Increased ethanol production from glycerol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with enhanced stress tolerance from the overexpression of SAGA complex components

Yu, K.O.,Jung, J.,Ramzi, A.B.,Choe, S.H.,Kim, S.W.,Park, C.,Han, S.O. IPC Science and Technology Press ; Elsevier Scienc 2012 Enzyme and microbial technology Vol.51 No.4

During the industrial production of ethanol using yeast, the cells are exposed to stresses that affect their growth and productivity; therefore, stress-tolerant yeast strains are highly desirable. To increase ethanol production from glycerol, a greater tolerance to osmotic and ethanol stress was engineered in yeast strains that were impaired in endogenous glycerol production by the overexpression of both SPT3 and SPT15, components of the SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase) complex. The engineered strain YPH499fps1Δgpd2Δ (pGcyaDak, pGupSpt3.15Cas) formed significantly more biomass compared to the strain YPH499fps1Δgpd2Δ (pGcyaDak, pGupCas), and both engineered strains displayed increased biomass when compared to the control YPH499 fps1Δgpd2Δ (pESC-TRP) strain. The trehalose accumulation and ergosterol content of these strains were 2.3-fold and 1.6-fold higher, respectively, than the parent strains, suggesting that levels of cellular membrane components were correlated with the enhanced stress tolerance of the engineered strains. Consequently, the ethanol production of the engineered strain YPH499fps1Δgpd2Δ (pGcyaDak, pGupSpt3.15Cas) was 1.8-fold more than that of strain YPH499fps1Δgpd2Δ (pGcyaDak, pGupCas), with about 8.1g/L ethanol produced. In conclusion, we successfully established that the co-expression of SPT3 and SPT15 that improved the fermentation performance of the engineered yeast strains which produced higher ethanol yields than stress-sensitive yeast strains.

Reduction of glycerol production to improve ethanol yield in an engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae using glycerol as a substrate

Yu, K.O.,Kim, S.W.,Han, S.O. Elsevier Science Publishers 2010 Journal of biotechnology Vol.150 No.2

Ethanol plays an important role in substituting the increasingly limited oil as the high-value, renewable fuel. In our previous studies, we successfully established the conversion of glycerol to ethanol by overexpression of pGcyaDak with pGup1Cas in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In addition to increasing ethanol production using glycerol as substrate, we minimized the synthesis of glycerol, which is the main by-product in ethanol fermentation processing. The glycerol production pathway was impaired by deletion of the genes FPS1 and GPD2. Strains deleted for both FPS1 and GPD2 reduce glycerol production and become highly sensitive to osmotic stress. We provide osmotic protection in YPH499fps1Δgpd2Δ by overexpression of Gup1. In this study, S. cerevisiae using glycerol as substrate was modified through one-step gene disruption for redirection of glycerol carbon flux into ethanol by the deletion of two glycerol production genes, FPS1 and GPD2. The overall ethanol production in the modified strain YPH499fps1Δgpd2Δ (pGcyaDak, pGupCas) was about 4.4gl<SUP>-1</SUP>. These results demonstrate the possibility of providing protection against osmotic stress while simultaneously increasing ethanol and reducing glycerol production in S. cerevisiae strains using glycerol as a carbon source.

Effects of Quetiapine on Dizocilpine-induced Prepulse Inhibition Deficits in Mice: Possible Role of the aα1 Adrenergic Receptor

Yuko Tanibuchi,Yuko Fujita,Mao Horio,Masaomi Iyo,갠지하시모토 대한정신약물학회 2010 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.8 No.3

Objective: Accumulating evidence suggests that α1-adrenoceptors are involved in the mechanisms of action of some antipsychotic drugs. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic drug with antagonist activity at α1-adrenoceptors, on prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits in mice after a single administration of the NMDA receptor antagonist dizocilpine. Methods: Effects of quetiapine on dizocilpine-induced PPI deficits in mice were examined. Furthermore, we examined the role of α1-adrenoceptors in the mechanisms of action of quetiapine. Results: Pretreatment with quetiapine (3, 10, or 30 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly attenuated dizocilpine (0.1 mg/kg, s.c.)-induced PPI deficits in mice in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, dizocilpine-induced PPI deficits were also significantly ameliorated by pretreatment with the selective α1-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin (1.0 mg/kg, p.o.). Conclusion: These findings suggest that quetiapine ameliorates dizocilpine-induced PPI deficits in mice viaα1-adrenoceptor antagonism, and hence, α1-adrenoceptor antagonism may play a prominent role in quetiapine’s psychopharmacological effects.

