• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.1331-1335
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• 2017

In this study, the feasibility of introducing calcite-forming bacteria into concrete pavements to improve their mechanical performance was investigated. Lysinibacillus sphaericus WJ-8, which was isolated in a previous study and is capable of exhibiting high urease activity and calcite production, was used. When analyzed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction, WJ-8 showed a significant amount of calcite precipitation. The compressive strength of cement mortar mixed with WJ-8 cells and nutrient medium (urea with calcium lactate) increased by 10% compared with that of the controls. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analyses confirmed that the increase in strength was due to the calcite formed by the WJ-8 cells.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.502-507
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• 2024

The Wollaston prism (WP) has shown promise in enabling single-shot transport-of-intensity equation (ssTIE) measurements, facilitating efficient phase retrieval in microscopy. The 1-degree prism which produces the minor beam-separation angle is used to prevent distortions. An optical-glass plate is employed in the duplicated beam path to introduce defocusing. This configuration is also advantageous when aligning the beams laterally caused by the refraction of the optical-glass plate, thus allowing another method for single-shot measurements. We applied the proposed method to image the red blood cells (RBCs), demonstrating that the proposed method could be useful in various biological and medical applications.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.21 no.1 s.96
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• pp.34-41
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• 2006

The aim of this study is the development of biological removal process of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) in odor gas, which is generated from the waste food recycling process. To develop the removal process of odor gas, MEK, the selection of proper biofilter support was carried out. When the biofilter equipment was passed by synthetic odor gas composed of 250 ppm of MEK, the maximum removal was achieved to $586.6g-MEK/m^3\;hr$ for polypropylene fibril as support. Under the same experimental conditions, the maximum removal in polyurethane support was obtained to $359.7 g-MEK/m^3\;hr$. Finally, the maximum removal in volcanic stone support was $56.2g-MEK/m^3\;hr$.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.150-154
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• 2005

To overcome the problems associated with chemical pesticides, biological pest controls agent extracted from Ginkgo biloba was studied. Insecticidal activities components in Ginkgo biloba extracts were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This results of HPLC analysis, GG-W80 were included bilobalide $611\;{\mu}g/kg$, ginkgolide A $37\;{\mu}g/kg$ and ginkgolide B $243\;{\mu}g/kg$, while YG-W80 were included bilobalide $214\;{\mu}g/kg$ and ginkgolide B $46\;{\mu}g/kg$. The biological activity of Ginkgo biloba extracts were conducted to repellent and pesticidial effect of Tetranichus urticae, Aphis gossypii and Myzus persicae treated with Ginkgo biloba leaves extracts. Mortalities of adult T. urticae to green Ginkgo biloba extracts (GG-W80) and yellow Ginkgo biloba extracts (YG-W80) were shown 98.3% and 20.0%, respectively. From these results, terpenes components in Ginkgo biloba extracts could be use for biological controls for T. urticae.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.3-12
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• 2015

Recently, various studies have been attempted to provide a biological information monitoring service through integrating with the web service. The medical information transmission standard ISO/IEEE 11073 PHD defines the optimized exchange protocol ISO/IEEE 11073-20601 based on the No-IP to exchange the biometric information between the ISO/IEEE 11073 agent and the manager. It's system structure based on the No-IP using ISO/IEEE 11073-20601 is not suitable for providing a remote biological information monitoring services. That is because it is difficult to provide to control and manage the biological information measurement devices, which have installed IP protocol stack at the remote. Furthermore, ACSE and CMDISE in ISO/IEEE 11073-20601 are not suitable to provide U-healthcare services based on IoT because they are complicated and difficult to implement it caused by the structural complexity. In order to solve the problems, in this paper, we propose the biological information monitoring architecture based on ISO/IEEE 11073 DIM/REST of IoT environment to provide the biological information monitoring service based on IoT. To do this, we designed biological information monitoring system architecture based on IoT and the message exchange protocol of ISO/IEEE 11073 DIM/REST between the ISO/IEEE 11073 agent and the ISO/IEEE 11073 manager. In order to verify the realistic possibility of the proposed system architecture, we developed the service prototype.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.211-215
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• 2006

AfsR2 is a global regulatory protein involved in the stimulation of secondary metabolite biosynthesis in various Streptomyces species including avermectin-producing S. avermitilis. Among several AfsR2-dependent genes identified from the comparative proteomics, the polyribonucleotide nucleotidyltransferase (PNP) and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) genes were previously proposed to regulate the actinorhodin production in S. lividans upon afsR2 over-expression positively and negatively, respectively. To show the biological significance of the PNP and GPD genes in the S. avermitilis strains, these two genes were functionally expressed in both the wild-type and the avermectin-overproducing mutant strains. The PNP gene expression stimulated secondary metabolite production in the wild-type S. avermitilis ATCC31267, but not in the avermectin-overproducing S. avermitilis ATCC31780. Interestingly, the GDP gene expression stimulated secondary metabolite production by 4-fold in the wild-type S. avermitilis ATCC31267 and by 2.5-fold in the avermectin-overproducing S. avermitilis ATCC31780, respectively. These results suggest that the biological significance of the afsR2-dependent PNP and GPD gene expressions on antibiotic biosynthetic regulation could be significantly different depending on Streptomyces species.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.284-289
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• 2011

