Bacterial Contamination of a Phenolic Disinfectant

Twenty ward stock bottles of aqueous 1% Printol were examined and 17 were found to be contaminated with Alcaligenes faecalis. Organisms were present in dead space behind the plastic liners of the bottle caps, where they could have survived washing. A. faecalis was also isolated from 31 out of 34 1% Printol solutions in use in the hospital. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was grown from two samples of 1% Printol in one ward, but not from stock bottles.The minimal bactericidal concentration (M.B.C.) in aqueous solution of Hycolin, Sudol, and Stericol for A. faecalis and Ps. aeruginosa was 1 in 320. The M.B.C. of Printol for both organisms was 1 in 80. The activity of all four disinfectants was reduced in the presence of large amounts of organic matter. Sudol was the least affected. Polyethylene, of which stock bottles were made, did not reduce the activity of the disinfectants. It is suggested that, ideally, stock bottles of disinfectant diluted ready for use should be autoclaved before they are refilled.     

Statocysts of medusae and evolution of stereocilia

Ectodermal sensory cells of the statolith each bear one nonmotile kinocilium, and in some hydromedusae bear stereocilia which are defined as distinct from microvilli by having fibrillar rootlets. The progressive elaboration of stereocilia can be traced. A hypothesis in which jellyfish statocysts evolve from vibration receptors avoids the difficulty of the uselessness of incipient gravity organs. Comparative study suggests that the kinocilium or its basal body is the transducer.     

Improved cytologic localisation ofβ-glucuronidase in sections treated with ethanol

Summary Treatment of fixed frozen sections of rat kidney with 40–60% ethanol for 2 minutes at 0° C improved the cytologic localisation of-glucuronidase in naphthol AS-BI post-coupling technique. Concentration of ethanol, duration of treatment and temperature are critical. Higher concentrations of ethanol, longer treatment and higher temperatures deteriorate the normal localisation of the enzyme. Such pretreatment can he introduced as a step in the original histochemical technique.     

Nitrogenase activity in extracts of heterocystous and non-heterocystous blue-green algae

Summary Cell-free extracts capable of acetylene reduction and cyanide reduction have been prepared from heterocystous (Anabaena cylindrica) and non-heterocystous (Plectonema boryanum 594) blue-green algae. Extracts from Anabaena were obtained from cultures grown in blulk under aerobic conditions, while the Plectonema cultures were grown in bulk on nitrate-nitrogen, then washed free from nitrate and sparged with A/CO₂ for 40 h after which time maximum nitrogenase activity was detected. The nitrogenases of both algae are similar and resemble in many respects nitrogenases from bacteria and legumes. Activity is located primarily in a 40,000xgx15 min supernatant fraction and the rate of C₂H₂ reduction observed is about 10 per cent of whole cell activity. ATP and a source of reducing power (Na₂S₂O₄) are required for efficient functioning of the enzyme. ATP-dependent hydrogen evolution occurs, the extracts are cold labile and highly sensitive to oxygen and the oxygen inhibition is irreversible.