• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1207-1215
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• 2014

Candida albicans, the major human fungal pathogen, undergoes morphological transition from the budding yeast form to filamentous growth in response to nitrogen starvation. In this study, we identified a new function of GST2, whose expression was required for filamentous growth of C. albicans under nitrogen-limiting conditions. The Gst2p showed Gst activity and required response to oxidative stress. The ${\Delta}gst2$ mutant displayed predominantly yeast phase growth in low ammonium media. Such morphological defect of ${\Delta}gst2$ mutants was not rescued by overexpression of Mep2p, Cph1p, or Efg1p, but was rescued by either overexpression of a hyperactive $RAS1^{G13V}$ allele or through exogenous addition of cyclic AMP. In addition, the ${\Delta}gst2$ mutants had lower levels of RAS1 transcripts than wild-type cells under conditions of nitrogen starvation. These results were consistent with the Ras1-cAMP pathway as a possible downstream target of Gst2p. These findings suggest that Gst2p is a significant component of nitrogen starvation-induced filamentation in C. albicans.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.816-820
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• 2018

The stringent response (SR), which is activated by accumulation of (p)ppGpp under conditions of growth-inhibiting stresses, plays an important role on growth and virulence in Vibrio cholerae. Herein, we carried out a genome-wide screen using transposon random mutagenesis to identify genes controlled by SR in a (p)ppGpp-overproducing mutant strain. One of the identified SR target genes was flaC encoding flagellin. Genetic studies using flaC and SR mutants demonstrated that FlaC was involved in bacterial growth, toxin production, and normal flagellum function under conditions of high (p)ppGpp levels, suggesting FlaC plays an important role in SR-induced pathogenicity in V. cholerae.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1353-1362
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• 2005

The stressful physiological and environmental conditions around weaning often promote the proliferation of pathogens in the digestive tract of piglets resulting in diarrhoea and reduced daily weight gain. Typical dietary practices to maintain growth performance and health have led to an increased use of antimicrobial growth promoters. Due to the advanced ban of antibiotics in pig production, new concepts have been developed to secure animal health and growth performance, feed efficiency, and product quality as well. Several naturally occurring compounds seem to beneficially affect the composition and activity of the microflora in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of pigs. These are, among others, organic acids, probiotics, prebiotics, and enzymes. Organic acids are already widely used, especially in pigs, due to their positive effects on GIT health and growth performance. Probiotics have been shown to be effective against diarrhoea though effects may be dependent on diet composition and environmental conditions. Prebiotics may influence composition and activity of the intestinal microflora. Additionally, pre- and probiotics may exert positive influences on immune response, whereas enzymes may enhance feed digestibility by breaking down anti-nutritional factors. In the following, the focus will be directed to the role of organic acids, probiotics, prebiotics, and feeding enzymes as potential modulators of GIT health.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.962-971
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• 2002

The current study proposes a simple monodimensional model to estimate the linear growth rate of photosynthetic microorganisms in flat-plate photobioreactors (FPPBRs) during batch cultivation. As a model microorganism, Chlorella kessleri was cultivated photoautotrophically in FPPBRs using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the light sources to provide unidirectional irradiation in the photobioreactors. Various conditions were simulated by adjusting both the intensity of the light and the height of the culture. The validity of the proposed model was examined by comparing the linear growth rates measured with the predicted ones obtained from the proposed model. Accordingly, the value of $\frac{K\cdot\mu m}{\alpha\cdot L}log(I_0\cdot{I_s}^{\varepsilon 1)\cdot {I_c}^{-\varepsilon})$ was proposed as an approximate index for strategies to obtain the maximal lightn yield under light-limiting conditions for high-density algal cultures and as a control parameter to improve the photosynthetic productivity and efficiency.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1472-1477
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• 2013

Microalgae have been regarded as a natural resource for sustainable materials and fuels, as well as for removal of nutrients and micropollutants from wastewater, and their interaction with bacteria in wastewater is a critical factor to consider because of the microbial diversity and complexity in a variety of wastewater conditions. Despite their importance, very little is known about the ecological interactions between algae and bacteria in a wastewater environment. In this study, we characterized the wastewater bacterial community in response to the growth of a Selenastrum gracile UTEX 325 population in a real municipal wastewater environment. The Roche 454 GS-FLX Titanium pyrosequencing technique was used for indepth analysis of amplicons of 16S rRNA genes from different conditions in each reactor, with and without the algal population. The algal growth reduced the bacterial diversity and affected the bacterial community structure in the wastewater. The following in-depth analysis of the deep-sequenced amplicons showed that the algal growth selectively stimulated Sphingobacteria class members, especially the Sediminibacterium genus population, in the municipal wastewater environment.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.63-74
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• 1998

