xylanolytic gut bacterium isolated from Eisenia fetida, Cellulosimicrobium sp. strain HY-13, produced an extracellular glycoside hydrolase capable of efficiently degrading mannose-based substrates such as locust bean gum (LBG), guar gum, mannotetraose, and mannopentaose. The purified mannan-degrading enzyme (ManS, 34,926 Da) from strain HY-13 was found to have an N-terminal amino acid sequence of DEATTDGLHVVDD, which has not yet been identified. Under the optimized reaction conditions of 50℃ and pH 7.0, ManK exhibited extraordinary high specific activities of 7,109 IU/mg and 5,158 IU/mg toward LBG and guar gum, respectively, while the enzyme showed no effect on sugars substituted with p-nitrophenol and various non-mannose carbohydrates. ManK strongly attached to Avicel, lignin, β-cyclodextrin, and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) granules, but not bound to chitin, chitosan, curdlan, or insoluble oat spelt xylan. The aforementioned characteristics of ManS suggest that it is a unique endo-β -1,4-mannanase with out additional carbohydrolase activities, which differentiates it from other well-known carbohydrolases.

Paecilomyces lilacinus HY-4 is an entomopathogenic filamentous fungus that has exhibited insecticidal activity against Adoretus tenuimaculatus and Tetranychus urticae. Strain HY-4 has attracted a great deal of industrial concerns because this organism can be applicable as a potent bio-pesticide. In this study, we developed an optimal diphasic fermentation technique for HY-4 conidial production. The substrate prescription which was made up of hulls or brans was obtained by screening of agricultural products, and the conidial production could reach a minimum of 2.5×1010 conidia/g after solid fermentation for 12 days in a given condition. It was interesting to note that strain HY-4 was propitious to sporulate more efficiently and productively in liquid fermentation process in the presence of insect pupa. For the industrial application of the HY-4 spores, their pH and thermal stabilities were evaluated on SDA agar plate as well. Additionally, the germination rate of HY-4 spores was still above 90% even when they were stored for 5 months at ambient temperature.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of mesoporous carbons on the thermal insulation properties of epoxy/mesoporous carbon composites. The mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) was prepared by conventional templating method using SBA-15. The epoxy/mesoporous carbon composites were prepared by mixing the synthesized CMK-3 with diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). As experimental results, the curing reactivities of the DGEBA/CMK-3 composites were found to decrease with the addition of the CMK-3. Also, the thermal conductivities of DGEBA/CMK-3 composites were found to decrease with increasing CMK-3 content. This could be interpreted in terms of the slow thermal diffusion rate resulting in pore volume existing in the gaps in the interfaces between the mesoporous carbon and the DGEBA matrix.

In order to develop of practical model of the sawdust cultivation of Lentinula edodes, we conducted experiments of the sawdust cultivation in different conditions of cultivation environment and shapes of sawdust medium. For different types of cultivation environments, we provided environmental control system facility, vinyl house and forest cultivation. We also chose the 2.6kg cylindrical type and the 1.5kg cylindrical type for shapes of medium. We decided cultivation on shelves for the 2.6kg cylindrical type sawdust medium and cultivation on the ground for the 1.5kg cylindrical type sawdust medium to cultivate the mushroom. The result showed that forest cultivation was the first place cultivated mushroom followed by environmental control system facility and cultivation vinyl house. Among 2 types of sawdust medium, the 1.5kg cylindrical type showed better quantity in terms of a fruit body of mushroom.

This study investigated physiological characteristics and genetic relationship of 30 strains of Lentinula edodes, collected from the Europe, Asia, North America and preserved in the Forest Mushroom Research Institute(FMRI). In physiological characteristics, Papua New Guinea strain was excellent mycelium growth in 25℃ for 7 days on PDA media. For all strains, the optimal temperature for mycelial growth, their tunicate and color of hypha were observed. It surveyed their mycelial growth on oak sawdust media in test tube and independence with inter-strains and cultivar developed in FMRI by strain's anastomosis culture. It was carried by RAPD using operon primers as molecular genetic methods, investigated genetic relationships among strains using UPGMA in NYSYSpc(2.1) according to the presence or absence of bands. <This research was supported by Technology Development Program for Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries>

The purposes of this study were to examine the reliability and validity of Korean translation of Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI-K) in school-aged children with cerebral palsy (CP). The PEDI-K, Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM) and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMIFCS) were completed in 104 school-aged children with CP by therapists. The internal consistency of the PEDI-K was calculated by Cronbach's alpha () for assessing reliability. Concurrent validity was evaluated by correlation with the subsets of WeeFIM. Discriminant validity was assessed by comparing GMFCS levels with tests of the PEDI-K. The results showed that internal consistency was good (Cronbach's ranged from .97~.98). Concurrent validity was demonstrated. The correlation with WeeFIM was high in the Functional Skills (self-care, r=.74~.94; mobility, r=.59~.91; social function, r=.65~.93) and in the Caregiver Assistance (self-care, r=.75~.94; mobility, r=.63~.90; social function, r=.78~.96). Discriminant validity was demonstrated on significant decreases in domain scores with increasing GMFCS levels. Reliability and validity have been demonstrated on the PEDI-K. This study extends usage of PEDI-K in clinical activities and research.

The WeeFIM is an outcome measure used worldwide to evaluate the functional abilities of children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of WeeFIM in Korean children with cerebral palsy (CP) using the Rasch model. The mean age of the participants (92 boys and 53 girls) was 10.6 years (SD=2.3, range 5~15 years). The Winsteps software was used for analyzing the internal construct validity and reliability of WeeFIM. For analyzing the internal validity the motor and cognitive area items of the WeeFIM were analyzed both together and separately. When all 18 items were analyzed 4 were considered to be misfits; upper extremity dressing, lower extremity dressing, toileting, and comprehension. When only the 13 motor items were analyzed, toileting, bladder management, and bowel management were considered misfits. In addition, only comprehension was considered as a misfit among the 5 cognitive items. The most difficult motor items were stair climbing, and bathing. The simple ones were eating, bowel management, and bladder management. The most difficult cognitive item was problem solving, and the simplest one was comprehension. The person separation indexes and reliability for combined and divided instruments were reported as excellent. These results demonstrated the applicability of WeeFIM to Korean CP children with satisfactory reliability and validity. Further studies should include young children with CP and compare item difficulty among the different types of CP. In addition, the Korean normative data of nondisabled children should be used to compare the cultural differences between Korea and other countries.