• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.461-465
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• 2005

Characteristics of biological $CO_2$ fixation by Chlorella sp. HA-1 were investigated in a semi-continuous and series reactor system using an internally illuminated photobioreactor to overcome shortcomings of physicochemical technologies such as adsorption and membrane separation. High $CO_2$ fixation rate was achieved in the semi-continuous reactor system, in which the dilution ratios of the culture medium were controlled. The average $CO_2$ fixation rate was maintained almost constantly when the dilution ratio increased by 0.1 increment from the initial value of 0.5. The total removal efficiency of $CO_2$ was enhanced by employing a series reactor system. The average $CO_2$ fixation rate increased until 4.013 g $CO_2\;day^{-1}$ in a series operation of four reactors, compared to 0.986 g $CO_2\;day^{-1}$ in a batch operation mode. The total $CO_2$ fixation rate was proportional to the number of reactors used in the series reactor system. In the series reactor system of semi-continuous operation, a large amount of $CO_2$ was removed continuously for 30 days. These results showed that the present reactor systems are efficient and economically feasible for a biological $CO_2$ fixation.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.386-391
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• 2014

Atmospheric-pressure nonthermal corona discharge plasma was applied to the sterilization of biologically contaminated scoria powder. Escherichia coli (E. coli) culture solution was uniformly sprayed throughout the scoria powder for artificial inoculation, which was well mixed to ensure uniformity of the batch. The effect of the key parameters such as discharge power, treatment time, type of gas and electrode distance on the sterilization efficiency was examined and discussed. The experimental results revealed that the plasma treatment was very effective for the sterilization of scoria powder; 5-min treatment at 15 W could sterilize more than 99.9% of E. coli inoculated into the scoria powder. Increasing the discharge power, treatment time or applied voltage led to an improvement in the sterilization efficiency. The effect of type of gas on the sterilization efficiency was in order of oxygen, synthetic air (20% oxygen) and nitrogen from high to low. The inactivation of E. coli under the influence of corona discharge plasma can be explained by cell membrane erosion or etching resulting from UV and reactive oxidizing species (oxygen radical, OH radical, ozone, etc.), and the destruction of E. coli cell membrane by the physical action of numerous corona streamers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.496-502
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• 2015

Polyketide secondary metabolites share common precursor pools, acyl-CoA. Thus, the effects of engineering strategies for heterologous and native secondary metabolite production are often determined by the measurement of pikromycin in Streptomyces venezuelae. It is hard to compare the effectiveness of engineering targets among published data owing to the different pikromycin production media used from one study to the other. To determine the most important nutritional factor and establish optimal culture conditions, medium optimization of pikromycin from Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 15439 was studied with a statistical method, Plackett-Burman design. Nine variables (glucose, sucrose, peptone, (NH₄)₂SO₄, K₂HPO₄, KH₂PO₄, NaCl, MgSO₄·7H₂O, and CaCO₃) were analyzed for their effects on a response, pikromycin. Glucose, K₂HPO₄, and CaCO₃ were determined to be the most significant factors. The path of the steepest ascent and response surface methodology about the three selected components were performed to study interactions among the three factors, and the fine-tune concentrations for maximized product yields. The significant variables and optimal concentrations were 139 g/1 sucrose, 5.29 g/l K₂HPO₄, and 0.081 g/l CaCO₃, with the maximal pikromycin yield of 35.5 mg/l. Increases of the antibiotics production by 1.45-fold, 1.3-fold, and 1.98-fold, compared with unoptimized medium and two other pikromycin production media SCM and SGGP, respectively, were achieved.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.268-273
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• 2014

In this study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were treated with nickel by electroless plating method for improving electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance of MWCNT. The physical properties of electroless plated MWCNT were analyzed by using ultra-high resolution scanning electron microscope (UHR-SEM), thermogravimetry (TGA), sheet resistance analyzer and EMI shielding analyzer. EMI shielding efficiencies of nickel electroless plated MWCNT were measured to be 16 dB from 800 MHz band, which was 1.6 times increased compared to that of the activated MWCNT. Also, the average sheet resistance of nickel electroless plated MWCNT was measured to be $70{\Omega}/sq$, which was 56% decreased compared to that of the activated MWCNT. This result could be attributed to the plating morphology on the surface of MWCNT. This result could be attributed to uniformity of plating morphology on the surface, which has more effect on EMI shielding efficiency than the amount of nickel plating.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.863-869
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• 2009

The effect of a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) dispersion on the electrical, morphological and rheological properties of polycarbonate (PC)/MWCNT composites was investigated, with and without pretreating the MWCNTs with hydrogen peroxide oxidation and lyophilization. The resulting PC/treated MWCNT composites showed higher electrical conductivity than the PC/untreated MWCNT composites. The morphological behavior indicated the treated composites to have greater dispersion of MWCNTs in the PC matrix. In addition, the electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency (EMI SE) of the treated composites was higher than that of the untreated ones. Rheological studies of the composites showed that the complex viscosity of the treated composites was higher than the untreated ones due to increased dispersion of the MWCNTs in the PC matrix, which is consistent with the electrical conductivity, EMI SE and morphological studies of the treated composites. The latter results suggested that the increased electrical conductivity and EMI SE of the treated composites were mainly due to the increased dispersion of MWCNTs in the PC matrix.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.455-460
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• 2019

