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The basidiomycetous fungus Nematoloma frowardii produced manganese peroxidase (MnP) as the predominant ligninolytic enzyme during solid-state fermentation (SSF) of wheat straw. The purified enzyme had a molecular mass of 50 kDa and an isoelectric point of 3.2. In addition to MnP, low levels of laccase and lignin peroxidase were detected. Synthetic 14 C-ring-labelled lignin ( 14 C-DHP) was efficiently degraded during SSF. Approximately 75% of the initial radioactivity was released as 14 CO 2 , while only 6% was associated with the residual straw material, including the well-developed fungal biomass. On the basis of this finding we concluded that at least partial extracellular mineralization of lignin may have occurred. This conclusion was supported by the fact that we detected high levels of organic acids in the fermented straw (the maximum concentrations in the water phases of the straw cultures were 45 mM malate, 3.5 mM fumarate, and 10 mM oxalate), which rendered MnP effective and therefore made partial direct mineralization of lignin possible. Experiments performed in a cell-free system, which simulated the conditions in the straw cultures, revealed that MnP in fact converted part of the 14 C-DHP to 14 CO 2 (which accounted for up to 8% of the initial radioactivity added) and 14 C-labelled water-soluble products (which accounted for 43% of the initial radioactivity) in the presence of natural levels of organic acids (30 mM malate, 5 mM fumarate).

Crude and purified manganese peroxidase from the white-rot fungi Nematoloma frowardii and Phlebia radiata catalyzed the partial depolymerization of a [14C-ring]labelled synthetic lignin into water-soluble fragments (30–50%). The in vitro depolymerization of the 14C-labelled lignin was accompanied by a release of 14CO2 ranging from 4 to 6%. Small quantities of the thiol mediator glutathione stimulated the depolymerization of lignin resulting in a mineralization and solubilization of up to 10 and 64%, respectively. Most of the water-soluble substances formed had molecular masses around 0.7 kDa, although a higher-molecular mass fraction was also detectable (>2 kDa). Photometric assays using 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazolinesulphonate) as an indicator demonstrated that high levels of Mn(III), which were very probably responsible for the depolymerization and mineralization of the 14C-labelled lignin, were adjusted within the first 24 h of incubation. The manganese peroxidase catalyzed depolymerization process was not necessarily dependent on H2O2; also in the absence of the H2O2-generating system glucose/glucose oxidase, effective solubilization and mineralization of lignin dehydrogenation polymerizate occurred, due to the in part superoxide dismutase sensitive, ‘oxidase-like’ activity of MnP which probably produces radical species and peroxides from malonate.

The degradation of the nitroaromatic pollutant 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) by the manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) of the white-rot fungus Phlebia radiata and the main reduction products formed were investigated. In the presence of small amounts of reduced glutathione (10 mM), a concentrated cell-free preparation of MnP from P. radiata exhibiting an activity of 36 nkat/ml (36 nmol Mn(II) oxidized per sec and per ml) transformed 10 mg/l of TNT within three days. The same preparation was capable of completely transforming the reduced derivatives of TNT. When present at 10 mg/l, the aminodinitrotoluenes were transformed in less than two days and the diaminonitrotoluenes in less than three hours. Experiments with 14C-U-ring labeled TNT and 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene showed that these compounds were mineralized by 22% and 76%, respectively, within 5 days. Higher concentrations of reduced glutathione (50 mM) led to a severe inhibition of the degradation process. It is concluded that Phlebia radiata is a good candidate for the biodegradation of TNT as well as its reduction metabolites.

A manganese peroxidase preparation from the white-rot fungus Nematoloma frowardii was found to be capable of releasing up to 17% 14CO2 from 14C-labelled synthetic humic substances. The latter were prepared from [U-14C]catechol by spontaneous oxidative polymerization or laccase-catalysed polymerization. The ex-tent of humic substance mineralization was considerably enhanced in the presence of the thiol mediator glutathione (up to 50%). Besides the evolution of 14CO2, the treatment of humic substances with Mn peroxidase resulted in the formation of lower-molecular-mass products. Analysis of residual radioactivity by gel-permeation chromatography demonstrated that the predominant molecular masses of the initial humic substances ranged between 2 kDa and 6 kDa; after treatment with Mn peroxidase, they were reduced to 0.5–2 kDa. The extracellular depolymerization and mineralization of humic substances by the Mn peroxidase system may play an important role in humus turnover of habitats that are rich in basidiomycetous fungi.

