• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.330-342
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• 2017

Statistical design of experiments was employed to optimize the media composition for the production of laccase from Bacillus sp. PK4. In order to find the key ingredients for the best yield of enzyme production from the selected eleven variables viz yeast extract, glucose, zinc sulphate, copper sulphate, potassium chloride, magnesium sulphate, calcium chloride, ferrous sulphate, sodium chloride, potassium dihydrogen phosphate ($KH_2PO_4$) and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate ($K_2HPO_4$), Plackett-Burman design was applied. The $MgSO_4$, $FeSO_4$, and $CuSO_4$ showed positive estimate, and their concentration optimized further. The steepest ascent method and Box-Behnken method revealed that 1.5 mM $MgSO_4$, 0.33 g/l $FeSO_4$ and 1.41 mM $CuSO_4$ were optimal for the laccase production by Bacillus sp. PK4. This optimization strategy leads to enhancement of laccase production from 2.13 U/ml to 40.79 U/ml. Agro-wastes residues replace the carbon source glucose in the optimized media namely sugarcane bagasse, wheat bran, rice husk, and groundnut shell, among these groundnut shells (117 U/ml) was found to enhance the laccase production significantly. The laccase produced by Bacillus sp. PK4 was found to have the potential to degrade persistent organic pollutant benzo[a]pyrene.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.1500-1509
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• 2020

Drought is a major abiotic factor and has drastically reduced crop yield globally, thus damaging the agricultural industry. Drought stress decreases crop productivity by negatively affecting crop morphological, physiological, and biochemical factors. The use of drought tolerant bacteria improves agricultural productivity by counteracting the negative effects of drought stress on crops. In this study, we isolated bacteria from the rhizosphere of broccoli field located in Daehaw-myeon, Republic of Korea. Sixty bacterial isolates were screened for their growth-promoting capacity, in vitro abscisic acid (ABA), and sugar production activities. Among these, bacterial isolates YNA59 was selected based on their plant growth-promoting bacteria traits, ABA, and sugar production activities. Isolate YNA59 highly tolerated oxidative stress, including hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and produces superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities in the culture broth. YNA59 treatment on broccoli significantly enhanced plant growth attributes, chlorophyll content, and moisture content under drought stress conditions. Under drought stress, the endogenous levels of ABA, jasmonic acid (JA), and salicylic acid (SA) increased; however, inoculation of YNA59 markedly reduced ABA (877 ± 22 ng/g) and JA (169.36 ± 20.74 ng/g) content, while it enhanced SA levels (176.55 ± 9.58 ng/g). Antioxidant analysis showed that the bacterial isolate YNA59 inoculated into broccoli plants contained significantly higher levels of SOD, CAT, and APX, with a decrease in GPX levels. The bacterial isolate YNA59 was therefore identified as Variovorax sp. YNA59. Our current findings suggest that newly isolated drought tolerant rhizospheric Variovorax sp. YNA59 is a useful stress-evading rhizobacterium that improved drought-stress tolerance of broccoli and could be used as a bio-fertilizer under drought conditions.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.194-199
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• 2016

In an experiment conducted at the research field of the National Institute of Agricultural Science, we investigated the effects of mineral fertilizer and rice straw compost on exchangeable potassium and K balances, and rice grain yield under a rice single system. The treatments were no fertilization (No fert.), inorganic fertilization (N), inorganic fertilizer (N, P, K) plus rice straw compost at rates of 7.5, 15.0, 22.5, and $30.0ton\;ha^{-1}$ (NPKC7.5, NPKC15.0, NPKC22.5, and NPKC30.0, respectively). The inorganic fertilizers(N, P, K) were added with standard fertilizer application rate in which nitrogen (N), phosphate ($P_2O_5$), and potassium ($K_2O$) were applied with $75{\sim}150kg\;ha^{-1}$, $70{\sim}86kg\;ha^{-1}$, $75{\sim}86kg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. Exchangeable potassium for NPKC15.0 NPKC22.5, and NPK30.0 treatments was higher by $0.05{\sim}0.19cmol_c\;kg^{-1}$ than that of NPKC7.5 treatment. Increasing levels of rice straw compost resulted in an increase in the K balance from - $19.9kg\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ (No fert.) to $41.9kg\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ at NPKC22.5 treatment and $62.9kg\;ha^{-1}$ at NPKC30.0 treatment. Continuous application of rice straw compost with NPK fertilizers affected significantly the rice grain yields. The result of the study imply that the application of more than $22.5ton\;ha^{-1}$ of rice straw compost with NPK fertilizers are recommended as the best fertilization practice for enhancement of crop production and K supplying power of soil in the continuous rice cropping system.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2011

