• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• 제50권3호
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• pp.556-561
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• 2012

본 연구에서는 고분자형 연료전지(PEMFC) 내의 기체확산층(GDL)에서의 물질 거동 전산해석을 통하여 GDL 물성이 전지성능에 미치는 영향을 알아보았다. GDL 내에서 기상의 산소와 액상의 물의 거동을 계산하기 위하여 multi-phase mixture($M^2$) 모델을 사용하였다. GDL의 접촉각, 기공도, 기체투과도, 두께에 변화를 주며 계산을 실시하여 GDL 내에서의 물질 거동의 변화를 확인 하였고, GDL 물성이 전지성능에 미치는 영향을 파악하였다. 전산해석 결과, GDL의 접촉각과 기공도가 커지고, 두께가 얇아짐에 따라 물질전달 저항이 감소하여 GDL과 촉매층 사이의 계면에서의 물포화도가 낮아지고 산소농도는 증가하여 전지성능이 향상되는 것을 확인하였다.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.44.1-44.17
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• 2023

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health concern around the globe. Antimicrobial peptides exhibit broad-spectrum and efficient antibacterial activity with an added advantage of low drug resistance. The higher water content and 3D network structure of the hydrogels are beneficial for maintaining antimicrobial peptide activity and help to prevent degradation. The antimicrobial peptide released from hydrogels also hasten the local wound healing by promoting epithelial tissue regeneration and granulation tissue formation. Objective: This study aimed at developing sodium alginate based hydrogel loaded with a novel antimicrobial peptide Chol-37(F34-R) and to investigate the characteristics in vitro and in vivo as an alternative antibacterial wound dressing to treat infectious wounds. Methods: Hydrogels were developed and optimized by varying the concentrations of crosslinkers and subjected to various characterization tests like cross-sectional morphology, swelling index, percent water contents, water retention ratio, drug release and antibacterial activity in vitro, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected wound mice model in vivo. Results: The results indicated that the hydrogel C proved superior in terms of cross-sectional morphology having uniformly sized interconnected pores, a good swelling index, with the capacity to retain a higher quantity of water. Furthermore, the optimized hydrogel has been found to exert a significant antimicrobial activity against bacteria and was also found to prevent bacterial infiltration into the wound site due to forming an impermeable barrier between the wound bed and external environment. The optimized hydrogel was found to significantly hasten skin regeneration in animal models when compared to other treatments in addition to strong inhibitory effect on the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α). Conclusions: Our results suggest that sodium alginate -based hydrogels loaded with Chol-37(F34-R) hold the potential to be used as an alternative to conventional antibiotics in treating infectious skin wounds.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.287-293
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• 2001

A fast and easy PCR-SSCP method was developed and assessed for the early detection of rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium leprae in skin biopsy samples from Korean leprosy patients. The 190 bp of the rpoB gene, in which mutation is known to cause resistance to rifampin, was amplified by PCR and then analyzed by SSCP and DNA sequencing, All PCR products showing mobility shift on PCR-SSCP contained mutations, demonstrating that this method can be used for an early diagnositic method to detect a putative rifampin-resistant M. leprae strain. DNA sequence analysis revealed that 19 of 34 patient samples contained M. leprae strains with missense mutations in the rpoB gene: five were the same mutations previously reported to cause rifampin resistance and eight were the new type of mutatios that likely cause rifampin resistance. These newly identified dmutations, whose all five cytosine bases of four amino acids were substitued with thymine, were found at different sites from those reported in Mycobacterium tuberculosis or M. leprae. Therefore, they may provide additional clues to understand the molecular biological basis on the rifampin resistance of M. leprae.

