• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.366-369
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• 2005

NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) transfers electrons from NADPH to cytochrome P450 and also catalyzes the one-electron reduction of many drugs and foreign compounds. Various spectrophotometric assays have been performed to examine electron-accepting properties of CPR and its ability to reduce cytochrome $b_5$, cytochrome c, and ferricyanide. In this report, reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) by CPR has been assessed as a method for monitoring CPR activity. The principle advantage of this substance is that the reduction of MTT can be assayed directly in the reaction medium by a continuous spectrophotometric method. The electrons released from NADPH by CPR were transferred to MTT. MTT reduction activity was then assessed spectrophotometrically by measuring the increase of $A_{610}$. MTT reduction followed classical Michaelis-Menten kinetics ($K_m\;=\;20\;{\mu}M$, $k_{cat}\;=\;1,910\;min^{-1}$). This method offers the advantages of a commercially available substrate and short analysis time by a simple measurement of enzymatic activity of CPR.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.429-439
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• 2021

Food waste is both an industrial and residential source of pollution, and there has been a great need for food waste reduction. As a preliminary step in this study, waste reduction is quantitatively modeled. This study presents two models based on kinetics: a simple kinetic model and a mass transport-shrinking model. In the simple kinetic model, the smaller is the reaction rate constant ratio k₁, the lower the rate of conversion from the raw material to intermediate products. Accordingly, the total elapsed reaction time becomes shorter. In the mass transport-shrinking model, the smaller is the microbial decomposition resistance versus the liquid mass transfer resistance, the greater is the reduction rate of the radius of spherical waste particles. Results showed that the computed reduction of waste mass in the second model agreed reasonably with that obtained from a few experimantal trials of biodegradation, in which the microbial effect appeared to dominate. All calculations were performed using MATLAB 2020 on PC.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.544-548
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• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of various heat treatments on the microbial reduction and germination of red radish seeds for the development of effective and economical sterilization methods of improving microbial safety without reducting the germination rate. Hydrothermal treatment was conducted at 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, and $90^{\circ}C$ for 30 and 60 seconds, and dry heat treatment was performed at 70, 80, 90, and $100^{\circ}C$ for 5 minutes. In the seeds that underwent the hydrothermal treatment, time had little effect on the microbial reduction. There was no significant microbial reduction over time. However, there was significant microbial reduction as temperatures increased (p<0.001). The total plate count (TPC) was reduced by more than 3 logs, and Listeria monocytogenes was not detected at temperatures above $70^{\circ}C$. In the seeds that were subjected to the dry heat treatment, the TPC and the population of the L. monocytogenes were significantly reduced as the temperatures increased (p<0.001). After treatment at $100^{\circ}C$ for 5 minutes, the TPC and the L. monocytogenes were reduced by 3 logs. As with the microbial reduction, time had little effect on the germination. There were no significant changes in the germination after the hydrothermal treatment over time; but at the temperatures above $75^{\circ}C$, the germination rate significantly decreased as the temperature increased (p<0.001). When the seeds were soaked after the hydrothermal treatment, their germination was stimulated. The dry heat treatment at temperatures of $80^{\circ}C$ and higher significantly decreased the germination rate as the temperature increased (p<0.001). Dry heat treatment before the germination of the seeds soaked in distilled water for three hours significantly decreased the germination at temperatures greater than $90^{\circ}C$ (p<0.05). This study showed that appropriate heat treatments can increase the microbiological safety and germination of red radish seeds.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.20 no.6 s.84
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• pp.684-694
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to estimate the microbial and physicochemical quality of some raw vegetables and suggest safer methods of sanitization and storage for foodservice operations. Three sanitization methods were utilized during pre-preparation (tap water, chlorine water and electrolyzed water). Leek and Chicory were monitored as ingredient, with different storage temperatures $(3,\;10^{\circ}C)$ and periods (1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 days). The largest reduction in the microbial counts was shown with the electrolyzed water and for the case before immersion in chlorine water, performing a first washing was more effective in reducing the microbial counts than with no washing. The results showed that the storage temperature, pH, moisture content and microbial loads were important factors affecting the quality of vegetables.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.372-389
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• 2024

This study investigated the efficacy of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation in enhancing the quality of raw bovine milk by targeting microbial populations and lipid peroxidation, both of which are key factors in milk spoilage. We categorized the raw milk samples into three groups based on initial bacterial load: low (<3 Log 10 CFU/mL), medium (3-4 Log 10 CFU/mL), and high (>4 Log 10 CFU/mL). Using a 144 W thin-film UV-C reactor, we treated the milk with a flow rate of 3 L/min. We measured the bacterial count including standard plate count, coliform count, coagulase-negative staphylococci count, and lactic acid bacteria count and lipid peroxidation (via thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay) pre- and post-treatment. Our results show that UV-C treatment significantly reduced bacterial counts, with the most notable reductions observed in high and medium initial load samples (>4 and 3-4 Log 10 CFU/mL, respectively). The treatment was particularly effective against coliforms, showing higher reduction efficiency compared to coagulase-negative staphylococci and lactic acid bacteria. Notably, lipid peroxidation in UV-C treated milk was significantly lower than in pasteurized or untreated milk, even after 72 hours. These findings demonstrate the potential of UV-C irradiation as a pre-treatment method for raw milk, offering substantial reduction in microbial content and prevention of lipid peroxidation, thereby enhancing milk quality.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.220-228
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• 2018

