• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1218-1223
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• 2012

${\varepsilon}$-Poly-$_L$-lysine (${\varepsilon}$-PL), produced by Streptomyces or Kitasatospora strains, is a homo-poly-amino acid of $_L$-lysine, which is used as a safe food preservative. The present study investigates the combined use of cell immobilization and in situ adsorption (ISA) to produce ${\varepsilon}$-PL in shaken flasks. Loofah sponge-immobilized Streptomyces ahygroscopicus GIM8 produced slightly more ${\varepsilon}$-PL than those immobilized on synthetic sponge, and sugarcane bagasse. Moreover, loofah sponge supported the maximum biomass. Hence, loofah sponge was chosen for cell immobilization. Meanwhile, the ion-exchange resin D152 was employed for ISA. The loofah sponge-immobilized cells produced $0.54{\pm}0.1g/l$ ${\varepsilon}$-PL, which significantly increased to $3.64{\pm}0.32g/l$ after combining with ISA through the addition of resin bags. The free cells with ISA using the dispersed resin yielded $2.73{\pm}0.26g/l$ of ${\varepsilon}$-PL, an increase from $0.82{\pm}0.08g/l$. These data illustrate that the proposed combination method improved production most significantly compared with either immobilization or ISA only. Moreover, the immobilized cells could be repeatedly used and an ${\varepsilon}$-PL total amount of $8.05{\pm}0.84g/l$ was obtained. The proposed combination method offers promising perspectives for ${\varepsilon}$-PL production.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.186-193
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• 2017

Tetrandrine (Tet), a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, has been reported to have a radiosensitization effect on tumors. However, its effects on human glioma and the specific molecular mechanisms of these effects remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that Tet has a radiosensitization effect on human glioma cells. It has been hypothesized that Tet has a radiosensitization effect on glioma cells by affecting the glioma cell cycle and DNA repair mechanism and that ERK mediates these activities. Therefore, we conducted detailed analyses of the effects of Tet on the cell cycle by performing flow cytometric analysis and on DNA repair by detecting the expression of phosphorylated H2AX by immunofluorescence. We used western blot analysis to investigate the role of ERK in the effect of Tet on the cell cycle and DNA repair. The results revealed that Tet exerts its radiosensitization effect on glioma cells by inhibiting proliferation and decreasing the expression of phosphorylated ERK and its downstream proteins. In summary, our data indicate that ERK is involved in Tet-induced radiosensitization of glioma cells via inhibition of glioma cell proliferation or of the cell cycle at G0/G1 phase.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.231-276
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• 2017

Chinese society faces increasing outbreaks of labor disputes, may of which are usually characterized as 'the highest level since the establishment of PRC'. Guangdong Province is the hottest place for increasing labor disputes as well as for flexible responses by the local government and labor agencies. Interest-pursuit bargaining model becomes one of the outstanding characteristics for recent labor disputes in Guangdong Province. Chinese central government promulgated well-managed policy package for labor dispute settlement in 2015. Guangdong Province government went one step further by introducing to institutionalize labor dispute settlement. To channel labor dispute conflicts into manageable direction, reliability and capacity of bottom level trade unions become much more essential for the authorities than before. Guangdong Confederation of Trade Unions leads some important experiments of trade union reforms. Employment of 'social cadres' of trade unions by local trade union organizations is the most outstanding experiment to satisfy increasing needs from bottom level ordinary workers who don't have efficient union organizations. It needs to be seen whether changing labor policies go beyond the limits of 'security priority principle'.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.955-961
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• 2020

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have caused many microbiological incidents in the brewing industry, resulting in severe economic loss. Meanwhile, traditional culturing method for detecting LAB are time-consuming for brewers. The present review introduces LAB as spoilage microbes in daily life, with focus on LAB in the brewing industry, targeting at the spoilage mechanism of LAB in brewing industry including the special metabolisms, the exist of the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state and the hop resistance. At the same time, this review compares the traditional and novel rapid detection methods for these microorganisms which may provide innovative control and detection strategies for preventing alcoholic beverage spoilage, such as improvement of microbiological quality control using advanced culture media or different isothermal amplification methods.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.358-365
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• 2015

ε-Poly-L-lysine (ε-PL) is a homopolymer of L-lysine molecules connected between the epsilon amino and alpha carboxyl groups. This polymer is currently used as a natural preservative in food. Insufficient biomass is a major problem in ε-PL fermentation. Here, to improve cell growth and ε-PL productivity, various nitrogen-rich nutrients were supplemented into flask cultures after 16 h cultivation, marking the onset of ε-PL biosynthesis. Yeast extract, soybean powder, corn powder, and beef extract significantly improved cell growth. In terms of ε-PL productivity, yeast extract at 0.5% (w/v) gave the maximum yield (2.24 g/l), 115.4% higher than the control (1.04 g/l), followed by soybean powder (1.86 g/l) at 1% (w/v) and corn powder (1.72 g/l) at 1% (w/v). However, supplementation with beef extract inhibited ε-PL production. The optimal time for supplementation for all nutrients examined was at 16 h cultivation. The kinetics of yeast-extract-supplemented cultures showed enhanced cell growth and production duration. Thus, the most commonly used two-stage pH control fed-batch fermentation method was modified by omitting the pH 5.0-controlled period, and coupling the procedure with nutrient feeding in the pH 3.9-controlled phase. Using this process, by continuously feeding 0.5 g/h of yeast extract, soybean powder, or corn powder into cultures in a 30 L fermenter, the final ε-PL titer reached 28.2 g/l, 23.7 g/l, and 21.4 g/l, respectively, 91.8%, 61.2%, and 45.6% higher than that of the control (14.7 g/l). This describes a promising option for the mass production of ε-PL.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.2023-2028
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• 2013

