• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.51 no.6
• /
• pp.307-314
• /
• 2008

To explore the optimal conditions for the removal of $H_{2}S$ gas by biofiltration, various conditions, including inlet $H_{2}S$ concentration, flow rate, moisture, and cell number, were examined. Heterotrophic bacteria were isolated from the compost of the animal excreta. A strain that effectively removed $H_{2}S$ was selected and identified as Rhodococcus rhodochrous B261 by analysis of its 16S rDNA sequence. A cell number of $10^{7}\;cfu/g^{-}compost$ was sufficient to dominate the microbiota, and an effective removal was observed at $H_{2}S$ gas concentrations below 220 mg/L. The moisture content of 33-38% was suitable for activation of the microbial activity and delaying the desiccation. Higher flow rates resulted in lower removal rates of the $H_{2}S$ gas. Under the conditions of $10^7\;cfu/g^{-}compost$, $H_{2}S$ gas concentrations of 220 mg/L, and moisture content of 33-38%, the inlet $H_{2}S$ gas concentrations of 120 and 400 mg/L were completely removed for 34 and 12 days, respectively. The amount of sulfur removed was $2.99{\times}10^{-9}H_{2}S-S/cell$, which was suggested as the amount of sulfur removed by a single cell. The biofilter consisting of the compost and R. rhodochrous B261 could be suitable for a long-term biofilteration for the removal of $H_{2}S$ and other malodorous compounds.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.109-114
• /
• 2001

A CAB cDNA vector(pKGCAB), encoding the light harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein in Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer), was constructed with the CaMV35S promoter of plant expression vector. The chimeric vector was transformed into tobacco(Nicotiana tabacum cv. NC 82) using Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA 4404 strain, and the transgenic tobacco plant CAB-TP2 was selected. Photosynthetic rates of the CAB-TP2 plant at before-flowering stage were increased about 20% under low irradiance conditions of quantum 100 and 500 $\mu$mol.m$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ , however, the rates were similar to those of NC 82 under quantum 1000 and 2000 $\mu$mol.m$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ conditions. The plants were germinating under low- or normal irradiance condition and the quantum yield of photosystem III were measured. The differences of the Fv/Em values between conditions were 0.07 and 0.01 in NC 82 and CAB-TP2, respectively. The mature leaves in the position 8-10 of the CAB-TP2 at before-flowering stage revealed l0% higher Fv/Fm values in range of 0.759 to 0.781 and 40% more chlorophyll contents of 70-93mg/$m\ell$ than those of normal NC 82. These data suggest the possibility that the increase in photosynthetic activity of leaves under low light intensity in the canopy of CAB-TP2 transgenic tobacco might lead to increase the quality of lower tobacco leaves.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.46 no.6
• /
• pp.329-337
• /
• 2008

During the continuous casting of boron-bearing steel, the corner cracks on the slab are formed by deformation with low strain rate and rapid cooling at the unbending temperature within the range of 800- $1000^{\circ}C$. Especially, the rapid cooling in the corner of slab during the continuous casting leads to as corner cracking. Therefore, in this study, the hot tensile tests applied to the different cooling rates were taken into account in order to study the effect of cooling rate on the hot ductility of boron-bearing steel. The results revealed that increasing cooling rate deteriorate the hot ductility of boron- bearing steel. Rapid decreasing of the hot ductility is caused by formation of a film-like ferrite and precipitate at the austenite grain boundaries. The morphology of the precipitates in the boron-bearing steel was monitored by PTA (Particle Tracking Autoradiography) and TEM, we observed MnS and BN compound and their morphology was quite different depending on the cooling rates. When the cooling rate is increased, rodshape MnS and BN precipitates can be formed along the austenite grain boundaries. It can cause that weakening the boundary region and decreasing the hot ductility of boron-bearing steel.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.34 no.5
• /
• pp.511-518
• /
• 2010

The split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) has been widely used to determine the mechanical properties of materials at high loading rates. However, to ensure test reliability, the source of measurement error must be identified and eliminated. During the experiment, specimens were placed between the incident and the transmit bar. Contact friction between the test bars and specimen may cause errors. In this study, numerical experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of friction on the test results. In the SHPB test, the stress measured by the transmitted bar is assumed to be the flow stress of the test specimen. However, performing numerical experiments, it was shown that the stress measured by the transmit bar is axial stress components. When the contact surface is frictionless, the flow stress and axial stress of the specimen are approximately equal. On the other hand, when the contact surface is not frictionless, the flow stress and axial stress are no longer equal. The effect of friction on the difference between the flow stress and axial stress was investigated.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.20-25
• /
• 2014