To enhance cyclo-His-Pro (CHP) content, soybean hydrolysate was obtained using the strains isolated from Chungkukjang and further purified by various purification steps. First, twenty two strains were screened from Chungkukjang containing high level of CHP. Among them, the strain No. 12, which showed higher productivity of CHP from soybean ferment and have homologous sequence with 16S rDNA of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, was named B. amyloliquefaciens CHP-12. Through various purification processes, CHP was concentrated from soybean ferment using ultrafiltration, which showed the best efficiency of CHP production, with the yield (71.3%) and CHP content (2.14 mg/g). Moreover, when glucose tolerance test was performed in Type I Sprague-Dawley rat induced by streptozotocin using the soybean ferments [0.5 g soybean ferment/kg body weight (CHP-0.5 group)] and 1.0 g soybean ferment/kg body weight (CHP-1.0 group), there were significant differences in glucose levels between diabetes-control group (265.3 mg/dL) and soybean ferment-treated groups (CHP-0.5 group: 84.3 mg/dL and CHP-1.0 group: 85.3 mg/dL) 120 min after glucose injection (2 g/kg body weight) (p < 0.05). Accordingly, it is suggested that the soybean ferment containing high level of CHP might be a candidate material as an anti-diabetic supplement for manufacturing functional healthy foods.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1993.09a
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• pp.155-163
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• 1993

An American ginseng(Panax quillquefolium L) industry has emerged in British Columbia, Canada over the past ten years. Interest has grown very rapidly and with this development, attention is now moving away from field production issues and emphasis is being directed to enhancements in ginseng storage, drying and processing. There is a dearth of knowledge on these aspects even though they are crucial to international competitiveness. Enhancement dicatates the application of a systems approach to optimizing the harvest and post - harvest production system(crop digging, pre - washing cold storage. washing, drying and post - drying storage). Research in British Columbia to date has focussed on drying and storage issues and has resulted in the design of an enhanced commercial drying system. The role of dryer management, loading rates, airflow rates and pre - drying cold storage on American ginseng root drying rates and root quality were examined. From the dryer management experiments, there are distinct advantages to size sorting root to yield optimum drying rates. If unsorted root is used, efficiency is increased if the trays are systematically rotated. Loading rate experiments illustrate that increasing rates above those currently used in commercial dryers are possible without any sacrifice in quality. This has significant implications for commercial drying. Pre - drying cold storage is a most significant tool for managing drying operations. Over a period of six weeks, no discernable decrease in quality was found as a consequence of cold storage. Further, the moisture loss and the associated root surface changes(loss of surface soil in storage for example) provide new challenges for root quality management. Continued research and technological innovation will be crucial in addressing the demanding challenges of the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.153-153
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• 2017

Potato (Solanum tubersosum L.) is susceptible to various environmental stresses such as frost, high temperature, and drought. Enhancement of potato drought tolerance can reduce yield loss under drought that has negative effect on potato tuber growth. Genetic engineering can be utilized to achieve this goal, but such approaches using endogenous potato genes have rarely been applied. Since unpredictable global weather changes cause more severe and frequent water limiting conditions, improvement of potato drought tolerance can minimize such adverse effects under drought and can impact on sustainable potato production. Genetic engineering can be utilized to improve potato drought tolerance, but such approaches using endogenous potato genes have rarely been applied. We were obtained AtbZIP28 gene transgenic potato plants. It is identified transcript levels at various stress conditions, polyethylene glycol (PEG), NaCl, abscisic ${\underline{acid}}$ (ABA). Also, For identification to regulate ER stress response genes in AtbZIP28 gene transgenic potato plant, we screened seven potato genes from RNA-seq analysis under TM treatment. Five and two genes were up- and down-regulated by TM, respectively. Their expression patterns were re-examined at stress agents known to elicit TM, DTT, DMSO and salt stress.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2014

In order to investigate the effective pretreatment methods in WAS(=waste activated sludge) solubilization, the values of SCOD yield per unit SS (SCOD/gSS.hr) were compared. After the hydrodynamic cavitation with pH of 12.5, SCOD increased to 7800 mg/L, SS decreased to 45 % and the solubilization rate was 29 %. Combination of alkality (pH 12.5) and the cavitation seems to be the optimal condition for sludge solubilization. After the cavitational pretreatment, efficiencies of anaerobic digestion of the unfiltered sludge(the control), raw sludge and pretreated sludge were evaluated with BMP(=biochemical methane potential) tests. For evaluation of the biodegradability characteristics of pretreated sewage sludge, the methane production has been measured for 6 months. The methane production of pretreated sludge increased 1.4 times than that of untreated sludge. The result indicates that the cavitationally pretreated sludge was a better biodegradability substrate in anaerobic condition compared to raw sludge. It is obvious that cavitational pretreatment could enhance not only solubilization but also biodegradability of WAS. In conclusion, cavitational pretreatment of WAS to convert the particulate into soluble portion was shown to be effective in enhancing the digestibility of the WAS.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2013

