• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2013

We previously observed that Bacillus subtilis spores from sspE mutants presented a lower germination capacity in media containing high salt concentrations (0.9M NaCl). This deficiency was attributed to the absence of SASP-E (gamma-type small-acid-soluble protein), rich in osmocompatible amino acids released by degradation. Herein we observed that, in addition, this mutant spore presented a reduced capacity to use L-alanine as germinant (L-ala pathway), required longer times to germinate in calcium dipicolinate ($Ca^{2+}$-DPA), but germinated well in asparagine, glucose, fructose, and potassium chloride (AGFK pathway). Moreover, mild sonic treatment of mutant spores partially recovered their germination capacity in L-ala. Spore qualities were also altered, since sporulating colonies from the sspE mutant showed a pale brownish color, a higher adherence to agar plates, and lower autofluorescence, properties related to their spore coat content. Furthermore, biochemical analysis showed a reduced partition in hexadecane and a higher content of $Ca^{2+}$-DPA when compared with its isogenic wild-type control. Coat protein preparations showed a different electrophoretic pattern, in particular when detected with antibodies against CotG and CotE. The complementation with a wild-type sspE gene in a plasmid allowed for recovering the wild-type coat phenotype. This is the first report of a direct involvement of SASP-E in the spore coat assembly during the differentiation program of sporulation.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.72-79
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• 2014

Cavitation generated by ultrasonic irradiation can enhance the diffusional transport of organic contaminants from soil surfaces or pores. Therefore, ultrasound soil washing can be an alternative of traditional soil washing process. In this study, soil was artificially contaminated with n-tetradecane, n-hexadecane and phenanthrene. A plate type ultrasonic reactor at 25 kHz frequency and 1000W power was used for laboratory soil washing experiments. Ultrasonic soil washing efficiency was compared with those of traditional soil washing using mechanical mixing. Various operational parameter such as soil/liquid ratio, irradiation time, particle size, and soil organic matter content was tested to find out the optimum condition. It was found that ultrasonic soil washing demonstrates better performance than mechanical soil washing. Optimum soil:liquid ratio for ultrasonic soil washing was 1 : 5. Desorption of organic contaminants from soils by ultrasonic irradiation was relatively fast and reached equilibrium within 10 minute. However, decrease in the soil particle sizes by ultrasonic irradiation results in re-adsorption of contaminants to soil phase. It was also observed that soil particle size distribution and soil organic matter content have significant effects on the efficiency of ultrasonic soil washing.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.59.1-59.13
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• 2021

Background: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been identified as promising compounds for consideration as novel antimicrobial agents. Objectives: This study analyzed the efficacy of cecropin B against Haemophilus parasuis isolates through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments. Results: Cecropin B exhibited broad inhibition activity against 15 standard Haemophilus parasuis (HPS) strains and 5 of the clinical isolates had minimum inhibition concentrations (MICs) ranging from 2 to 16 ㎍/mL. Microelectrophoresis and hexadecane adsorption assays indicated that the more hydrophobic and the higher the isoelectric point (IEP) of the strain, the more sensitive it was to cecropin B. Through SEM, multiple blisters of various shapes and dents on the cell surface were observed. Protrusions and leakage were detected by AFM. Conclusions: Based on the results, cecropin B could inhibit HPS via a pore-forming mechanism by interacting with the cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria. Moreover, as cecropin B concentration increased, the bacteria membrane was more seriously damaged. Thus, cecropin B could be developed as an effective anti-HPS agent for use in clinical applications.

