• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2013

Various remediation methods have been applied to clean soils contaminated with pollutants. They remove contaminants from the soils by utilizing physicochemical, biological, and thermal processes and can satisfy soil remediation standards within a limited time; however, they also have an effect on the biological functions of soils by changing soil properties. In this study, changes of the biological properties of soils before and after treatment with three frequently used remediation methods-soil washing, land farming, and thermal desorption-were monitored to investigate the effects of remediation methods on soil biological functions. Total microbial number and soil enzyme activities, germination rate and growth of Brassica juncea, biomass change of Eisenia andrei were examined the effects on soil microorganisms, plant, and soil organisms, respectively. After soil washing, the germination rate of Brassica juncea increased but the above-ground growth and total microbial number decreased. Dehydrogenase activity, germination rate and above-ground growth increased in both land farming and thermal desorption treated soil. Although the growth of Eisenia andrei in thermal desorption treated soil was higher than any other treatment, it was still lower than that in non-contaminated soil. These results show that the remediation processes used to clean contaminated soil also affect soil biological functions. To utilize the cleaned soil for healthy and more value-added purposes, soil improvement and process development are needed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.1599-1605
• /
• 2015

The development of rapid and efficient genome sequencing methods has enabled us to study the evolutionary background of bacterial genetic information. Here, we present comparative genomic analysis of 17 Streptomyces species, for which the genome has been completely sequenced, using the pan-genome approach. The analysis revealed that 34,592 ortholog clusters constituted the pan-genome of these Streptomyces species, including 2,018 in the core genome, 11,743 in the dispensable genome, and 20,831 in the unique genome. The core genome was converged to a smaller number of genes than reported previously, with 3,096 gene families. Functional enrichment analysis showed that genes involved in transcription were most abundant in the Streptomyces pan-genome. Finally, we investigated core genes for the sigma factors, mycothiol biosynthesis pathway, and secondary metabolism pathways; our data showed that many genes involved in stress response and morphological differentiation were commonly expressed in Streptomyces species. Elucidation of the core genome offers a basis for understanding the functional evolution of Streptomyces species and provides insights into target selection for the construction of industrial strains.

• Development and Reproduction
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.199-211
• /
• 2021

Equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG), produced by the endometrial cups of the placenta after the first trimester, is a specific glycoprotein that displays dual luteinizing hormone (LH)-like and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)-like effects in non-equid species. However, in equidaes, eCG exhibits only LH-like activity. To identify the specific biological functions of glycosylated sites in eCG, we constructed the following site mutants of N- and O-linked glycosylation: eCGβ/αΔ56, substitution of α-subunit⁵⁶ N-linked glycosylation site; eCGβ-D/α, deletion of the O-linked glycosylation sites at the β-subunit, and eCGβ-D/αΔ56, double mutant. We produced recombinant eCG (rec-eCG) proteins in Chinese hamster ovary suspension (CHO-S) cells. We examined the biological activity of rec-eCG proteins in CHO-K1 cells expressing the eLH/CG receptor and found that signal transduction activities of deglycosylated mutants remarkably decreased. The EC₅₀ levels of eCGβ/αΔ56, eCGβ-D/α, and eCGβ-D/αΔ56 mutants decreased by 2.1-, 5.6-, and 3.4-fold, respectively, compared to that of wild-type eCG. The Rmax values of the mutants were 56%-80% those of wild-type eCG (141.9 nmol/10⁴ cells). Our results indicate that the biological activity of eCG is greatly affected by the removal of N- and O-linked glycosylation sites in cells expressing eLH/CGR. These results provide important information on rec-eCG in the regulation of specific glycosylation sites and improve our understanding of the specific biological activity of rec-eCG glycosylation sites in equidaes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.8
• /
• pp.3123-3128
• /
• 2024

The dicentric chromosome assay is a gold standard method to estimate radiation exposure by calculating the ratio of dicentric chromosomes existing in cells. The objective of this study was to propose an automatic dicentric chromosome discrimination method based on deep convolutional neural networks using radiation exposure patient data. From 45 patients with radiation exposure, conventional Giemsa-stained images of 116,258 normal and 2800 dicentric chromosomes were confirmed. ImageNet was used to pre-train VGG19, which was modified and fine-tuned. The proposed modified VGG19 demonstrated dicentric chromosome discrimination performance, with a true positive rate of 0.927, a true negative rate of 0.997, a positive predictive value of 0.882, a negative predictive value of 0.998, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.997.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
• /
• 2004.06a
• /
• pp.195-195
• /
• 2004

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
• /
• v.8 no.6
• /
• pp.313-321
• /
• 2003

This review summarizes the recent advances in high-density algal cultures in the field of algal biotechnology. Photobioreactor engineering for economical and effective utilization of algae and its products has made impressive and promising progress. Bioprocess engineers have expedited the design and the operation of algal cultivation systems. Many of them in use today are open systems due to cost considerations, and closed photobioreactors have recently attracted a considerable attention for the production of valuable biochemicals or for special applications. For high-density cultures, the optimization of environmental factors in the photobioreactors have been explored, including light delivery, CO$_2$and O$_2$gas transfer, medium supply, mixing and temperature. It is expected that further advanced photobioreactor engineering will enable the commercialization of noble algal products within the next decade.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.229-234
• /
• 2007

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is a relatively new medical imaging modality which uses near infrared light to image large-sized tissues noninvasively. We constructed a frequency-domain DOT system to measure the optical properties of optical phantoms and human tissues. The FD-DOT uses the intensity-modulated infrared light source that illuminates the biological tissues. The phase shift and modulation changes at each detector site are separately processed to measure the optical properties. The absorption and scattering coefficients are separately estimated using inverse algorithms.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Potoscience Conference
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.91-91
• /
• 2005

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.57 no.4
• /
• pp.175-180
• /
• 2022

To produce a co-poly-para-aramid fiber (AF, Technora^®)-reinforced neoprene rubber composite, dispersion of AF in a neoprene matrix is investigated. The AF is then surface-modified by mercerization and acetone, plasma, and silane treatments to improve dispersibility. Finally, an internal mixer process is used to disperse the surface-modified fibers in the neoprene rubber matrix.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
• /
• v.9 no.6
• /
• pp.459-464
• /
• 2004

The objective of this study is to improve cephalosporin C (CPC) production byoptimization of medium and culture conditions. A statistical method was introduced to optimize the main culture medium. The main medium for CPC production was optimized using a statistical method. Glucose and corn steep liquor (CSL) were found to be the most effective factors for CPC production. Glucose and CSL were optimized to 2.84 and $6.68\%$, respectively. CPC produc­tion was improved $50\%$ by feeding of $5\%$ rice oil at day 3rd and 5th day during the shake flask culture of C acremonium M25. The effect of agitation speeds on CPC production in a 2.5-L bio­reactor was also investigated with fed-batch mode. The maximum cell mass (54.5 g/L) was obtained at 600 rpm. However, the maximum CPC production (0.98 g/L) was obtained at 500 rpm. At this condition, the maximum CPC production was improved about $132\%$ compared to the re­sult with batch flask culture.