Preparations of extracellular manganese peroxidase from the white-rot fungus Nematoloma frowardii and the litter decaying fungus Stropharia rugosoannulata converted rapidly the main intermediates of the explosive 2,4,-trinitrotoluene--the aminonitrotoluenes. In a cell-free system, 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene, 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene and 2,6-diamino-4-nitrotoluene were degraded without formation of identifiable metabolites. Radioactive experiments using a complex mixture of uniform ring-labeled 14C-TNT reduction products demonstrated the partial direct mineralization of these compounds by manganese peroxidase. The extent of aminonitrotoluene conversion as well as the release of 14CO2 from TNT reduction products were considerably enhanced in the presence of thiols like reduced glutathione or the amino acid L-cystein, which probably act as secondary mediators.

The main manganese peroxidase isoenzyme MnP2 of the South American white-rot fungus Nematoloma frowardii b19 was purified to homogeneity using anion-exchange chromatography (Mono Q) and preparative isoelectric focusing. The purified enzyme has a molecular mass of 44 kDa and a pI of 3.2.

A manganese peroxidase preparation of the white-rot fungus Nematoloma frowardii mineralized uniformly ring-labeled C-2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene directly to CO . In the cell-free system, a release of 52% CO was demonstrated in the presence of reduced glutathione as secondary thiol mediator. This is the first description of the direct enzymatic combustion of an aromatic compound by an extracellular enzyme of the ligninolytic system.

Purpose of the study : Mother-to-child transmission rates in Europe are below 1% in HIV-infected women on successful combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) irrespective of mode of delivery. Consequently, most national guidelines updated between 2001 and 2009 recommended vaginal deliveries for women with undetectable or very low viral load (VL). The aim of this study was to explore the impact of these new guidelines on the rates of vaginal deliveries following complete viral suppression on cART. Methods : A pooled analysis of data on HIV-1-positive women enrolled in the Swiss Mother & Child HIV Cohort Study and the European Collaborative Study with a live birth between 2000 and 2010 was carried out. Deliveries were classified as occurring pre- or post-publication of national guidelines recommending vaginal delivery in women with low/ undetectable VL for each country. Summary of results : Overall, 2527 mothers, 2848 deliveries and 2903 births were included from 10 countries. The women were mostly Caucasian (44%) or black (47%) and had a median age of 31 at the time of delivery. They were diagnosed with HIV a median of 3.3 years before pregnancy and 84% were CDC stage A with a median CD4 cell count of 450 cells/mm 3 . 17% reported a history of injecting-drug use (IDU) and 3% current IDU. 29% of women conceived on cART, 63% started in pregnancy and 8% received no antenatal ART. The most common regimen used was PI based cART (50%). Of the deliveries, elective caesarean section (CS) was carried out in 58%, emergency CS in 17% and vaginal delivery in 23%. Of 1869 women with a VL measure within the last trimester of pregnancy, only 65% had undetectable HIV-RNA. Overall, 21% of all deliveries occurring before the guideline change were vaginal, increasing to 48% subsequently. The proportion of women with undetectable VL having a CS decreased from 29% before to 13% after the guidelines update. Conclusions : Nearly half of all deliveries subsequent to European guideline changes were vaginal. Nevertheless, there are missed opportunities to achieve fully suppressed viral load at time of delivery and to deliver vaginally in HIV infected women. Further evaluation of treatment regimens, adherence data and barriers to treatment is planned within these cohorts. (Published: 11 November 2012) Citation: Abstracts of the Eleventh International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection Aebi-Popp K et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2012, 15 (Suppl 4):18141 http://www.jiasociety.org/index.php/jias/article/view/18141 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.15.6.18141

