• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.959-965
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• 2007

Two isolectins (KML-IIU and the KML-IIL) were individually isolated from the previously reported Korean mistletoe lectin, KML-C, by using an immunoaffinity column. Molecular weights of the KML-IIU and the KML-IIL were 64 kDa and 60 kDa respectively. Both of the lectins were composed of heterogeneous A and B subunits linked with a disulfide bond, and showed the same carbohydrate-binding specificities for Gal and GalNAc. However, they are different not only in biophysical properties (glycosylation and amino acid compositions) but also bioactivities (cell killing and cytokine induction). The KML-IIL showed 17-145 times stronger in cytotoxicities to various human and mouse cancer cell lines than the KML-IIU. The KML-IIL also induced TNF-$\alpha$ secretion from mouse peritoneal macrophages 4.5 times better than the KML-IIU. The results demonstrated isolectins in Korean mistletoe were varied in bioactivities and the KML-IIL may be developed as an anti-cancer agent.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.295-299
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• 2017

In this study, computer simulation and optimization works have been performed for an open-loop Rankine cycle to generate power using five cases of liquefied natural gas compositions. PRO/II with PROVISION V9.4 from Schneider electric company was used, and the Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of the state model was utilized for the design of the power generation cycle. It was concluded that more power was obtained from less molecular weight liquefied natural gas since there was more volumetric flow rate with less molecular weight.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.182-190
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• 2003

A new phaC gene cluster encoding polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase I PHA depolymerase, and PHA synthase II was cloned using the touchdown PCR method, from medium-chain length (mcl-) PHA-producing strain Pseudomonas putida KT2440. The molecular structure of the cloned phaCl gene was analyzed, and the phylogenic relationship was compared with other phaCl genes cloned from Pseudomonas species. The cloned phaCl gene was expressed in a recombinant E. coli to the similar level of PHA synthase in the parent strain P. putida KT2440, but no significant amount of mcl-PHA was accumulated. The isolated phaCl gene was re-introduced into the parent strain P. putida KT2440 to amplify the PHA synthase I activity, and the recombinant P. purida accumulated mcl-PHA more effectively, increasing from 26.6 to $43.5\%$. The monomer compositions of 3-hydroxylalkanoates in mcl-PHA were also modified significantly in the recombinant P. putida enforcing the cloned phaCl gene.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.797-804
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• 1996

Two trypsins were purified from shrimp hepatopancreas through ammonium sulfate fractionation, Q-Sepharose ionic exchange, benzamidine Sepharose-6B affinity, and Sephacryl S-300 gel chromatography. Both enzymes had a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weight (M.W.) of 32 kDa by sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SOS-PAGE), although trypsin A and B were estimated to be a molecular weight of 27.2 and 22.8 kDa, respectively, using Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration. Both trypsins had similar amino acid compositions and rich in glycine, valine, alanine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid, but low in methionine and basic amino acids. Both enzymes were completely inactivated by soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI), phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK), benzamidine, leupeptin, however, not affected by tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (TPCK) and pepstatin.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.41-44
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• 2011

Molecular compositions of two types of heavy oil were studied using positive atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). Vacuum gas oil (VGO) was generated from vacuum distillation of atmospheric residual oil (AR), and slurry oil (SLO) was generated from catalytic cracking of AR. These heavy oils have similar boiling point ranges in the range of 210-$650^{\circ}C$, but they showed different mass ranges and double-bond equivalent (DBE) distributions. Using DBE and carbon number distributions, aromatic ring distributions, and the extent of alkyl side chains were estimated. In addition to the main aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, those containing sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen heteroatoms were identified using simple sample preparation and ultra-high mass resolution FT-ICR MS analysis. VGO is primarily composed of mono- and di-aromatic hydrocarbons as well as sulfur-containing hydrocarbons, whereas SLO contained mainly polyaromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur-containing hydrocarbons. Both heavy oils contain polyaromatic nitrogen components. SLO inludes shorter aromatic alkyl side chains than VGO. This study demonstrates that APPI FT-ICR MS is useful for molecular composition characterization of petroleum heavy oils obtained from different refining processes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.560-567
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• 2005

Three groups of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) (designated as Fr-I, Fr-II, and Fr-III) were isolated from the culture filtrates of Paecilomyces sinclairii by gel filtration chromatography on Sepharose CL-4B. Their molecular characteristics were examined by multi-angle laser light scattering (MALLS) connected online to a size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and refractive index (RI) detector system. The weight-average molar mass of Fr-I, Fr-II, and Fr-III of EPSs were determined to be $1.540{\times}10^6,\;6.302{\times}10^4$, and $9.389{\times}10^4\;g/mol$, respectively. All three EPSs showed a fairly low polydispersity indice, ranging from 1.008 to 1.059 (nearly mono disperse behavior), and showed different carbohydrates and amino acids compositions; all fractions of EPSs consisted of mainly cystine, valine, and arginine in the protein moiety, and mainly ribose, galactose, and glucose in the carbohydrate moiety. The determination of gyration radii of the EPSs in SEC/MALLS analysis revealed the molecular shape of the Fr-I to be a rod-like structure, whereas the Fr-II and Fr-III had a random-coil structure in an aqueous solution.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.24-34
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• 2010