A number of studies have indicated that Nurr1, which belongs to a novel class of orphan nuclear receptors (the NR4A family), is important for carcinogenesis. Here we investigated expression of Nurr1 protein in benign and malignant human prostate tissues and association with clinicopathologic features using immunohistochemical techniques. Moreover, we also investigated the ability of Nurr1 to influence proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of human prostate cancer cells using small interfering RNA silencing. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the expression of Nurr1 protein was higher in prostate cancer tissues than in benign prostate tissue (P<0.001), levels being positively correlated with tumor T classification (P = 0.003), N classification (P = 0.017), M classification (P = 0.011) and the Gleason score (P = 0.020) of prostate cancer patients. In vitro, silencing of endogenous Nurr1 attenuated cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and induced apoptosis of prostate cancer cells. These results suggest that Nurr1 may be used as an indicator for prostate cancer progression and be useful for novel potential therapeutic strategies.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.5-12
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• 2015

The authors calculate the long-term predictability of GDP, domestic demand, investment, and net exports for Guangdong province, P.R. China from 2000 to 2013. A vector autoregressive (VAR) model with quarterly data for this period is first co-integrated then the Granger causality test is applied to empirically assess the relationships among gross domestic product (GDP), consumption, investment, and net exports. There is a strong causality effect between investment and net exports in Guangdong province. However, the variance decomposition results indicate that exports respond to foreign shocks rather than domestic ones, making their impact on the Guangdong economy to predict. Results show the stimulating effect of domestic demand on GDP is larger than the stimulating effect of net exports and much larger than even the stimulating effect of investment. The analysis suggests that there are dynamic influences with various levels of persistence between GDP, consumption, investment, and net exports. Macroeconomic policy adjustments are urgently required to expand domestic demand and thereby stimulate economic growth in Guangdong province.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.34-45
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• 2021

On February 18, 2019, the Chinese government officially released the Outline of the Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which will lead the country in a new round of reform and opening-up. The Greater Bay Area will become a dynamic world-class city cluster, an international scientific and technological innovation center with global influence, an important support for the development of the "One Belt And One Road", a demonstration area for in-depth cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao, and a high-quality living area for living, working and traveling. Non-Pearl River Delta(Non-PRD) cities in Guangdong Province are adjacent to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, so it is of practical significance to promote the high-quality development of urban tourism from an international perspective. Based on the panel data released in Guangdong Yearbook 2019, this paper uses the envelopment data analysis (DEA) method to explore ways to promote the high-quality tourism development of Non-PRD cities in Guangdong Province based on the perspective of international development.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.107-116
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• 2019

Nitrogen removal, nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) emission and microbial community in sequencing batch and continuous-flow intermittent aeration processes were investigated. Two sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) and two continuous-flow multiple anoxic and aerobic reactors (CMRs) were operated under high dissolved oxygen (DO) (SBR-H and CMR-H) and low DO (SBR-L and CMR-L) concentrations, respectively. Nitrogen removal was enhanced under CMR and low DO conditions (CMR-L). The highest total inorganic nitrogen removal efficiency of 91.5% was achieved. Higher nitrifying and denitrifying activities in SBRs were observed. CMRs possessed higher $N_2O$ emission factors during nitrification in the presence of organics, with the highest $N_2O$ emission factor of 60.7% in CMR-L. SBR and low DO conditions promoted $N_2O$ emission during denitrification. CMR systems had higher microbial diversity. Candidatus Accumulibacter, Nitrosomonadaceae and putative denitrifiers ($N_2O$ reducers and producers) were responsible for $N_2O$ emission.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1673-1682
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• 2013

Citrobacter sp. is a cause of significant opportunistic nosocomial infection and is frequently found in human and animal feces, soil, and sewage water, and even in industrial waste or putrefaction. Biofilm formation is an important virulence trait of Citrobacter sp. pathogens but the process and characteristics of this formation are unclear. Therefore, we employed in vitro assays to study the nutritional and environmental parameters that might influence biofilm formation of C. werkmanii BF-6 using 96-well microtiter plates. In addition, we detected the relative transcript levels of biofilm formation genes by RT-PCR. Our results indicated that the capacity of C. werkmanii BF-6 to form biofilms was affected by culture temperature, media, time, pH, and the osmotic agents glucose, sucrose, NaCl, and KCl. Confocal laser scanning microscopy results illustrated that the structure of biofilms and extracellular polysaccharide was influenced by 100 mM NaCl or 100 mM KCl. In addition, nine biofilm formation genes (bsmA, bssR, bssS, csgD, csgE, csgF, mrkA, mrkB, and mrkE) were found to contribute to planktonic and biofilm growth. Our data suggest that biofilm formation by C. werkmanii BF-6 is affected by nutritional and environmental factors, which could pave the way to the prevention and elimination of biofilm formation using proper strategies.