This study was performed to investigate the enhancement of immunomodulatory activities of Lithospermum erythrorhizon by extreme process. The extracts are WE100 (water extract for 24 hours at $100^{\circ}C$), WE80 (water extract for 24 hours at $80^{\circ}C$), EE (70% ethyl alcohol extract for 24 hours at $80^{\circ}C$) and EPE (extreme process for 30 minutes at $25^{\circ}C$, 500 MPa after 70% ethyl alcohol extracts for 3 hours at 40, 50, $60^{\circ}C$). Extraction yield was increased up to 5~10% by extreme process, compare to the normal extraction such as water solvent extraction, 70% ethyl alcohol solvent extraction. The cytotoxicity of the extracts was showed in the range of 12.68~15.89% at $1.0mg/m{\ell}$ for human lung cell (HEL299). The EPE40 was showed the lowest cytotoxicity 12.68%. The EPE60 extracted by extreme process increased the growth of human B and T cells up to $12.12{\times}10^4\;cells/m{\ell}$ and $14.88{\times}10^4\;cells/m{\ell}$, respectively and the EPE60 greatly increased the cytokine secretion of both IL-6 and TNF-${\alpha}$. The extracts by extreme process also exhibited higher levels of nitric oxide production from macrophages than the lipopolysaccaharides. It can be concluded that Lithospermum erythrorhizon has immune activities and The extreme process could increase higher immune activities possibly by immunomodulatory compounds.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.58-68
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• 2012

An investigation was conducted on the enhancement of production and purification of an oxidant and SDS-stable alkaline protease (BHAP) secreted by an alkalophilic Bacillus horikoshii, which was screened from the body fluid of a unique Korean polychaeta (Periserrula leucophryna) living in the tidal mud flats of Kwangwha Island in the Korean West Sea. A prominent effect on BHAP production was obtained by adding 2% maltose, 1% sodium citrate, 0.8% NaCl, and 0.6% sodium carbonate to the culturing medium. The optimal medium for BHAP production contained (g/l) SBM, 15; casein, 10; $K_2HPO_4$, 2; $KH_2PO_4$, 2; maltose, 20; sodium citrate, 10; $MgSO_4$, 0.06; NaCl, 8; and $Na_2CO_3$, 6. A protease yield of approximately 56,000 U/ml was achieved using the optimized medium, which is an increase of approximately 5.5-fold compared with the previous optimization (10,050 U/ml). The BHAP was homogenously purified 34-fold with an overall recovery of 34% and a specific activity of 223,090 U/mg protein using adsorption with Diaion HPA75, hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) on Phenyl-Sepharose, and ion-exchange chromatography on a DEAE- and CM-Sepharose column. The purified BHAP was determined a homogeneous by SDS-PAGE, with an apparent molecular mass of 28 kDa, and it showed extreme stability towards organic solvents, SDS, and oxidizing agents. The $K_m$ and $k_{cat}$ values were 78.7 ${\mu}M$ and $217.4s^{-1}$ for N-succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-pNA at $37^{\circ}C$ and pH 9, respectively. The inhibition profile exhibited by PMSF suggested that the protease from B. horikoshii belongs to the family of serine proteases. The BHAP, which showed high stability against SDS and $H_2O_2$, has significance for industrial application, such as additives in detergent and feed industries.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.311-315
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• 2004

The detection of lymph node metastasis is an important step in tumor staging and is significant for therapy planning. It has been challenged to yield an appropriate image with diagnostic methods such as Magnetic Resonance (MR) and Computed Tomography (CT). Though CT has been used widely and accessed easily to show internal organs, it can hardly provide difference between lymph node and adjacent vessel or fat tissue. It has been well established that MR can reveal the subtle discrepancy within soft tissue. This study investigated the suitability of MR lymph node imaging without contrast enhancement by comparison of T1-weighted image (T1WI) and T2- weighted image (T2WI) in ten normal rabbits. According to the pulse sequence optimized from preliminary study, T1-weighted spin-echo (repetition time/echo time=400/12 ms) and T-2 weighted fast spin-echo (repetition time/echo time=3500/84 ms) images covering the hind limbs and pelvic region were acquired at 1.5 T. Two radiologists scrupulously evaluated the MR images in consensus. And signal intensity of lymph nodes was compared with that of adjacent fat. Statistical analysis showed that T1-weighted coronal image visualized the lymph nodes (iliac, superficial inguinal and popliteal lymph nodes) quickly and consistently rather than T2-weighted one. Conclusively, T1WI for evaluation of lymph nodes is moderately better than T2WI and appears to have potential for quick and sufficient mapping of the lymph nodes. In addition, this normal MR image of lymph nodes could be applied to further study for the evaluation of lymphatic system in abscess and tumor bearing animal model.