• Mycobiology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.223-234
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• 2021

Itajahya rosea was found growing in association with Leucaena leucocephala plants at Savitribai Phule Pune University campus in India. The species identity was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis based on ITS and LSU regions of rDNA, wherein, our fugus was placed along with I. rosea in phylogenetic tree. It represents first record of I. rosea from India. Frequent visitation by Drosophila species on I. rosea fruiting body particularly on gleba was observed. The Drosophila got attracted to the detached gleba under the laboratory conditions and even sometimes, they prefer to sit over the gleba as compare to their food banana. It suggested that I. rosea gleba or pseudostipe produces some compounds for attraction and feeding behavior of Drosophila species. Therefore, we characterized the volatile attractants produced by gleba and pseudostipe of I. rosea by GC-MS analysis. Nineteen compounds were identified from gleba while nine compounds were recovered from the pseudostipe. Out of them, blends of three abundant odor producing volatile compounds were reported namely, Hexadecane, Pentadecane and Nonadecane, which are responsible for attraction of Drosophila toward the gleba. Three fatty acids namely 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z), hexadecanoic acid and benzoic acid ethyl ester produced are served as an appetitive signal through olfactory response of Drosophila, so the flies were feed on the gleba. Two pheromones' compounds, heneicosane and (+)-(5S,9S)-5,9-dimethylpentadecane, were also reported in pseudostipe and gleba, respectively, which play a role in Drosophila for breeding. Our study highlights an intriguing chemical ecology of fungus-Drosophila interaction.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.13-30
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• 2024

Swietenia mahagoni is one of the commercial timbers in Indonesia. Mahogany heartwood is an important characteristic as it relates to the natural durability and aesthetics of the wood. Lipophilic extractives are known to be involved in the heartwood formation process. Therefore, this study aims to determine the lipophilic compounds associated with heartwood formation. The n-hexane extract from sapwood and heartwood samples (1 to 5 years) was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that the content of n-hexane extract ranged from 0.76% to 2.45% based on dry wood. The main group of compounds identified in the lipophilic fraction consisted of sterols (β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campasterol, and cyclolaudenol), fatty acids (palmitic, oleic, linoleic, and stearic acid), and hydrocarbons (pentadecane, 1-octadecane, hexadecane, cyclotetracosane, cycloeicosane, and cyclooctacosane) after heartwood formation. In addition, the hydrocarbon fraction was the largest, followed by sterols, fatty acids, and 1-heneicosanol. In the radial variation, the distribution of fatty acids was greater in the sapwood than in the heartwood (4-year-old). However, the reverse pattern was found at the age of 5 years. The lipophilic fraction was generally more abundant in the heartwood compared to the sapwood, especially at 5 years of age, with much higher levels than when the heartwood was forming (4 years). These findings show that when the heartwood formation begins, the lipid composition was not fully metabolized at the beginning of heartwood formation compared to 5-year-old trees.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.35-43
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• 2005

Bioslurping combines the three remedial approaches of bioventing, vacuum-enhanced free-product recovery, and soil vapor extraction. Bioslurping is less effective in tight (low-permeability) soils. The greatest limitation to air permeability is excessive soil moisture. Optimum soil moisture is very soil-specific. Too much moisture can reduce air permeability of the soil and decrease its oxygen transfer capability. Too little moisture will inhibit microbial activity. So Modified Fenton reaction as chemical treatment which can overcome the weakness of Bioslurping was experimented for simultaneous treatment. Although the diesel removal efficiency of SVE process increased in proportion to applied vacuum pressure, SVE process was difficulty to remediation quickly semi- or non-volatile compounds absorbed soil strongly. And SVE process had variation of efficiency with distance from the extraction well and depth a air flow form of hemisphere centering around the well. Below 0.1 % hydrogen peroxide shows the potential of using hydrogen peroxide as oxygen source but the co-oxidation of chemical and biological treatment was impossible because of the low efficiency of Modified Fenton reaction at 0.1 % (wt) hydrogen peroxide. NTA was more efficiency than EDTA as chelating agent and diesel removal efficiency of Modified Fenton reaction increased in proportion to hydrogen peroxide concentration. Hexadecane as typical aliphatic compound was removed less than Toluene as aromatic compound because of its structural stability in Modified Fenton reaction. What minimum 10% hydrogen peroxide concentration has good remediation efficiency of diesel contaminated groundwater may show the potential use of Modified Fenton reaction after bioslurping treatment.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.677-683
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• 2005

