• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.578-585
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• 2006

The cDNA of a firefly luciferase from lantern mRNA of Lampyroidea maculata has been cloned, sequenced and functionally expressed. The cDNA has an open reading frame of 1647 bp and codes for a 548-residue-long polypeptide. Noteworthy, sequence comparison as well as homology modeling showed the highest degree of similarity with H. unmunsana and L. mingrelica luciferases, suggesting a close phylogenetic relationship despite the geographical distance separation. The deduced amino acid sequence of the luciferase gene of firefly L. maculata showed 93% identity to H. unmunsana. Superposition of the three-dimensional model of L. maculata luciferase (generated by homology modeling) and three dimensional structure of Photinus pyralis luciferase revealed that the spatial arrangements of Luciferin and ATP-binding residues are very similar. Putative signature of AMP-binding domain among the various firefly species and Lampyroidea maculata was compared and a striking similarity was found. Different motifs and sites have been identified in Lampyroidea maculata by sequence analysis. Expression and purification of luciferase from Lampyroidea maculata was carried out using Ni-NTA Sepharose. Bioluminescence emission spectrum was similar to Photinus pyralis luciferase.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.848-854
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• 2012

We have studied the oligomerization of a fibril-forming segment of ${\alpha}$-Synulcein using a replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulation. The simulation was performed with trimers and tetramers of a 12 amino acid residue stretch (residues 71-82) of ${\alpha}$-Synulcein. From extensive REMD simulations, we observed the spontaneous formation of both trimer and tetramer, demonstrating the self-aggregating and fibril-forming properties of the peptides. Secondary structure profile and clustering analysis illustrated that antiparallel ${\beta}$-sheet structures are major species corresponding to the global free energy minimum. As the size of the oligomer increases from a dimer to a tetramer, conformational stability is increased. We examined the evolution of simple order parameters and their free energy profiles to identify the process of aggregation. It was found that the degree of aggregation increased as time passed. Tetramer formation was slower than trimer formation and a transition in order parameters was observed, indicating the full development of tetramer conformation which is more stable than that of the trimer. The shape of free energy surface and change of order parameter distributions indicate that the oligomer formation follows a dock-and-lock process.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 1989

Enzymatic methylation of arginine and lysine residues of several cytochrome c and lysine residue of calmodulin always resulted in lowering of their respective isoelectric points (pI). Employing cytochromes c derived from various sources, we examined a possible relationship between the degree of amino acid sequence degeneracy and the magnitude of change in the pI values by enzymatic methylation, and found that there was no correlation between these two parameters. By constructing space-filling models of oligopeptide fragments adjacent to the potential methylation sites, we have noted that not all the methylatable residues are able to form hydrogen bonds prior to the methylation. Two preparations of yeast apocytochrome c, one chemically prepared by removing heme from holocytochrome c and the other by translating yeast iso-1-cytochrome c mRNA in vitro, exhibited slightly higher Stokes radii than the homologous holocytochrome c, indicating relatively 'relaxed or open' conformation of the protein. However, when the in vitro synthesized methylated apocytochrome c was compared with the unmethylated counter-part, the Stokes radius of the latter was found to be larger.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.221-226
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• 2005

Isoflavone was extracted with various concentration of aqueous methanol using whole hypocotyls as the starting material. Whole hypocotyls were preferred as the raw material because the residue could be easily removed from the solvent after the extraction process. Extraction yield was almost constant at the methanol concentration of $20-80\%$. Most of the isoflavone was extracted within 1 hr, and the extraction yield remained almost constant thereafter. When the concentration of methanol was $80\%$, the content of total solid was reduced due to the reduced extraction of contaminating protein as the result of protein insolubilization. Among resins tested, Diaion HP-20, Amberlite XAD-16, and Amberlite IRC-50 showed the highest capacity to absorb the compound. Open column chromatography with Diaion HP-20 showed that $80\%$ aqueous ethanol was most efficient as the eluting solvent with final recovery of the phytochemical being more than $95\%$. Maximum adsorption of the phytochemical occurred at the acidic pH 2-4. When the spatial velocity was increased to 15 and more, the degree of adsorption was decreased, whereas below spatial velocity of 15, the adsorption capacity of isoflavone to the resin was almost constant. The purity of the isoflavone purified by column chromatography was $78\%$.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1029-1036
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• 2016

This study investigated the degree to which instrumental measurements explain the variation in pork loin tenderness as assessed by the sensory evaluation of trained panelists. Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) had a significant relationship with the sensory tenderness variables, such as softness, initial tenderness, chewiness, and rate of breakdown. In a regression analysis, WBS could account variations in these sensory variables, though only to a limited proportion of variation. On the other hand, three parameters from texture profile analysis (TPA)-hardness, gumminess, and chewiness-were significantly correlated with all sensory evaluation variables. In particular, from the result of stepwise regression analysis, TPA hardness alone explained over 15% of variation in all sensory evaluation variables, with the exception of perceptible residue. Based on these results, TPA analysis was found to be better than WBS measurement, with the TPA parameter hardness likely to prove particularly useful, in terms of predicting pork loin tenderness as rated by trained panelists. However, sensory evaluation should be conducted to investigate practical pork tenderness perceived by consumer, because both instrumental measurements could explain only a small portion (less than 20%) of the variability in sensory evaluation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 1994

