Survey of Newly-found Nitrile Hydratase-Producing Microorganisma Grown at Higher Temperatures

We surveyed some novel nitrile hydratase-producing microorganisms through the enrichment culture technique at higher temperatures. We isolated several spore-forming filamentous bacteria from soil samples. One of them, strain 45A40 exhibited the highest nitrile hydratase activity. Based on taxonomical studies, strain 45A40 was identifind to be genus Streptomyces. It was the first example of a Streptomyces strain exhibiting high nitrile hydratase acitivity. We optimized the culture conditions of Streptomyces 45A40 to enhance the nitrile hydratase activity. The formation of nitrile hydratase was constitutive and was highly enhanced by the addition of cobalt ions. The enzyme acted on various nitriles and showed low Km value for 3-cyanopuridine. The enzyme exhibited tolerance against a high concentration of 3-cyanopyridine ; however, its heat stability was not outstanding.二トリルヒドラターゼは、温和な条件下で二トリルを水和し、極めて効率的にアミドを生産蓄積する反応を触媒することから、ポリマーの原料であるアクリルアミドの工場生産に応用されてきた(Fig.1(1)).またごく最近、ビタミン剤として家畜の飼料添加に用いられるニコチンアミドの工業生産にも本酵素の水和反応プロセスが応用されるようになった(Fig.1(2))1-3).本酵素は今日のバイオインダストリーにおいて、最もポテンシャルの高い酵素の一つであると言える。現在、アクリルアミド、ニコチンアミドの工場生産は、長澤ら4-6)によって確立された方法、即ちRhodococcus rhodochrous J1をコバルトイオンと尿素を添加した培地で培養し、著量の二トリルヒドラターゼを誘導生成させた菌体を直接触媒的に用いる生産プロセスが実用化されている。これまで二トリル分解菌の分離は、二トリルが一般的に低沸点で揮発性であることから、30℃以下の温度域で集積培養し、分離することが一派的であった。これまで報告されている高活性を示す二トリルヒドラターゼ生成菌としては、Pseudomonas属7), Rhodococcus属6,8)の細菌が知られている。新規二トリルヒドラターゼ生成菌の探索を目的として、今回、我々は比較的高沸点の二トリル化合物を単一炭素、窒素源として用いてこれまで試みられなかった37℃-50℃の中高温度域で集積培養を行う新たな二トリル分解菌の探索を試みた

Relationship between mitochondrial DNA polymorphism and postnatal growth of Japanese beef cattle

Correlation coefficients (r) between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes, maternal lineage (ML), birth weight (BWT), preweaning average daily gain (PREADG), weaning weight (WT6), post weaning average daily gain (POSTADG) and yearling weight (WT12) were computed in Japanese Black beef cattle within the same herd and management. The objective was to study the relationship between maternal and postnatal growth traits and to investigate if postnatal growth of calves to yearling age could be accurately predicted from mtDNA genotype at an early age. Blood samples and phenotypic records from 129 cattle which were part of a QTL mapping herd were utilized. mtDNA from the displacement-loop (D-loop) region (496 bp) was genotyped and classified into sub-groups 2 and 3 haplotypes and sequenced. General linear models procedure was utilized to adjust for genetic and non-genetic effects on postnatal growth traits. Simple and multiple linear regressions were fitted to predict postnatal growth traits from mtDNA haplotypes and the coefficients of determination (R2 ) were computed. Results revealed 19 maternal lineages and four mtDNA types (1, 11, 73 and a new hitherto unreported one). There were strong, positive and highly significant (P0.05) ranging from -0.05 to 0.1. Prediction of postnatal growth from mtDNA yielded very low R2 values ranging from 0.002 for BWT to 0.019 for WT6. The addition of ML, sub-group 2 and sub-group 3 haplotype information did not lead to any appreciable improvement in prediction accuracy. It was concluded that mtDNA polymorphism has no significant association with postnatal growth from birth to yearling age, and by implication, nuclear rather than cytoplasmic DNA, is most likely responsible for genetic variation observed in postnatal growth of Japanese Black cattle. Therefore, mtDNA genotyping at an early age has no bearing on future growth performance of calves

A novel transgenic chimaeric mouse system for the rapid functional evaluation of genes encoding secreted proteins

A major challenge of the post-genomic era is the functional characterization of anonymous open reading frames (ORFs) identified by the Human Genome Project. In this context, there is a strong requirement for the development of technologies that enhance our ability to analyze gene functions at the level of the whole organism. Here, we describe a rapid and efficient procedure to generate transgenic chimaeric mice that continuously secrete a foreign protein into the systemic circulation. The transgene units were inserted into the genomic site adjacent to the endogenous immunoglobulin (Ig) κ locus by homologous recombination, using a modified mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell line that exhibits a high frequency of homologous recombination at the Igκ region. The resultant ES clones were injected into embryos derived from a B-cell-deficient host strain, thus producing chimaerism-independent, B-cell-specific transgene expression. This feature of the system eliminates the time-consuming breeding typically implemented in standard transgenic strategies and allows for evaluating the effect of ectopic transgene expression directly in the resulting chimaeric mice. To demonstrate the utility of this system we showed high-level protein expression in the sera and severe phenotypes in human EPO (hEPO) and murine thrombopoietin (mTPO) transgenic chimaeras

Технологічні рішення і технічні засоби підвищення екологічної безпеки проведення бурових робіт