The internal resistance of microbial fuel cell (MFC) using stainless steel skein for oxidizing electrode was investigated and the factors affecting the voltage generation were identified. We also investigated the effect of power management system (PMS) on the usability for MFC and the removal efficiency of organic pollutants. The performance of a stack microbial fuel cell connected with (PMS) or PMS+LED was analyzed by the voltage generation and organic matter reduction. The maximum power density of the unit cells was found to be $5.82W/m^3$ at $200{\Omega}$. The maximum current density was $47.53A/m^3$ without power overshoot even under $1{\Omega}$. The ohmic resistance ($R_s$) and the charge transfer resistance ($R_{ct}$) of the oxidation electrode using stainless steel skein electrode, were $0.56{\Omega}$ and $0.02{\Omega}$, respectively. However, the sum of internal resistance for reduction electrode using graphite felts loaded Pt/C catalyst was $6.64{\Omega}$. Also, in order to understand the internal resistance, the current interruption method was used by changing the external resistance as $50{\Omega}$, $300{\Omega}$, $5k{\Omega}$. It has been shown that the ohm resistance ($R_s$) decreased with the external resistance. In the case of a series-connected microbial fuel cell, the reversal phenomenon occurred even though two cells having the similar performance. However, the output of the PMS constantly remained for 20 hours even when voltage reversal occurred. Also the removal ability of organic pollutants (SCOD) was not reduced. As a result of this study, it was found that buffering effect for a certain period of time when the voltage reversal occurred during the operation of the microbial fuel cell did not have a serious effect on the energy loss or the operation of the microbial fuel cell.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.487-491
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• 2007

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of treatment with squeous chlorine dioxide and hot water on the germination of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) seeds, and reduction of microbial load on the seeds. Increases in treatment and the concentration of aqueous chlorine dioxide in water resulted in increasing reductions in the counts of total aerobic microbes. Seeds treated with aqueous chlorine dioxide (100 ppm/20min, 200ppm/20min) showed about a 10-fold decrease in microbial loads. Germination of seeds was not adversely affected by any treatment tested, although the germination rate of seeds in the group treated at $55^{\circ}C$ for 20 min was reduced by 10% compared to that of control. Combined treatment with hot water and aqueous chlorine dioxide yielded better out comes in both microbial reduction and seed germination rate than did single treatments. A combined treatment with 100 ppm aqueous chlorine dioxide and hot water($45^{\circ}C$ or $50^{\circ}C$) resulted in about a 100-fold decrease in microbial load whereas germination rate showed only a slight increase to $97.0{\sim}97.7%$. Total aerobic microbial counts in radish seeds were decreased by aqueous chlorine dioxide and hot water treatment in the order. aqueous $CIO_2$+ hot water > aqueous $CIO_2$ > chlorinated water > hot water > control.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.508-516
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• 2023

The consumption of enoki mushrooms has been associated with cases of listeriosis produced by Listeria monocytogenes, highlighting the significance of sanitizing food-contact surface, such as the velcro used in welding processing of enoki mushrooms, to ensure microbial safety. We investigated the inhibitory activity of nine chemical disinfectants at regular concentrations against L. monocytogenes isolated from a mushroom farm environment. The bacterial suspension was prepared in phosphate buffered saline and mushroom extract broth and inoculated onto the velcro surface. After inoculation, most disinfectants reduced the initial 8 log CFU/coupon concentration by less than 2 log CFU/coupon during a 5-min treatment. Slightly acidic hypochlorous water showed a reduction of approximately 4 log CFU/coupon when tested for more than 30 min at the maximum allowable concentration of 200 mg/L. Sodium hypochlorite solution showed a reduction of approximately 5 log CFU/coupon when used at 100 mg/L for 60 min. Peracetic acid, at the maximum allowable concentration of 300 mg/L, showed the most effective reduction of 5 log CFU/coupon or more when the surface was treated with 37.5 mg/L for 30 min. These results indicate that peracetic acid can be used as the disinfectant strategy to control cross-contamination of L. monocytogenes on the velcro surface of plastic wrappers used in the welding processing of enoki mushrooms.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.23-29
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• 2008

This study was performed to improve the printability of Hanji using a microbial cellulose from Saprolegnia ferax through investigating the printability of Hanji sized with the mixture of the microbial cellulose and various kinds of sizing agents. Conclusions obtained from the results of this study were as follows. The proper concentration of a microbial cellulose in sizing a printable Hanji with it was 0.5%. In general, there was no remarkable effect but some effect on the opacity and ink density. Hanji was sized with the mixture(5:5) of microbial cellulose(0.5%) and AKD(1.0%). As a result, ink spread was remarkably improved by the girth reduction of ink spot. There was remarkable effect because the mixture(5:5) of a microbial cellulose(0.5%) and CMC(1.0%) improved not only the gloss but also the density and girth of ink spot. Mixing(7:3) with corn starch(3.0%) showed the smallest girth of ink spot among applied sizing agents. Mixing(7:3) with PVA(5.0%) also showed some effect in the density and girth of ink spot.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.604-609
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• 2009

To investigate the potential use of microbial heme as an iron source, recombinant Escherichia coli coexpressing ALA synthase (HemA) as well as the NADP-dependent malic enzyme (MaeB) and dicarboxylic acid transporter (DctA) were cultured. The typical red pigment extracted from the recombinant E. coli after 38 h showed highest absorbance at 407 nm, and the amount of iron in 38.4 mg of microbial heme extract derived from 6-1 fermentation broth was 4.1 mg. To determine the commercial potential of the recombinant E.coli-synthesized iron-associated heme as an iron source, mice were fed the iron-free provender with the microbial heme extract. The average body weight reduction of mice fed non-iron provender was 2.3%, whereas no detectable weight loss was evident in mice fed microbial heme addition after 15 days. The heme content of the blood from microbial heme fed mice was 4.2 mg/ml whereas that of controls was 2.4 mg/ml, which implies that the microbial heme could be available for use as an animal iron source.