• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2012

This study's aim was to isolate microorganisms producing agarase with a high activity, with possible applications in improving the performance of the pretreatment processes for bioethanol production. Marine algaes were collected from the south coast of Korea, from which three kinds of microorganisms were isolated. After a 4-day culture of these strains at $25^{\circ}C$, crude enzymes were obtained from culture supernatant or cell-free extract by ammonium sulfate precipitation and membrane dialysis. Agarase activity was observed in these crude enzymes. Notably higher specific activity was observed in the crude enzyme obtained from the culture supernatant rather than that from the cell-free extract. This indicates that a secreted enzyme has a much greater activity than a cellular enzyme. Crude enzymes from the GNUM08122 strain were inferred to have ${\alpha}$-agarase activity because release of p-nitrophenol was observed, possibly due to the cleavage of p-nitrophenyl-${\alpha}$-D-galactopyranoside. The 16S rRNA sequence of GNUM08122 showed a close relationship to Pseudoalteromonas issachenkonii KMM 3549 (99.8%) and Pseudoalteromonas tetraodonis IMA 14160 (99.7%), which led us to assign it to the genus Pseudoalteromonas. Biochemical and physiological study revealed that this strain can grow well at $40^{\circ}C$ under a wide range of pH (pH 4~8) in high-salt conditions (10% NaCl).

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.205-214
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• 2020

Cyanobacteria are microorganisms which have important roles in the nitrogen cycle due to their ability to fix nitrogen in water and soil ecosystems. They also produce valuable materials that may be used in various industries. However, some species of cyanobacteria may limit the use of water resources by causing harmful algal blooms in water ecosystems. Many culture collection depositories provide cyanobacterial strains for research, but their systematic preservation is not well-developed in Korea. In this study, we developed a method for the cryopreservation of the cyanobacteria Trichormus variabilis (syn. Anabaena variabilis), using alginate microcapsules. Two approaches were used for the experiments and their outputs were compared. One of the methods involved the cryopreservation of cells using only a cryoprotectant and the other used the cryoprotectant within microcapsules. After cryopreservation for 35 days, cells preserved with both methods were successfully regenerated from the initial 1.0 × 10⁵ cells/ml to a final concentration of 6.7 × 10⁶ cells/ml and 1.1 × 10⁷ cells/ml. Irregular T. variabilis shapes were found after 14 days of regeneration. T. variabilis internal structures were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), revealing that lipid droplets were reduced after cryopreservation. The expression of the mreB gene, known to be related to cell morphology, was downregulated (54.7%) after cryopreservation. Cryopreservation using cryoprotectant alone or with microcapsules is expected to be applicable to other filamentous cyanobacteria in the future.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.773-782
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• 2004

The objective of this work was to establish an approaching method for TMR feeding system in the farm situation by testing the effects of herd-mix feeding system on the performance of lactating cows. Fifty six Holstein cows were fed for the experimental period of 16 months. Prior to test the herd-mix feeding system, animals were kept on conventional feeding system for 4 months, separate feeding of forage with concentrate, then provided 3 types of herd-mix rations formulated by mean level of energy concentration requirement of higher 1/2 ranker in each herd for remaining 12 months to compare the effect on milk yield performance of animals with conventional feeding system by using a switch-over method. The herd-mix feeding system influenced substantially upon the improvements of milk yield(P<0.01) and milk fat percentage(P<0.05). In all of lactational ages, milk yield and milk fat were enhanced by the herd-mix feeding system. Especially, actual milk yield(AMY) and milk fat in the 1st lactating cows, and AMY and 4.0% fat corrected milk yield(FCM) in the 2nd lactating cows were increased signiticantly by the herd-mix feeding system(P<0.05). In the early and mid-stage of lactation, the herd-mix feeding system showed higher AMY and FCM compared with the conventional feeding system although the milk fat was not different. AMY, milk fat and FCM in the late-stage of lactation were increased generally by the herd-mix feeding system. Especially, milk fat and FCM obtained by the herd-mix feeding system were significantly higher than those by the conventional feeding system(P<0.01). The herd-mix feeding system showed a good type of milking curve with a higher persistency of FCM(93.24%) than in conventional one(92.69%). The income over feed cost with the herd-mix feeding system was lA-fold higher than that with the conventional feeding method. In conclusion, the results of this work suggest that the herd-mix feeding system based on a correct level of energy concentration of TMR and well-determined feed ingredients increases not only milk yield of dairy herd by enhancing the performance of cows in early to mid stage of lactation with improved milk persistency but also gross income of dairy farm.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.64-70
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• 2015

