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To research the potential ability of marine-derived actinomycetes to act as biocatalysts, 8 Micromonospora strains and 5 Streptomyces strains were screened. Two recommended media (227 and 1076 media) and 2 modified media (1076-25% and P-1076-25% media) for liquid culture of these marine-derived actinomycetes were tested. As a result, 2 Micromonospora strains (Micromonospora sp. NBRC107096 and 107097) cultured with the 1076-25% medium and 2 Streptomyces strains (Streptomyces tateyamensis NBRC105048 and Streptomyces sp. NBRC105896) cultured with P-1076-25% medium showed a good growth. The stereoselective reduction of α-keto esters using these 4 actinomycetes was tested. As a result, it was found that these strains had a reducing activity toward various α-keto esters. The introduction of L-glutamate or sucrose as an additive remarkably increased the conversion ratios in the reduction of substrates by the Micromonospora strain. Furthermore, in the presence of L-alanine, Streptomyces tateyamensis NBRC105048 reduced ethyl pyruvate, ethyl 2-oxobutanoate, ethyl 2-oxopentanoate, ethyl 2-oxohexanoate, and ethyl 3-methyl-2-oxobutyrate to the corresponding α-hydroxy ester with a high conversion ratio and with excellent enantiomeric excess. Thus, we found that these marine-derived actinomycetes have great potential to be used as biocatalysts for stereoselec-tive reduction of carbonyl compounds.

On the assumption that rare earth elements (REEs) are nontoxic, they are being utilized as replacements of toxic heavy metals in novel technological applications. However, REEs are not entirely innocuous, and their impact on health is still uncertain. In the past decade, our laboratory has studied the urinary excretion of REEs in male Wistar rats given chlorides of europium, scandium, and yttrium solutions by one-shot intraperitoneal injection or oral dose. The present paper describes three experiments for the suitability and appropriateness of a method to use urine for biological monitoring of exposure to these REEs. The concentrations of REEs were determined in cumulative urine samples taken at 0-24 h by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, showing that the urinary excretion of REEs is <2 %. Rare earth elements form colloidal conjugates in the bloodstream, which make high REEs accumulation in the reticuloendothelial system and glomeruli and low urinary excretion. The high sensitivity of inductively coupled plasma-argon emission spectrometry analytical methods, with detection limits of <2 μg/L, makes urine a comprehensive assessment tool that reflects REE exposure. The analytical method and animal experimental model described in this study will be of great importance and encourage further discussion for future studies.

Aim: To provide information about psychiatric emergency situations in Japan, we examined psychiatrists' preference among parenteral medication since intramuscular (IM)-olanzapine became available and clinical characteristics in patients given IMolanzapine compared to those given other parenteral medication. Methods:We conducted a naturalistic study proceeding over a 1-year period in 9 psychiatric emergency departments.Results: Among 197 patients, the distribution of IM-injections (n = 89) was as follows: IM-olanzapine, 66 patients (74.2%), IM-levomepromazine, 17 patients (19.1%), IM-haloperidol, 5 patients (5.6%), and IM-diazepam, 1 patient (1.1%). The distribution of intravenous (IV)-injections (n = 108) was as follows: IV-haloperidol, 78 patients (72.2%), and IV-benzodiazepines (diazepam, flunitrazepam, or midazolam), 30 patients (27.8%). Advantages of IM-olanzapine over other parenteral medications in efficacy were found as follows: less frequent needs of an additional injection despite no difference in duration until a patient became cooperative for oral administration, and lessThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.