In this work, the effect of additives such as solvent, sodium dodecyl sulfate and NaCl on microemulsion phase behavior and flux removal efficiency in systems containing commercial alkyl ethoxylates nonionic surfactant was investigated. The addition of a n-hydrocarbon as a solvent produced on O/W (Oil/Water) microemulsion phase over a wider range of temperature and cosurfactant to surfactant ratios. Especially, the addition of n-hexadecane to the surfactant system, which was the most hydrophobic solvent among the solvents used in this study, produced a microemulsion phase over a wide range of temperatures and promoted formation of a microemulsion phase at lower temperatures. The candidate for cleaner samples, prepared from phase behavior experiments, showed excellent removal efficiency for abietic acid at $40^{\circ}C$. These data suggested the potential applicability of hydrocarbons to actual cleaner formulations.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2013

The characteristics of methane production from pig manure slurry was investigated using anaerobic digestor combined with compost filtration bed. In this study, raw pig manure slurry was digested in mesophilic rectangular digester (effective volume $250m^3$) for 25 days and anaerobic digestion wastewater was filtered through compost filtration bed, which is composed of double layer, sawdust and chaff. The characteristics of anaerobic digestion wastewater were BOD 1,800 mg/L, COD 3,500 mg/L, SS 11,800 mg/L, T-N 1,200 mg/L and T-P 350 mg/L. After the filtration process, the contents of BOD, COD, SS, T-N and T-P of the anaerobic digestion wastewater were reduced by 97%, 62%, 89%, 39% and 57%, respectively. The concentrations of N, $P_2O_5$, and $K_2O$ of the leachate were 1,024, 111 and 407 mg/L, respectively. However, there was no odor emitted from the leachate.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.518-525
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• 2007

The thermomechanical properties and morphologies of nanocomposite fibers of poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET) incorporating thermally stable organoclays are compared. Dodecyltriphenyl-phosphonium-mica($C_{12}PPh-Mica$) and 1-hexadecane benzimidazole-mica ($C_{16}BIMD-Mica$) were used as reinforcing fillers in the fabrication of PET hybrid fibers. Dispersions of organoclays with PET were studied by using the in-situ polymerization method at various organoclay contents to produce nano-scale composites. The thermo-mechanical properties and morphologies of the PET hybrid fibers were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), and a universal tensile machine (UTM). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs show that some of the clay layers are dispersed homogeneously within the polymer matrix on the nano-scale, although some clay particles are agglomerated. We also found that the addition of only a small amount of organoclay is enough to improve the thermal stabilities and mechanical properties of the PET nanocomposite fibers. Even polymers with low organoclay content (<5 wt%) were found to exhibit much higher thermo-mechanical values than pure PET fibers.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.471-478
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• 2016

For the distribution of fresh produce, the thermoelectric cooling system combined with thermo electric materials (TEM) and phase change material (PCM) was studied. The PCM used this study was produced by in-situ polymerization technology which referred microencapsulation of hydrocarbon (n-tetradecane and n-hexadecane). In this study, quality characteristics of bell peppers in thermoelectric cooling system combined with TEM and PCM were analyzed and control was placed in an EPS (expanded polystyrene) box. As a result of quality characteristics analysis, weight of bell peppers decreased and moisture content of bell peppers was 90.96~94.43% during storage. Vitamin C content of bell pepper decreased during storage and reduction ratio of control was higher than that of BPT-5 treatment(bell pepper in thermoelectric cooling system with PCM which is kept the temperature at $5^{\circ}C$). The result of color value, on 21 day, ${\Delta}E$ value of BPT-5 treatment was 5.05 while that of control was 41.8. On 21 day, total bacteria count of BPT-5 treated bell pepper shown less than that of control. In conclusion, it suggested that the thermoelectric cooling system combined with PCM improved quality of fresh produce during transportation and storage.