• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.117-126
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• 2010

A chitinase (CHT) and a protease (PRO) were purified from the culture supernatant of Serratia sp. TKU017, with shrimp shell as the sole carbon/nitrogen source. The molecular masses of CHT and PRO determined by SDS-PAGE were approximately 65 kDa and 53 kDa, respectively. CHT was inhibited by $Mn^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$, and PRO was inhibited by most tested divalent metals and EDTA. The optimum pH, optimum temperature, pH stability, and thermal stability of CHT and PRO were pH 5, $50^{\circ}C$, pH 5-7, and <$50^{\circ}C$, and pH 9, $40^{\circ}C$, pH 5-11, and <$40^{\circ}C$, respectively. PRO retained 95% of its protease activity in the presence of 0.5 mM SDS. The result demonstrates that PRO is an SDS-resistant protease and probably has a rigid structure. The $4^{th}$-day supernatant showed the strongest antioxidant activity (70%, DPPH scavenging ability) and the highest total phenolic content ($196{\pm}6.2\;{\mu}g$ of gallic acid equiv./ml). Significant associations between the antioxidant potency and the total phenolic content, as well as between the antioxidant potency and free amino groups, were found for the supernatant. With this method, we have shown that shrimp shell wastes can be utilized and it is effective in the production of enzymes and antioxidants, facilitating its potential use in industrial applications and functional foods.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.79-85
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• 1988

The effects of herbicides on biochemical processes in soil environment were studied by examining the effects of the chemical structure of each herbicides on soil enzyme activities and pesticides residue revealed when soil treated with urea was incubated at $28{\pm}1^{\circ}C$ for 56 days. The inhibition effects of herbicides on soil enzyme activites in soil decreased in the order of urea group>dinoseb>propanil>diphenyl eter group>acid amide group for urease, and dinoseb>urea group>diphenyl ether group>acid amide group for L-glutaminase and protease, dinoseb>diphenyl ether group>urea group>acid amide group for phosphatase. Herbicides inhibited the activities of soil enzyme in the early stage of treatment but increased the activities of urease, L-glutaminase and protease in the late stage. When herbicides were treated in soil together with urea the degradation of insecticides was accelerated.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1061-1068
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• 2010

The biological synthesis of nanoparticles has gained considerable attention in view of their excellent biocompatibility and low toxicity. We isolated and purified rhamnolipids from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain BS-161R, and these purified rhamnolipids were used to synthesize silver nanoparticles. The purified rhamnolipids were further characterized and the structure was elucidated based on one- and two-dimensional $^1H$ and $^{13}C$ NMR, FT-IR, and HR-MS spectral data. Purified rhamnolipids in a pseudoternary system of n-heptane and water system along with n-butanol as a cosurfactant were added to the aqueous solutions of silver nitrate and sodium borohydride to form reverse micelles. When these micelles were mixed, they resulted in the rapid formation of silver nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The nanoparticles formed had a sharp adsorption peak at 410 nm, which is characteristic of surface plasmon resonance of the silver nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were monodispersed, with an average particle size of 15.1 nm (${\sigma}={\pm}5.82$ nm), and spherical in shape. The EDS analysis revealed the presence of elemental silver signal in the synthesized nanoparticles. The formed silver nanoparticles exhibited good antibiotic activity against both Grampositive and Gram-negative pathogens and Candida albicans, suggesting their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 2014

The capital city of Himalayan Country Nepal, Kathmandu Valley is surrounded by consecutive high mountains, which limits the air distribution and mixing effects significantly. It in turn generates steady air flow pattern over a year except in monsoon season. The air shed in the Valley is easily trapped by the surrounded mountains and the inversion layer formulated as the cap. The $PM_{10}$ concentration was noticeably higher than the standard level (120 ${\mu}g/m^3$) in urban and suburban area of Kathmandu valley for all seasons except monsoon period. The Valley area experiences similar wind patterns (W, WWS, and S) for a year but the Easterly wind prevails only during the monsoon period. There was low and calm wind blows during the winter season. Because of this air flow structure, the air emission from various sources is accumulated within the valley air, high level of air pollution is frequently recorded with other air polluted cities over the world. In this Valley area, brick kilns are recognized as the major air pollution source followed by vehicles. Mostly Bull Trench Kiln (BKT), Hoffman Kiln and Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) are in operation for brick firing in Kathmandu valley where the fuels such as crushed coal, saw dust, and natural gas are used for processing bricks in this study. Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) was used for screening and quantifying the potential impacts of air emission from firing fuels. The total Environmental Performance Score (EPS) was estimated and the EPS of coal was approximately 2.5 times higher than those of natural gas and saw dust. It is concluded that the crushed coal has more negative impact to the environment and human health than other fuel sources. Concerning the human health and environment point of view, alternative environment friendly firing fuel need to be used for brick industry in the kiln and the air pollution control devices also need to be applied for minimizing the air emissions from the kilns.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.137-145
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• 2010

