• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.219-227
• /
• 2008

The free-living photoheterotrophic Gram-negative bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides possesses a quorum-sensing (QS) regulatory system mediated by CerR-CerI, a member of the LuxR-LuxI family. To identify the genes affected by the regulatory system, random lacZ fusions were generated in the genome of R. sphaeroides strain 2.4.1 using a promoter-trapping vector, pSG2. About 20,000 clones were screened and 23 showed a significantly different level of ${\beta}$-gal activities upon the addition of synthetic 7,8-cis-N-tetradecenoyl-homoserine lactone (RAI). Among these 23 clones, the clone showing the highest level of induction was selected for further study, where about a ten-fold increase of ${\beta}$-gal activity was exhibited in the presence of RAI and induction was shown to be required for cerR. In this clone, the lacZ reporter was inserted in a putative gene that exhibited a low homology with catD. A genetic analysis showed that the expression of the catD homolog was initiated from a promoter of another gene present upstream of the catD. This upstream gene showed a strong homology with luxR and hence was named qsrR (quorum-sensing regulation regulator). A comparison of the total protein expression profiles for the wild-type cells and qsrR-null mutant cells using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and a MALDI-TOF analysis allowed the identification of sets of genes modulated by the luxR homolog.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.20 no.7
• /
• pp.1107-1113
• /
• 2010

Because conventional methods for detecting emetic-toxin-producing B. cereus are laborious and costly, various PCR assays, which are easy and cheap, have recently been reported. Therefore, this study estimated and compared the ability of various PCR assays to detect emetic-toxin-producing B. cereus strains isolated in Korea. The PCR assays were performed on 160 B. cereus strains, including 40 emetic-toxin-producing strains. Although the species-specific PCR assays were all shown to be highly specific, the sensitivities varied greatly. The accuracies of the primers were 97.5% (CER), 95.6% (EM1), 96.3% (RE234), 89.4% (CES), and 83.1% (Ces3R/CESR2). Moreover, the CER primer had a higher sensitivity (100%) than all the other primers tested, and a specificity of 96.7%. Thus, the CER primer was shown to be the most effective for screening the emetic-toxin-producing B. cereus strains tested in this study. However, the ability of these PCR assays to identify emetic-toxin-producing B. cereus should also be confirmed using other methods.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.21 no.11
• /
• pp.1307-1320
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this paper is to provide information on planting construction for healthy plant growth. To achieve this purpose, this study analyzed the planting type, planting density, withering rate, soil characteristics, and cambium electrical resistance (CER) of withered trees in an apartment complex with a high withering rate. The major plant groups examined consisted of native broad-leaved tree species (39.3%), native narrow-leaved tree species (24.2%), and native broad-leaved - exotic narrow-leaved tree species (16.4%). The planting density of the green area, where trees were planted from 0.0 to 0.3 trees per unit area, was measured as 98.4%. Withered trees were found in 19 of the 20 planted species, and the withering rate was 41.8% (610 withered/1,461 planted). Withering rates for tree species were measured as follows: Sophora japonica and Salix babylonica (100.0%), Magmolia denudata (84.3%), Lindera obtusiloba (74.7%), cornus kousa (69.3%), acer triflorum (69.2%), diospyros kaki (66.7%), Prunus yedoensis (62.8%), Acer palmatum (52.6%), Prunus armeniaca (51.1%), Chaenomeles sinensis (43.7%), Ginkgo biloba (40.9%), Zelkova serrata (31.0%), Cornus officinalis (28.6%), Taxus cuspidata (25.6%), Pinus densiflora (21.4%), Pinus parviflora (15.2%), Pinus strobus (14.6%), and Abies holophylla (10.3%). Soil chemical analyses for 18 samples revealed that as the withering rate increased, the following occurred: (a) the ratio of silt and clay in soil increased; (b) the soil pH, organic matter rate, nitrogen, available phosphorus, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in samples were graded as "inadequate," based on the plant grading evaluation; and (c) the NaCl and cation exchange capacity were evaluated as "somewhat satisfactory." The measurement of CER for withering rate shows electrical resistance for higher withering rate are higher, which could predict that a tree will not grow well.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.147-178
• /
• 2012