Processing of Anomalous Sentences in Japanese: An fMRI Study

Yuko Sassa,Motoaki Sugiura,Jobu Watanabe,Yuko Akitsuki,Yasuhiro Maeda,Yoshihiko Matsue,Ryuta Kawashima 서울대학교 인지과학연구소 2007 Journal of Cognitive Science Vol.8 No.2

Most previous neuroimaging studies of anomalous sentence processing have used Indo-European languages to separately identify syntactic and semantic processing mechanisms. However, typologically distant languages such as Japanese use different sources of information in grammatical role assignments. Thus, we expected that the activation pattern during processing of anomalous sentences in Japanese would be at least partially different from that in other languages reported in previous studies. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure activation during judgments of the correctness of normal and anomalous sentences in native Japanese speakers. We presented simple Japanese sentences as auditory stimuli. Significant activation was found in the left middle and inferior frontal regions (pars orbitaris and pars triangularis) and the superior parietal lobule during processing of sentences with semantic violations. On the other hand, no preferential activation was found, except for the left anterior part of the superior temporal gyrus, during the processing of sentences with syntactic violations. Additionally, activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus, which has been reported in previous studies using Indo-European languages, was not found in our study. The results support our assumption that the left inferior frontal gyrus plays a minor role in syntactic processing of simple Japanese sentences.

An Analysis of English Pronunciation of Japanese Learners: From the Viewpoint of EIL

( Yuko Tominaga ) 범태평양응용언어학회 2011 범태평양응용언어학회지 Vol.15 No.2

The objective of this research is to detect effective factors in English pronunciation teaching from the viewpoint of EIL (English as an International Language). This research is based on the data of the Successful Pronunciation Learners (SPL) selected by the raters, Japanese and native speakers of English (NSE), in Tominaga (2005). On the grounds that the aim of teaching English to Japanese students should not be confined within the intelligibility to NSE, in order to examine whether the pronunciation of each SPL in this research is really not only intelligible but also sounds good to both NSE and non-NSE from the viewpoint of World Englishes (WE) or EIL, their pronunciations were evaluated by non-NSE from 12 countries studying English in an English school in the United Kingdom. This evaluation was analyzed and compared with the evaluation by the NSE. In respect of the correlation between the evaluations by NSE and those by non-NSE, significant correlation was found between rhythm and fluency. In regard to the total score, the evaluation by non-NSE was generally stricter than that by NSE

魯山人にみる総合芸術プロデューサーとしての役割

Yuko OKI 한국문화예술경영학회 2018 문화예술경영학연구 Vol.11 No.1

食に徹底したこだわりをもった魯山人は、料理に合う陶磁器を自ら制作し、食器としての高級手作り陶磁器の新市場を創造したが、これは同時に、日本の陶磁器生産にもイノベーションをもたらすことにつながった。本稿では魯山人の軌跡からプロデューサーに必要な資質を抽出することで、オープン・イノベーションが進むものづくりへの示唆とすることを目的とする。研究は広範な文献調査と関係者へのヒアリング調査による。魯山人の陶磁器は、特定の産地・製法に拘らず、製品に応じて多様なリソースを活用し創造されたという側面からも、オープン・イノベーションの先駆的事例と捉えられる。本研究の意義は、魯山人のプロデューサーとしての資質を抽出することで、ストーリー性を持たせた製品を創り、既存の市場で抜け落ちているボリューム・ゾーンの新市場を確立しながら、文化としてイノベーションを起こすことの重要性を指摘した点にある。