Active sunlighting systems have been applied to deliver sunlight into the indoor space where natural light is insufficient, mainly because of the congested high-rise buildings in urban areas. Among various active sunlighting systems, a mirror sunlighting system which is simple structure and economically reasonable has been widely used in different types of spaces such as underground, north facing place and atrium. This study was to evaluate the mirror sunlighting systems, which were consisted of the first mirror of $3.5m{\times}2.5m$, the eight sets of the second mirrors of $1.0m{\times}1.25m$ and a sun tracker. Ten sets of the systems were installed for 40 apartment living rooms, the configuration of $3.5m(W){\times}4.0m(D){\times}2.5m(H)$ where sunlighting were not possible due to high retaining walls located in the front of the living rooms. The 45 HOBO data logger sensors for the indoor illuminance were equipped and 2 Li-cor photometers for outdoor illuminance. Both indoor and outdoor horizontal illuminances were monitored every second from 9am to 3pm on 17 January 2010 under clear sky condition. The results showed that the indoor illuminance of installed mirror sunlighting system was significant relationship with outdoor illuminance and increased the indoor illuminance level by 4.2 times on the whole floor space, by 8 times on the sun patch space of 6m2 and even by 2 times on the no sun patch space. In addition, the luminous conditions of the living room under real sky conditions met the KS recommendation for difficult task (600-1000-1500 lux) such as sewing and reading on whole floor space and sun patch space. It was proved that the benefits of mirror sunlighting systems included an effective technology for penetrating daylight into indoors where sunlighting was not possible and improving occupants' satisfaction and health, and contributing to energy saving in apartments during daytime.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.172-173
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• 2006

Metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) structures with $Bi_{3.35}La_{0.75}Ti_3O_{12}$ (BLT) ferroelectric film and Zirconium oxide ($ZrO_2$) layer were fabricated on p-type Si(100). $ZrO_2$ and BLT films were prepared by sol-gel technique. Surface morphologies of $ZrO_2$ and BLT film were measured by atomic force microscope (AFM). The electrical characteristics of Au/$ZrO_2$/Si and Au/BLT/$ZrO_2$/Si film were investigated by C-V and I-V measurements. No hysteretic characteristics was observed in the C-V curve of the Au/$ZrO_2$/Si structure. The memory window width m C-V curve of the Au/BLT/$ZrO_2$/Si diode was about 1.3 V for a voltage sweep of ${\pm}5$ V. The leakage current of Au/$ZrO_2$/Si and Au/BLT/$ZrO_2$/Si structures were about $3{\times}10^{-8}$ A at 30 MV/cm and $3{\times}10^{-8}$ A at 3 MV/cm, respectively.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2012

Purpose : This study was performed to evaluate possible variations in maxillary and mandibular bone texture of normal population using the fractal analysis, particles count, and area fraction in intraoral radiographs. Materials and Methods : Periapical radiographs of patients who had full mouth intraoral radiographs were collected. Regions of interest ($100{\times}100$ pixels) were located between the teeth of the maxillary anterior, premolar, and molar area, as well as the mandibular anterior, premolar, and molar areas. The fractal dimension (FD) was calculated by using the box counting method. The particle count (PC) and area fraction (AF) analyses were also performed. Results : There was no significant difference in the FD values among the different groups of age, gender, upper, and lower jaws. The mean FD value was $1.49{\pm}0.01$. The mean PC ranged from 44 to 54, and the mean AF ranged from 10.92 to 11.85. The values of FD, PC, and AF were significantly correlated with each other except for the upper molar area. Conclusion : According to the results, patients with normal trabecular pattern showed a FD of approximately 1.5. Based on these results, further investigation would be recommended if the FD value of patient significantly differenct from this number, since the alteration of this value indicates microstructural modification of trabecular pattern of the jaws. Additionally, with periapical radiographs, simple and cost-effective, PC and AF could be used to assess the deviation from the normal.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.163-168
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• 2004

