The death kinetics of Aspergillus niger spores under high-pressure carbonation were investigated with respect to the concentration of dissolved CO 2 (dCO 2 ) and treatment temperature. All of the inactivation followed first-order death kinetics. The D value (decimal reduction time, or the time required for a 1-log-cycle reduction in the microbial population) in the saline carbonated at 10 MPa was 0.16 min at 52°C. The log D values were linearly related to the treatment temperature and the concentration of dCO 2 , but a significant interaction was observed between them.Heat treatment in food processing is a broadly effective method for inactivating human pathogens and spoilage microorganisms. However, the high temperature involved can cause undesirable changes in nutritional and sensory properties.The toxicity of CO 2 has been demonstrated for a wide range of microorganisms (5,6,12,17). Carbon dioxide, while exerting antimicrobial activity, causes little harm in foods, additives, etc.; therefore, it is a suitable agent for controlling food spoilage microorganisms (22,23,29). In recent years, the influence of high-pressure CO 2 on the vegetative cells of various species has been demonstrated (1,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,13,14,18,20,28).We succeeded in dissolving CO 2 in an aqueous medium to a nearly saturated level by supplying high-pressure CO 2 in microbubbles (high-pressure carbonation). As a consequence, the treatment time and temperature required for microbial inactivation could be substantially reduced (15,16,26). Recently, it was shown that the antimicrobial effect was not related to the pressure of CO 2 but to the concentration of dissolved CO 2 (dCO 2 ) (27). The experiments were carried out with saturated dCO 2 concentrations under various combinations of pressure and temperature conditions.Most spoilages of fruit juice are caused by yeast and mold, because the germination of bacterial spores is inhibited at the pH of fruit juice (30). Shimoda et al. (27) have reported that the inactivation temperature of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was reduced by about 30°C under high-pressure carbonation. As mold spores have only a moderate thermal resistance, the heat treatment in fruit juice production is intended primarily to inactivate mold spores. The effects of pressurized CO 2 on the inactivation of mold spores, however, have not been investigated. A mesophilic mold, Aspergillus niger, was used as a test strain because it is a common contaminant of foods and other products (24).The purpose of the present paper was to investigate separately the effects of dCO 2 concentration, treatment pressure, and temperature on the death kinetics of Aspergillus niger spores. Fungal strain. Spores of Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16888) were obtained from the Japan Collection of Microorganisms (Wako, Saitama, Japan).Preparation of the spore suspension of A. niger. The strain was cultured on potato dextrose agar plates (Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) at 25°C over 10 days. Spores were collected by washing the surface of the culture. Final...

Endoscopic US and TACT may play a valuable role in the evaluation of colonic submucosal tumors.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3-NS4A protease is an attractive target for anti-HCV agents because of its important role in replication. An optimized fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) substrate for NS3-NS4A protease, based on the sequence of the NS5A-5B cleavage site, was designed and synthesized. High-throughput screening of in-house compound libraries was performed using a FRET substrate FS10 (MOCAcDKIVPC-SMSYK-Dnp) and MBP-NS3-NS4A fusion protein. Several hit compounds were found, including YZ-9577 (2-oxido-1,2,5-oxadiazole-3,4-diyl) bis (phenylmethanone) with potent inhibitory activity (IC50=1.6 microM) and good selectivity against other human serine proteases.

A chitosan (CS)-orotic acid salt (CS-OT) was prepared, and the release of orotic acid (OT) from CS-OT as well as the adsorption of bile acids by CS-OT was investigated in vitro. The amount of OT released from CS-OT was about 2-2.7 micromol/mg CS-OT and this changed depending on the species of CS. CS-OT also adsorbed bile acids and the amount increased incrementally according to the number of amino group contained in CS. Furthermore, CS-OT was given to rats as feed in order to investigate the influence on serum cholesterol levels. A decrease in serum cholesterol levels was observed in the group, which was fed a diet containing CS-OT or CS for 1-2 weeks, but no differences in body weight changes were recognized. Therefore, CS-OT may be applied to treating hyperlipidemia.

Just as consistent and predictable regulatory support founded on common principles in regulatory science provide the confidence and certainty required to bolster investment in regenerative medicine, harmonization is essential to building that framework on a global scale.