In order to control garlic white rot (Sclerotium cepivorum), which threatens garlic production in farmers fields, soil solarization (solar sterilization), sclerotia germination inducers and effective microorganisms as biological control agents, and chemical fungicides have been used. Among them, fungicide has been largely used to reduce garlic white rot. In this study, the antifungal activities of five fungicides, prochloraz(a.i. 25%, EC), tebuconazole (a.i. 25%, WP), flutolanil (a.i. 15%, EC), iminoctadine tris-albesilate (a.i. 40%, WP) and isoprothiolane (a.i. 40%, EC) with different mode of action, in mycelial growth, sclerotia germination and sclerotia production, were tested. The inhibitory effects of the 5 fungicides on the mycelial growth, and sclerotia germination and production of garlic white rot pathogen (S. cepivorum T11-2) were investigated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and their control efficacies were evaluated on garlic flakes. There was no mycelial growth of S. cepivorum T11-2 on PDA amended with $0.8{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ of prochloraz or $100{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ of tebuconazole. Also prochloraz and tebuconazole inhibited perfectively the sclerotia germination of the pathogen at 10 and $1.0{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$, respectively. In spite of a very low activity of isoprothiolane in mycelial growth and sclerotia germination of S. cepivorum T11-2, it showed a good inhibitory activity against sclerotia production of S. cepivorum T11-2 on PDA amended with $1.67{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$. Prochloraz, tebuconazole and flutolanil showed above 70% of control value when they were treated at $100{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ using the garlic flake cutting-method.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.81-90
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• 2013

During the past decade, many changes and attempts have been tried and are continued developing new technologies in the computing area. The brick wall in computing area, especially power wall, changes computing paradigm from computing hardwares including processor and system architecture to programming environment and application usage. The high performance computing (HPC) area, especially, has been experienced catastrophic changes, and it is now considered as a key to the national competitiveness. In the late 2000's, many leading countries rushed to develop Exascale supercomputing systems, and as a results tens of PetaFLOPS system are prevalent now. In Korea, ICT is well developed and Korea is considered as a one of leading countries in the world, but not for supercomputing area. In this paper, we describe architecture design of MAHA supercomputing system which is aimed to develop 300 TeraFLOPS system for bio-informatics applications like human genome analysis and protein-protein docking. MAHA supercomputing system is consists of four major parts - computing hardware, file system, system software and bio-applications. MAHA supercomputing system is designed to utilize heterogeneous computing accelerators (co-processors like GPGPUs and MICs) to get more performance/$, performance/area, and performance/power. To provide high speed data movement and large capacity, MAHA file system is designed to have asymmetric cluster architecture, and consists of metadata server, data server, and client file system on top of SSD and MAID storage servers. MAHA system softwares are designed to provide user-friendliness and easy-to-use based on integrated system management component - like Bio Workflow management, Integrated Cluster management and Heterogeneous Resource management. MAHA supercomputing system was first installed in Dec., 2011. The theoretical performance of MAHA system was 50 TeraFLOPS and measured performance of 30.3 TeraFLOPS with 32 computing nodes. MAHA system will be upgraded to have 100 TeraFLOPS performance at Jan., 2013.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.222-241
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• 2020

The Taereung Royal Tomb from the Joseon Dynasty is the tomb of Empress Munjeong, the second queen of King Jungjong, and it contains various types of stone artifacts. All of these stone artifacts were constructed using coarse- to medium-grained biotite granite. The major types of deterioration of the stone artifacts are identified as surface weathering and biological contaminants. Exfoliation (145 sculptures), granular decomposition (138 sculptures), and repair materials (156 sculptures), along with biological contaminant algae (154 sculptures), lichen (165 sculptures) and moss (97 sculptures), have a high occurrence frequency. In particular, it is deemed that immediate conservation treatment is required, as biological deterioration (algae) represents the most serious condition (grade 3 or higher in 94% of all stones), and it is thought that exfoliation and granulation decomposition are required for long-term conservation management. As a result of equo -tip hardness and ultrasonic measurement, more than 70% of stones were found to have very weak physical properties. Through hyperspectral analysis, organisms were shown to inhabit more than 80% of the surface of burial mound stone artifacts, and P (phosphorus), S (sulfur), Cl (chlorine), and Ca (calcium) were detected in this area. This is because Taereung Royal Tomb has been exposed to the outdoors for hundreds of years and has been weathered by physical, chemical, and biological factors. Therefore, among the stone artifacts in the Taereung Royal Tomb, those with high physical weathering grades are considered to require consolidation to reinforce them physically. Since organisms are highly likely to cause stone damage, they must be removed via dry and wet cleaning. In addition, in order to delay the reoccurrence of organisms following conservation treatment, it is necessary to regularly clean up the soil that has flowed into the burial mound, and to monitor conservation conditions over the long term.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.806-812
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• 1999

