Having the advantage of eco-friendly decomposition, bioplastics could be used to replace petroleum-based plastics. In particular, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is one of the most commercialized bioplastics, however, necessitating the introduction of PHB-degrading bacteria for its effective disposal. In this study, Microbulbifer sp. SOL66 (94.18% 16S rRNA with similarity to Microbulbifer hydrolyticus) demonstrated the highest degradation activity among five newly screened Microbulbifer genus strains. Microbulbifer sp. SOL66 showed a rapid degradation yield, reaching 98% in 4 days, as monitored by laboratory scale, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, gel permeation chromatography, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The PHB film was completely degraded within 7 days at 37 °C in the presence of 3% NaCl. When 1% xylose and 0.4% ammonium sulfate were added, the degradation activity increased by 17% and 24%, respectively. In addition, this strain showed biodegradability on pellets of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate), as confirmed by weight loss and physical property changes. We confirmed that Microbulbifer sp. SOL66 has a great ability to degrade PHB, and has rarely been reported to date.
Core stability exercise is known to have an effect on muscle activation in the shoulder region. Twenty-three healthy adult men and women, aged 19 to 27 years, volunteered to participate in this study. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect on shoulder region muscle activation during the presence or absence of the core stability. Muscle activation was measured by surface EMG and ultrasound imaging during the exercise, and was simultaneously recorded from upper trapezius, low trapezius, and serratus anterior muscles in surface EMG. EMG values were normalized by maximum muscle contractions (%maximum voluntary isometric contraction; [%MVIC]). A paired t-test was used to compare the differences in the muscle activation according to the presence or absence of the core stability. In the results of this study, when subjected to core stability exercise, EMG activation of the upper trapezius muscle decreased by 19%, and the serratus anterior muscle increased by 11%(p .05). These findings suggest that core stability shoulder exercise could be more effective in the shoulder region in patients with chronic shoulder pain.