Umbilical vein pulsations (UV-P) are due to various etiologies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the incidence and type of UV-P in monochorionic twins with twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).TTTS cases diagnosed between 1999 and 2009 were examined retrospectively. The UV flow pattern taken from a free floating loop of the umbilical cord was classified as "non-pulsatile" (NP), "monophasic" (MP) and "complex" (CP). Only Doppler flow analyses prior to intervention were examined.Of 106 cases seen during the study period, 56 cases met the inclusion criteria. Of those, 62.5% were classified as stage III TTTS, and fetoscopic laser therapy was performed in 45 cases. NP flow patterns were more likely found in the donor twin (80.4 vs. 28.6%; p0.0001), while the incidence of MP (50 vs. 17.9%; p0.0006) and CP flow patterns (21.4 vs. 1.7%; p0.01) was higher in the recipient twin. Moreover, the perinatal mortality was highest in cases with CP (CP: 76.9 vs. MP 42.1 vs. NP: 26.2%; p0.01) as well as the rate of cases with double death.CP patterns are more frequently found in the recipient twin and are associated with a considerably high mortality rate. Studying the umbilical vein flow pattern in TTTS may provide additional information for counseling and prognosis similar to that obtained by expensive fetal echocardiography.

The Penicillium strain Bi 7/2 utilized phenol, catechol, resorcinol, hydroquinone, pyrogallol, hydroxyhydroquinone, phloroglucinol, m- and p-cresol, orcinol, 4-methylcatechol. 4-methoxy-phenol, 4-aminophenol, benzyl alcohol, benzoic acid, 2-, 3- and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, anthranilic acid, protocatechuic acid and gallic acid as sole sources of carbon and energy. The central metabolites catechol, protocatechuic acid and hydroxyquinone could be determined by HPLC with diode-array detection. Pathways for the degradation of aromatic substances were proposed.

Summary Anthers of Digitalis lanata were cultivated on a modified Murashige-Skoog medium with 25 pmol NAA, 1 µmol kinetin, and 0.6 mol sucrose L-1. Up to 33 % of the anthers formed calli, most of which contained haploid cells. If the calli were grown on a nutrient medium with 5µmol 2,4D and 1µmol kinetin L-1 the haploid cells disappeared rapidly. In suspension cultures derived from the callus, haploid cells were detectable for longer periods of time, and suspension cultures containing haploid cells were also obtained from apparently diploid callus. Diploid plants were regenerated from callus via somatic embryos by successive cultivation on a nutrient medium with 0.05 µmol NAA and 5 µmol BA L-1, and a nutrient medium without growth regulators. The cardenolide contents of the regenerated plants showed greater variability than those of the clone plants they were derived from.

Isotope enrichment of some elements is required in support of the Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) in order to obtain the beam intensities, source efficiencies and/or source lifetime required by RIA. The economics of using Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) technology as well as ElectroMagnetic (EM) separation technology has been evaluated. It is concluded that such an AVLIS would be about 10 times less expensive than a facility based on electromagnetic separation - $17 M versus $170 M. In addition, the AVLIS facility footprint would be about 10 times smaller, and operations would require about 4 years (including 2 years of startup) versus about 11 years for an EM facility.

The degradation of the nitroaromatic pollutant 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) by the manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) of the white-rot fungus Phlebia radiata and the main reduction products formed were investigated. In the presence of small amounts of reduced glutathione (10 mM), a concentrated cell-free preparation of MnP from P. radiata exhibiting an activity of 36 nkat/ml (36 nmol Mn(II) oxidized per sec and per ml) transformed 10 mg/l of TNT within three days. The same preparation was capable of completely transforming the reduced derivatives of TNT. When present at 10 mg/l, the aminodinitrotoluenes were transformed in less than two days and the diaminonitrotoluenes in less than three hours. Experiments with 14C-U-ring labeled TNT and 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene showed that these compounds were mineralized by 22% and 76%, respectively, within 5 days. Higher concentrations of reduced glutathione (50 mM) led to a severe inhibition of the degradation process. It is concluded that Phlebia radiata is a good candidate for the biodegradation of TNT as well as its reduction metabolites.

