• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.86-97
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the applicability of a tractor-baler system equipped with a newly developed round baler by conducting stability analyses via static-state mathematical simulations and verification experiments for the tractor equipped with a loader. Methods: The centers of gravity of the tractor and baler were calculated to analyze the transverse overturning of the system. This overturning of the system was analyzed by applying mathematical equations presented in previous research and comparing the results with those obtained by the newly developed mathematical simulation. For the case of the tractor equipped with a loader, mathematical simulation results and experimental values from verification experiments were compared and verified. Results: The center of gravity of the system became lower after the baler was attached to the tractor and the angle of transverse overturning of the system steadily increased or decreased as the deflection angle increased or decreased between $0^{\circ}$ and $180^{\circ}$ on the same gradient. In the results of the simulations performed by applying mathematical equations from previous research, right transverse overturning occurred when the tilt angle was at least $19.5^{\circ}$ and the range of deflection angles was from $82^{\circ}$ to $262^{\circ}$ in counter clockwise. Additionally, left transverse overturning also occurred at tilt angles of at least $19.5^{\circ}$ and the range of deflection angles was from $259^{\circ}$ to $79^{\circ}$ in counter clockwise. Under the $0^{\circ}$ deflection angle condition, in simulations of the tractor equipped with a loader, transverse overturning occurred at $17.9^{\circ}$, which is a 2.3% change from the results of the verification experiment ($17.5^{\circ}$). The simulations applied the center of gravity and the correlations between the tilt angles, formed by individual wheel ground contact points excluding wheel radius and hinge point height, which cannot be easily measured, for the convenient use of mathematical equations. The results indicated that both left and right transverse overturning occurred at $19.5^{\circ}$. Conclusions: The transverse overturning stability evaluation of the system, conducted via mathematical equation modeling, was stable enough to replace the mathematical equations proposed by previous researchers. The verification experiments and their results indicated that the system is workable at $12^{\circ}$, which is the tolerance limit for agricultural machines on the sloped lands in South Korea, and $15^{\circ}$, which is the tolerance limit for agricultural machines on the sloped grasslands of hay in Japan.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.656-662
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• 2018

Flavin-containing monooxygenases from Corynebacterium (cFMOs) were mutagenized based on homology modeling to develop variants with an enhanced indigoid production capability. The four mutants, F170Y, A210G, A210S, and T326S, which fused to a maltose-binding protein (MBP), were constructed, and their biochemical properties were characterized. Of these, purified MBP-T326S required a higher concentration of exogenous FAD (100 mM) than the wild-type MBP-cFMO for optimal activity and showed a 3.8-fold increase in the $k_{cat}/K_m$ value at $100{\mu}M$ FAD compared to that of MBP-cFMO at $2{\mu}M$ FAD. The indole oxygenase activities of MBP-T326S decreased to 63-77% compared to that of the MBP-cFMO In addition, MBP-T326S displayed a very low level of futile NADPH oxidase activities (21-24%) in the absence of a substrate. Mutant proteins except for T326S displayed similar $K_m$ and increased $k_{cat}/K_m$ values compared to the wild-type. MBP-F170Y and -A210S mutants showed elevated indole oxygenase activity higher than 3.1- and 2.9-fold, respectively, in comparison with MBP-cFMO. When indigoid production was carried out in LB broth with 2.5 g/l of tryptophan, Escherichia coli expressing cFMO produced 684 mg/l of indigo and 104 mg/l of indirubin, while cells harboring T326S produced 1,040 mg/l of indigo and 112 mg/l of indirubin. The results indicate that the production of indigo was 13% higher when compared to a previous report in which an E. coli expressing FMO from Methylophaga produced 920 mg/l of indigo. The protein engineering of cFMO based on homology modeling provided a more rational strategy for developing indigoid-producing strains.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.401-409
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• 2021

This study aimed to estimate the photosynthetic capacity of tomato plants grown in a semi-closed greenhouse using temperature response models of plant photosynthesis by calculating the ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase maximum carboxylation rate (V_cmax), maximum electron transport rate (J_max), thermal breakdown (high-temperature inhibition), and leaf respiration to predict the optimal conditions of the CO₂-controlled greenhouse, for maximizing the photosynthetic rate. Gas exchange measurements for the A-C_i curve response to CO₂ level with different light intensities {PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) 200µmol·m^-2·s^-1 to 1500µmol·m^-2·s^-1} and leaf temperatures (20℃ to 35℃) were conducted with a portable infrared gas analyzer system. Arrhenius function, net CO₂ assimilation (A_n), thermal breakdown, and daylight leaf respiration (R_d) were also calculated using the modeling equation. Estimated J_max, A_n, Arrhenius function value, and thermal breakdown decreased in response to increased leaf temperature (> 30℃), and the optimum leaf temperature for the estimated J_max was 30℃. The CO₂ saturation point of the fifth leaf from the apical region was reached at 600ppm for 200 and 400µmol·m^-2·s^-1 of PAR, at 800ppm for 600 and 800µmol·m^-2·s^-1 of PAR, at 1000ppm for 1000µmol of PAR, and at 1500ppm for 1200 and 1500µmol·m^-2·s^-1 of PAR levels. The results suggest that the optimal conditions of CO₂ concentration can be determined, using the photosynthetic model equation, to improve the photosynthetic rates of fruit vegetables grown in greenhouses.