• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.238-242
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• 2020

Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) illustrated great potential for powering environmental sensors and bioremediation of sediments. In the present study, array anodes for SMFCs were fabricated with graphite rods as anode material and stainless steel plate as electric current collector to make it inconvenient to in situ settle down and not feasible for large-scale application. The results demonstrated that maximum power of 89.4 ㎼ was obtained from three graphite rods, twice of 43.3 ㎼ for two graphite rods. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that three graphite rods resulted in anodic resistance of 61.2 Ω, relative to 76.0 Ω of two graphite rods. It was probably caused by the parallel connection of the graphite rods, as well as more biomass which could reduce the charge transfer resistance of the biofilm anode. The presently designed array configuration possesses the advantages of easy to enlarge the surface area, decrease in anodic resistance because of the parallel connection of each graphite rod, and convenience to berry into sediment by gravity. Therefore, the as prepared array node would be an effective method to fabricate large-scale SMFC and make it easy to in situ applicate in natural sediments.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.173-184
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• 2010

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising renewable energy source that can generate electrical energy from organic wastes using microbe. This technology has been regarded as a future green alternative energy in that MFC makes use of organic-rich wastewater and also reduces waste sludges as well as produces electricity. To be practically realized, however, achieving higher power density than now is demanded, which may be possible by eliminating various negative factors to act as resistances in MFC operations. For instance, highly activated microbes, highly conductive electrode materials, and fast electron transfer between microbes and electrodes can lead to MFC with high power density. In particular, polymer electrolyte membranes are also a key component for improved MFC performance.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.617-625
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• 2016

Pastırma, a dry-cured meat product, is produced from the whole muscle and/or muscles obtained from certain parts of beef and water buffalo carcasses. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of different levels of sodium nitrite on changes in the physicochemical and microbial quality during the production of pastırma. The changes in residual nitrite, salt, pH, moisture, thiobarbutiric acid reactive substances (TBARS), colour (L*, a*, b*), total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Micrococcus/Staphylococcus (M/S), mould-yeast (M-Y), and Enterobacteriaceae counts of pastırma with 0, 50, 100 and 150 ppm sodium nitrite were determined during the production. The nitrite levels and the production stages had significant effects (p<0.01) on residual nitrite, TBARS, pH, salt, and colour values. The TBARS values of the pastırma with nitrite were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the control. The final TAMB, LAB, M/S, and M-Y counts of pastırma with 150 ppm nitrite were significantly (p<0.05) lower than the control. Also, the a* (relative redness) values of control pastırma were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the pastırma with nitrite. The production stages had a significant effect (p<0.01) on the moisture.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.277-288
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• 2014

T cells are central players in the regulation of adaptive immunity and immune tolerance. In the periphery, T cell differentiation for maturation and effector function is regulated by a number of factors. Various factors such as antigens, co-stimulation signals, and cytokines regulate T cell differentiation into functionally specialized effector and regulatory T cells. Other factors such as nutrients, micronutrients, nuclear hormones and microbial products provide important environmental cues for T cell differentiation. A mounting body of evidence indicates that the microbial metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have profound effects on T cells and directly and indirectly regulate their differentiation. We review the current status of our understanding of SCFA functions in regulation of peripheral T cell activity and discuss their impact on tissue inflammation.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.11-14
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• 2006

In this study we attempted to develop a novel genomic method to selectively isolate target functional microbial genomes from environmental samples. For this purpose, stable isotope probing (SIP) was applied in selectively isolating organic pollutant-assimilating populations. When soil microbes were fed with $^{13}C-labeled $ biphenyl, biphenyl-utilizing cells were incorporated with the heavy carbon isotope. The heavy DNA portion was successfully separated by CsCl equilibrium density gradient. And the diversity in the heavy DNA was sufficiently reduced, being suitable for the current DNA microarray techniques to detect biphenyl-utilizing populations in the soil. In addition, we proposed a new way to get more genetic information by combining this SIP method with selective metagenomic approach. The increased selective power of these new DNA isolation methods will be expected to provide a good quality of new genetic information, which, in turn, will result in development of a variety of biomarkers that may be used in assessing ecotoxicology issues including the impacts of organic hazards, and antibiotic-resistant pathogens on human and ecological systems.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.277-286
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• 2008

This paper deals with the theoretical derivation of the modified Haldane model of the substrate inhibition in the microbial growth processes. Based on the biological concepts of substrate-receptor complex working mechanisms, a new microbial kinetics of N-fold multiplex substrate inhibition and its generalization has been considered theoretically, which is natural expansion of the simple substrate inhibition mechanism in the enzyme reaction. As a result, the modified Haldane model of the substrate inhibition turns out to be a well-designed four-parameter kinetic model with a biological constant of the total substrate inhibition concentration.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 2021