Hydrotreating catalysis refers to a various hydrogenation which saturate an unsaturated hydrocarbon, together with removing heteroatoms such as sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and trace metals from different petroleum streams in a refinery. Most refineries include at least three hydrotreating units for upgrading naphtha, middle distillates, gas oils, intermediate process streams, and/or residue. Among them, hydrotreating catalysis for residue are the core of the process, because of its complexity. This article reviews recent progress in tackling the issues found in the upgrading residues by hydrotreating, focusing on the chemistry of hydrodemetallization (HDM) and hydrodesulfurization (HDS). We also discuss the composition and functions of hydrotreating catalysts, and we highlight areas for further improvement.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.72-76
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• 2011

In this study, we investigated the characteristics of biodiesel using the waste coffee oil which was extracted by waste coffee grounds. We tried to deduce the optimum conditions by defining the operating variables, such as mole ratio between methanol and coffee oil (6~18) and the reaction temperature ($45{\sim}60^{\circ}C$) in the biodiesel production processes. The performance was evaluated in terms of yields, contents of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), viscosities, and heating values. The optimum reaction temperature was $55^{\circ}C$. Also, the best biodiesel was produced at the mole ratio between methanol and coffee oil of 12. The highest heating value of the produced biodiesel made from coffee oil was 39.0~39.4 MJ/kg, which satisfies the general standard for the biodiesel energy density, 39.3~39.8 MJ/kg.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.155-160
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• 2011

An animal fat is an attractive biodiesel energy source for its high stability against oxidation and low incomplete combustion ratio due to the high heating value and cetane value. However, it requires a refinery process because of the high content of saturated acid and impurity which increas the boiling point. In this study, the optimum biodiesel synthetic process of lard is suggested. Indeed, we demonstrate new biodiesel production processes to alter conventional process of heating and mixing by applying ultrasonic energy. While the optimum reaction temperature and mole ratio of methanol and lard, when using conventional mixing and heating process, were $55^{\circ}C$ and 12, respectively, the reaction time were reduced to 30 minutes by applying ultrasonic irradiation power of 500 W. The new process applying ultrasonic irradiation yielded synthetic biodiesel properties as followings: 3.34 cP of the viscosity, 37.0 MJ/kg of the caloric value and below 0.25 mgKOH/g of the acidic value, which satisfy biodiesel quality criteria.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.412-417
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• 2022

Capacitive-type humidity sensors with a high sensitivity and fast response/recovery times have attracted a great attention in non-contact respiration biological signal monitoring applications. However, complicated fabrication processes involving high-temperature heat treatment for the hygroscopic film is essential in the conventional ceramic-based humidity sensors. In this study, a non-toxic ceramic/metal halide (BaTiO₃(BT)/NaCl) humidity sensor was prepared at room temperature using a solvent-free aerosol deposition process (AD) without any additional process. Currently prepared BT/NaCl humidity sensor shows an excellent sensitivity (245 pF/RH%) and superior response/recovery times (3s/4s) due to the NaCl ionization effect resulting in an immense interfacial polarization. Furthermore, the non-contact respiration signal variation using the BT/NaCl sensor was determined to be over 700% by maintaining the distance of 20 cm between the individual and the sensor. Through the AD-fabricated sensor in this study, we expect to develop a non-contact biological signal monitoring system that can be applied to various fields such as respiratory disease detection and management, infant respiratory signal observation, and touchless skin moisture sensing button.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.89-97
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• 2024

Background: Ginsenoside F2 (GF2), the protopanaxadiol-type constituent in Panax ginseng, has been reported to attenuate metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). However, the mechanism of action is not fully understood. Here, this study investigates the molecular mechanism by which GF2 regulates MASLD progression through liver X receptor (LXR). Methods: To demonstrate the effect of GF2 on LXR activity, computational modeling of protein-ligand binding, Time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) assay for LXR cofactor recruitment, and luciferase reporter assay were performed. LXR agonist T0901317 was used for LXR activation in hepatocytes and macrophages. MASLD was induced by high-fat diet (HFD) feeding with or without GF2 administration in WT and LXRα^-/- mice. Results: Computational modeling showed that GF2 had a high affinity with LXRα. LXRE-luciferase reporter assay with amino acid substitution at the predicted ligand binding site revealed that the S264 residue of LXRα was the crucial interaction site of GF2. TR-FRET assay demonstrated that GF2 suppressed LXRα activity by favoring the binding of corepressors to LXRα while inhibiting the accessibility of coactivators. In vitro, GF2 treatments reduced T0901317-induced fat accumulation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in hepatocytes and macrophages, respectively. Consistently, GF2 administration ameliorated hepatic steatohepatitis and improved glucose or insulin tolerance in WT but not in LXRα^-/- mice. Conclusion: GF2 alters the binding affinities of LXRα coregulators, thereby interrupting hepatic steatosis and inflammation in macrophages. Therefore, we propose that GF2 might be a potential therapeutic agent for the intervention in patients with MASLD.