• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 2014

Quorum quenching (QQ) with a microbial vessel has recently been reported as an economically feasible biofouling control platform in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for wastewater treatment. In this study, a quorum quenching MBR with a ceramic microbial vessel (CMV) was designed to overcome the extremely low F/M ratio inside a microbial vessel. The CMV was prepared with a monolithic ceramic microporous membrane and AHL-degrading QQ bacteria, Pseudomonas sp. 1A1. The "inner flow feeding mode" was introduced, under which fresh feed was supplied to the MBR only through the center lumen in the CMV. The inner flow feeding mode facilitated nutrient transport to QQ bacteria in the CMV and thus enabled relatively long-term maintenance of cell viability. The quorum quenching effect of the CMV on controlling membrane biofouling in the MBR was more pronounced with the inner flow feeding mode, which was identified by the slower increase in the transmembrane pressure as well as by the visual observation of a biocake that formed on the used membrane surface. In the QQ MBR with the CMV, the concentrations of extracellular polymeric substances were substantially decreased in the biocake on the membrane surface compared with those in the conventional MBR. The CMV also showed its potential with effective biofouling control over long-term operation of the QQ MBR.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.275-281
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• 2013

Soil microbial community analysis of farmland soil sprayed with lye in order to use fertilizer in Nigeria was performed. As a control, two kinds of soils not sprayed with lye, located in Eungo and Lagos with general practice in agriculture was selected. Soil sprayed with lye was pH 8.25 through alkalization reaction, while the other soil samples were pH 6.22 and 5.94. Substrate utilization and species diversity index of soil sprayed with lye were low than that of the other soils with the analysis of Biolog ecoplate. As a result of principal component analysis, the relationship between three samples was low. Microbial community analysis was performed by DGGE and most of them were soil uncultured bacterium. Especially, Uncultured Acidobacteria and Uncultured Methylocystis sp., which had been isolated from the rhizosphere of soybean grown in that site were discovered in the soil sprayed with lye.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.219-224
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• 2019

In this study, we evaluated the energy production from plant-microbial fuel cells using representative indoor plants, such as Scindapsus aureus and Clatha minor. The maximum power density of microbial fuel cell (MFC) using S. aureus ($3.36mW/m^2$) was about 2 times higher than that of the MFC using C. minor ($1.43mW/m^2$). It was confirmed that energy recovery is possible using plant-MFCs without fuel. However, further research is needed to improve the performance of plant-MFCs. Nevertheless, plant-MFCs have proved their potential as a novel energy source to overcome the limitations of the conventional renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar cells, and could be employed to a power source for the sensor in charge of the fourth industrial revolution.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.118-122
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• 2024

This study reported the novel use of fallen leaf extract as a microbial culture media for the first time. Extract from hardwood fallen leaves (HLE) was prepared under high temperature and pressure conditions and then supplemented with specific nutrients. The growth of four industrially significant prokaryotes on the HLE-based media was measured and compared with that on enriched media (Luria-Bertani, LB). Notably, supplementing HLE with only 0.5 g of yeast extract and 1 g tryptone per liter showed a similar growth rate of Pseudomonas chlororaphis compared to standard LB media. Overall, the HLE media developed in this study offers a sustainable and cost-effective approach to microbial media production, capitalizing on the valorization of forest waste.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.52-57
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• 2016

Sediment is a useful natural source but deteriorated continually by anthropogenic and industrial sources. Therefore, it is imperative to search a suitable method for improving or restoring sediment quality. Sediment has been tested to identify the effects of some external agents on a polluted area for 28 days. Chemical analysis and total viable counts (TVC) test have been conducted for 4 days interval to assess their performance. The analyses of chemical oxygen demand (COD), acid volatile sulfide (AVS), total phosphorous (T-P), total nitrogen (T-N) indicate that the chemical agents was more efficient to improve sediment quality whereas the microbial agent was more efficient for nutrient releasing from sediment. Oxygen releasing property of the chemical agent was thought to be providing with more congenial environment for the higher growth of the bacterial community than the direct application of microbial agents.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.746-752
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• 2011

