Kyungpook National University

About: Kyungpook National University is a education organization based out in Daegu, South Korea. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 20497 authors who have published 42107 publications receiving 834608 citations.

Remarkable adsorption capacity of CuCl2-loaded porous vanadium benzenedicarboxylate for benzothiophene.

Abstract: There is a considerable demand to reduce the content of sulfur-containing compounds (S-compounds) such as thiophene (Th), benzothiophene (BT), and dimethyldibenzothiophene (DMDBT) in fuels like diesel and gasoline to a low level to prevent air pollution and deactivation of catalysts. So far, various methods have been investigated for sulfur removal, and adsorption has been regarded as one of the most competitive methods. For efficient adsorption, not only adequate porosity/pore size but also specific adsorption sites are required. Remarkable progress on porous materials has been achieved because of the developments of metal–organic framework materials (MOFs) and coordination polymers (CPs). The importance of MOF-type materials is due to the huge porosity, easy tunability of their pore size and shape, and potential applications. Recently, the MOF-type materials have also been investigated for the removal of harmful materials such as S-compounds, 2] dyes, N-containing compounds, and benzene from liquids. Gaseous sulfur compounds have also been removed using MOFs. 11] A few important factors, such as open metal sites, acid sites, and pore functionality have been suggested for the efficient removal of S-compounds. However, little has been understood for the high uptake of S-compounds with modified MOFs as adsorbents. Herein, we have shown the remarkable adsorption capacity for BT over a modified MOF, CuCl2-loaded MIL47 (MIL = materials of the Institute Lavoisier). MIL-47 is a typical MOF composed of vanadium and benzenedicarboxylate (BDC). The reduction of Cu to Cu has been observed in CuCl2/MIL-47 compounds without high-temperature calcination for the partial reduction. Moreover, CuCl2/ MIL-47 compounds have been prepared by a simple process of loading CuCl2 in the MIL-47 (purified at 70 8C) at room temperature. To understand the contribution of loaded CuCl2 to the adsorptive removal of BT, adsorption was done for various times over CuCl2(0.05)/MIL-47 and MIL-47. Here, MIL-47 is the MIL-47 purified in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) at 70 8C (see the Supporting Information). CuCl2(n)/MIL-47 denotes CuCl2 loaded onto the purified MIL-47 and n is the Cu/V ratio (mol/mol). The amount of adsorbed BT over CuCl2(0.05)/MIL-47 is much higher than that over MIL-47 without CuCl2 at all adsorption times (Figure 1). However,

Genome-wide comparative analysis of the Brassica rapa gene space reveals genome shrinkage and differential loss of duplicated genes after whole genome triplication

Abstract: Brassica rapa is one of the most economically important vegetable crops worldwide. Owing to its agronomic importance and phylogenetic position, B. rapa provides a crucial reference to understand polyploidy-related crop genome evolution. The high degree of sequence identity and remarkably conserved genome structure between Arabidopsis and Brassica genomes enables comparative tiling sequencing using Arabidopsis sequences as references to select the counterpart regions in B. rapa, which is a strong challenge of structural and comparative crop genomics. We assembled 65.8 megabase-pairs of non-redundant euchromatic sequence of B. rapa and compared this sequence to the Arabidopsis genome to investigate chromosomal relationships, macrosynteny blocks, and microsynteny within blocks. The triplicated B. rapa genome contains only approximately twice the number of genes as in Arabidopsis because of genome shrinkage. Genome comparisons suggest that B. rapa has a distinct organization of ancestral genome blocks as a result of recent whole genome triplication followed by a unique diploidization process. A lack of the most recent whole genome duplication (3R) event in the B. rapa genome, atypical of other Brassica genomes, may account for the emergence of B. rapa from the Brassica progenitor around 8 million years ago. This work demonstrates the potential of using comparative tiling sequencing for genome analysis of crop species. Based on a comparative analysis of the B. rapa sequences and the Arabidopsis genome, it appears that polyploidy and chromosomal diploidization are ongoing processes that collectively stabilize the B. rapa genome and facilitate its evolution.

Anti-obesity Effect of Dioscorea nipponica Makino with Lipase-inhibitory Activity in Rodents

Abstract: In the process of screening for pancreatic lipase inhibitors, which could be used as an anti-obesity measure, the methanol extract of Dioscorea nipponica Makino powder (DP) appeared to have potent inhibitory activity against porcine pancreatic lipase with an IC50 value of 5-10 μg/ml, where the enzyme activity was assayed by using 4-methylumbelliferyl oleate as a substrate. Further purification of active components present in the herb generated dioscin that belongs to the saponin family. Dioscin and its aglycone, diosgenin, both suppressed the time-dependent increase of blood triacylglycerol level when orally injected with corn oil to mice, suggesting their inhibitory potential against fat absorption. Sprague-Dawley rats fed on a high-fat diet containing 5% Dioscorea nipponica Makino and 40% beef tallow gained significantly less body weight and adipose tissue than control animals fed on a high-fat diet alone during an 8-week experimental period (P<0.05).