We prepared ultra thin film structure of Si(100)/ $SiO_2$(200 nm)/Ta(5 nm)/Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20/(l～15 nm)}$Ta(5 nm) using an inductively coupled plasma(ICP) helicon sputter. Magnetic properties and cross-sectional microstructures were investigated with a superconduction quantum interference device(SQUID) and a transmission electron microscope(TEM), respectively. We report that NiFe films of sub-3 nm thickness show the B$_{bulk}$ = 0 and B$_{surf}$=-3 ${\times}$ 10$^{-7}$(J/$m^2$). Moreover, Curie temperature may be lowered by decreasing thickness. Coercivity become larger as temperature decreased with 0.5 nm - thick Ta/NiFe interface intermixing. Our result implies that effective magnetic properties of magnetoelastic anisotropy, saturation magnetization, and coercivity may change abruptly in nano-thick films. Thus we should consider those abrupt changes in designing nano-devices such as MRAM applications.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1749-1753
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• 2014

Pseudo-first-order rate constants ($k_{obsd}$) have been measured spectrophotometrically for the nucleophilic substitution reaction of Y-substituted-phenyl picolinates (7a-f) with potassium ethoxide (EtOK) in anhydrous ethanol at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. The plot of $k_{obsd}$ vs. [EtOK] curves upward while the plot of $k_{obsd}/[EtO^-]_{eq}$ vs. $[EtO^-]_{eq}$ is linear with a positive intercept in all cases. Dissection of $k_{obsd}$ into $k_{EtO^-}$ and $k_{EtOK}$ (i.e., the second-order rate constants for the reactions with the dissociated $EtO^-$ ion and ion-paired EtOK, respectively) has revealed that the ion-paired EtOK is more reactive than the dissociated $EtO^-$. The ${\sigma}^{\circ}$ constants result in a much better Hammett correlation than ${\sigma}^-$ constants, indicating that the reaction proceeds through a stepwise mechanism in which departure of the leaving group occurs after the rate-determining step (RDS). $K^+$ ion catalyzes the reaction by increasing the electrophilicity of the reaction center through formation of a cyclic transition state (TS). The catalytic effect decreases as the substituent Y becomes a stronger electron-withdrawing group (EWG). Development of a positive charge on the N atom of the picolinyl moiety through resonance interactions is responsible for the decreasing $K^+$ ion catalysis.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1789-1793
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• 2014

Pseudo-first-order rate constants ($k_{obsd}$) have been measured spectrophotometrically for the reactions of 5-nitro-8-quinolyl nicotinate (4) and 5-nitro-8-quinolyl isonicotinate (5) with alkali metal ethoxides (EtOM; M = K, Na and Li) in anhydrous ethanol at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. The plots of $k_{obsd}$ vs. [EtOM] curve slightly upward for the reactions with EtOK and EtONa but are linear for the reactions with EtOLi and for those with EtOK in the presence of 18-crown-6-ether. Dissection of $k_{obsd}$ into $k_{EtO^-}$ and $k_{EtOM}$ (i.e., the second-order rate constants for the reactions with the dissociated $EtO^-$ and ion-paired EtOM, respectively) has revealed that the reactivity increases in the order $EtO^-{\approx}EtOLi$ < EtOK < EtONa for the reactions of 4 and EtOLi < $EtO^-$ < EtOK < EtONa for the reactions of 5. Comparison of the kinetic results for the reactions of 4 and 5 with those reported previously for the corresponding reactions of 5-nitro-8-quinolyl benzoate (2) and picolinate (3) has revealed that the esters possessing a pyridine ring (i.e., 3-5) are significantly more reactive than the benzoate ester 2 due to the presence of the electronegative N atom (e.g., 2 << 3 < 4 < 5). It has been concluded that $M^+$ ion catalyzes the reactions of 3-5 by increasing the electrophilicity of the reaction center through a five-membered cyclic transition state (TS) for the reaction of 3 and via a four-membered cyclic TS for the reactions of 4 and 5.