• Mycobiology
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.48-53
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• 2001

Plants have the ability to acquire an enhanced level of resistance to pathogen attack after being exposed to specific biotic stimuli. To obtain plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria inducing resistance against cucumber anthracnose by Colletotrichum orbiculare, more than 800 strains of rhizobacteria were screened in the greenhouse. Among these strains, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens solate EXTN-1 showed significant disease control efficacy on the plants. Induction of pathogenesis-related(PR-la) gene expression by EXTN-1 was assessed using tobacco plants transformed with PR-1a::$\beta$-glucuronidase(GUS) construct. GUS activities of tobacco treated with EXTN-1 and salicylic acid-treated transgenic tobacco were significantly higher than those of tobacco plants with other treatments. Gene expression analyses indicated that EXTN-1 induces the accumulation of defense-related genes of tobacco. The results showed that some defense genes are expressed by the treatment with EXTN-1 suggesting the similar resistance mechanism by salicylic acid.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권8호
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• pp.1060-1068
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• 2021

Community-associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) is notorious as a leading cause of soft tissue infections. Despite several studies on the Agr regulator, the mechanisms of action of Agr on the virulence factors in different strains are still unknown. To reveal the role of Agr in different CA-MRSA, we investigated the LACΔagr mutant and the MW2Δagr mutant by comparing LAC (USA300), MW2 (USA400), and Δagr mutants. The changes of Δagr mutants in sensitivity to oxacillin and several virulence factors such as biofilm formation, pigmentation, motility, and membrane properties were monitored. LACΔagr and MW2Δagr mutants showed different oxacillin sensitivity and biofilm formation compared to the LAC and MW2 strains. Regardless of the strain, the motility was reduced in Δagr mutants. And there was an increase in the long chain fatty acid in phospholipid fatty acid composition of Δagr mutants. Other properties such as biofilm formation, pigmentation, motility, and membrane properties were different in both Δagr mutants. The Agr regulator may have a common role like the control of motility and straindependent roles such as antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, change of membrane, and pigment production. It does not seem easy to control all MRSA by targeting the Agr regulator only as it showed strain-dependent behaviors.

• 한국미생물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국미생물학회 2001년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.146-156
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• 2001

The biosynthetic gene clusters for bluensomycin and spectinomycin were isolated and characterized from the bluensomycin producer, Streptomyces bluensis ATCC27420 and the spectinomycin producer, Streptomyces spectabilis ATCC27741, respectively. PCR primers were designed specifically to amplify a segment of dTDP-glucose synthase gene based on its conserved sequences of several actinomycete strains. By screening cosmid libraries using amplified PCR fragments, 30-kb and 45-kb DNA fragments were isolated from Streptomyces bluensis and Streptomyces spectabilis, respectively. Sequencing analysis of them revealed that each contains 15 open reading frames (ORFs). Some of these ORFs were turned out to be antibiotic resistance genes (blmA and speN), dTDP-glucose synthase genes (blmD and spcD), and dTDP-D-glucose 4,6-dehydratase genes (blmE and spcE), suggesting that the blm and spec gene clusters are likely involved in the biosynthesis of bluensomycin and spectinomycin, respectively.

• 대한치과보철학회지
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• 제37권6호
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• pp.741-755
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• 1999