Preparations of extracellular manganese peroxidase from the white-rot fungus Nematoloma frowardii and the litter decaying fungus Stropharia rugosoannulata converted rapidly the main intermediates of the explosive 2,4,-trinitrotoluene--the aminonitrotoluenes. In a cell-free system, 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene, 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene and 2,6-diamino-4-nitrotoluene were degraded without formation of identifiable metabolites. Radioactive experiments using a complex mixture of uniform ring-labeled 14C-TNT reduction products demonstrated the partial direct mineralization of these compounds by manganese peroxidase. The extent of aminonitrotoluene conversion as well as the release of 14CO2 from TNT reduction products were considerably enhanced in the presence of thiols like reduced glutathione or the amino acid L-cystein, which probably act as secondary mediators.

The direct involvement of manganese peroxidase (MnP) in the mineralization of natural and xenobiotic compounds was evaluated. A broad spectrum of aromatic substances were partially mineralized by the MnP system of the white rot fungus Nematoloma frowardii . The cell-free MnP system partially converted several aromatic compounds, including [U- 14 C]pentachlorophenol ([U- 14 C]PCP), [U- 14 C]catechol, [U- 14 C]tyrosine, [U- 14 C]tryptophan, [4,5,9,10- 14 C]pyrene, and [ring U- 14 C]2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene ([ 14 C]2-AmDNT), to 14 CO 2 . Mineralization was dependent on the ratio of MnP activity to concentration of reduced glutathione (thiol-mediated oxidation), a finding which was demonstrated by using [ 14 C]2-AmDNT as an example. At [ 14 C]2-AmDNT concentrations ranging from 2 to 120 μM, the amount of released 14 CO 2 was directly proportional to the concentration of [ 14 C]2-AmDNT. The formation of highly polar products was also observed with [ 14 C]2-AmDNT and [U- 14 C]PCP; these products were probably low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids. Among the aliphatic compounds tested, glyoxalate was mineralized to the greatest extent. Eighty-six percent of the 14 COOH-glyoxalate and 9% of the 14 CHO-glyoxalate were converted to 14 CO 2 , indicating that decarboxylation reactions may be the final step in MnP-catalyzed mineralization. The extracellular enzymatic combustion catalyzed by MnP could represent an important pathway for the formation of carbon dioxide from recalcitrant xenobiotic compounds and may also have general significance in the overall biodegradation of resistant natural macromolecules, such as lignins and humic substances.

Within a screening program, 91 fungal strains belonging to 32 genera of different ecological and taxonomic groups (wood- and litter-decaying basidiomycetes, saprophytic micromycetes) were tested for their ability to metabolize and mineralize 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). All these strains metabolized TNT rapidly by forming monoaminodinitrotoluenes (AmDNT). Micromycetes produced higher amounts of AmDNT than did wood- and litter-decaying basidiomycetes. A significant mineralization of [14C]TNT was only observed for certain wood- and litter-decaying basidiomycetes. The most active strains, Clitocybula dusenii TMb12 and Stropharia rugosa-annulata DSM11372 mineralized 42% and 36% respectively of the initial added [14C]TNT (100 microM corresponding to 4.75 microCi/l) to 14CO2 within 64 days. Micromycetes (deuteromycetes, ascomycetes, zygomycetes) proved to be unable to mineralize [14C]TNT significantly.

Lead, used throughout the electronics industries, typically contains small amounts of radioactive /sup 210/Pb (a daughter product of the planet's ubiquitous /sup 238/U) whose /sup 210/Po daughter emits an /spl alpha/-particle that is known to cause soft errors in electronic circuits. The /sup 210/Pb is not separable by chemical means. This paper describes the generic Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) process developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) over the last 20 years, with particular emphasis on recent efforts to develop the process physics and component technologies required to remove the offending /sup 210/Pb using lasers. We have constructed a developmental facility that includes a process laser development area and a test bed for the vaporizer and ion and product collectors. We will be testing much of the equipment and demonstrating pilot-scale AVLIS on a surrogate material later this year. Detection of the very low alpha emission even from commercially available low-alpha lead is challenging. LLNL's detection capabilities will be described. The goal of the development of lead purification technology is to demonstrate the capability in FY97, and to deploy a production machine capable of up to several MT/y of isotopically purified material, possibly beginning in FY98.