청정개발체제(CDM)는 1997년 교토의정서(Kyoto protocol)를 통해 확립된 온실가스 배출과 관련된 선진국과 개도국 간 협력 기제의 하나이다. 청정개발체제는 기본적으로 선진국의 정부 또는 민간조직이 개도국에서 배출감축 프로젝트를 수행하고, CER(Certified Emission Reduction)의 형태로 배출권을 얻는 것을 허용하고, CER을 자국의 배출감축목표 달성을 위해 사용할 수 있도록 하고 있다. 이 연구의 목적은 아세안 국가들의 청정개발 메커니즘의 성취도를 알아보는데 있으며, 자료는 2010년 10월 15일 현재 유엔기후변화기본협약(UNFCCC)에 등록된 254개 청정개발체제 사업을 대상으로 분석하였다. 이 연구의 결과, 전체 254개 사업 중 20%만이 탄소배출권을 받은 것으로 나타났으며, 실제 탄소배출권의 총량은 650만 톤이지만, 이는 전체 사업계획서에 반영된 양의 15%에 불과한 것으로 분석되었다. 또한 아세안 국가의 CDM사업과 관련된 장애 요인으로서는 (1) 사업 등록과 탄소배출권 승인 간 시간 격차가 존재하고, (2) 사업계획과 실제 승인량에 차이가 나타나며, (3) 특히 소규모 사업의 경우 높은 거래 비용 때문에 등록 후 배출승인을 신청하지 않고 있는 것으로 나타나고 있다. 이러한 연구결과는 아세안국가들이 CDM사업을 수행하는 데 있어서 선진국들의 주요 파트너가 되고 있지만, 실제로 사업을 통한 탄소배출량은 제한적일 수 있음을 의미한다. 따라서 일부 아세안 국가에서 교토의정서에 따라 자체적으로 탄소배출감축을 시도하고 있음을 고려할 때, 자체적인 CDM의 성공적인 경영, 수행, 운영을 위해 더 많은 선진국들의 협력과 지원이 주어질 필요가 있다.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.193-200
• /
• 2019

Ceramide metabolism is known to be an essential etiology for various diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and Gaucher disease. Glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) is a key enzyme for the synthesis of glucosylceramide (GlcCer), which is a main ceramide metabolism pathway in mammalian cells. In this article, we developed a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to determine GCS activity using synthetic non-natural sphingolipid C8-ceramide as a substrate. The reaction products, C8-GlcCer for GCS, could be separated on a C18 column by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Quantification was conducted using the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode to monitor the precursor-to-product ion transitions of m/z $588.6{\rightarrow}264.4$ for C8-GlcCer at positive ionization mode. The calibration curve was established over the range of 0.625-160 ng/mL, and the correlation coefficient was larger than 0.999. This method was successfully applied to detect GCS in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2 cells) and mouse peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We also evaluated the inhibition degree of a known GCS inhibitor 1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP) on GCS enzymatic activity and proved that this method could be successfully applied to GCS inhibitor screening of preventive and therapeutic drugs for ceramide metabolism diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and Gaucher disease.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.100-106
• /
• 2020

PURPOSE. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the fitting accuracy of single crowns made from a novel presintered Co-Cr alloy prepared with a computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technique, as compared with crowns manufactured by other digital and the conventional casting technique. Additionally, the influence of oxide layer on the fitting accuracy of specimens was tested. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A total of 40 test specimens made from Co-Cr alloy were investigated according to the fitting accuracy using a replica technique. Four different methods processing different materials were used for the manufacture of the crown copings (milling of presintered (Ceramill Sintron-group_cer_sin) or rigid alloy (Tizian NEM-group_ti_nem), selective laser melting (Ceramill NPL-group_cer_npl), and casting (Girobond NB-group_gir_nb)). The specimens were adapted to a resin model and the outer surfaces were airborne-particle abraded with aluminum oxide. After the veneering process, the fitting accuracy (absolute marginal discrepancy and internal gap) was evaluated by the replica technique in 2 steps, before removing the oxide layer from the intaglio surface of the crowns, and after removing the layer with aluminum oxide airborne-particle abrasion. Statistical analysis was performed by multifactorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) (α=.05). RESULTS. Mean absolute marginal discrepancy ranged between 20 ㎛ (group_cer_npl for specimens of Ceramill NPL) and 43 ㎛ (group_cer_sin for crowns of Ceramill Sintron) with the oxide layer and between 19 ㎛ and 28 ㎛ without the oxide layer. The internal gap varied between 33 ㎛ (group_ti_nem for test samples of Tizian NEM) and 75 ㎛ (group_gir_nb for the base material Girobond NB) with the oxide layer and between 30 ㎛ and 76 ㎛ without the oxide layer. The absolute marginal discrepancy and the internal gap were significantly influenced by the fabrication method used (P<.05). CONCLUSION. Different manufacturing techniques had a significant influence on the fitting accuracy of single crowns made from Co-Cr alloys. However, all tested crowns showed a clinically acceptable absolute marginal discrepancy and internal gap with and without oxide layer and could be recommended under clinical considerations. Especially, the new system Ceramill Sintron showed acceptable values of fitting accuracy so it can be suggested in routine clinical work.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.123-133
• /
• 2013

Green infrastructure projects have the potential to reduce global warming and deliver sustainable energy solutions. Recently, the construction industry has been expanding their portfolios in New and Renewable (NRE) projects. However, the economic feasibility of NRE projects have not been validated and construction companies are not acquainted with their associated risks. This research performed a two-tiered feasibility study of the domestic projects registered for CDM in the UNFCCC. The first phase involved calculating the average IRR and NPV of the domestic CDM projects, which showed that their profitability to be very low. In the second phase, four NRE projects (Solar, Wind, Hydro, Landfill Gas) were selected and additional income generated from Feed-in-Tariff and CER sales were added to determine the improvements in the projects' IRR and NPV. Results indicate that Solar and Landfill Gas projects benefited the most from the two support mechanisms, while benefits to Wind and Hydro projects were minimal. While the Landfill Gas project had the highest IRR, the Wind project was the most investment attractive due to its NPV and minimal dependency on FiT and CER sales. Construction companies should enter into NRE projects with a long term view as related technologies mature.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.207-213
• /
• 2018