Effects of Wood Used in Building Interiors on Indoor Environment and Human Wellbeing - Status of Research in the Non-residential Sector in Japan -

( Yuko Tsunetsugu ),( Hirokazu Sakaguchi ) 한국목재공학회 2023 한국목재공학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.2023 No.1

Collapse Behavior of Reduced-Scale Frames by the Inverted Shaking Table Method under Dynamic Seismic Loading

Yuko Shimada,Kenta Takahashi,Satoshi Yamada 한국강구조학회 2022 International Journal of Steel Structures Vol.22 No.6

The shaking table test, which is generally conducted using reduced-scale frames to investigate the collapse behavior of structures during underground motion, is an eff ective method in the seismic engineering fi eld. However, unlike the shaking table test with full-scale frames, those with reduced-scale frames possess several problems owing to the scaling eff ect. This paper proposes a novel experimental method for performing the shaking table test with reduced-scale frames to overcome these problems; this method is known as the “inverted shaking table.” Through a series of experiments using this method and two earthquake records as inputs without modifying the time axis, the elastoplastic behaviors of reduced-scale steel frames are obtained up to their collapse owing to the P-Δ eff ect. Additionally, the changes in the collapse process are studied by changing the vertical load on the test specimens. The test results obtained in this study are validated using the response analysis of a single degree-of-freedom system, which reveals that the hysteresis and acceleration multiplier of the input wave obtained using the response analysis and test for each specimen are approximately the same. This indicates that the proposed method is eff ective for reproducing the frame behavior up to collapse for specimens with portable components and using general experimental apparatus.

The Innovation Mechanisms Underlying both Cutting-edge and Traditional Industry Clusters

Yuko OKI 한국문화예술경영학회 2017 문화예술경영학연구 Vol.10 No.1

The factors that comprise a cluster and the state of interorganizational networks will differ depending on the nature of the product, but incremental innovation that produces refined high-end goods appears to be essential for the continued growth of a cluster. This study investigates product improvement mechanisms in industry clusters, using Silicon Valley in the U.S., Cremona in north Italy, and Jingdezhen in China as case studies. In Silicon Valley, the defense, semiconductor, computer, IT, and biotech industries have advanced as industry clusters while transforming the environment and their domains. Silicon Valley is a model of a global industry cluster, as a representative example of a successful industrial cluster. Cremona is the birthplace of Antonio Stradivari, known as the world’s greatest violinmaker. Cremona’s revival as a violinmaking region happened after the establishment of a violinmaking school in 1938. Jingdezhen is a preeminent ceramics industry cluster in China, and its ceramics production began in the Han period. However, through state-run mass-production factory systems after the Cultural Revolution, the sophisticated products almost ceased to exist, and the current Jingdezhen ceramics industry appears to be something entirely different from what it was in the bygone age of prosperity. Based on these case analyses, the common factors for product improvement mechanisms in industrial clusters were found; (1) leadership by “Business Producers” who combine skills and creativity; (2) peer review; (3) discernment of high-end users; (4) and the sensitivity of tech people or artisans. The significance of this study is its attempt to grasp the innovation mechanisms underlying both cutting-edge and traditional industry clusters.

Current Issues in English Education for Young Learners in East Asia

Yuko Goto Butler 한국영어교육학회 2014 ENGLISH TEACHING(영어교육) Vol.69 No.4

Recognizing English as an increasingly powerful lingua franca, many governments in East Asia have implemented English-language education at the primary school level. The zeal for teaching English to younger and younger learners extends to both within and outside of the formal education system. While there are many unique local issues, a number of challenges and issues apply across the East Asian region. In this article, I focus on three such topics: (a) the widespread belief in the increased benefit of starting English-language learning when children are very young; (b) the emergence of new instructional models in early English teaching; and (c) the growing gaps in English-language achievement by children’s socio-economic status (SES). In discussing these issues, I draw on examples from previous studies as well as my own applied linguistics research in East Asia. I conclude by offering suggestions for future research directions that will inform pedagogy and policies for early English education.