• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.436-438
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• 2002

Since solar radiation contains wavelength essential for photosynthesis accompanying with near-UV light, UV-B effects on biological parameters and acclimation mechanisms are influenced by photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Therefore, to elucidate near-UV shielding mechanism in higher plants, we cultivated cauliflower under usual solar radiation and increased UV-B from fluorescent lamps, two- or three-fold excess over continuously estimated UV-B dose in PAR during daytime, using computer regulated systems. Increased UV-B radiation had little effect on growth expressed as fresh weigh and leaf area. Water soluble low molecular weight compounds showing absorption in near UV region were enhanced according to the irradiated UV-B dose. One of compounds in cauliflower leaves was identified as chlorogenic acid. This was found to have no near-UV photosenSitizerable activity and is known to have an ability to scavenge a wide species of active oxygen. Another pro-oxidant compound that generates superoxide anion radical under near-UV irradiation was not induced by increased UV-B during cultivation, and identified as lumazine, a degradation product from folic acid.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.447-452
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• 2016

It is imperative to develop an effective pathway to depolymerize lignin into liquid fuel that can be used as a bioheavy oil. Lignin can be converted into liquid products either by a solvent-free thermal cracking in the absence air, or thermo-chemical degradation in the presence of suitable solvents and chemicals. Here we show that the solvent-assisted liquefaction has produced promising results in the presence of metal-based catalysts. The supercritical ethanol is an efficient liquefaction solvent, which not only provides better solubility to lignin, but also scavenges the intermediate species. The concentrated sulfuric acid hydrolysis lignin (CSAHL) was completely liquefied in the presence of solid catalysts (Ni, Pd and Ru) with no char formation. The effective deoxy-liquefaction nature associated with scEtOH with aid hydrodeoxygenation catalysts, resulted in significant reduction in oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) molar ratio up to 61%. The decrease in oxygen content and increase in carbon and hydrogen contents increased the calorific value bio-oil, with higher heating value (HHV) of $34.6MJ{\cdot}Kg^{-1}$. The overall process is energetically efficient with 129.8% energy recovery (ER) and 70.8% energy efficiency (EE). The GC-TOF/MS analysis of bio-oil shows that the bio-oil mainly consists of monomeric species such as phenols, esters, furans, alcohols, and traces of aliphatic hydrocarbons. The bio-oil produced has better flow properties, low molecular weight, and high aromaticity.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.30-33
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• 2015

Enzymatic modification of proteins is often used to increase the biological activity of materials. Silkworm powder has been investigated as a functional food resource, but no study has been performed on its modification by commercial food enzyme. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the feasibility of such modification of silkworm powder by alkaline protease. The activity of the enzyme was confirmed using an azocasein assay. Subsequently the silkworm powder was hydrolyzed by enzymatic treatment. UV visible spectrometry showed that the supernatant of silkworm powder subjected to enzymatic treatment had a stronger absorption band than the untreated powder. SDS-PAGE electrophoresis showed that the molecular weight of silkworm powder decreased on enzymatic treatment. Thus the results indicate that commercial enzymes might be used to modify the characteristics of silkworm powder.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.248-252
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• 2001

Recombinant Human serum albumin (rHSA) was purified to near homogeneity from H, polymorpha using heat treatment, ultrafiltratipn and Phenyl Sepharose CL-4B and Mono Q column chro - matographies with a recovery yield of 60% The molecular weight of the purified rHSA was estimated to be about 65,000 Da by denaturing SDS-PAGE The N terminal amino acid sequence of the purified HSA determined by Edman degradation was turned out to be Asp- Ala- His- Lys- Ser- Glu- Ala, suggesting that the rHSA expressed in H, polymorpha was efficiently secreted and correctly processed at the cleavage site of secretion signal sequence. The purified human albumin showed the pI value identical to that of authentic human serum albumin.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.97-108
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• 2012

Microbial degradation of hydrocarbons is found to be an attractive process for remediation of contaminated habitats. However the poor bioavailability of hydrocarbons results in low biodegradation rates. Cyclodextrins are known to increase the bioavailability of variety of hydrophobic compounds. In the present work we purified the Cyclodextrin Glucanotransferase (CGTase) enzyme which is responsible for converting starch into cyclodextrins and studied its role on biodegradation of diesel oil contaminated soil. Purification of CGTase from Enterobacter cloacae was done which resulted in 6 fold increase in enzyme activity. The enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 7, temperature $60^{\circ}C$ with a molecular weight of 66 kDa. Addition of purified CGTase to the treatment setup with Pseudomonas mendocina showed enhanced biodegradation of diesel oil ($57{\pm}1.37%$) which was similar to the treatment setup when added with Pseudomonas mendocina and Enterobacter cloacae ($52.7{\pm}6.51%$). The residual diesel oil found in treatment setup added with Pseudomonas mendocina at end of the study was found to be $73{\pm}0.21%$. Immobilization of Pseudomonas mendocina on alginate containing starch also led to enhanced biodegradation of hydrocarbons in diesel oil at 336 hours.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.62-67
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• 1998