Not only efficiency of chlorine evolution reaction (CER) but also durability namely service life is very important property in dimensional stable anode for Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) for marine ships. Many researchers have been focused on improving efficiency of CER by controlling composition, phase and surface area for a long time, but the efforts to increase durability was relatively small. In this study, we have investigated the effect of $TiO_2$ protective interlayers on efficiency and durability of DSA electrodes. $TiO_2$ protective interlayers were prepared by thermal oxidation at 500, 600 and $700^{\circ}C$ on Ti substrate. And then the DSA electrodes consisting of $Ti/RuO_2-PdO-TiO_2$ were prepared by thermal decomposition method on $TiO_2$ interlayers. The efficiencies of CER of DSA electrodes without $TiO_2$ interlayer and with $TiO_2$ interlayer grown at 500, 600 and $700^{\circ}C$ were 94.19, 94.45, 84.60 and 76.75% respectively. On the otherhand, durabilities were 30, 55, 90 and 65 hours respectively. In terms of industrial aspect, the performance of DSA is considered high efficiency and durability which can correspond to total production of chlorine. If we considered the performance index of DSA as the product of efficiency and durability, performance indices could be recalculated as 28.26, 50.85, 76.14 and 49.89 respectively. As the thermal oxidation temperature increasing, life time were increased remarkerbly, while efficiency of CER was decreased slightly. As a result, DSA electrode with $TiO_2$ interlayer grown at $600^{\circ}C$ has shown about 2.7 times performace of original DSA electrode without $TiO_2$ interlayer.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.186-194
• /
• 1994

Lack of seedling vigor is considered a serious deterrent to use of broadleafed birdsfoot trefoil (Lorus comicul~rus L.). Our objectives were to compare early seedling growth of broadleafed birdsfoot trefoil cultivar "MO-20" and the large-seeded accession 302921 at $15^{\circ}C$ and $25^{\circ}C$. in controlled-environment chambers. Cabon dioxide exchange rate (CER) was measured in a closed or open system using infrared gas analysis. Dark respiration rate was measured manometrically. Net carbon accumulated per day and growth analysis of the seedlings were calculated. Initial seed mass of 302921 was 3.5 times larger and final cotyledon area was 2 times larger than those of MO-20, and early seedling growth was better. But, from 3 weeks after emergence until the end of the test period at $25^{\circ}C$, MO-20 showed higher CER per unit leaf area and faster dry weight accumulation than did 302921. Compared with $25^{\circ}C$, growth of MO-20 at $15^{\circ}C$ was suppressed more than that of 302921. Dark respiration rate of MO-20 was slightly higher than that for 302921, but not COz uptake per day for MO-20 was highest at$25^{\circ}C$ and lowest at $25^{\circ}C$. The relative growth rate (RGR) of MO-20 was higher than 302921 at $25^{\circ}C$ due to high net assimilation rate, but there was little difference in RGR between entries at $15^{\circ}C$.}C$.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.139-150
• /
• 2024

Purpose : Scapular dyskinesis, it have been shown to be common in overhead athletes and has been associated with RC muscle strength. Posterior shoulder tightness (PST) has been suggested as an important factor causing scapular dyskinesis. Therefore, rehabilitation programs should focus on a posterior shoulder stretch combined with scapular stabilization exercise (PSSE) intervention. Determine the effects of posterior shoulder stretch combined with scapular stabilization exercise on the rotator cuff (RC) muscles strength, functional strength ratio (FSR), range of motion (ROM), and pain. Methods : 30 adolescent baseball players participated and subjects were allocated PSSE group (n=15) or the SSE group (n=15). Both group performed a 6-weeks intervention and measured of isokinetic peak torque/body weight (PT/BW) of concentric external rotator (CER), eccentric external rotator (EER), concentric internal rotator (CIR), eccentric internal rotator (EIR), FSR, ROM, and pain. Results : After 6 weeks PSSE, significant increase CER PT/BW (+6.02±4.76 %), EER PT/BW (+5.39±4.22 %), EER to CIR ratio (+.17±.16), and internal rotation ROM (+15.08±3.57 °). Whereas, significant decrease EIR to CER ratio (-.14±.18), external rotation ROM (-12.00±6.94 °), and GIRD (-17.41±2.84 °) compared with pre-intervention. No significant difference of isokinetic PT/BW of CIR and EER post-intervention. In the SSE group showed no significant difference all measurements for isokinetic PT/BW, FSR, and ROM post-intervention. The pain was significant improve both PSSE group (-3.25±1.60) and SSE group (-2.83±1.85) post-intervention. Conclusion : Both the PSSE and SSE interventions led to more pain relief. However, only the PSSE group showed ROM, CER, EER PT/BW, and FSR improvements. These results might suggest that the PSSE intervention is a more effective program for improving RC muscle strength and balance, in particular, concentric and eccentric ER muscle strength, FSR and can expect to prevent shoulder injuries in adolescent baseball players with scapular dyskinesis.