• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.383-389
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• 2003

A cDNA (SeMIPS) encoding myo-inositol 1-phosphate synthase has been isolated from developing sesame (Sesamum indicum L. cv. Dan-Baek) seeds and its structure and function analyzed. The SeMIPS protein was highly homologous with those from plant species (88-94%), while a much lower degree of sequence homology (60%) was found with that of human. The functional domains commonly found in MIPS protein were identified and their amino acid residues were compared with each other. Northern blot indicated that the expression of the SeMIPS gene might be organ-specifically regulated. A complementation assay based on a yeast mutant system confirmed that the SeMIPS gene encodes a myo-inositol 1-phosphate synthase (MIPS) of sesame by showing functional expression of the SeMIPS cDNA in the yeast mutants containing the disrupted INO1 gene.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.536-555
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• 2022

The most abundant Orthoptera in Mexico is a small grasshopper (Sphenarium purpurascens) which is considered a food source with increased nutritional value due to its high protein content. Insect proteins have gained relevance because of their high potential as gelling, texturing, and extender agents in the food industry. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of substituting meat with a soluble protein extract from grasshopper obtained by alkalisation or alkalisation-piezoelectric ultrasound, on the techno-functional, physicochemical, and sensory characteristics of cooked meat models (sausages). The soluble protein was extracted in NaHCO₃ pH 8 and a piezoelectric ultrasound 5-mm sonotrode at 20 kHz with 99% amplitude. Different formulations with meat substitution: 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% were prepared and characterised for their rheological behaviour, emulsion stability, weight loss by cooking, total protein content, colour, and texture. Sensory evaluation was conducted with consumers using a test involving check-all-that-apply and overall liking. The alkalisation-piezoelectric ultrasound method improved the solubility and the techno-functional properties of the soluble grasshopper protein when applied in sausages at maximum levels of 10% meat substitution. The sensory evaluation indicated that the formulation with 5% meat substitution exhibited the same acceptability as the control sample. Given these results, the soluble protein treated with alkalisation and piezoelectric ultrasound could be used as an extender in meat products.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.644-655
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• 2023

Safety assessment and functional analysis of probiotic candidates are important for their industrial applications. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum is one of the most widely recognized probiotic strains. In this study we aimed to determine the functional genes of L. plantarum LRCC5310, isolated from kimchi, using next-generation, whole-genome sequencing analysis. Genes were annotated using the Rapid Annotations using Subsystems Technology (RAST) server and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) pipelines to establish the strain's probiotic potential. Phylogenetic analysis of L. plantarum LRCC5310 and related strains showed that LRCC5310 belonged to L. plantarum. However, comparative analysis revealed genetic differences between L. plantarum strains. Carbon metabolic pathway analysis based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database showed that L. plantarum LRCC5310 is a homofermentative bacterium. Furthermore, gene annotation results indicated that the L. plantarum LRCC5310 genome encodes an almost complete vitamin B₆ biosynthetic pathway. Among five L. plantarum strains, including L. plantarum ATCC 14917^T , L. plantarum LRCC5310 detected the highest concentration of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate with 88.08 ± 0.67 nM in MRS broth. These results indicated that L. plantarum LRCC5310 could be used as a functional probiotic for vitamin B₆ supplementation.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.39 no.9
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• pp.822-828
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• 2002

Fabrication and electrical characterization of R. F. High-power unit capacitors were investigated to study on condition of fabrication processing for R. F. High-power unit capacitor and electrical characteristics according to addition of $ZrO_2$. The unit capacitors were fabricated using tape casting. The optimum mixture ratio of dielectrics and mixing binder for the slurry fabrication was 57.5∼60.0: 42.5∼40.0 wt%. The slurry viscosity was 4000∼5000 cps and casting state of green tape fabricated using these slurry was excellent. Optimum stacking was made by 200 kg/$cm^2$ pressure with 80$^{\circ}C$ heating. $ZrO_2$ was added to improve the electrical characteristics of unit capacitor, especially breakdown characteristics. The dielectric constant and loss factor of the unit condenser having different $ZrO_2$ amounts was not changed in the addition range of 1 to 5 wt%. Also, dielectric constant was not changed in the frequency range of 10 to 500 kHz. It was found that characteristics of resistance voltage was improved through the formation of $CaZrO_3$ and the reduction of particle size as about 3wt% $ZrO_2$ was added.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.709-711
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• 2001

