Germination and growth ofErythrorchis ochobinesis (Orchidaceae) accelerated by monokaryons and dikaryons ofLenzites betulinus andTrametes hirsuta

Four sib-monokaryons and two reconstituted dikaryons of two basidiomycetes,Lenzites betulinus andTrametes hiruta, accelerated the seed germination ofErythrorchis ochobiensis, an achlorophyllous orchid. All isolates ofL. betulinus and three isolates ofT. hirsuta induced the development of plants from germinated seeds. Although three monokaryotic isolates ofT. hirsuta failed to induce the development of plants, the reconstituted dikaryons induced the development.     

Collagen production by rat liver fat-storing cells in primary culture

Morphological changes, proliferation and collagen synthesis of fat-storing cells (FSC) in primary culture were examined. FSC, isolated from rats treated with vitamin A, showed numerous large lipid droplets in the cytoplasm and positive desmin staining. After 4-7 days culture, these cells were transformed into fibroblast-like cells with a gradual depletion of lipid droplets and with abundant well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum. The proliferation analysis revealed that DNA synthesis preceded the increase of cell number. Enhancement of the collagen synthesis by FSC were associated with the morphological change of the cells. Quantitative analysis revealed that these cells produced mainly type I collagen (84%) and a small amount of type III collagen (16%).     

Application of iron-oxidizing bacteria to hydrometallurgical flue dust treatment and H2S desulfurization

Abstract: Flue dust produced from the Kosaka copper flashsmelting furnace contains metals such as Cu, Pb, Zn, Fc, As, Cd, etc. To recover these metals, the dust is treated in the hydrometallurgical plant. Previous iron oxidation by air blown at pH 5 and at 50°C for removal of iron from the leached solution has been superceded by bacterial iron oxidation and pecipitation processes. The advantages of this bacterial oxidation procedure are (i) low cost; (ii) clear separation of metals; (iii) improvement in settling and dewatering characteristics and smaller, stable of volume precipitate and (iv) possibilities of fixing arsenate to obtain inexpensive ferric ions. A new hydrogen sulfide gas treatment process has been developed to treat the gas from plants producing barium chemicals. Itydrogen sulfide (70% content) is absorbed on ferric iron solution, and is thus oxidized to elemental sulfur. After the sulfur has been separated, the iron- oxidizing bacteria are employed to regenerate the absorbing solution. In this plant, which produces 150 tons sulfur per month, the hydrogen sulfide content of sweet gas is kept under 10 ppm; equivalent to 99.99%,; of the hydrogen sulfide recovery. The advantages of this process are (i) high H 2S gas removal efficiency; (ii) low running cost; (iii) ease of operation and maintenance: (iv) no waste; (v) high H₂S selectivity; and (vi) good flexibility overload fluctuations.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of irinotecan (CPT-11) and its active metabolite (SN-38) in human plasma

A simplified method for the simultaneous determination of irinotecan (CPT-11, I) and its active metabolite (SN-38, II) in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection has been developed. Following the addition of the internal standard (I.S.) camptothecin, the drugs were extracted from plasma using methanol. The average extraction efficiencies were 87% for I, 90% for II and 90% for the I.S. Chromatography was performed using a TSK gel ODS-80Ts column, monitored at 556 nm (excitation wavelength, 380 nm) and the mobile phase was acetonitrile-50 mM disodium hydrogen phosphate (28:72) containing 5 mM heptanesulphonate (pH 3.0). The linear quantitation ranges for I and II were 30–2000 and 1–30 ng/ml, respectively.