This study was carried out to analyze some influences on ecological health conditions, threaten by various stressors such as physical, chemical and biological parameters. We collected samples in 2008 from three zones of upstream, midstream and downstream, Gap Stream. We applied multi-metric fish assessment index (MFAI), based on biotic integrity model to the three zones along with habitat evaluations based on Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI). We also examined fish fauna and compositions, and analyzed relations with MFAI values, QHEI values, and various guild types. Chemical parameters such as oragnic matter (BOD, COD), nutrients (TP, $NH_3$-N), coli-form number (as MPN), and suspended solids (SS) were analyzed to identify the relationship among multiple stressor effects. Using the sentinel species of Zacco platypus, the population structures and condition factors were analyzed along with DNA damages related with genotoxicant effects by comet assay. This study using all these parameters showed that stream condition was degraded along the longitudinal gradient from upstream to downstream, and the downstream, especially, was impacted by nutrient enrichment and toxicant exposure from the point source, wastewater treatment plant. Overall results indicated that our approaches applying various parameters may be used as a cause-effect technique in the stream health assessments and also used as a pre-warning tool for diagnosis of ecological degradation.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.390-396
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• 2018

This study investigated the transformation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in a free-water surface flow constructed wetland. Pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) coupled with preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC) was used to analyze the compositions of biopolymers (polysaccharides, amino sugars, proteins, polyhydroxy aromatics, lipids and lignin) in DOM according to the molecular size at three sampling points of the water flow: inflow, midflow, and outflow. The prep-HPLC results verified the decomposition of DOM through the decrease in the number of peaks from three to one in the chromatograms of the sampling points. The Py-GC/MS results for the degradable peaks indicated that biopolymers relating to polysaccharides and proteins gradually biodegraded with the water flow. On the other hand, the recalcitrant organic fraction (the remaining peak) in the outflow showed a relatively high concentration of aromatic compounds. Therefore, the ecological processes in the constructed wetland caused DOM to become more aromatic and homogeneous. This indicated that the constructed wetland can be an effective buffer area for releasing biochemically stable DOM, which has less influence on biological water quality indicators, e.g., biochemical oxygen demand, into an aquatic ecosystem.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.209-218
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• 2011

Ginseng has been used as a general tonic agent to invigorate the human body as an adaptogenic agent. In a previous report, we have shown that ginseng contains a novel glycolipoprotein called gintonin. The main function of gintonin is to transiently enhance intracellular free $Ca^{2+}$ $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ levels in animal cells. The previous method for gintonin isolation included multiple steps using organic solvents. In the present report, we developed a simple method for the preparation of crude gintonin from ginseng root as well as stem and leaf, which produced a higher yield of gintonin than the previous one. The yield of gintonin was 0.20%, 0.29%, and 0.81% from ginseng root, stem, and leaf, respectively. The apparent molecular weight of gintonin isolated from stem and leaf through sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was almost same as that from root but the compositions of amino acids, carbohydrates or lipids differed slightly between them. We also examined the effects of crude gintonin from ginseng root, stem, and leaf on endogenous $Ca^{2+}$-activated $Cl^-$ channel (CaCC) activity of Xenopus oocytes through mobilization of $[Ca^{2+}]_i$. We found that the order of potency for the activation of CaCC was ginseng root > stem > leaf. The $ED_{50}$ was $1.4{\pm}1.4$, $4.5{\pm}5.9$, and $3.9{\pm}1.1$ mg/mL for root, stem and leaf, respectively. In the present study, we demonstrated for the first time that in addition to ginseng root, ginseng stem and leaf also contain gintonin. Gintonin can be prepared from a simple method with higher yield of gintonin from ginseng root, stem, and leaf. Finally, these results demonstrate the possibility that ginseng stem and leaf could also be utilized for ginstonin preparation after a simple procedure, rather than being discarded.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1019-1022
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• 2008

The chromosome numbers and compositions were investigated in four cultivated species of Cucurbitaceae; Cucumis sativus L., Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. et Nakai, Cucumis melo L., Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roemer. through general aceto-orcein staining method. The chromosome compositions of four species were diploids of 2n=22, 2n=24 and 2n=26 respectively. The chromosomes were relatively small and showed gradual length degradation from $2.50\;{\mu}m$ to $2.16\;{\mu}m$ in Cucumis sativus, $3.71\;{\mu}m$ to $2.11\;{\mu}m$ in Cucumis melo, $3.20\;{\mu}m$ to $2.40\;{\mu}m$ in Citrullus lanatus and $3.17\;{\mu}m$ to $1.97\;{\mu}m$ in Luffa cylindrica. The chromosome types consisted of all metacentrics in Cucumis sativus, seven pairs submetacentrics and five pairs metacertrics in C. melo, four pairs of submetacentrics and seven pairs metacertrics in Citrullus lanatus, and two pairs submetacentrics and eleven pairs metacentrics in Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roemer.. The satellites were found in a pair of chromosomes in C. melo and two pairs in Luffa cylindrica. The chromosome compositions in these four species showed species-specific patterns and seemed to provide useful informations for breeding and molecular cytogenetic works on Cucurbitaceae.