Complexation of copper(II) by a peptide hybrid of bleomycin and amsacrine. Circular dichroism and electron spin resonance studies

A model incorporating the metal chelating moiety of bleomycin and an anilinoacridine ring able to intercalate in DNA has been synthesized. The copper(II) complex of that molecule has been studied using circular dichroism and electron spin resonance by comparison with bleomycin. The introduction of the anilinoacridine ring involves a modification in the geometry of the complex. A distortion of the square-pyramidal form (type II complex) gives rise to a type I complex in which the metallic atom is drawn out of the plane of the four square-planar ligands and displaced slightly towards the fifth ligand.     

Microbiological Degradation of Malodorous Substances of Swine Waste under Aerobic Conditions

Phenol, p-cresol, and volatile fatty acids (VFA; acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric, and valeric acids) were used as odor indicators of swine waste. Aeration of the waste allowed the indigenous microorganisms to grow and degrade these malodorous substances. The time required for degradation of these substances varied according to the waste used, and it was not necessarily related to their concentrations. Using a minimal medium which contained one of the malodorous compounds as sole carbon source, we have selected from swine waste microorganisms that can grow in the medium. The majority of these microorganisms were able to degrade the same substrate when inoculated in sterilized swine waste but with an efficiency varying from one strain to the other. None of these strains was able to degrade all malodorous substances studied. Within 6 days of incubation these selected strains degraded the following: Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, phenol and all VFA; Alcaligenes faecalis, p-cresol and all VFA; Corynebacterium glutamicum and Micrococcus sp., phenol, p-cresol, and acetic and propionic acids; Arthrobacter flavescens, all VFA. On a laboratory scale, the massive inoculation of swine waste with C. glutamicum or Micrococcus sp. accelerated degradation of the malodorous substances. However, this effect was not observed with all of the various swine wastes tested. These results suggest that an efficient deodorization process of various swine wastes could be developed at the farm level based on the aerobic indigenous microflora of each waste.     

In vitro regeneration of Gaillardia pulchella Foug.

Young leaf and internodal stem segments of Gaillardia pulchella, collected from wild species re-established in the greenhouse, were used to initiate callus on Murashige & Skoog medium supplemented with NAA (2.0 mgl⁻¹) and BA (0.4 mgl⁻¹). Callus formed after 10 to 14 days in the dark. Cultures were transferred to fresh medium and placed under lighted conditions where shoot formation occurred approximately 14 to 30 days after initiation. Callus sub-cultured at 14 to 21-day intervals continued to produce primordia for several weeks. Flowers were produced by regenerated shoots maintained on MS medium, but roots did not develop until the plantlets were transferred to soil conditions.     

Viability of an ectomycorrhizal fungus during cross-flow filtration

Factors affecting the viability and infectivity of an ectomycorrhizal fungus during moderate concentration by cross-flow filtration were determined. Mycelial suspensions were concentrated with three commercial membrane filters (Prostak Millipore Co., M14 Tech-Sep Co. and Ceraflo Norton Co.) under aseptic conditions. Medium components may reduce the filtration rate due to their low solubility. An antifoam agent did not reduce the average flux rates as much as did the malt extract. Clear unobstructed channels (I.D. 6mm) of the tubular modules (Tech-Sep) gave the best results both in terms of performance (filtration rate) and cell viability. Shear stresses caused by pumping and flow through narrow retentate channels were probably responsible for lowering viability and infectivity. There was no linear relationship between permeate fluxes and cell concentration. There is an optimum pore size both in terms of performance (filtration rate) and cell viability. Physical blockage of large pores by hyphae could explain lower permeate flux rates than those obtained with lower pore sizes membranes.