• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.469-477
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• 2021

Safe storage of spent nuclear fuel in deep underground repositories necessitates an understanding of the long-term alteration of metal canisters and buffer materials. A small-scale laboratory alteration test was performed on metal (Cu or Fe) chips embedded in compacted bentonite blocks placed in anaerobic water for 1 year. Lactate, sulfate, and bacteria were separately added to the water to promote biochemical reactions in the system. The bentonite blocks immersed in the water were dismantled after 1 year, showing that their alteration was insignificant. However, the Cu chip exhibited some microscopic etch pits on its surface, wherein a slight sulfur component was detected. Overall, the Fe chip was more corroded than the Cu chip under the same conditions. The secondary phase of the Fe chip was locally found as carbonate materials, such as siderite (FeCO₃) and calcite ((Ca, Fe)CO₃). These secondary products can imply that the local carbonate occurrence on the Fe chip may be initiated and developed by an evolution (alteration) of bentonite and a diffusive provision of biogenic CO₂ gas. These laboratory scale results suggest that the actual long-term alteration of metal canisters/bentonite blocks in the engineered barrier could be possible by microbial activities.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.292-299
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• 2013

In this study, we analyzed the changes in fungal populations of red-pepper fields employing eco-friendly farming methods, such as microbial agents and crop rotation, by using polymerase chain reactions coupled with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Primer specific for fungi were used to determine the contribution of domains to the microbial community. Analysis of planted and non-planted soil samples applying PCR-DGGE technology offered evaluation of long-term patterns in fungal species richness. To evaluate the stability of DGGE patterns from different soils, comparison of planted and non-planted soil samples were compared using PCR-DGGE. The number of DNA fragments obtained from all planted soil samples by DGGE separation was far greater (14 to 15 bands) than that of the non-planted soil samples (3 to 4 bands). In addition, 14 bands were observed from crop continuation soil treated with agrochemicals and 18 bands from crop rotation soil treated with microbial agents. The PCR-DGGE analysis suggests that the use of crop rotation and microbial agents benefits the fungal community more than crop continuation using agrochemicals. These results indicate that crop rotation with microbial agents was better able to support beneficial organisms, enable more effective biological control and maintain a healthier balance of nutrients, organic matter and microorganisms.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.408-413
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• 2006

A strain, P821, with phospholipase D activity was isolated from soil and identified as a Streptomyces species. The phospholipase D enzyme was purified from a culture broth of the isolated strain using ammonium sulfate precipitation and DEAE-Sepharose, phenyl-Sepharose, and Superose 12 HR column chromatographies. The purified enzyme exhibited an optimum temperature and pH of $55^{\circ}C$ and 6.0, respectively, in the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine and remained stable up to $60^{\circ}C$ within a pH range of 3.5-8.0. The enzyme also catalyzed a transphosphatidylation reaction to produce phosphatidylserine with phosphatidylcholine and serine substrates. The optimum conditions for the transphosphatidylation were $30^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.0, indicating quite different optimum conditions for the hydrolysis and transphosphatidylation reactions. The gene encoding the enzyme was cloned by Southern hybridization and colony hybridization using a DNA probe designed from the conserved regions of other known phospholipase D enzymes. The resulting amino acid sequence was most similar to that of the PLD enzyme from Streptomyces halstedii (89.5%). Therefore, the enzyme was confirmed to be a phospholipase D with potential use in the production of phosphatidylserine.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.43-50
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• 2005

Wetlands can transform or remove pollutants from water body, such as nitrogen, phosphate, and organics. Many researches were conducted in relation to uptake process by aquatic plants in wetlands. However, water purification processes in wetlands are the results of physical, chemical and biological, especially microbiological reactions. As such, understanding on microbial processes is of great importance. In this study, we used pondor marsh-type wetland microcosms for investigating the water purification capacity and microbial functions, namely, extracellular enzyme activities, nitrification and denitrification. In a pond system, removal efficiencies of $NO_3{^-}$ and $PO{_4}^{3-}$ were 96% and 100 % respectively, while those in a marsh system were 94%, 100% respectively. These high removal efficiencies appeared to be caused by high adsorption ability to soils and microbial functions in wetland.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.184-188
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• 1996

