Authorizing Knowledge in Science and Anthropology

An analogy exists between today's "defenders" of science in the "science/culture wars" and 19th-century "defenders" of euclidean geometry. Current critics have appointed themselves as arbiters of truth in a manner analogous to that of 19th-century mathematicians and theologians who argued against noneuclidean geometry that challenge Euclid's mathematically, philosophically, and theologically entrenched fifth postulate. The science wars then and now are not about science versus antiscience, objectivity versus subjectivity, but about authority in science: what kind of science should be practiced, and who gets to define it?     

Survival of genetically-engineered and wild-type strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae under simulated environmental conditions: a contribution on risk assessment

H. FUJIMURA, Y. SAKUMA AND E. AMANN. 1994. A genetically-engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae employed for the industrial production of the human coagulation Factor XIIIa (rhFXIIIa) was used for a survival study under simulated environmental conditions. The homologous strain devoid of the recombinant plasmid and the homologous strain bearing the 2 μm-based vector plasmid without the rhFXIIIa-encoding DNA insert were compared. The strains were introduced into natural soil/water suspension, into soil/medium suspension and into waste water. After intervals, samples of cell suspensions were taken and viable cell numbers were determined by plating on antibiotic-containing medium. In addition, a non-radioactive technique involving enhanced chemiluminescence was employed to detect plasmid-bearing yeast cells. The rhFXIIIa expression plasmid showed a high stability during the simulated environmental condition. No differences in survival rates, however, could be detected for the plasmid-bearing and plasmid-less strains under the three conditions tested, suggesting that the presence of plasmid does not confer selective advantages on the survival of the yeast cells. It is concluded that, even after accidental release of the engineered yeast cells into the environment, elimination rates would be comparable to those for non-recombinant yeast strains.     

Continuous production of L-arginine using immobilized growing Serratia marcescens cells: Effectiveness of supply of oxygen gas

Summary The immobilized growing cell system using Serratia marcescens was applied to continuous L-arginine production. From the determination of oxygen uptake rate, it was shown that the cells entrapped in carrageenan gel were in an oxygen-limited state due to the diffusion barrier to oxygen transport created by the gel layer. This limited state in gel was relieved by supply of oxygen-enriched gas instead of air into the medium. The maximum population of immobilized cells increased to five times that of free cells with the supply of pure oxygen gas. The L-arginine-producing activity of the immobilized growing cells was proportional to the concentration of oxygen gas supplied and was 6 mg/h per millilitre in gel supplied with pure oxyges gas. The continuous L-arginine containing production was constantly maintained by controlling the medium penicillin G at pH 6.5 and more than 10 mg/ml of L-arginine were obtained at 10h of residence time for at least 12 days.     

Isolation of protoplasts from somatic embryos of carrot

Protoplasts were isolated enzymatically from synchronously induced globular somatic embryos from a carrot suspension culture. Among the macerating enzymes tested, Driselase was the most effective for release of protoplasts from embryos. A higher medium osmolarity was required for the isolation of protoplasts from embryos than from undifferentiated cells. Protoplasts from embryos were smaller than protoplasts from undifferentiated cells. On step gradients of Ficoll, protoplasts from embryos gave one major band. Protoplasts from undifferentiated cells gave two major bands, one lighter and the other heavier than the protoplasts from embryos.     

Morphometric study of fat cell size in the fascia areolaris and fascia lamellaris of the inguinal region in men, women and pregnant women

The fat cells of the fascia areolaris and fascia lamellaris of men, women, and pregnant women (aged between 20 and 35a) were morphometrically studied. The cell volumes showed the following average values: 4.423 X 10(5) micron3 and 2.004 X 10(5) micron3 for the fasciae areolaris and lamellaris respectively, in men; 6.236 X 10(5) micron3 and 3.964 X 10(5) micron3 in women, and 10.114 X 10(5) micron3 and 4.635 X 10(5) micron3 in the pregnant women. The analysis of variance showed significant differences between both sexes, and fasciae areolaris and lamellaris. The differences between women and pregnant women as far as the cell volume is concerned, in both fasciae, were not significant. As to the fascia areolaris, not the lamellaris, the difference between the sexes was significant.     

Decreased traffic volume during COVID-19 did not reduce roadkill on fenced highway network in Japan

Landscape and Ecological Engineering - The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced human activities through city lock-downs and restricted traffic flows. It had been suggested that roadkill...     

The environmental LCA of steel vs HDPE car fuel tanks with varied pollution control

Purpose  

There has been an increasing use of plastic motor car fuel tanks in recent decades with the expected benefits of lighter weight, shape flexibility and lower cost. In this paper, the environmental life cycle assessments of mild steel and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) car fuel tanks in Japan are compared for two cases, namely the current average processes (base case), and for the same processes with the maximum currently feasible pollution control technology installed.     

Enhanced development and differentiation of protoplasts and spores of green and red seaweeds by a Pterocladia agar from New Zealand

Enhanced growth of macroalgae was observed on High Purity Agar, a product of Coast Biologicals Limited of Auckland New Zealand. Increases in rates of cell divisions and tissue differentiation occurred in green and red seaweeds. Protoplasts, spores, and vegetative thalli were all affected. The enhancement of growth and differentiation was concentration dependent, with high concentrations (> 1 %) appearing toxic. Few cells survived on 1 % and 1.5 % agar; over 8 weeks of culture these developed into plantlets six fold larger than those grown on an 0.3 % gel of the same agar, and as much as 11 fold larger than control plants grown on Difco Bacto agar at the same gel concentration. The activity was heat stable, water soluble, and largely bound to the carbohydrate matrix. The chemical nature of the active compound is under investigation.