• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.221-227
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• 2013

In total, 131 Escherichia coli isolates from surface seawater of the Gomso Bay, of Korea, were analyzed for their susceptibility to 22 different antimicrobials and for genes associated with antimicrobial resistance and virulence. According to the disk diffusion susceptibility test, the resistance to tetracycline was most prevalent (33.6%), followed by that to ampicillin (22.1%), ticarcillin (22.1%), and trimethoprim (16.8%). More than 46.6% of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, and 22.9% were resistant to three or more classes of antimicrobials; these were consequently defined as multidrug resistant. We further found that 29 ampicillin-resistant isolates possessed genes encoding TEM-type (93.1%) and SHV-type (6.9%) ${\beta}$-lactamases. Among the 44 tetracycline-resistant isolates, tetA and tetC were found in 35 (79.5%) and 19 (43.2%), respectively, whereas tetB was detected in only three isolates (6.8%). With regard to virulence genes, merely 0.8% (n = 1) and 2.3% (n = 3) of the isolates were positive for the enteroaggregative E. coli-associated plasmid (pCVD432) gene and the enteropathogenic E. coli-specific attaching and effacing (eae) gene, respectively. Overall, these results not only provide novel insight into the necessity for seawater sanitation in Gomso Bay, but they help reduce the risk of contamination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.160-164
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• 2011

The purpose of this investigation was to extract the bioactive agents from Alpinia officinarum Hance. The methanol with ethylacetate extracts alone and combined were examined for their activities against VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci) and pathogenic yeast in vitro. The incidence of infections caused by VRE and other pathogenic microorganisms and the importance of using novel synergistic drug combinations has become important. Previously, we reported the antimicrobial effects of the butanol extract from Lonicera japonica and have evaluated combinations of solvent extracts, with a focus on the MeOH and EtOAc extracts from A. officinarum. In the present study, enhanced inhibitory effects were achieved by employing a combination of the two solvent extracts. The MeOH and EtOAc combination was especially effective against four VRE strains: E. faecalis (K-10-22), E. faecaium (K-11-212), E. faecalis (K-10-57) and E. faecalis (K-10-361) with MIC values of 12.5, 12.5, 6.25 and 25 ${\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Thus, the combination was more effective than other antibiotics such as kanamycin, gentamicin or tetracycline against bacteria including E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Micrococcus luteus. In addition, the combination was effective against yeasts such as Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis and Cryptococcus neoformans.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.30-33
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• 2003

The chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, and its hypovirus aye a useful model system in the study of the mechanisms of hypoviral infection and its consequences, such as a biological control of fungal pathogens. Strains containing the double-stranded (ds) RNA viruses Cryphonectria hypovirus 1 show characteristic symptoms of hypovirulence and display hypovirulence-associated changes, such as reduced pigmentation, sporulation, laccase production, and oxalate accumulation. Interestingly, symptoms caused by hypoviral infection appear to be the result of aberrant expression of a number of specific genes in the hypovirulent strain. Several viral regulated fungal genes are identified as cutinase gene, Lac1, which encodes an extracellular laccase, Crp, which encodes an abundant tissue-specific cell-surface hydrophobin that mediates physical strength, and Mf2/1 and Mf2/2, which encode pheromone genes involved in poor sporulation in the presence of hypo-virus. Since the phenotypic changes in the fungal host are pleiotropic, although coordinated and specific, it has been suggested that the hypovirus disturbs one or several regulatory pathways (Nuss,1996). Accordingly, several studies have shown the implementation of a signal transduction pathway during viral symptom development. Although further studies are required, hypovirulence and its associated symptom development due to the hypoviral regulation of a fungal hetero-trimeric G-protein have been suggested. In addition, recent studies have shown the presence of a novel protein kinase gene cppk1 and its transcriptional upregulation by hypovirus. In this review, the presence of important components in signal transduction pathway, their putative biological function, and viral-specific regulation will be addressed.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제2권3호
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• pp.225-235
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• 2006

With the discovery in plants of the proteinaceous forisome crystalloid (Knoblauch, et al. 2003), a novel, non-living, ATP-independent biological material became available to the designer of smart materials for advanced actuating and sensing. The in vitro studies of Knoblauch, et al. show that forisomes (2-4 micron wide and 10-40 micron long) can be repeatedly stimulated to contract and expand anisotropically by shifting either the ambient pH or the ambient calcium ion concentration. Because of their unique abilities to develop and reverse strains greater than 20% in time periods less than one second, forisomes have the potential to outperform current smart materials as advanced, biomimetic, multi-functional, smart sensors or actuators. Probing forisome material properties is an immediate need to lay the foundation for synthesizing forisomebased smart materials for health monitoring of structural integrity in civil infrastructure and for aerospace hardware. Microfluidics is a growing, vibrant technology with increasingly diverse applications. Here, we use microfluidics to study the surface interaction between forisome and substrate and the conformational dynamics of forisomes within a confined geometry to lay the foundation for forisome-based smart materials synthesis in controlled and repeatable environment.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제58권5호
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• pp.931-947
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• 2016

The effects of nanotechnology and smartness on the buckling reduction of pipes are the main contributions of present work. For this ends, the pipe is simulated with classical piezoelectric polymeric cylindrical shell reinforced by armchair double walled boron nitride nanotubes (DWBNNTs), The structure is subjected to combined electro-thermo-mechanical loads. The surrounding elastic foundation is modeled with a novel model namely as orthotropic nonhomogeneous Pasternak medium. Using representative volume element (RVE) based on micromechanical modeling, mechanical, electrical and thermal characteristics of the equivalent composite are determined. Employing nonlinear strains-displacements and stress-strain relations as well as the charge equation for coupling of electrical and mechanical fields, the governing equations are derived based on Hamilton's principal. Based on differential quadrature method (DQM), the buckling load of pipe is calculated. The influences of electrical and thermal loads, geometrical parameters of shell, elastic foundation, orientation angle and volume percent of DWBNNTs in polymer are investigated on the buckling of pipe. Results showed that the generated ${\Phi}$ improved sensor and actuator applications in several process industries, because it increases the stability of structure. Furthermore, using nanotechnology in reinforcing the pipe, the buckling load of structure increases.