The xylanase from alkali-tolerant Bacillus sp. YA-14 was purified to homogeneity by CM-cellulose, Sephadex G-50, and hydroxyapatite column chromatographies. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 20, 000 Da by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme slightly hydrolyzed carboxymethyl cellulose and Avicel, but did not hydrolyze soluble starch, dextran, pullulan, and ${\rho}-nitrophenyl-{\beta}$-D-xylopyranoside. The maximum degree of hydrolysis by enzyme for birchwood xylan and oat spelts xylan were 47 and 40%, respectively. The Michaelis constants for birchwood xylan and oat spelts xylan were calculated to be 3.03 mg/ml and 5.0 mg/ml, respectively. The activity of the xylanase was inhibited reversibly by $HgCl_2$, and showed competitive inhibition by N-bromosuccinimide, which probably indicates the involvement of tryptophan residue in the active center of the enzyme. The Xylanase was identified to be xylose-producing endo-type xylanase and did not show the enzymatic activities which cleave the branch point of the xylan structure.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.291-299
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• 2012

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of the addition of wintering waterfowl's feces prior to planting rice on nutrient dynamics, rice growth, and decomposition of rice straws in a controlled mesocosm. Waterfowl's feces and rice straws were placed on paddy soils in a mesocosm and the water level maintained at 5 cm. The amounts of supplied feces were 0 (control), 222, and 444 g/$m^2$. While the addition of feces showed no immediate effects, nutrients in the surface water increased in the month following treatment. Nutrients increased to a greater degree in the treatments with more feces added. Simultaneously, the decomposition of rice straws was promoted, indicating that more nutrients would be made available over time. The rice showed high productivity in the period during which nutrient level was increased, when rice needs more nutrients for the tillering stage. Therefore, the wintering waterfowl's feces could be associated with increased productivity during the growing season of rice through promoting nutrient supply and rapid decomposition of rice residue.

• Proceedings of the SCSK Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.590-600
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• 2003

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of enzymes responsible for degrading connective tissue. MMPs catalyze the breakdown of collagen from the extracellular matrix, leading to wrinkle formation and accelerated skin aging. Furthermore, ultraviolet irradiation causes increased expression of certain MMPs. In the extracellular matrix turnover, MMPs are interacting with endogenous regulators named tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). Using peptide substrate assays, it has been demonstrated that TIMP-MMP complexes interact highly specifically with $K_{i}$ values of 10$^{-9}$ -10$^{-16}$ M. Therefore applications for TIMP as inhibitor of collagen degradation are suggested for cosmetic anti-aging products to prevent wrinkle formation and loss of elasticity. To date four TIMP proteins (TIMP-1, TIMP-2, TIMP-3 and TIMP-4) have been identified which show a high degree in sequence similarity. The production of human TIMP-2, a 194-residue nonglycosylated protein, was performed by fed-batch culture of Escherichia coli. TIMP-2 accumulated in the bacterial cells in an insoluble form as inclusion bodies. The inclusion bodies were solubilized and the protein refolded to yield the native TIMP-2 in the active form. The integrity of the protein was confirmed by mass analysis, Edman sequencing and gel shift experiments with authentic samples. The inhibitory activity of the refolded and purified TIMP-2 was demonstrated with MMP-1 and MMP-2 assays using synthetic fluorogenic peptide substrates.s.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.642-648
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• 2012

We determined the nucleotide sequence of the URA3 gene encoding orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase (OMPDCase) of the erythritol-producing osmotolerant yeast Candida magnoliae by degenerate polymerase chain reaction and genome walking. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of an uninterrupted open-reading frame of 795 bp, encoding a 264 amino acid residue protein with the highest identity to the OMPDCase of the yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus. Phylogenetic analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence revealed that it shared a high degree of identity with other yeast OMPDCase homologs. The cloned URA3 gene successfully complemented the ura3 null mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, revealing that it encodes a functional OMPDCase in C. magnoliae. An enzyme activity assay and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction indicated that the expression level of the C. magnoliae URA3 gene in S. cerevisiae was not as high as that of the S. cerevisiae URA3 gene. The GenBank accession number for C. magnoliae URA3 is JF521441.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics A
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• v.30A no.11
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• pp.99-104
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• 1993

We analyzed the D.I. water used in wet cleaning process of semiconductor device manufacturing both at the D.I. water plant and at the wafer cleaning bath to detect the impurity source of D.I. water contamination. This shows that the quantity of impurity is related to the resistivity of D.I. water, and we found that the cleanliness of the wafer surface processed in D.I. water bath was affected by the degree of the ionic impurity contamination. So we evaluated the cleaning effect as different method for Fe ion, having the best adsoptivity on wafer surface. Moreover the temperature effect of the D.I. water is investigated in case of anion in order to remove the chemical residue after wet process. In addition to the control of D.I. water resistivity, chemical analysis of impurity control in D.I. water should be included and a suitable cleaning an drinsing method needs to be investigated for a high yielding semiconductor device.