The Acinetobacter sp. BE-254 isolated from soil sources produced a bioemulsifier in the medium supplemented with n-hexadecane. This bioemulsifier was purified by the procedures of fractionation (ammonium sulfate and chilled acetone), extraction by hexane, and column chromatography on silica gel 60. The results from various color reactions indicated that the bioemulsifier was a glycolipid. The purified emulsifier was very stable at pHs ranging from 4 to 10 and under heat treatment at $100^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. Emulsification activity was also hardly influenced by pH. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) and surface tension at the point ($\gamma_{cmc}$) of the bioemulsifier were approximately 35 mg/l and 30 mN/m, respectively. The bioemulsifier showed a fairly good emulsification activity and stability in comparison with other commercial emulsifiers in the basic formula composed of emulsifier, oil, and water.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.36-40
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• 1996

For the production of cis, cis-muconic acid via biocatalytic conversion reactions from a toxic cosubstrate, benzoic acid, a fed-batch process using computer-controlled DO-stat feeding was developed. The mutant strain of Pseudomonas putida BM014 produced cis, cis-muconic acid from benzoic acid with high conversion yield. More than 32 g/L of cis, cis-muconic acid was accumulated in 42h and a productivity of 1.4g/(L.h)was achieved.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.85-94
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• 1994

Lipase (triacylglycerol hydrolase, EC 3.1.1.3) is able to catalyze the hydrolysis of ester bonds of triacylglycerols at the interface between aqueous phase and organic phase containing substrate. With the rapid development of lipid biotechnology, lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of lipids has a great concern from the industrial point of view. Owing to the reversible nature of the lipase, the reactions are also applied for glyceride synthesis, interesterification and resolution of racemic mixtures into optically active alcohols or acids. For all applications of the lipases, a reliable method for the determination of enzyme activity is required. Precise quantitative determination of its activity is essential as the basis of research and development of the bioprocess involving the enzyme. This article reviews the existing literature on the detection and determination of lipase activity from microbial, mammalian and plant sources.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.52-62
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• 2013

The interaction of titanium (IV), yttrium (III), zirconium (IV), palladium (II) and cerium (IV) with deprotonated enrofloxacin leads to the formation of the neutral or cationic mononuclear complexes. The isolated solid complexes have been characterized with physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques and thermogravimeteric analyses. The spectroscopic data indicate that the enrofloxacin ligand is on the deprotonated mode acting as bidentate ligand coordinated to the metal ions through the ketone oxygen and a carboxylato oxygen and the metal ions completed the coordination number with water molecules. The thermal decomposition mechanisms proposed for enrofloxacin and their metal complexes were discussed. The activation energies, $E^*$, enthalpies, ${\Delta}H^*$, entropies, ${\Delta}S^*$ and Gibbs free energies, ${\Delta}G^*$, of the thermal decomposition reactions have been derived from thermogravimetric (TG) and differential thermogravimetric (DTG) curves, using Coats-Redfern (CR) and Horowitz-Metzeger (HM) methods. The antimicrobial activity has been evaluated against six different microorganisms.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1629-1633
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• 2006

Ginsenosides have been regarded as the principal components responsible for the pharmacological and biological activities of ginseng. The transformation of ginsenosides with live lactic acid bacteria transformed ginsenosides Rb2 and Rc into Rd, but the reactions were slow. When the crude enzymes obtained from several lactic acid bacteria were used for transformation, those from Bifidobacterium sp. Int57 exhibited the most potent transforming activity of ginsenosides to compound K. In comparison, a relatively higher level of Rh2 was produced by the enzymes from Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. These results suggest that it is feasible to develop a specific bioconversion process to obtain specific ginsenosides using the appropriate combination of ginsenoside substrates and specific microbial enzymes.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.27-36
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• 2017

Today, the food packaging industry has a great interest in using active packaging to fresh food product as a solution for the future to positively provide its quality, safety and shelf life. Many researches have extensively studied functional packaging strategies in recently years. Controlled release packaging (CRP) is an innovative packaging technology in the packaging polymer matrix from which can active agents are delivered in a controlled way into the product. CRP technology is well-suited for controlling release of antimicrobial compounds and antioxidants to prevent food degradation reactions such as microbial growth and lipid oxidation. Advances in CRP technology allow food packaging manufacturers to challenge the development of better functional food packaging systems. This overview examines the most recent developments and technologies of active packaging for applying the food industry. The scope of this article has mainly been focused on controlled releasing systems.