The development of gluconeogenesis in rat liver. Experiments in vivo

1. The injection of substrate amounts of lactate into newborn rats produced an increase in the concentration of phosphoenolpyruvate in liver. Similar experiments with foetal rats showed no increase in phosphoenolpyruvate concentration although pyruvate formation was observed. 2. The administration of pyruvate to foetal rats was also without effect on the hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate concentration, although a 20-fold increase in this was observed when pyruvate was injected into newborn animals. 3. Analogous experiments with aspartate produced qualitatively similar differences between foetal and newborn rats. 4. When [(14)C]-lactate, -pyruvate or -aspartate was injected into foetal or newborn rats incorporation of radioactivity into liver glucose was observed only in the newborn animals. 5. Lactate/pyruvate ratios of 213 in foetal liver and 13.5 in the livers of newborn rats indicated a relatively reduced environment in the cytosol of foetal liver. This difference in redox state was illustrated experimentally by a greater conversion of pyruvate into lactate and an increased formation of malate in foetal liver. 6. Although both the substrate-loading and tracer experiments indicated a block in gluconeogenesis in foetal liver at the stage of conversion of oxaloacetate into phosphoenolpyruvate, gluconeogenesis was also hindered by a highly reduced environment.     

CHORIZOCOCCUS HERBICOLA (MASKELL) (COMB. N): (HOMOPTERA: PSEUDOCOCCIDAE) A GRASS-INFESTING SPECIES IN AUSTRALIA

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The Maskell species Dactylopius herbicola , a mealybug infesting grass in Australia, is redescribed and designated as a new combination, Chorizococcus herbicola (Maskell).     

Rapid Sulfonamide Disc Sensitivity Test for Meningococci

Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 90 strains of Neisseria meningitidis were determined by a plate dilution technique that employed twofold changes in concentrations of sulfadiazine. The geometric mean of three MIC determinations on each strain was correlated with inhibition zones produced by a 300-mug sulfathiazole disc. The linear relationship between the logarithm of the geometric mean MIC values and the zone diameters was highly significant. Strains were separated into sensitive and resistant populations by both test procedures. Quantitative criteria for interpreting the sensitivity of a strain by the disc test were established.     

Microbial Destruction by Low Concentrations of Hypochlorite and Iodophor Germicides in Alkaline and Acidified Water

Hypochlorite and iodophor germicides were evaluated for their ability to destroy a variety of organisms at levels approximating those used for final sanitizing rinse for dairy and food equipment and beverage bottles (3 to 50 ppm). Test organisms included Escherichia coli, Streptococcus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Pediococcus cerevisiae, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The hypochlorites and iodophors demonstrated approximate rates of destruction at equivalent concentrations for the bacterial species tested, except where the hypochlorite contained excess alkalinity. The hypochlorite responded more readily to a downward shift to a pH of 5.0 than did the iodophor. Excess alkalinity of the hypochlorite significantly affected its bactericidal activity. The iodophor exhibited a consistently greater rate of destruction of yeast cells than the hypochlorite. Successive treatment with low levels of iodophor (6 ppm) followed by a hypochlorite (12 to 25 ppm) resulted in a high level of destruction of all test organisms. Possibilities for employing these measures in a sanitizing rinse of bottles for maximal destruction of organisms were discussed. Among the test organisms, S. lactis showed a comparatively high resistance and was a useful organism for comparing the halogen preparations.