HUMAN RENAL TRANSPLANTATION,II—A Successful Case of Homotransplantation of the Kidney Between Identical Twins

Kidney transplantation between 41-year-old twin men was carried out because of chronic glomerulonephritis in one twin. The operation was successful. Hypertension, edema and azotemia in the patient disappeared after operation and both the donor and the recipient were well.     

STUDIES IN SHOOT-TIP ABORTION: SYRINGA VULGARIS

Garrison , Rhoda (Wheaton Coll., Norton, Mass.), and Ralph H. Wetmore . Studies in shoot-tip abortion: Syringa vulgaris. Amer. Jour. Bot. 48(9): 789–795. Illus. 1961.—The growth of shoots of Syringa vulgaris is described with special reference to the sequence of events in the abortion of the tip. Early in the growing season, as the shoot begins to elongate, the terminal part, 4–7 mm in length and bearing 3 or 4 pairs of young leaves, ceases growth; then after 2 or 3 wk in which there is no change in form, the tip becomes yellow and disintegrates. Diffusible auxin is present in the terminal region as a shoot begins to elongate, but after the abortive phase is initiated, auxin can no longer be detected in that part. Young shoots and tips of shoots when cultured in nutrient media ultimately abort in the normal manner. Shoot tips in the early stages of abortion can be stimulated to resume growth and development if the axillary buds just subjacent to the tip are destroyed; this response is, however, limited to vigorously growing shoots.     

A RADIOAUTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF GLYCERIDE SYNTHESIS IN VIVO DURING INTESTINAL ABSORPTION OF FATS AND LABELED GLUCOSE

Radioautography was used to detect the synthesis of labeled glycerides in intestinal absorptive cells following injections of fatty chyme and glucose-6-H³ into ligated segments of upper jejunum of fasting rats. Absorption intervals ranged from 2 to 20 min. Labeling is evident throughout the cells in as short a time as 2 min. Most grains are present over droplets of absorbed fat beginning with those in the endoplasmic reticulum immediately subjacent to the terminal web. With longer absorption periods, frequent grains are present over accumulations of fat droplets in the Golgi cisternae and intercellular spaces. A similar pattern of grains is seen following absorption of either linoleic acid or safflower oil. By comparison, considerably less label is present in the cells when the fat is extracted with alcohol prior to radioautographic procedures, or when labeled glucose alone is absorbed. A significant incorporation of glucose label into newly synthesized glycerides is indicated and confirmed by scintillation counts on saponified lipid extracts. The grain distribution implies an involvement of the extreme apical endoplasmic reticulum in this synthesis.     

Enzymatic synthesis of chiral amino‐alcohols by coupling transketolase and transaminase‐catalyzed reactions in a cascading continuous‐flow microreactor system

Rapid biocatalytic process development and intensification continues to be challenging with currently available methods. Chiral amino‐alcohols are of particular interest as they represent key industrial synthons for the production of complex molecules and optically pure pharmaceuticals. (2S,3R)‐2‐amino‐1,3,4‐butanetriol (ABT), a building block for the synthesis of protease inhibitors and detoxifying agents, can be synthesized from simple, non‐chiral starting materials, by coupling a transketolase‐ and a transaminase‐catalyzed reaction. However, until today, full conversion has not been shown and, typically, long reaction times are reported, making process modifications and improvement challenging. In this contribution, we present a novel microreactor‐based approach based on free enzymes, and we report for the first time full conversion of ABT in a coupled enzyme cascade for both batch and continuous‐flow systems. Using the compartmentalization of the reactions afforded by the microreactor cascade, we overcame inhibitory effects, increased the activity per unit volume, and optimized individual reaction conditions. The transketolase‐catalyzed reaction was completed in under 10 min with a volumetric activity of 3.25 U ml^?1. Following optimization of the transaminase‐catalyzed reaction, a volumetric activity of 10.8 U ml^?1 was attained which led to full conversion of the coupled reaction in 2 hr. The presented approach illustrates how continuous‐flow microreactors can be applied for the design and optimization of biocatalytic processes.

     

Tricin‐lignins: occurrence and quantitation of tricin in relation to phylogeny

Tricin [5,7‐dihydroxy‐2‐(4‐hydroxy‐3,5‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐4H‐chromen‐4‐one], a flavone, was recently established as an authentic monomer in grass lignification that likely functions as a nucleation site. It is linked onto lignin as an aryl alkyl ether by radical coupling with monolignols or their acylated analogs. However, the level of tricin that incorporates into lignin remains unclear. Herein, three lignin characterization methods: acidolysis; thioacidolysis; and derivatization followed by reductive cleavage; were applied to quantitatively assess the amount of lignin‐integrated tricin. Their efficiencies at cleaving the tricin‐(4′–O–β)‐ether bonds and the degradation of tricin under the corresponding reaction conditions were evaluated. A hexadeuterated tricin analog was synthesized as an internal standard for accurate quantitation purposes. Thioacidolysis proved to be the most efficient method, liberating more than 91% of the tricin with little degradation. A survey of different seed‐plant species for the occurrence and content of tricin showed that it is widely distributed in the lignin from species in the family Poaceae (order Poales). Tricin occurs at low levels in some commelinid monocotyledon families outside the Poaceae, such as the Arecaceae (the palms, order Arecales) and Bromeliaceae (Poales), and the non‐commelinid monocotyledon family Orchidaceae (Orchidales). One eudicotyledon was found to have tricin (Medicago sativa, Fabaceae). The content of lignin‐integrated tricin is much higher than the extractable tricin level in all cases. Lignins, including waste lignin streams from biomass processing, could therefore provide a large and alternative source of this valuable flavone, reducing the costs, and encouraging studies into its application beyond its current roles.