As a material of metal-ceramic prosthesis, nickel as a form of Ni-Cr alloy has been used for many dental prostheses in many cases. However, several problems in use of the alloy have been revealed (ex : tissue stimulation, skin allergy, hypersensitivity, cytotoxicity and carcinogenecity). Little is known about nickel with respect to the relationship between Ni-prosthesis and gaining of Ni-resistance in oral microorganisms. The present study was undertaken to check wheather use of Ni-prosthesis leads to occurrence of Ni-resistant microorganisms. So this study may suggest the possible relationships between the oral microorganisms and nickel-resistance in oral environment. Bacteria were isolated from the gingival crevicular fluid on the pateints wearing Ni-Cr prosthesis. The isolated bacteria were tested for their Ni-resistance in nickel containing media at different concentration from 3mM to 110mM. E. coli HB101 was used as control. The Ni-resistant bacteria were isolated and biochemically identified. The Ni-resistant bacteria were tested several bio-chemical, molecular-biological tests. Performed tests were ; measuring the growth curve, antibiotic test, growth ability test in liquid media, isolation of the chromosome and plasmid, digestion of DNA by restriction enzyme, electrophoresis of chromosome and plasmid DNA, identification of Ni-resistant genes by the DNA hybridization. The results were as follows: 1) The bacteria isolated from gingival crevicular fluid on the patients wearing Ni-Cr alloy pros-thesis showed nickel-resistance. 2) The isolated microorganisms grew at nickel containing media of high concentrations (60mM-110mM). 3) Based on the biochemical tests, the isolated microorganisms were identified as Enterococcus faecalis(13 cases), Klebsiella pneumoniae(1 case) and Enterobacter gergeviae(1 case). 4) Enterococcus faecalis expressed not only nickel resistance but also the multi-drug resistance to several antibiotics ; chloramphenicol, kanamicin, streptomycin, lincomycin, clindamycin. However, all strain showed the sensitivity against the tetracycline. 5) DNA hybridization result suggest that there is no homology between the previousely known gene of nickel resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae and chromosomal DNA of Enterococcus faecalis.

• 한국식물병리학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국식물병리학회 2003년도 정기총회 및 추계학술발표회
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• pp.101.1-101
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• 2003

Lipopolysaccharide, siderophore, and cyclic dipeptide have been shown to be necessary for ISR induction by pseudomnads. However, there is no report on cloning of genes or generating specific mutants involving in ISR activity. A biological control bacteium P. chlororaphis O6 induces resistance to Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovara SCCI in tobacco and induces drought resistance in Arabidopsis. To isolate genes involved in ISR activity and induction of drough resistance of O6, we constructed Tn5 mutants and were used to screen for ISR activity and drought resistance activity using microtiter assay with tobacco and Arabidopsis. Thirty-three ISR-deficient mutants were selected, and the nine ISR-deficient mutants were also lost activity of drought resistance. The flanking sequence analysis of the ISR and drought resistance-deficient mutants showed that a gacS gene encoding a two-component sensor kinase, and a mce gene encoding a protein involved in mycobacterial cell entry were mutated. The flanking sequence of each Tn5 mutant altered ISR activity is currently under investigation. These results indicate that gacS and mce are important genes in induction of ISR activity and drought resistance of P. chlororaphis O6. Our works will open opportunities for identification of bacterial genes or traits that are involved in ISR activity and induced drought resistance of P. chlororaphis O6.

• 대한의용생체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한의용생체공학회 1995년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.134-137
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• 1995

Studies on the formulations of the additives such as antioxidants, crosslinking agent, and trans-stilbeneoxide (StO) with polypropylene (PP) have been carried out to improve the resistance of gamma radiation sterilization. The irradiated PP and ethylene-propylene copolymers samples with control and additives were characterized by mechanical tester, colorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with total attenuated reflectance mode (FTIR-ATR). Crosslinking agent and StO formulated PP showed remarkable radiation resistance and minimum discoloration. Also, radiation resistance of ethylene propylene copolymers with 3% of ethylene contents was better than that of PP homopolymers in the case of no additives. The proposed mechanisms of radiation stabilization with additives are also discussed.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.216-222
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• 2005

This study was performed to determine the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of Salmonella spp., coliforms, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio spp. isolated from broiler carcasses, aquacultured flounders, hamburgers, and lettuce, which are foods consumed in large quantities in Korea. Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were isolated only from broiler carcasses and Salmonella spp. had a high multidrug resistance rate of 61.1%. Meanwhile, coliforms and S. aureus were isolated from all four foods tested in this experiment. The multidrug resistance rate of coliforms from broiler carcasses was 50%, and that of Vibrio spp. from flounders was 71.4%. The resistance to tetracycline, streptomycin, ampicillin or carbenicillin was common regardless of the kind of food or isolate.