This study evaluated the effects of frankfurter fat content on Listeria monocytogenes resistance to heat stress and gastric fluid, and the Caco-2 cell invasion efficiency of the pathogen. A 10-strain mixture of L. monocytogenes was inoculated on frankfurters formulated with 10%, 20%, and 30% fat content (10%: F10, 20%: F20, 30%: F30) and stored at $10^{\circ}C$ for 30 d. The samples were analyzed for L. monocytogenes resistance to heat stress and a simulated gastric fluid challenge. The total bacteria and L. monocytogenes survival rates were measured on tryptic soy agar plus 0.6% yeast extract and Palcam agar, respectively. L. monocytogenes colonies inoculated on F10, F20, and F30 samples were used for a Caco-2 cell invasion assay. In general, no obvious differences were observed between the survival rates of total bacteria and L. monocytogenes grown on different fat contents under heat stress and gastric fluid challenge. However, L. monocytogenes obtained from the F30 samples had a significantly higher Caco-2 cell invasion efficiency than those in the F10 and F20 samples (p<0.05). These results indicate that although high fat content in food may not be related to L. monocytogenes resistance to heat stress and gastric fluid, it may increase the Caco-2 cell invasion efficiency of the pathogen.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.519-524
• /
• 2011

The correlation between alcoholic fermentation rate, measured as carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) evolution, and the rate of hydrogen sulfide ($H_2S$) formation during wine production was investigated. Both rates and the resulting concentration peaks in fermentor headspace $H_2S$ were directly impacted by yeast assimilable nitrogenous compounds in the grape juice. A series of model fermentations was conducted in temperature-controlled and stirred fermentors using a complex model juice with defined concentrations of ammonium ions and/or amino acids. The fermentation rate was measured indirectly by noting the weight loss of the fermentor; $H_2S$ was quantitatively trapped in realtime using a pre-calibrated $H_2S$ detection tube which was inserted into a fermentor gas relief port. Evolution rates for $CO_2$ and $H_2S$ as well as the relative ratios between them were calculated. These fermentations confirmed that total sulfide formation was strongly yeast strain-dependent, and high concentrations of yeast assimilable nitrogen did not necessarily protect against elevated $H_2S$ formation. High initial concentrations of ammonium ions via addition of diammonium phosphate (DAP) caused a higher evolution of $H_2S$ when compared with a non-supplemented but nondeficient juice. It was observed that the excess availability of a certain yeast assimilable amino acid, arginine, could result in a more sustained $CO_2$ production rate throughout the wine fermentation. The contribution of yeast assimilable amino acids from conventional commercial yeast foods to lowering of the $H_2S$ formation was marginal.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.24 no.6 s.177
• /
• pp.1446-1455
• /
• 2000

Fatigue crack initiation and propagation behavior under cyclic biaxial loading has been investigated using thin-walled tubular specimen with a hole. Two types of biaxial loading system, i.e. cyclic tensile loading with super-imposed static torsional load and cyclic torsional loading with superimposed static tensile load, with various values of the biaxial loading ratio, $\tau$ s/ $\sigma$ max (or $\tau$ max/ $\sigma$s) were employed. Fatigue tests show that fatigue crack near the hole initiates and propagates at 900 and 450 direction to the longitudinal direction of the specimen under cyclic tensile and torsion loading with static biaxial stress, respectively, and the static biaxial stress doesn't have any great influence on fatigue crack initiation and growth direction. Stress analysis near the hole of the specimen shows that the crack around the hole initiates along the plane of maximum tangential stress range. Fatigue crack growth rates were evaluated as functions of equivalent stress intensity factor range, strain energy density factor range and crack tip opening displacement vector, respectively. It is shown that the biaxial mode fatigue crack growth rates can be relatively consistently predicted with these cyclic parameters.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.909-915
• /
• 2002

