Treatment of phenolic wastes byAureobasidium pullulans adhered to the fibrous supports

Summary Biological treatment of waste water containing a large amount of phenol was carried out by using a phenolassimilating fungus,Aureobasidium pullulans No. 14 adhered (semi-immobilized) to fibrous asbestos. The column reactor employed for oxidative degradation of phenol consisted of a cylindrical glass column containing plastic nets.During 27 days operation, it was observed that: 1) The phenol removal capacity of the reactor gradually increased during the first 10 days, reaching a stable level. 2) The best phenol removal capacity (50 mg phenol removed/h/ liter of reactor volume) was obtained when an artificial waste water containing up to 1,200 g/ml phenol was applied to the reactor. 3) Much higher concentrations of phenol (e.g. 1,700 g/ml) brought about a marked decrease in the phenol removal capacity (40–50 mg/h/liter). 4) Satisfactorily stable operation was achieved using the semiimmobilized mycelia ofAureobasidium pullulans, whose active state could be checked by observing the thick, black-colored biomass which is characteristic of the genusAureobasidium and covered the plastic nets inside the glass column reactor.     

Regional differences in cofactor saturation of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) in discrete brain nuclei of the rat

Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) activities with and without added pyridoxal-5-phosphate were determined in discrete brain nuclei of freeze-dried samples. The distribution of GAD holoenzyme activity as well as the cofactor saturation, was found to be uneven in the discrete nuclei. In addition, it was found that repeated haloperidol treatment reduced GAD holoenzyme activity in the substantia nigra pars reticulata.     

Amino acid replacement in the protein S5 from a spectinomycin resistant mutant of Bacillus subtilis

Summary Ribosomal protein S5 was isolated from wild type Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 and from a spectinomycin resistant mutant (BSPC 111) derived from spectinomycin sensitive to resistance is accomtrypsin and all the tryptic peptides were isolated by column- and paper-chromatography. By comparative amino acid analyses of the peptides, it was demonstrated that the S5 from the mutant differs from the wild type S5 by a replacement of one amino acid, namely lysine by isoleucine in the peptide T9. The results are compared with E. coli spectinomycin resistant mutants.     

Orientation of microfibrils and microtubules in cortical parenchyma cells of poplar during elongation growth

Three types of microfibrillar orientation, namely parallel, perpendicular and oblique to the main cell axis were found not only in the innermost surface of but also throughout the developing wall. Furthermore, three types of microtubule orientation, namely parallel, perpendicular and oblique to the main cell axis, were found, coinciding with those of microfibrils. As a whole, the wall was shown to be a crossed polylamellate structure. These observations suggest that the orientation of microfibrils is determined at the time of wall formation, and not influenced by the extension of the wall.     

A comparative study on tissue distribution and metabolic adaptation of IMP-GMP 5'-nucleotidase.

1. Activity of a cytoplasmic 5'-nucleotidase which preferentially hydrolyzes IMP and GMP (IMP-GMP 5'-nucleotidase) was determined by a specific immunochemical method in two species of birds and two species of mammals. 2. The activity was markedly high in avian liver, and it increased two-fold in response to a high protein diet in chicken liver. 3. In mammals, the activity was high in testis and spleen. In the rat, the activities in liver, kidney and heart extracts increased by about 30% in response to the high protein diet, while they increased three-fold in regenerating liver. 4. Low activities were detected in skeletal muscles and in erythrocytes of all the species studied.     

2-Guanidinoethanol increased dopamine release and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid content,but not homovanillic acid content in the rat brain: Electroneurochemical and enzymological studies

The effects of 2-guanidinoethanol (GEt) on the release of monoamines and on the activity of their degrading enzymes were studied in order to investigate why 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) increased to a much greater extent than homovanillic acid (HVA) after GEt injection into rat brain. In differential pulse voltammograms recorded using an electrochemically treated carbon fiber electrode, two distinct oxidation peaks, one at 130mV (DOPAC peak) and the other at 300 mV (5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) peak), were observed. In the hippocampus, the DOPAC peak increased markedly compared to the peak height recorded prior to the intracerebroventricular injection of GEt (6mol). Although the DOPAC peak height increased to 350% 4 hours after GEt injection, the 5-HIAA peak showed no change. In the striatum, the DOPAC peak increased to 150% 3 hours after GEt injection. Serial changes in the extracellular levels of DOPAC, HVA, and 5-HIAA were monitored in the striatum after GEt injection, using an in vivo brain micro-dialysis technique. Although the DOPAC levels strated to increase 80 minutes after GEt injection, HVA and 5-HIAA levels showed no change. On the other hand, monoamineoxidase, which metabolizes dopamine to DOPAC, was not activated and catechol-0-methyltransferase, which metabolizes DOPAC to HVA, were not inhibited by 5 mM of GEt in vitro. These data suggested that GEt increased the release of dopamine, but not of serotonin, and that GEt might restrict the DOPAC transport system.     

Interferon induction in murine peritoneal macrophage by stimulation with Lactobacillus acidophilus.

Induction of interferon for a kind of dairy lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus), was investigated in murine peritoneal macrophage (M phi) cultures. Lactobacillus acidophilus JCM 1034, 1132T, 1229 and 2125 induced IFN (12-34 I.U./ml) in M phi cultures in vitro. Strain 1132T- and 2125-induced IFNs were characterized as IFN alpha/beta by treatment with anti-IFNs serum. The results indicate that the inducing activity of IFNs may be one of the available biological parameters for designating the dairy products containing L. acidophilus as "physiologically functional foods."     

Three-step purification method and characterization of the bovine brain 90-kDa heat shock protein

A protein that cross-reacted with antibody against the 90-kDa heat shock protein (HSP90) of a mouse lymphoma cell line was purified from bovine brain by three steps. Fifty milligrams of the 90-kDa protein was recovered from 350 g of the brain cortex. The sedimentation coefficient and Stokes radius of the purified protein were 6.0 s and 6.7 nm, respectively. The molecular weight was calculated to be 170,000. The molecule was composed of two identical 90-kDa subunits. A partial amino acid sequence (23 residues) of this protein was homologous (96%) to human HSP90 (the sequence of 174-196). These facts led to the identification of the 90-kDa brain protein with HSP90. In bovine tissues, the brain contained this protein at a remarkably high concentration. The brain HSP90 was separable from glucocorticoid receptor by heparin-agarose and DNA-cellulose columns. It is concluded that HSP90 is present in brain cytosol and mostly as free molecules. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the protein was localized in nerve excitable cells. It was not found in nuclei but in cytosol.     

The complete amino acid sequence of the shorter form of human basic fibroblast growth factor receptor deduced from its cDNA

We have isolated a full-length cDNA for human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) receptor-like protein from a human placenta cDNA library. Determination of the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA allows elucidation of the complete amino acid sequence of the receptor (731 amino acids) which has two extracellular immunoglobulin-like domains, a transmembrane domain and an intracellular tyrosine kinase domain. The receptor has remarkable amino acid similarity (98% identity) to the shorter form of murine bFGF receptor reported recently (H.H.Reid et al. (1990) Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci. USA 87, 1596-1600). The receptor described here is expected to be the shorter form of human bFGF receptor.