In 24 patients with malignant kidney tumours percutaneous embolizations of the arteria renalis were performed in about 1 year. The material for embolization was gelatine-sponge-particles. The embolization was done pre-operatively, usually in connection with the arteriographie examination of kidney tumours (hypernephroid carcinoma). In 2 patients without operation it was done as a palliative measure. Our favourable results to improve the operability of tumours agree with reports in the literature. According to our opinion the pre-operative embolization of the arteria renalis with kidney tumours offers the possibility of a blood-sparing operation and a reduction of tumour-cell outwashings.

In 25 cases of autoptically proven mucoviscidosis 3 cases were detected with hepatic infestation. In two cases there was a focal biliary fibrosis (one male baby of 3 months, one female baby of 8 months), the third case was a 7 1/2 years old boy with a multilobulary biliary cirrhosis. The morphologie picture of these lesions is described, and their frequency, etiology and pathogenesis are discussed. Secondary alterations of the liver are for more frequent in this disorder than real liver infestations of mucoviscidosis, possible implications of this fact are shortly mentioned, too.

A report is given on a 4 days old female small for date baby with a birth weight of 1210 g and a length of 37 cm. Beside other malformations (common arterial trunk,ventricular septal defect) it revealed an aplasia of the excretory pancreas and of Langerhan's islets with diabetes mellitus as well as intrahepatic aplasia of bile ducts. The malformations of the pancreas and the liver are discussed. Special emphasis is laid on the rarity of these findings.

Punctures of the pelvic crest made in 45 patients with CLL (25 men, 20 women, mean age 58.7 years) were classified according to the type of lymphatic bone-marrow infiltrations which can be identified histomorphologically. Four different types were distinguished: 1. interstitial type (lymphatic infiltration of bone-marrow tracts, with lipocytes being present) - 11 cases 2. nodular type (nodular infiltration, free bone-marrow tracts) - 5 cases 3. mixed type (combination of interstitial and nodular type) - 11 cases 4. diffuse type (original haematopoiesis and fat cells have been displaced, type A: purely diffuse type; type B: diffuse + nodular) - 18 cases The statistical analysis of survival curves reveals significant differences in the probability for survival to be met with in types with morphologically limited bone-marrow infiltration in the sense of a proceeding deterioration of prognosis in the following order: interstitial, nodular, mixed, and diffuse type. In addition, a statistically significant correlation existing between the non-diffuse infiltration types and clinical early stages (RAI 0 to II) on the one hand, and the diffuse type and clinical late stages (RAI III and IV) on the other hand, could be identified. In the course of CLL the different types of lymphatic bone-marrow infiltration apparently reflect different degrees of lymphocyte accumulation or proliferation respectively. Because of their significance the histomorphological bone-marrow findings should be included in the therapy planning for CLL.

The antibody titres to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) were determined in 57 adult patients with Hodgkin's disease and a group of age- and sex-matched controls. In the group of patients, the geometric mean antibody titres to EBV capsid antigen, CMV early and late antigens, and also VZV, were significantly higher than in the healthy controls. Antibodies to early antigens of EBV and CMV were found more commonly in patients than in controls. The raised antibody titres to herpesviruses were taken to be the result of the disturbed cellular immunity in Hodgkin's disease.

Colonoscopy has greatly enlarged possible diagnostic, prophylactic, and therapeutic approaches to colonic diseases. The role played by this method for surgically relevant colonic diseases and as an element in precisely defined tumour aftercare programmes as well as for targeted screening of high-risk groups is outlined in this paper with reference to findings obtained from 491 colonoscopic examinations. Endoscopic polypectomy is also described as an important therapeutic approach to precancerous processes and early cancer forms.