Prismatic reflective sheets were prepared using microprisms, and their retroreflection and structural properties were investigated and compared with encapsulated lens type reflective sheets based on glass beads. As prepared, the prismatic reflective sheets show well arranged array of microprisms. The arrangement of glass beads in encapsulated lens type reflective sheets is also found to be uniform without any cracks. However, during the coating process of the PET layer, the beads are coming out and the gaps are formed due to the application of high pressure. Even though the preparation method for reflective sheets based on microprisms is similar to that of reflective sheets based on glass beads, the method is relatively simple and cost effective, and also needs less time. Prismatic reflective sheets show higher coefficient of retroreflection from all entrance angles compared to reflective sheets based on glass beads. The results prove that the prismatic reflective sheets can be used for preparing the traffic sign boards to secure a clear view.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.411-417
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• 2004

Recently, instruments and systems related on biological technology have been enormously developed. Particularly, many researches for biological cell injection have been carried out. Usually, excessive contact force occurring when the end-effector and a biological cell contact might make a damage on the cell. Unfortunately, the excessive force could easily destroy the membrane and tissue of the cell. In order to overcome the problem, we proposed a new injection system for biological cell manipulation. The proposed injection system can measure the contact force between a pipette and a cell by using a force sensor. Also, we used vision technology to correctly guide the tip of the pipette to the cell. Consequently, the proposed injection system could safely manipulate the biological cells without any damage. This paper presents the introduction of our new injection system and design concepts of the new micro end-effector. Through a series of experiments the proposed injection system shows the possibility of application for precision biological cell manipulation such as DNA operation.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.222-227
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• 2020

Inositol polyphosphate multikinase (IPMK) is required for the biosynthesis of inositol phosphates (IPs) through the phosphorylation of multiple IP metabolites such as IP3 and IP4. The biological significance of IPMK's catalytic actions to regulate cellular signaling events such as growth and metabolism has been studied extensively. However, pharmacological reagents that inhibit IPMK have not yet been identified. We employed a structure-based virtual screening of publicly available U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs and chemicals that identified the antidepressant, vilazodone, as an IPMK inhibitor. Docking simulations and pharmacophore analyses showed that vilazodone has a higher affinity for the ATP-binding catalytic region of IPMK than ATP and we validated that vilazodone inhibits IPMK's IP kinase activities in vitro. The incubation of vilazodone with NIH3T3-L1 fibroblasts reduced cellular levels of IP5 and other highly phosphorylated IPs without influencing IP4 levels. We further found decreased Akt phosphorylation in vilazodone-treated HCT116 cancer cells. These data clearly indicate selective cellular actions of vilazodone against IPMK-dependent catalytic steps in IP metabolism and Akt activation. Collectively, our data demonstrate vilazodone as a method to inhibit cellular IPMK, providing a valuable pharmacological agent to study and target the biological and pathological processes governed by IPMK.

• Journal of Web Engineering
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1308-1322
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• 2022

Increasing consumption of food with high caloric density and a sedentary lifestyle have influenced the increasing obesity prevalence worldwide. The recent pandemic has contributed to this problem. Obesity refers to a state in which lipid accumulates excessively in adipocytes and adipose tissues. Dried heat-killed Enterococcus faecalis (EF-2001) prevents allergic mechanisms, inflammation, and tumor progression. In the present study, we investigated the effects of EF-2001 on high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese rats. The degree of obesity in experimental rats was reduced after 6 weeks of oral administration of 3 mg/kg or 30 mg/kg dosages of EF-2001, indicating regulating effects in rats with HFD-induced obesity. We found that EF-2001 decreased the amounts of total cholesterol, triglyceride, and non-high density lipoprotein (HDL) in HFD-induced obese rats. The effects of EF-2001 on 3T3-L1 adipocytes stained with Oil red O stain are shown in reductions of lipid accumulation, respectively. In addition, we examined the relationships between EF-2001 treatment and mechanisms for the insulin signaling of adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. EF-2001 induced down-regulation in phosphorylation of Erk, JNK, and Akt through the inhibition of insulin receptor phosphorylation. EF-2001 inhibits the expressions of C/EBP-α and PPAR-γ, a lipid metabolism-related transcription factor through confocal microscope observation and Western blot on 3T3-L1 adipocytes and HFD-induced obese rats. Based on our results, intake of EF-2001 significantly prevented HFD-induced obesity in rats through inhibition of C/EBP-α and PPAR-γ in the insulin signaling pathway on lipid accumulation.