Background: Selection of reconstruction route in esophageal cancer surgery is based on the patient's status, characteristics of tumor, surgeon's preference and experience. Of the various routes, it has been documented that subcutaneous or substernal route may prolong operation time and may be vulnerable to postoperative respiratory complications. This study was designed to evaluate whether the selection of reconstruction route affects the surgical outcomes. Material and Method: Of 131 patients who have undergone resection and reconstruction for esophageal cancer, posterior mediastinal route(Group I, n=34), substernal route (Group II, n=31), and subcutaneous route(Group III, n=21) were retrospectively reviewed in 86 patients. Results of early operations and morbidities were compared between the groups. Result: There was a male prevalence(79 of males vs. 7 of females). There were 81 squamous cell cancers and 5 adenocarcinomas. There were no differences between groups in weight, height, age, cancer staging and location, and in the preoperative anesthetic risk evaluation and pulmonary function test(p=NS). Postoperative mechanical ventilation time was longer in Group I(20.6 hours) than in Group II(7.8 hours) or III(3.4 hours)(p=0.005). Duration of stay in the intensive care unit was prolonged in Group III(6.4 days) compared to Group I (3.9 days) or II(3.1 days)(p=0.043). No differences were noted in the duration of hospital stay between the groups(p=NS). Blood transfusion was needed in 30 out of 34 patients in Group I compared to 14/31 in Group II or 15/21 in Group III(p=0.001). The mean amount of transfusion for each patient was also higher in Group I(3,833 mL) than in Group II(1535 mL) or Group III(1419 mL)(p=0.04), but there was no difference in the inreoperation due to bleeding. Ea ly mortality rate was substantially higher in Group I(17.6%) but the differences between the groups were insignificant(p=NS). Although sepsis was a more prevalent cause of death in Group I, it was not related to anastomotic leak. Other morbidities did not differ between the groups(p=NS). Conclusion: In above results show that the reconstruction route does not affect the outcome of esophageal cancer surgery. We believe that the selection of reconstruction route can be based on the surgeon's preference and experience.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.22 no.4 s.28
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• pp.578-590
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• 1989

This study was conducted to assess the equity in the regional insurance scheme through analysis of the computerized data from one regional insurance society and National Federation of Medical Insurance. We analysed the insurance contribution and benefit by the classes based on total and income-related contribution per household. The major findings of this study are as follows : 1. The average proportion of income-related contribution among the total was 39.2% and the upper classes show higher proportion of the income-related contribution. 2. The upper classes show higher health care utilization rate than the lower classes. It suggests that the lower classes have relatively large unmet medical needs. 3. The analysis through the Lorenz curve reveals that there exists transference of contributions from the upper to lower classes. But the cumulative percentage of insurance benefit is smaller than that of the number of the insured. It implies that regional medical insurance scheme in Korea has still some inequity in the context of social security principles.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.126-132
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to examine the difference of Chinese consumer preference between chicken burgers cooked by Sous-vide adding Korean-styled seasoning and chicken burgers from local fast food restaurants. For Chinese women in their 20s who reside in Beijing, China, the most important attribute for eating-out was taste (M=6.5), health (M=6.0) and pleasure (M=5.6) in order and 68.60% of them replied that they were interested in Korean cuisine. More than 90% answered they like Korean food for its good taste, shape and color. As for burger preference, BB was significantly higher in terms of the overall and appearance preference. However, there was no significant difference between AB and SB. As for flavor and texture, it showed no significant differences among BB, AB, and SB products. For SB, total balance, soft texture of patty and balance of flavor characteristics were the reasons for their preference of the burger.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.26
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• pp.63-69
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• 2008

The varietal difference, effect of root amounts and cultivation duration on the asparagine content of soybean sprouts, which is known to have the excellent detoxifying effect of ethanol, were investigated for developed varieties and indigenous sprout lines to establish cultivation methods of increasing the asparagine content and to develop soybean varieties having high asparagine content. Some of the research results obtained are summarized as follows; 1. Range and mean of asparagine content of 174 germplasm were 0.38~1.67% and 0.99%, respectively, on fresh weight basis. 2. Developed sprout-soybean varieties showed somewhat higher asparagine content of 1.29% than that of indigenous sprout lines of 0.96% on fresh weight basis. 3. No significant difference in asparagine content among the seed size groups was recognized though the highest asparagine content, 1.02% on fresh weight basis was observed in the seed size of 8.1~10.0g/100 seeds. 4. Among the seed coat color groups, soybean of brown seed coat color showed the highest asparagine content (1.15%) on fresh weight basis. No difference was observed among other groups of seed coat color. 5. Range of asparagine content of 174 varieties was 4.08~6.24% on dry weight basis. Soybean varieties that showed high asparagine content were Dawonkong, Sobacknamulkong, Sowonkong, and Somyungkong, with the contents of 6.24%, 6.21%, 5.95%, and 5.85%, respectively. 6. Amount of roots which have the highest asparagine content out of sprout parts was greatly increased up to 10 days of sprout cultivation. 7. Highly significant difference in asparagne content of sprout was recognized between those grown for five and ten days, with the asparagine content of 0.68% and 1.21%, respectively, on fresh weight basis. 8. Asparagine content of hypocotyle part was also highly proportional to days to cultivation; it increased from 2.91% at 2 days of cultivation to 15.68% on fresh weight basis at 14 days of cultivation.