In the study, the feasibility of deposit soil in river and stream bed as a subsitute for conventional plant soil was investigated through the analysis of soil characteristics and germination/growth rate for 75 days. Proper mixtures among sediments from various places were compared to optimize the germination and growth rate of plant in the ratio of 2 : 1 and 3 : 1 (sand : deposit). From the results, it could be concluded that the sediment mixed 3 : 1 showed most favorable germination and growth conditions for pansy and the sediment containing enough amount of silt and clay components showed most favorable conditions for marigold. Consequently, the feasibility of sediments as a substitutional plant soil was evaluated to be high, once the sediments were properly mixed for each specific plant.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.319-327
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• 2017

In this study, we investigated the culture conditions of four ectomycorrhizal fungi, namely, Amanita spissacea NIFoS 2719, Pisolithus arhizus NIFoS 2784, Suillus spraguei NIFoS 2848, and Xanthoconium affine NIFoS 2716, in solid and liquid culture media. In addition, we attempted to induce in vitro mycorrhization of the fungi with Pinus densiflora. Prior to liquid culture, we determined the optimal culture conditions for each species in solid media. The results revealed that all species examined are capable of growth in potato dextrose agar (PDA), malt extract agar (MEA), and modified Melin-Norkran's medium (MMN), although their preferred growth media were different. Liquid culture experiments showed that inorganic nitrogen did not enhance the mycelial growth of all four species. Therefore, we used MMN-based liquid inocula to promote the growth of ectomycorrhizal fungi in our symbiosis culture system. Mycorrhization was observed in Xanthoconium affine NIFoS 2716. Morphological analysis revealed that fungi-inoculated roots of P. densiflora form simple and dichotomous lateral roots with dense mycelia. In addition, inoculation with X. affine NIFoS 2716 promoted root and shoot developments.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.277-284
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• 2006

In order to ensure the structural integrity of nuclear welded structures during design life, the fatigue life has to be evaluated by fatigue analysis procedures presented in technical codes such as ASME B&PV Code Section III. However, existing fatigue analysis procedures do not explicitly consider the presence of welded joints. A new fatigue analysis procedure based on a structural stress/fracture mechanics approach has been recently developed in order to reduce conservatism by erasing uncertainty in the analysis procedure. A recent review of fatigue crack growth data under various mean loading conditions using the structural stress/fracture mechanics approach, does not consider the mean loading effect, revealed some significant discrepancies in fatigue crack growth curves according to the mean loading conditions. In this paper, we propose the use of the stress intensity factor range ${\Delta}K$ characterized with loading ratio R effects in terms of the structural stress. We demonstrate the effectiveness in characterizing fatigue crack growth and S-N behavior using the well-known data. It was identified that the S-N data under high mean loading could be consolidated in a master S-N curve for welded joints.

• Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2000

The present study was undertaken in investigate the response to salinity and effect of plant growth regulators and proline under salinity stress on the germination and seedling growth of Vigna angularis. The protective effect of external Ca2+ on root elongation under saline conditions was also investigated. The seed germination of Vigna angularis decreased with an increase in salinity. The growth regulators GA3 was more effective than kinetin. At a higher salinity, low concentrations of kinetin and high concentrations of GA3 were more effective. The external application of proline and betaine improved germination under saline conditions. At a low salinity proline and betaine alleviated the salinity-induced inhibition of germination, yet at higher NaCl concentrations, proline and betaine were both ineffective. Exposure to salinity during germination was accompanied by an increase in the proline content, thereby suggesting that one compatible solute in the germinating seed would seem to be proline. The inhibition of germination by high NaCl concentrations was relatively more severe in scarified seeds than in intact seeds, indicating that the seed coat acts as a partial barrier to an Na2+ ameliorated the adverse effect of salinity stress.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.157-167
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• 1978

The batch compositions and physical properties of slag-ceramics were studied with respect to their formability from the molten state and conditions of nucleation and crystal growth treatment. The selected batch compositions for nucleation and growth studies were slag, 56%; silica sand, 28%; $Na_2O＋MgO$, 8% and $TiO_2＋$chromite, 8%. The optimum nucleation condition was the temperature of 75$0^{\circ}C$ with 6 hrs. holding time and the optimum growth condition was the temperature 975$^{\circ}C$ with zero holding time. The slag-ceramics prepared under the above conditions showed the best developed microtexture. The grown crystals were identified as diopside with the average grain size of 5.7$\mu\textrm{m}$, and the amount of crystal grown were about 53% by weight. The prepared specimens of slag-ceramics showed the microhardness, 793kg/$\textrm{mm}^2$; MOR, 1,050 kg/$\textrm{cm}^2$ and thermal expansion coefficient, $85{\div}10^{-7}$cm/cm/$^{\circ}C$($25^{\circ}C$~$700^{\circ}C$).