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.     

Inverse relationships between steroid concentration and volume in preovulatory follicles of the golden hamster

In order to investigate variations in the microenvironment of oocytes within a cohort of maturing follicles the follicular volumes as well as the intrafollicular concentrations of oestradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) were measured in the golden hamster. At 10 h before ovulation the follicular volumes varied from 0.009 to 0.037 mm3 (mean +/- SD: 0.0187 +/- 0.0071 mm3; n = 36). Large follicles (greater than 0.025 mm3; n = 8) contained statistically significantly lower E2 and P levels (30.1 +/- 10.4 and 517 +/- 113 mumol/l, respectively) than the medium sized group (less than 0.025 and greater than 0.015 mm3; n =20): 46.9 +/- 16.0 (P less than 0.02) and 919 +/- 264 (P less than 0.0001) mumol/l, respectively. Small follicles (less than 0.015 mm3) showed the highest steroid levels: 97.0 +/- 33.3 and 1590 +/- 517 mumol/l for E2 and P (P less than 0.001 versus the medium sized group values). Correlation coefficients for the steroid concentrations and the follicular volumes appeared to be -0.674 for E2 and -0.612 for P (P less than 0.001). At the time studied a positive correlation between E2 and P concentrations in the follicles was found: r = 0.655 (P less than 0.001). The mean ratios of intrafollicular over serum steroid concentrations appeared to be approx 36 x 10(3) in the case of E2 and about 17 x 10(3) in the case of P. These results clearly show that there is an inverse relationship between follicular volume and intrafollicular steroid concentrations. The presence of a fine regulatory mechanism for a collective maturation of follicles is hypothesized.     

The differential regulation of aldosterone output in hamster adrenal by angiotensinII and adrenocorticotropin.

Aldosterone was isolated from hamster adrenal cells and was identified by high performance liquid chromatography and thermospray mass spectroscopy analysis. Basal outputs from adrenal cell suspensions were of the same order of magnitude, 8.4 ± 1.9 ng and 8.0 ± 0.7 ng/2 h/50,000 cells, for aldosterone and corticosteroid, respectively. The outputs of aldosterone and corticosteroid increased with K⁺ concentrations to reach maxima of 3.3- and 1.6-fold at 10 meq/l of K⁺. Angiotensin_II (A_II) produced dose-dependent increases in aldosterone and corticosteroid outputs with maxima of 3- and 4-fold, respectively. In contrast, ACTH induced relatively no changes in aldosterone output, whereas dose-dependent increases in corticosteroid output were found. In time study experiments, with 10⁻⁸ M A_II, aldosterone and corticosteroid outputs were maximally increased after 1 h (6-fold) and 3 h (1.8-fold), respectively. At 10⁻⁸ M, ACTH had a small stimulatory effect on aldosterone output after 6 h, whereas it provoked a gradual increase in corticosteroid output (up to 7-fold after 8 h of incubation). The effects of A_II and ACTH on adrenal cytochrome P-450_11β involved in the last steps of aldosterone formation were evaluated by c combined in vivo andin vitro experiments. The P-450_11β mRNA level was increased by a low sodium intake but not by a 24 h ACTH stimulus. These results taken together indicate that ACTH and A_II differentially regulate P-450_11β. It is postulated that these two regulatory peptides regulate the hamster adrenal steroidogenesis by different P-450 genes.     

Further characterization of [3H]fulunitrazepam binding sites on cultured mouse astroglia

Astroglial cells in primary cultures bind [³H]flunitrazepam with a high affinity on a single type of site and on a number of binding sites which increased during astroglial growth and differentiation. These binding sites show a particular pharmacological spectrum characterized by an inhibition of high affinity by RO-5-4864 (4-chlorodiazepam), an anticonvulsant of the benzodiazepine family and by an inhibition of binding of lower affinities by diazepam clonazepam and clobazam. RO-5-4864 and clonazepam compete for the same binding site in astroglia. The heat stability and the hormonal modulation by thyroxine are similar for astroglia and neuronal-cells. Benxodiazepines modulate the astroglial 5-HT receptor. Such an effect could be a possible physiological response to benzodiazepines for astroglial cells in primary cultures.     

Proton and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of diastereoisomeric 3- and 17 beta-tetrahydropyranyl ether derivatives of estrone and estradiol

Protection of 3- and 17 beta-hydroxyl groups of estrone and estradiol as tetrahydropyranyl ether derivatives led to mixtures of 2'(R)- and 2'(S)-diastereoisomers which were separated by crystallization (3-tetrahydropyranyl ethers), or by thin-layer chromatography (17-tetrahydropyranyl ethers), and characterized by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Assignments for NMR signals of estradiol 3,17 beta-ditetrahydropyranyl ether were facilitated by comparison with those of its 15 zeta, 16 zeta-dideuterio analog and by 2D 1H-13C heteroshift correlation experiments. Diastereoisomers of 3-tetrahydropyranyl ether derivatives could be identified through the 13C NMR doublet signals of the anomeric C-2' and the aromatic C-4 carbon atoms in CDCl3. Diastereoisomers of 17-tetrahydropyranyl ether derivatives were recognized from characteristic modifications of 1H NMR signals of H-2', H-6', H-1, H-17, and 18-CH3 protons as well as from the 13C NMR doublet signals corresponding to C-2', C-4', C-6', C-12, C-13, C-16, and C-17 carbon atoms. Low-temperature experiments showed a splitting of the C-2', C-6', and C-17 13C NMR signals of each of the two 17-tetrahydropyranyl ether isomers. The downfield signal (equatorial conformer) of the three resulting doublets was more intense for the 17-tetrahydropyranyl ether 2'(S)-isomer, whereas the upfield signal (axial conformer) was more intense for the 2'(R)-isomer.     

Ultrastructure of sensory receptors on the labium of the cassava mealybug,Phenacoccus manihoti Matile Ferrero

The ultrastructure of the sensory receptors located on the labium of the cassava mealybugPhenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero (Homoptera, Pseudococcidae) was studied with scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Trichoid hairs of probable mechanoreceptive function are distributed over the labium. Uniporous chemosensilla which possess a mechanoreceptive dendrite, multiporous chemosensilla and mechanoreceptive pegs are present on the tip of the labium. The presence of contact and olfactory chemoreceptors on the labial tip ofP. manihoti suggests that tapping it on the cassava leaf provides the pest with information about the chemical nature of the leaf surface. ORSTOM     

Simultaneous concentration of Salmonella and enterovirus from surface water by using micro-fiber glass filters.

A method using micro-fiber glass filters (8-micrometers porosity) at pH 3.5 was successfully used for simultaneous concentration of Salmonella and enterovirus from Meurthe River samples, collected 8 km south of Nancy, France. A concentration of 10-liter samples was indispensable and permitted recovery of several enterovirus and Salmonella serotypes in concentrations of 1.3 most probable number of cytopathogenic units per liter and 18 bacteria per liter, respectively.