The biodegradation of BTEX components (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m-xylene, and p-xylene) individually and in mixtures was investigated using the o-xylene-degrading thermo-tolerant bacterium Ralsronia sp. strain PHS1 , which utilizes benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, or o-xylene as its sole carbon source. The results showed that as a single substrate for growth, benzene was superior to both toluene and ethylbenzene. While growth inhibition was severe at higher o-xylene concentrations, no inhibition was observed (up to 100 mg $l^-1$) with ethylbenzene. In mixtures of BTEX compounds, the PHS1 culture was shown to degrade all six BTEX components and the degradation rates were in the order of benzene, toluene, o-xylene, ethylbenzene, and m- and p-xylene. m-Xylene and p-xylene were found to be co-metabolized by this microorganism in the presence of the growth-supporting BTEX compounds. In binary mixtures containing the growth substrates (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene. and o-xylene), PHS1 degraded each BTEX compound faster when it was alone than when it was a component of a BTEX mixture, although the degree of inhibition varied according to the substrates in the mixtures. p-Xylene was shown to be the most potent inhibitor of BTEX biodegradation in binary mixtures. On the other hand, the degradation rates of the non-growth substrates (m-xylene and p-xylene) were significantly enhanced by the addition of growth substrates. The substrate utilization patterns between PHS1 and other microorganisms were also examined.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.149-153
• /
• 2013

Candidiasis is a fungal infection of the most common causes; generally, opportunistic infections occur often in patients with weakened immune systems. Because of high rates in fungal infection patients and increasing frequency of being isolated from clinical materials, quickly identifying of Candida albicans is critical. By identifying 404 yeast cell strains of referred samples via API 20C kits, NGL and PRO tests and Germ tube (GT) test were conducted and compared. In the 3.0 McFarland yeast cells, 0.1% ${\rho}-nitrophenyl-N-acetyl-{\beta}-D-galactosaminide$ (NGL) and 0.04% ${\small{L}}$-proline ${\beta}$-naphtylamide (PRO) were each put in test tubes and incubated at $35^{\circ}C$ for 15, 30, 60 and 90 minutes. Afterwards, 1 drop of 2% NaOH was applied, and if the color turned yellow; it was positive for NGL test. Afterwards, 1% ${\rho}$-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde was applied, and if the upper layer turned pink or red, it was positive for PRO test. NGL and PRO tests were conducted for all C. albicans and identified accurately within 30 minutes. In NGL, PRO test, false-positive, negative were not seen, whereas, GT test showed false-positive in 1 strain and false-negative in 3 strains. Therefore, sensitivity and specificity of NGL, PRO tests were 100% and 99.5%, respectively, and positive and negative predictive rate were 99.5% and 100%, respectively. However, GT test sensitivity and specificity were 98.5% and 99.5%, respectively, and positive and negative predictive rates were 99.5% and 98.5%, respectively. In conclusion, NGL, PRO tests are better than GT tests for sensitivity and specificity, therefore, these reliable tests will be useful in clinical laboratories.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.1670-1679
• /
• 2015

Two hollow fiber membrane biofilm reactors (HF-MBfRs) were operated for autotrophic nitrification and hydrogenotrophic denitrification for over 300 days. Oxygen and hydrogen were supplied through the hollow fiber membrane for nitrification and denitrification, respectively. During the period, the nitrogen was removed with the efficiency of 82-97% for ammonium and 87-97% for nitrate and with the nitrogen removal load of 0.09-0.26 kg NH₄⁺-N/m³/d and 0.10-0.21 kg NO₃^--N/m³/d, depending on hydraulic retention time variation by the two HF-MBfRs for autotrophic nitrification and hydrogenotrophic denitrification, respectively. Biofilms were collected from diverse topological positions in the reactors, each at different nitrogen loading rates, and the microbial communities were analyzed with partial 16S rRNA gene sequences in denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Detected DGGE band sequences in the reactors were correlated with nitrification or denitrification. The profile of the DGGE bands depended on the NH₄⁺ or NO₃^- loading rate, but it was hard to find a major strain affecting the nitrogen removal efficiency. Nitrospira-related phylum was detected in all biofilm samples from the nitrification reactors. Paracoccus sp. and Aquaspirillum sp., which are an autohydrogenotrophic bacterium and an oligotrophic denitrifier, respectively, were observed in the denitrification reactors. The distribution of microbial communities was relatively stable at different nitrogen loading rates, and DGGE analysis based on 16S rRNA (341f /534r) could successfully detect nitrate-oxidizing and hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria but not ammonium-oxidizing bacteria in the HF-MBfRs.