As a part of search for new biologically active constituents from aloe, we have isolated a glycopeptide, called G1G1M1DI2, from the gel(G1) of Aloe vera. Chemical and spectroscopic evidence indicated that G1G1M1DI2 is a glycopeptide. The molecular weight of G1G1M1DI2 was about 5,500 daltons, and the carbohydrate and protein contents were 20.9% and 32.6%, respectively. Periodate oxidation and enzymic degradation gave peptide moiety and carbohydrate moiety, respectively. Carbohydrate moiety is composed of fucose, galactose, glucose and mannose in a molar ratio of 0.5:2.4;48.8:48.3. Peptide moiety is composed of fifteen amino acids, and glutamic acid and glycine were the major componants. The glycopeptide, G1G1M1DI2, stimulated thymidine uptake of SCC 13 cells about 6.5 times the control. This result suggests that this glycopeptide has a skin cell proliferating activity.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.123-133
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• 2000

The kinetic analysis was carried out for commercial rubbers such as NR, IR, BR, SBR 1500, and SBR 1700. Kinetic analysis for the commercial rubbers was performed using the thermogravimetric method, with which the activation energies of NR obtained by Kissinger, Friedman, and Ozawa's method were 195.0, 198.3 and 186.3kJ/mol, whereas that of SBR 1500 were 246.4, 247.5 and 254.8kJ/mol, respectively. It was shown that the yield of pyrolytic oil was generally increased with final temperature increasing, yet slightly decreased or increased over $700^{\circ}C$. Considering the effect of heating rate, it was found that the yield of pyrolytic oil was not consistent for each sample. The number average molecular weight of SBR 1500 was in the range of 740~2486. The calorific value of SBR 1500 was 39~40kJ/g, which were made comparative study of the conventional fuel such as kerosene, diesel, light fuel, and heavy fuel. Therefore it was essential that the selection of the suitable kinetic model and the mathematical solution because of the difference in parameters obtained from each method. It was proposed that the range of $600~700^{\circ}C$ in final temperature and high heating rate due to short run time. It was suggested that the pyrolytic oil be available to use to the fuel.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.360-367
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• 1990

The several glycoside hydrolysing enzymes related to rutin degradation are found to be rhamnosidase, glucosidase and rutinosidase. Rutinosidase was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from cell extracts of rutin-degrading strain, MT-57, which was identified as a Arthrobacter sp. Its molecular weight was estimated to be 42, 000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 40, 000 by gel filtration. The optimum pH for enzyme was found to be 7.5, and relatively stable in alkaline solution. The optimum temperature for enzyme was $45^{\circ}C$, being stable up to $50^{\circ}C$ for 20 min. The Bm value of enzyme for rutin was 0.5 $\mu \textrm m$. The enzyme activity was increased by the chelating agent such as EDTA, $NaN_3$, and 8-hydroxyquinoline, was strongly inhibited by $CO_{2+}, Ni^{2+}$, and $Cu^{2+}$. The enzyme had high substrate specificity in the rutinoside.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.454-462
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• 1975

The photodegradation of polystyrene and polyethylene was studied utilizing several additives to promote photooxidation. Polymer films with small amount of additives were irradiated with ultraviolet lamps in Rayonet Photochemical Reactor. The progress of photodegradation was followed by measuring the intensities of carbonyl and hydroxyl stretching bands in infrared spectra as well as the viscosity changes. It was found that the increase of carbonyl or hydroxyl peaks was proportional to the decrease of the molecular weight of polymers under study. Iron(II, III) complexes of dithiocarbamate and their analogs showed good results.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.12
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• pp.575-581
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• 2013

Lipid droplet (LD) is a cellular organelle that stores neutral lipids as a source of energy and carbon. However, recent research has emerged that the organelle is involved in lipid synthesis, transportation, and metabolism, as well as mediating cellular protein storage and degradation. With the exception of multi-cellular organisms, some unicellular microorganisms have been observed to contain LDs. The organelle has been isolated and characterized from numerous organisms. Triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation in LDs can be in excess of 50% of the dry weight in some microorganisms, and a maximum of 87% in some instances. These microorganisms include eukaryotes such as yeast and green algae as well as prokaryotes such as bacteria. Some organisms obtain carbon from $CO_2$ via photosynthesis, while the majority utilizes carbon from various types of biomass. Therefore, high TAG content generated by utilizing waste or cheap biomass, coupled with an efficient conversion rate, present these organisms as bio-tech 'factories' to produce biodiesel. This review summarizes LD research in these organisms and provides useful information for further LD biological research and microorganism biodiesel development.