• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.363-370
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• 2016

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa) causes bacterial canker disease in kiwifruit. Antibacterial activity of plant essential oils (PEOs) originating from 49 plant species were tested against Psa by a vapor diffusion and a liquid culture assays. The five PEOs from Pimenta racemosa, P. dioica, Melaleuca linariifolia, M. cajuputii, and Cinnamomum cassia efficiently inhibited Psa growth by either assays. Among their major components, estragole, eugenol, and methyl eugenol showed significant antibacterial activity by only the liquid culture assay, while cinnamaldehyde exhibited antibacterial activity by both assays. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of estragole and cinnamaldehyde by the liquid culture assay were 1,250 and 2,500 ppm, respectively. The MIC of cinnamaldehyde by the vapor diffusion assay was 5,000 ppm. Based on the formation of clear zones or the decrease of optical density caused by these compounds, they might kill the bacterial cells and this feature might be useful for managing the bacterial canker disease in kiwifruit.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1644-1650
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• 2008

The essential oil of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) is widely used in traditional Australian medicine for skin lesions and infected injuries. In the present study, we investigated the chemical composition, cytotoxicity and its biological activities. The composition of the oil was analyzed by GC-MS. ${\beta}$-Terpinene (20.87%), ${\alpha}$-pinene (17.60%), p-cymene (11.23%), 3-carene (10.40%), trans-anethole (8.47%) and limonene (4.65%) were the major components in the oil. The results tested by MTT assay indicated that the oil showed no cytotoxic effect, at concentrations up to 5%, for less than 3h. The antiradical capacity was evaluated by measuring the scavenging activity of the essential oil on the 2,20-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis 3-ethyl benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radicals. The oil was able to reduce the both radicals dose-dependently, and the concentration required for 50% reduction ($RC_{50}$) against ABTS radicals ($1.6{\pm}0.02%$) was slightly lower than DPPH radicals ($2.6{\pm}0.29%$). The direct contact and vapor-phase antibacterial activity of the oil were also evaluated using disc diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Listeria monocytogenes, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. All the Gram-negative bacterial strains tested showed more sensibility to the oil than the Gram-positive strains when compare to the effect of gentamycin. On the other hand, the vapor phase of the essential oil against S. aureus exhibited strongest inhibitory effect.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.198-205
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• 2005

Double-layered polymer films to assay the radioactive contamination were formulated using polysulfone (PSF) and cerium activated yttrium silicate (CAYS), consisting of a dense support layer and a CAYS-holding top layer prepared via the diffusion-induced phase inversion. As the vapor exposure process was omitted, the CAYS-holding layer showed a typical asymmetric structure, with CAYS being transfixed into the polymer network spread with large macropores. With the increase in vapor exposure time before immersion, morphology of the films transformed from asymmetric to sponge-like structures, with CAYS being localized in cellular structure. The border structure between the two layers reflects the phase inversion behavior of a cast solution during the coagulation. In the radioactive detection, the polymer phase in a film holding a sponge-like structure is so dense that the radionuclides, deposited on the film, could not filter through the phase, consequently resulting in the loss in the detection efficiency of the film.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.85-89
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• 2009

Nano-crystalline hydroxyapatite (HAp) films were formed at the Ti surface by a single-step microarc oxidation (MAO), and HAp-zirconia composite (HZC) films were obtained by subsequent chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of zirconia onto the HAp. Through the CVD process, zero- and one-dimensional zirconia nanostructures having tetragonal crystallinity (t-ZrO2) were uniformly distributed and well incorporated into the HAp crystal matrix to form nanoscale composites. In particular, (t-$ZrO_2$) was synthesized at a very low temperature. The HZC films did not show secondary phases such as tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) at relatively high temperatures. The most likely mechanism for the formation of the t-$ZrO_2$ and the pure HAp at the low processing temperature was proposed to be the diffusion of $Ca^{2+}$ ions. The HZC films showed increasing micro-Vickers hardness values with increases in the t-$ZrO_2$ content. The morphological features and phase compositions of the HZC films showed strong dependence on the time and temperature of the CVD process. Furthermore, they showed enhanced cell proliferation compared to the $TiO_2$ and HAp films most likely due to the surface structure change.