Lethality of shock pressures to a marine Vibrio sp. isolated from a ship's ballast water.

The lethal effects of shock pressure treatment on suspended Vibrio sp. cells were examined. Lethality of shock pressures to the Vibrio sp. cells increased with the increase in the values of maximum shock pressures generated in the cell suspension. When the value was around 114 MPa, the total number of colony-forming cells was reduced from 10(8.5+/-0.1) colony-forming units (CFU) to 10(3.3) - 10(3.4) CFU/ml, and complete loss of colony-forming ability was seen at the maximum value of 282 MPa. Almost all the cells could survive after the exposure to shock pressures including the maximum value of around 189 MPa in the presence of 2% sodium ascorbate (VitC-Na), whereas the total number of colony-forming cells was reduced to 10(1.6)-10(2.1) CFU/ml in the absence of VitC-Na. The surviving cells, however, showed sensitivity to 0.8% sodium cholate, a strong detergent. About 11% of cell-associated proteins had leaked out when the cells were exposed to lethal shock pressures including the maximum value of around 290 MPa in the absence of VitC-Na. These results indicate that the radicals generated in the cell suspension may be closely related to the loss of colony-forming ability of the Vibrio sp. cells. Damage to the outer membrane structure also seems to have occurred by the exposure to shock pressures.

Configuration-specific synthesis of the facial and meridional isomers of tris(8-hydroxyquinolinate)aluminum (Alq3).

Treatment of AlO(OH) with 3 equiv of 8-hydroxyquinolinol in refluxing deionized water provided the meridional and facial isomers of tris(8-hydroxyquinolinate)aluminum (Alq3) with good yields as solid deposits after 1 and 90 h, respectively. X-ray diffraction and solid-state 13C NMR studies revealed that mer-Alq3 is formed in the early stage of the reaction and then gradually converts to fac-Alq3, which is thermodynamically less stable, although no existence of a catalyst substance is implied.

Changes of microbial populations in a ship's ballast water and sediments on a voyage from Japan to Qatar.

Colony-forming eutrophic marine microorganisms in ballast water were counted in samples taken on board in 2002 and 2003. In the ballast water in Japan, viable cell numbers were highly variable but not by more than 10(5.1) colony-forming units (CFU)ml(-1) regardless of season. Even when ballast water was discharged offshore, values varied but not by more than 10(5.0) CFUml(-1). The effectiveness of the ballast water exchange was unconfirmed, except for the February 2003 voyage. No microbial colonies were counted in the reloaded ballast water in the high seas on that voyage, which contributed to the reduction of the total number of viable cells sampled in the discharged ballast water at the Ras Laffan port in Qatar. In sediment samples, the values of 10(5.2) - 10(6.0) CFUml(-1) were estimated for all seasons in which voyages took place. The maximum of the marine Vibrio species, 110 CFUml(-1), was observed in the ballast water sample taken in July 2003. The estimated total viable cell numbers in sediments were higher than those counted in the ballast water throughout the experiments, indicating the importance of sediment management as well as ballast water management on vessels traveling from Japan.