• Mycobiology
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.25-29
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• 2007

A newly synthesized Nickel (II) tyrosine complex was screened as potential antimicrobial agent against a number of medically important bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus ${\beta}$-haemolytica, Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenterae) and fungi (Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium sp.) strains. were used for antifungal activity. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the Agar Disc method. Moreover, the minimum inhibitory concentration of the complexes was determined against the same pathogenic bacteria and the values were found between $4{\sim}64\;{\mu}g\;ml^{-1}$. Brine shrimp bioassay was carried out for cytotoxicity measurements of the complexes. The $LC_{50}$ values were calculated after probit transformation of the resulting mortality data and found to be 6 ${\mu}g\;ml^{-1}$.

• 한국축산식품학회지
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• 제33권2호
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• pp.229-238
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• 2013

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are added to different food products for a long time due to health beneficial effects on human host. LAB is applied in dairy products, such as yoghurt, cheese, and various fermented products, and also in non-dairy products, such as sausages. However, reaching the human gut alive as well as in a sufficient cell amount to exert positive health effects is still a big challenge, due to LAB sensitive character and vulnerability against harsh and detrimental conditions in human digestive system. Keeping physiological activity of sensitive LAB strains alive is for the formulation of novel food products with a probiotic health claim of utmost interest, thus microencapsulation has been applied and investigated as a promising technique for a good and reliable protection. Microencapsulation allows reduced cell injury or cell loss by retaining cells within the encapsulating membrane and can be enforced by spray-drying, emulsion, extrusion, and a range of other technologies in combination with an appropriate coating material, such as alginate, chitosan, and mixture of these two polymers. In this review, established and well-studied microencapsulation techniques with their favored coating materials, as well as the recent applications of microencapsulated LAB into dairy products will be discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.780-787
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• 2012

The maize pathogen Gibberella moniliformis produces fumonisins, a group of mycotoxins associated with several disorders in animals and humans, including cancer. The current focus of our research is to understand the regulatory mechanisms involved in fumonisin biosynthesis. In this study, we employed a proteomics approach to identify novel genes involved in the fumonisin biosynthesis under nitrogen stress. The combination of genome sequence, mutant strains, EST database, microarrays, and proteomics offers an opportunity to advance our understanding of this process. We investigated the response of the G. moniliformis proteome in limited nitrogen (N0, fumonisin-inducing) and excess nitrogen (N+, fumonisin-repressing) conditions by one- and two-dimensional electrophoresis. We selected 11 differentially expressed proteins, six from limited nitrogen conditions and five from excess nitrogen conditions, and determined the sequences by peptide mass fingerprinting and MS/MS spectrophotometry. Subsequently, we identified the EST sequences corresponding to the proteins and studied their expression profiles in different culture conditions. Through the comparative analysis of gene and protein expression data, we identified three candidate genes for functional analysis and our results provided valuable clues regarding the regulatory mechanisms of fumonisin biosynthesis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제21권9호
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• pp.968-971
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• 2011

Leuconostoc genus, which comprise heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria, reduces fructose to mannitol by recycling intracellular NADH. To evaluate the mannitol productivities of different Leuconostoc species, 5 stock cultures and 4 newly isolated strains were cultivated in MRS and simplified media containing glucose and fructose (1:2 ratio). Among them, L. citreum KACC 91348P, which was isolated from kimchi, showed superior result in cell growth rate, mannitol production rate, and yield in both media. The optimal condition for mannitol production of this strain was pH 6.5 and $30^{\circ}C$. When L. citreum KACC was cultured in simplified medium in a 2 l batch fermenter under optimal conditions, the maximum volumetric productivity was 14.83 $g{\cdot}l^{-1}h^{-1}$ and overall yield was 86.6%. This strain is a novel and efficient mannitol producer originated from foods to be used for fermentation of fructose-containing foods.

• 한국정밀공학회지
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.145-150
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• 2008

One of the unresolved questions in articular cartilage biomechanics is the magnitude of the dynamic modulus and tissue compressive strains under physiological loading conditions. The objective of this study was to characterize the dynamic modulus and compressive strain magnitudes of bovine articular cartilage at physiological compressive stress level and loading frequency. Four bovine calf shoulder joints (ages 2-4 months) were loaded in Instron testing system under load control, with a load amplitude up to 800 N and loading frequency of 1 Hz, resulting in peak engineering stress amplitude of ${\sim}5.8\;MPa$. The corresponding peak deformation of the articular layer reached ${\sim}27%$ of its thickness. The effective dynamic modulus determined from the slope of stress versus strain curve was ${\sim}23\;MPa$, and the phase angle difference between the applied stress and measured strain which is equivalent to the area of the hystresis loop in the stress-strain response was ${\sim}8.3^{\circ}$. These results are representative of the functional properties of articular cartilage in a physiological loading environment. This study provides novel experimental findings on the physiological strain magnitudes and dynamic modulus achieved in intact articular layers under cyclical loading conditions.