Acid mine drainage (AMD) resulting from pyrite oxidation in mining areas, subsequently leads to soil acidification accompanied by lowering pH and high concentration of metals and metalloids in its surrounding environment. Regarding to this, the microbial amelioration has been considered as a promising option for a more cost-effective and eco-friendlier countermeasure, compared to the use of alkaline chemicals. This study was aimed to evaluate influencing factors in microbially-mediated amelioration of acidic soil spiked by simulated AMD. For this, microcosm experiments were conducted by acid-neutralizing bacterial consortium (dominated by Klebsiella sp. and Raoultella sp.) under the various conditions of AMD spikes (0-2,500 mg SO42-/L), together with acidic mine soil (0-100 g) or sphagnum peat (0-5 g) in the 200 mL of nutrient medium. The employed bacterial consortium, capable of resisting to high level of sulfate concentration (up to 1,500 mg SO42-/L) in low pH, generated the ammonium while concomitantly reduced the sulfate, subsequently contributing to the effective soil stabilization with an evolution of soil pH up to neutral. Furthermore, it demonstrates that suitable condition has to be tuned for successful microbial metabolism to facilitate with neutralization during practical application.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.303-310
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• 2023

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a bioelectrochemical system where electrochemically active bacteria convert organic waste into electricity. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and chitosan (CS) are polymers that have been studied as potential alternative ion exchange membranes to Nafion for many electrochemical systems. This study examined the optimal mixing ratio of PVA and chitosan CS in a PVA:CS composite membrane for MFC applications. PVA:CS composite membranes with 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1 ratios were synthesized and tested. The water uptake and ion exchange capacity, Fourier transform infrared spectra, and scanning electron microscopy images were analyzed to determine the physicochemical properties of PVA:CS membranes. The prepared membranes were applied to the ion exchange membrane of the MFC system, and their effects on the electrochemical performance were evaluated. These results showed that the composite membrane with a 3:1 (PVA:CS) ratio showed comparable performance to the commercialized Nafion membrane and produced more electricity than the other synthesized membranes. The PVA:CS membrane implemented MFCs produced a maximum power density of 0.026 mW cm^-2 from organic waste with stable performance. Therefore, it can be applied to a cost-effective MFC system.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.585-594
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• 2018

Objective: This study was to determine the bacterial diversity and monitor the community dynamic changes during storage of vacuum-packaged sliced raw beef as affected by Lactobacillus sakei and Lactobacillus curvatus. Methods: L. sakei and L. curvatus were separately incubated in vacuumed-packaged raw beef as bio-protective cultures to inhibit the naturally contaminating microbial load. Dynamic changes of the microbial diversity of inoculated or non-inoculated (control) samples were monitored at $4^{\circ}C$ for 0 to 38 days, using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Results: The DGGE profiles of DNA directly extracted from non-inoculated control samples highlighted the order of appearance of spoilage bacteria during storage, showing that Enterbacteriaceae and Pseudomonas fragi emerged early, then Brochothrix thermosphacta shared the dominant position, and finally, Pseudomonas putida showed up became predominant. Compared with control, the inoculation of either L. sakei or L. curvatus significantly lowered the complexity of microbial diversity and inhibited the growth of spoilage bacteria (p<0.05). Interestingly, we also found that the dominant position of L. curvatus was replaced by indigenous L. sakei after 13 d for L. curvatus-inoculated samples. Plate counts on selective agars further showed that inoculation with L. sakei or L. curvatus obviously reduced the viable counts of Enterbacteraceae, Pseudomonas spp. and B. thermosphacta during later storage (p<0.05), with L. sakei exerting greater inhibitory effect. Inoculation with both bio-protective cultures also significantly decreased the total volatile basic nitrogen values of stored samples (p<0.05). Conclusion: Taken together, the results proved the benefits of inoculation with lactic acid bacteria especially L. sakei as a potential way to inhibit growth of spoilage-related bacteria and improve the shelf life of vacuum-packaged raw beef.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.383-389
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• 2018

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an innovative environmental and energy system that converts organic wastewater into electrical energy. For practical implementation of MFC as a wastewater treatment process, a number of limitations need to be overcome. Improving cathodic performance is one of major challenges, and introduction of a current collector can be an easy and practical solution. In this study, three types of current collectors made of stainless steel (SS) were tested in a single-chamber cubic MFC. The three current collectors had different contact areas to the cathode (P $1.0cm^2$; PC $4.3cm^2$; PM $6.5cm^2$) and increasing the contacting area enhanced the power and current generations and coulombic and energy recoveries by mainly decreasing cathodic charge transfer impedance. Application of the SS mesh to the cathode (PM) improved maximum power density, optimum current density and maximum current density by 8.8%, 3.6% and 6.7%, respectively, comparing with P of no SS mesh. The SS mesh decreased cathodic polarization resistance by up to 16%, and cathodic charge transfer impedance by up to 39%, possibly because the SS mesh enhanced electron transport and oxygen reduction reaction. However, application of the SS mesh had little effect on ohmic impedance.