A composite microbial system (XDC-2) was used to pretreat and hydrolyze corn stalk to enhance anaerobic digestion. The results of pretreatment indicated that sCOD concentrations of hydrolysate were highest (8,233 mg/l) at the fifth day. XDC-2 efficiently degraded the corn stalk by nearly 45%, decreasing the cellulose content by 22.7% and the hemicellulose content by 74.1%. Total levels of volatile products peaked on the fifth day. The six major compounds present were ethanol (0.29 g/l), acetic acid (0.55 g/l), 1,2-ethanediol (0.49 g/l), propionic acid (0.15 g/l), butyric acid (0.22 g/l), and glycerine (2.48 g/l). The results of anaerobic digestion showed that corn stalks treated by XDC-2 produced 68.3% more total biogas and 87.9% more total methane than untreated controls. The technical digestion time for the treated corn stalks was 35.7% shorter than without treatment. The composite microbial system pretreatment could be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly microbial method for efficient biological conversion of corn stalk into bioenergy.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.728-733
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• 2007

Presence and distribution of bacteria and fungi in inner compartment of PCs(Personal Computers) were investigated. Samples for the analysis were collected from inside of PCs which had been used in various facilities including public computer facilities, laboratories and computer training rooms of a university. Total number of PC examined in this study was 51 each. When the total CFU(colony forming unit) of the inner compartment of the PCs was measured, the bacterial count was found to be dependent on the operation time(total running time) of PCs. When the distribution of bacteria in the inner compartment of PCs was estimated, CPU(Central Processing Unit) cooling fan area showed the highest bacterial concentration(average 605 $CFU/cm^2$). In the case of the fungi, various opportunistic pathogens including Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp. were isolated and identified in the inner compartment of PCs. And the average of bacterial number in the dust collected from the PCs was 212 CFU/mg. These results indicated that handling of PC might have a risk of infection by the microorganism.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.397-402
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• 2009

The Portulaca oleracea (P. oleracea) is a popular herbal medicine in East Asia that was known to possess detoxification, antifebrile and antifungal effects. In the present study, we examined the biological activities of ethanol extracts of P. oleracea under various conditions with NIH3T3, B16F10, and MCF-7 cell line model systems. Extracts of P. oleracea (0.5 mg/ml) showed inhibition of expression of tyrosinase, but does not suppress either of TYRP-1 or DCT expression on B16F10 cells. Extracts of P. oleracea (2 mg/ml) showed anti-inflammatory effects on TNF-$\alpha$-stimulated NIH3T3/$NF{\kappa}B$-Luc cells and increase of the synthesis of collagen on NIH3T3 (wild type) cells. These results suggest that extracts of P. oleracea could be used as a functional biomaterial in developing a skin whitening agent and having the anti-inflammatory, anti-wrinkle, and anti-aging activities.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.36-40
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• 1995

Valistatin, a new inhibitor of aminopeptidase M(AP-M) was discovered in the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. SL20209 isolated from a soil sample. The inhibitor was purified by extraction with n-butanol and the various column chromatographies, and then isolated as whitish powder. The $^1 H-and ^1 H, ^1 H-COSY$ NMR studies, amino acid analysis, and fragmentation patterns by FAB-MS suggested the presence of one 3-amino-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoic acid and two valine residues in the inhibitor. Thus, the structure of valistatin was determined as 3-amino-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoyl-valyl-valine. Valistatin has the molecular formular $C_20H_31N_3 O_5$ (MW 394), and its $IC_50$ value against hog kidney AP-M was determined to be 3.12 $mu g/ml$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1101-1107
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• 2015

The role of CRE1 in a thermophilic fungus, Myceliophthora thermophila ATCC42464, was studied using RNA interference. In the cre1-silenced strain C88, the filter paper hydrolyzing activity and β-1,4-endoglucanase activity were 3.76-, and 1.31-fold higher, respectively, than those in the parental strain when the strains were cultured in inducing medium for 6 days. The activities of β-1,4-exoglucanase and cellobiase were 2.64-, and 5.59-fold higher, respectively, than those in the parental strain when the strains were cultured for 5 days. Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction showed that the gene expression of egl3, cbh1, and cbh2 was significantly increased in transformant C88 compared with the wild-type strain. Therefore, our findings suggest the feasibility of improving cellulase production by modifying the regulator expression, and an attractive approach to increasing the total cellulase productivity in thermophilic fungi.