Elution profiles of cefazolin from PMMA and calcium sulfate beads prepared from commercial cefazolin formulations

Antibiotic beads have become popular for the treatment of local bacterial infections. The preparation of antibiotic beads from commercial pharmaceutical antibiotics is a convenient method in clinic. The elution characteristics of cefazolin from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) (SmartSet HV, Depuy I and Cemfix 3) beads and calcium sulfate beads were studied. Commercial cefazolin formulation was incorporated in PMMA or calcium sulfate at 1 g cefazolin/10 g of matrix substances to form beads. The concentrations of eluted cefazolin during 15 days were greater than MIC for Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923). The eluted cefazolin concentrations were in the range of 3.6 ± 1.2 to 4.6 ± 0.4 mg for PMMA beads and 15.4 ± 1.7 mg for calcium sulfate beads. The accumulated eluted cefazolin from PMMA beads and calcium sulfate beads for 15 days were 34.41 ± 3.93 to 38.67 ± 3.04% and 95.94 ± 3.93%, respectively. The various storage conditions; at room temperature or 4°C, with or without light-protection, for 6 months had little effects on the amounts of eluted cefazolin. The results showed both in-housed cefazolin-PMMA beads and cefazolin-calcium sulfate beads could be the effective tools for the treatment of local bacterial infections.     

种植木薯对土壤肥力的影响

长期以来,人们认为种植木薯会使土壤衰竭,同时,许多试验也证明木薯从土壤中吸收了很多大量元素,但是与其它作物相比较,生产等量的干物质,除了钾以外,木薯从土壤中吸收的养分并不比其它作物高。这个事实说明不应该认为木薯会降低土壤肥力。人们认为木薯会降低地力,可能是由于木薯能够生长在贫瘠的土壤,而其它的作物却不能在这种环境下生长,所以在种植过木薯的土地上,其他的农作物不能生长。在土壤贫瘠的土地上,木薯也不可能达到它预期的产量,除非补充新的养料,甚至在低于中等肥力的土地上,木薯的产量也会大大低于其预期产量。在亚洲,尤其是在人口密度大的地区,农民在作物种植密度和控制土壤肥力等栽培管理方面都有一些经验。同时,人们也在探索一些预防土壤流失的技术,有些方法已经被农民采用了。目前的主要问题是如何采取有效的方法,使人们获得短期利润并能长期受益,"农民参与式"是目前解决问题的较好方法。     

Development of tetraploid plants from an interspecific hybrid between mungbean (Vigna radiata) and rice bean (Vigna umbellata)

Mungbean (Vigna radiata) and rice bean (V. umbellata) (both species 2n = 2x = 22) have desirable traits that complement each other. In this study, we rescued embryos from a cross between mungbean cv. “Kamphaeng Saen 2” and rice bean cv. “Miyazaki” and resolved the hybrid sterility problem by colchicine treatment. The interspecific hybrids were obtained when Kamphaeng Saen 2 was used as the female parent. Four out of 80 immature seeds at 12 days old were able to germinate on an MS medium supplemented with 1 mg L^?1 IAA, 0.2 mg L^?1 kinetin, and 500 mg L^?1 casein hydrolysate. Forty random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were screened for polymorphism among the parents, and two specific primers were finally chosen for testing of hybridity. Using the two primers, all putative F₁ hybrids were confirmed as the interspecific hybrids. To observe their fertility, some of the hybrid seedlings were transplanted. The hybrid produced flowers profusely but failed to set pods. To overcome the sterility, plants were induced to become tetraploid by colchicine treatment in vitro. The ploidy level of the regenerated seedlings was confirmed from leaf DNA using a flow cytometer. Three out of 20 hybrid seedlings (15%) were successfully induced from diploid to tetraploid by a colchicine concentration of 2 g L^?1. The tetraploid hybrids were able to produce flowers and set pods normally.