Acid-base equilibrium in aerobic fermentations: influence of unutilizable acids and bases on acetic acid concentration in culture liquid

An investigation was made on the factors influencing the acetic acid concentration in the culture liquid of the aerobic fermentations where acetie acid was used as a carbon source. The acetic acid concentration in the culture liquid changed in proportion to the amount of unutilizable acid or base supplied. This was explained by the principle of conservation of electroneutrality. Another factor affecting the acetic acid concentration in the culture liquid was bicarbonate ions which were formed by the dissolution and dissociation of carbon dioxide in the gas phase of the fermentor. The increment in bicarbonate ion concentration was equal to the decrement in the acetie acid concentration in the culture liquid.     

Genetic Recombination of Transforming Deoxyribonucleic Acid Molecules with the Recipient Genome and Among Themselves in Protoplasts of Bacillus subtilis

Hirokawa, Hideo (Southwest Center for Advanced Studies, Dallas, Tex.), and Yonosuke Ikeda. Genetic recombination of transforming deoxyribonucleic acid molecules with the recipient genome and among themselves in protoplasts of Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 92:455-463. 1966.-Re-extraction of transforming deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from protoplasts of Bacillus subtilis is much more efficient than from intact competent cells. This facilitated the detection of physical recombination between donor and recipient DNA molecules, as indicated by a high cotransfer index of ind(+) and his(+) markers which were originally located in exogenous and endogenous DNA molecules, respectively. This recombinant DNA was extracted after 30 min of incubation of ind his(+) protoplasts with ind(+)his DNA, previously extracted from a corresponding mutant strain of B. subtilis. The intracellular formation of recombinant molecules (ind(+)his(+)) bearing markers from two different exogenous DNA species was also detected 15 min after exposure of ind his recipient protoplasts to a mixture of ind(+)his and ind his(+) donor DNA molecules. The unity of the recombinant molecule was ascertained by dilution experiments and by its being resistant to ribonuclease and trypsin treatment (but being sensitive to deoxyribonuclease). The formation of recombinant molecules showed an inverse kinetics to that of the intracellularly induced loss of linkage between the corresponding markers in the wild-type DNA, thus suggesting a breakage and reunion process which is also favored by the absence of DNA synthesis in the protoplasts and the effect of some specific inhibitors.     

Formation of segregated regions of feature detecting cells in self-organizing nerve field

This paper investigates the formation of a segregated region for a specific set of input signals in a nerve field. The segregated region is formed by a feature detecting cell group which fires only for a specific set of input signals. This firing region is called the region of feature detecting cells for the corresponding input set. First, a basic self-organizing model is given. The model is composed of the first input layer, the second nerve cell layer with lateral inhibitory interactions (it is called a lateral-inhibition type nerve field) and an inhibitory nerve cell. An input signal is an-dimensional vector whose components assume continuous values. Next, the condition which gurantees the formation of a segregated region for a specific set of input signals is derived, and the properties of the model are discussed based on the derived condition. In addition, the behavior of the model is examined through computer-simulated experiments. The following observations are made: When a certain condition is satisfied, a segregated region is formed in the nerve field according to a specific set of input signals. By varying the parameters of learning, the region is formed depending on the similarity between input signals. The regions for similar input signals are formed near each other in the nerve field. The region is created depending on the occurence probability of the input signal and its norm.     

Lectin histochemistry in rat thyroid tumours

The thyroid tumours and background goiterous and adenomatous lesions induced in rats with diisopropanolnitrosamine (DIPN) plus methylthiouracil (MTU), and regenerative thyroid tissues after wounding were studied by lectin histochemistry. Ten weeks after cessation of the carcinogen treatments, carcinomas invading the surrounding tissues and blood vessels (13/20) and papillary micronodules (11/20) were formed in the thyroid tissues. In general, the carcinoma lesion was solitary, and the papillary micronodules were multiple in a single thyroid gland. Among the lectins tested, Maclura pomifera (MPA) and Solanum tuberosum (STA) showed specific binding with both carcinoma and papillary micronodule lesions, but not with the background goiterous and adenomatous lesions and regenerative thyroid tissues. The former both lesions showed higher labelling indices with BUdR or 3H-thymidine and poorer thyroglobulin accumulation than the latters, thereby indicating their enhanced proliferative capability and depressed potency of cyto-differentiation. The common cytological and histochemical properties of carcinoma lesions and papillary micronodules allow us to regard the latter as pre-invading carcinoma lesions. The lectins MPA and STA may be, therefore, used as the specific markers of malignancy in rat thyroid carcinogenesis.     

Altered ganglioside expression in ras-oncogene-transformed cells

Alteration of ganglioside composition in mouse BALB/3T3 cells transformed either by DNA transfection with viral K-, H-, or cellular H-ras oncogene, or by infection with the K-ras oncogene-carrying murine sarcoma virus (Ki-KSV) was studied using a highly sensitive thin-layer chromatography/enzyme immunostaining method. Marked common decreases in the content of GD3 ganglioside and the increase of its metabolic precursor GM3 were bound in BALB/3T3 cell lines transformed by either K- or H-ras oncogenes. Moreover, a common decrease or loss in the contents of "A" series ganglio-tetraose gangliosides such as GM1a and GD1a was also found in all transformed cell lines, indicating that the alteration of cellular glycosphingolipids by ras oncogenes apparently does not depend on the type of ras-concogenes (K- and H-ras).