To elucidate the putative role of the amido group in the metal binding of the fuculose-1-phosphate aldolase from Methanococcus jannaschii, we have examined a potential targen using site-directed mutagenesis. The replacement of asparagine 25 with leucine or threonine was shown to have a negative effect, not only on catlytic efficiency, but also on substrage recognition as well. The Hill coefficient values yeilded a value of =1. All metals used with the wild-type aldolases exhibited higher activity than that of the mutants. The spectra of the mutants were quite different from the wild-type aldolase. A highly conserved amino acid of asparagine 25 in a related family of aldolase odes not appear to provide sufficient evidence for evolution.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.55-57
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• 2002

The fabrication, characterization and manipulation of nanosystems brings together physics, chemistry, materials science and biology in an unprecedented way, Phenomena occurring in such systems are fundamental to the workings of electronic devices, but also to living organisms. The ability to fabricate nanostructures is essential in the further development of functional devices that incorporate nanoscale features. Even more essential is the ability to introduce a wide range of chemical and materials flexibility into these structures to build up more complex nanostructures that can ultimately rival biological nanosystems. In this respect, polymers are potentially ideal nanoscale building blocks because of their length scale, well-defined architecture, controlled synthesis, ease of processing and wide range of chemical functionality that can be incorporated. In this presentation, we will look at a number of promising polymer-based nanofabrication strategies that have been developed recently, with an emphasis on those techniques that incorporate nanostructured polymers into devices and that exploit intrinsic polymer properties.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.1523-1526
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• 2012

In this work, we prepared activated multi-walled carbon nanotubes/polyacrylonitrile (A-MWCNTs/C) composites by film casting and activation method. Electrochemical properties of the composites were investigated in terms of serving as MWCNTs-based electrode materials for electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs). As a result, the A-MWCNTs/C composites had much higher BET specific surface area, and pore volume, and lower volume ratio of micropores than those of pristine MWCNTs/PAN ones. Furthermore, some functional groups were added on the surface of the A-MWCNTs/C composites. The specific capacitance of the A-MWCNTs/C composites was more than 4.5 times that of the pristine ones at 0.1 V discharging voltage owing to the changes of the structure and surface characteristics of the MWCNTs by activation process.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.36
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• pp.33-37
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• 2016

Cellulose binding domains (CBDs) of cellulases are thought to assist in the hydrolysis of insoluble crystalline cellulose. To gain sufficient amount of CBDs, the self-cleavable intein tag was used for expression and purification of Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I CBD in E. coli. Synthetic CBD genes, CBD or linker-CBD were cloned into expression vector pTYB11. Recombinant CBDs were successfully purified by intein mediated purification with an affinity chitin-binding domain. The final yields of recombinant CBD and linker-CBD were 3.2 mg/L and 1.4 mg/L, respectively. The functional bindings of recombinant CBDs were confirmed by Avicel binding experiments. The simple and easy purification method using self-cleavable intein tag can be further used in pretreatment of crystalline cellulose or characterization of engineered CBDs.

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.12
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• pp.655-661
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• 2016

Polymer brush is a soft material unit tethered covalently on the surface of scaffolds. It can induce functional and structural modification of a substrate's properties. Such surface coating approach has attracted special attentions in the fields of stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine due to facile fabrication, usability of various polymers, extracellular matrix (ECM)-like structural features, and in vivo stability. Here, we summarized polymer brush-based grafting approaches comparing self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-based coating method, in addition to physico-chemical characterization techniques for surfaces such as wettability, stiffness/elasticity, roughness, and chemical composition that can affect cell adhesion, differentiation, and proliferation. We also reviewed recent advancements in cell biological applications of polymer brushes by focusing on stem cell differentiation and 3D supports/implants for tissue formation. Understanding cell behaviors on polymer brushes in the scale of nanometer length can contribute to systematic understandings of cellular responses at the interface of polymers and scaffolds and their simultaneous effects on cell behaviors for promising platform designs.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.143-145
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• 2009

The electrical and photovoltaic properties of single junction silicon quantum dot solar cells are investigated. A prototype solar cell with an effective area of 4.7 $mm^2$ showed an open circuit voltage of 394 mV and short circuit current density of 0.062 $mA/cm^2$. A diode model with series and shunt resistances has been applied to characterize the dark current-voltage data. The photocurrent of the quantum-dot solar cell was found to be strongly dependent on the applied voltage bias, which can be understood by consideration of the conduction mechanism of the activated carriers in the quantum dot imbedded material.