Рассмотрено влияние проведения буровых работ на окружающую среду. Приведены рекомендации для повышения экологической безопасности проведения буровых работ. Описаны технологические решения и технические средства уменьшения неблагоприятного влияния бурения нефтегазовых скважин на окружающую среду. В комплексе решены и эффективно внедрены на практике вопросы экологической безопасности проведения буровых работ, утилизации, размещения и захоронения отходов бурения. Дказано, что безамбарное бурение на месторождениях возможно при наличии шламонакопителя и нагнетательной скважины.The environmental impacts of drilling works are considered. A range of recommendations for environmental safety enhancement of drilling works is given. Technological solutions and technical means to reduce adverse environmental impacts of oil and gas wells drilling are described. The issues of drilling works environmental safety, utilization, disposal and burial of waste are jointly solved and successfully implemented. The pit less drilling is proved to be possible for any field under the condition of slurry pond and injection well use

Black carbon and inorganic aerosols in Arctic snowpack

Key Points: • First ever measurements with a high‐accuracy single‐particle soot photometer of black carbon (BC) concentrations in Arctic snowpack • Topography and BC emission flux strongly influenced latitudinal variations of mass concentrations and size distributions of BC • Measured BC mass concentrations 2–25 times lower than previously reported show the importance of revalidating climate modelsBlack carbon (BC) deposited on snow lowers its albedo, potentially contributing to warming in the Arctic. Atmospheric distributions of BC and inorganic aerosols, which contribute directly and indirectly to radiative forcing, are also greatly influenced by depositions. To quantify these effects, accurate measurement of the spatial distributions of BC and ionic species representative of inorganic aerosols (ionic species hereafter) in snowpack in various regions of the Arctic is needed, but few such measurements are available. We measured mass concentrations of size-resolved BC (CMBC) and ionic species in snowpack by using a single-particle soot photometer and ion chromatography, respectively, over Finland, Alaska, Siberia, Greenland, and Spitsbergen during early spring in 2012–2016. Total BC mass deposited per unit area (DEPMBC) during snow accumulation periods was derived from CMBC and snow water equivalent (SWE). Our analyses showed that the spatial distributions of anthropogenic BC emission flux, total precipitable water, and topography strongly influenced latitudinal variations of CMBC, BC size distributions, SWE, and DEPMBC. The average size distributions of BC in Arctic snowpack shifted to smaller sizes with decreasing CMBC due to an increase in the removal efficiency of larger BC particles during transport from major sources. Our measurements of CMBC were lower by a factor of ~13 than previous measurements made with an Integrating Sphere/Integrating Sandwich spectrophotometer due mainly to interference from coexisting non-BC particles such as mineral dust. The SP2 data presented here will be useful for constraining climate models that estimate the effects of BC on the Arctic climate.Plain Language Summary Black carbon (BC) particles, commonly known as soot, are emitted from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. They efficiently absorb solar radiation and thus heat the atmosphere. BC particles emitted at midlatitudes and in the Arctic are deposited onto snow in the Arctic, accelerating snowmelt in early spring by absorbing solar radiation. These processes contribute to warming in the Arctic. Calculations of this warming effect by using numerical models need to be validated by comparison with observed BC concentrations in snowpack. However, there are very few accurate records of concentrations of BC in snow because of technical difficulties in making these measurements. We developed a new laser-induced incandescence technique to measure BC concentrations in snowpack and applied it for the first time in six Arctic regions (Finland, Alaska, North and South Siberia, Greenland, and Spitsbergen). The BC concentrations we measured were highest in Finland and South Siberia, which are closer to large anthropogenic BC sources than the other regions, where our measured BC concentrations were much lower. On average, our BC concentrations were much lower than those previously measured by different techniques. Therefore, previous comparisons of modeled and observed BC concentrations need to be re-evaluated using the present data

Pre-post changes in psychosocial functioning among relatives of patients with depressive disorders after Brief Multifamily Psychoeducation: A pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Depressive disorder is often chronic and recurrent, and results in a heavy psychosocial burden on the families of patients with this disorder. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of brief multifamily psychoeducation designed to alleviate their psychosocial burden.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-two relatives of patients with major depressive disorder participated in an open study testing the effectiveness of brief multifamily psychoeducation. The intervention consisted of four sessions over the course of 6 weeks. Outcome measures focused on emotional distress, care burden and Expressed Emotion (EE).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The emotional distress, care burden and EE of the family all showed statistically significant improvements from baseline to after the family intervention. The proportion of relatives scoring 9 or more on K6, which indicates possible depressive or anxiety disorder, decreased from sixteen relatives (50.0%) at baseline, to only 3 relatives (9.3%) after the intervention.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study suggests that brief multifamily psychoeducation is a useful intervention to reduce the psychosocial burden of the relatives of patients with depressive disorder. Further evaluation of family psychoeducation for relatives of patients with depressive disorder is warranted.</p

Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor of the Nasal Septum

We report an extremely rare case of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the posterior edge of the nasal septum. An 11-year-old boy presented with frequent epistaxis and nasal obstruction persisting for one year. Based on the clinical presentation and imaging studies, juvenile angiofibroma was suspected, but angiography suggested the possibility of another type of tumor. Transnasal endoscopic surgery found that the tumor protruded into the nasopharynx from the posterior end of the nasal septum. Histological examination identified spindle cells with immunoreaction for vimentin, smooth muscle actin, and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), but not for desmin and cytokeratin. This is a report of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor mimicking juvenile angiofibroma. This case suggests that angiography is helpful in the differential diagnosis of epipharyngeal tumor in adolescence