The following combination of findings were established by histological examination of biopsy or autopsy material in an 11-day-old male baby: congenital mesoblastic nephroma, nodular renal blastema, dysgenetic pancreatic cyst, “cytomegaly” of the adrenal cortex, hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the islets of Langerhans, hypoplasia of the thymus and the lymphatic tissue. Since some of these changes constitute the characteristic histological findings in the Wiedemann-Beckwith syndrome and the remainder can be readily reconciled with it, the assignment of this case to this syndrome is discussed. Although the three cardinal symptoms are lacking, the combination of findings are interpreted as a variant of the Wiedemann-Beck with syndrome.

In 24 patients with malignant kidney tumours percutaneous embolizations of the arteria renalis were performed in about 1 year. The material for embolization was gelatine-sponge-particles. The embolization was done pre-operatively, usually in connection with the arteriographic examination of kidney tumours (hypernephroid carcinoma). In 2 patients without operation it was done as a palliative measure. Our favourable results to improve the operability of tumours agree with reports in the literature. According to our opinion the pre-operative embolization of the arteria renalis with kidney tumours offers the possibility of a blood-sparing operation and a reduction of tumour-cell outwashings.

From January 1967 until December 1976, 25,361 inhabitants of the town of Erfurt have died, and 8,503 of them were autopsied at the Pathological Institute of Erfurt. This corresponds to a necropsy rate of 33.5% (36.9% in males and 30.7% in females). 2,496 of 4,638 patients with a notifiable malignant tumor (53.8%) were autopsied. In 1,509 (60.5%) of them the tumor was clinically known, in 687 cases (27.5%) it had been suspected and in 300 patients (12%) the tumor was clinically occult. The proportion of clinically only suspected but unknown notifiable tumors increases beyond the 6th decade of life. In general, this is more frequent in males than in females. Malignomas of liver, CNS, pancreas, gall bladder and extrahepatic bile ducts belong to the most frequent clinically unsuspected tumors. The notifiable tumor was the direct cause of death in 1,212 (48.5%) of the deceased patients, in 1,088 (43.6%) it was the basic disease. Only in 196 cases (7.9%) the tumor was assessed to be an accompanying disease.

During the period from January 1967 until December 1976, 8,503 adults and children (former inhabitants of the town of Erfurt) have been autopsied at the Institute of Pathology of the Medical Academy of Erfurt. In 2,496 of these cases a notifiable malignant tumor has been autoptically. 383 of them (15.3%) had a malignant tumor of the trachea, bronchi, or lung (ICD 162); their proportion in the autopsy material of the town of Erfurt was 4.5%. Clinical and autoptical diagnoses were identical in 227 of 383 necropsied cases (59.3%). In 108 cases (28.2%) a malignant tumor has only been suspected, and in 48 cases (12.5%) the bronchial carcinoma was detected only at necropsy. The number of the clinically only suspected and of the clinically unknown bronchial carcinomas increases beyond the 6th decade of life. Their proportion in females is higher than in males. The bronchial carcinoma was the direct cause of death in 214 cases (55.9%). In 142 autopsied cases (37.1%) the neoplasm was the basic disease, and only in 29 cases (7.0%) the tumor was estimated as an accompanying disease.

In 7 haemodialysis patients with progressing renal osteopathy a partly subtotal, partly total parathyroidectomy was carried out. Postoperatively in all cases a clinical improvement developed, which, however, in part was only transient. The laboratory parameters showed a rapid tendency to normalisation, the X-ray diagnostic finding and the bone mineral content remained essentially unchanged, also the histological skeletal findings. The results are compiled in form of tables. The value of the diagnostic measures which should precede a subtotal parathyroidectomy is discussed. At present the different postoperative courses apparently cannot be prospectively estimated with the help of the hitherto usual diagnostic measures. On the basis of the partly good results and of the operation risk which is to be thoroughly demanded of a haemodialysis patient it seems that after having used all conservative possibilities the surgical interventions nevertheless indicated in progressing renal osteopathy.