desiccation in the light with a concomitant rise in zeaxanthin at the expense of violaxanthin. Pretreatment with dithiothreitol (DTT), an inhibitor of zeaxanthin synthesis, inhibited the development of nonphotochemical quenching and prevented the xanthophyll interconversion during desiccation in the light. These results suggest that even light with a moderate intensity becomes excessive under dehydration and zeaxanthin-associated photoprotection of photosynthetic apparatus against photodamage is involved, but the protection is not complete against severe desiccation.