Some evidences have indicated that the cold environmental temperature has a depressing effect on growth and the vitamin A contained in the kidney of rats. The supplement of the vitamin A revealed to counteract the depressing effect on growth.

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During investigations on the metabolisms of glucose by coli-aerogenes bacteria, it was found that the bacteria accumulated a large amount of α-ketoglutaric acid under aerobic conditions such as shaking culture, while lactic acid was ascertained to be produced anaerobically by the bacteria as was already known.

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Experiments on the oxidative fermentation of glucose were carried out with a number of coli-aerogenes bacteria, and remarkable differences were pointed out among the yields of their fermentation products.
The types of fermentation observed by shaking cultures of the bacteria were described as follows: α-ketoglutaric acid-, pyruvic acid-, acetic (pyruvic) and α-ketoglutaric acids- fermentations, and the complete oxidation to CO₂ and H₂O. α-Ketoglutaric acid was obtained in a good yield (50-40%), from glucose in case of α-ketoglutaric acid fermentation.

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Methyl αδ-dimethylsorbate, when submitted to the selective oxidation sequence by the actions of perbenzoic acid, mineral acid, lead tetraacetate and peracetic acid in this order, finally gives β-monomethyl mesaconate, which is converted after hydrolysis to mesaconic acid of the well-defined trans-configuration. The reaction sequence involves no process likely to invert the configuration, and thus another cogent chemical evidence for the trans-configuration of αδ-dimethylsorbic acid is obtained in agreement with the physico-chemical conclusion, previously reported.

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The enzyme, which hydrolyzes the sulfuric ester linkage in the molecule of cerebroside sulfate, was investigated. Among the shellfish liver enzyme preparations examined, it was found that the abalone liver possessed a sulfatase activity that liberates inorganic sulfate from the compound, having no activity to split the galactosidic and peptidic bond of the molecule. The same enzyme preparation was also observed to hydrolyze chondro tin sulfate but not phenol sulfate and glucose sulfate at all.

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The beneficial effect of various sparingly soluble phosphates such as Algerian rock phosphates, when mixed with organic matter like cow-pea and added to the alkali soils, is clear from the fall in pH of these alkali soils. Not only the pH is lowered but also the exchangeable calcium, and, the availability of phosphates increases markedly. Hence, these alkali soils ultimately become fertile and cultivable.

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(1) The enzymatic procedure of the asymmetric hydrolysis of N-acylated DL-amino acids with the mold acylase was applied for the resolution of DL-tryptophan, DL-leucine and DL-alanine.
(2) Acetylderivatives of DL-tryptophan, DL-leucine and DL-alanine were incubated at 38°C. for 2 days, at approximately 0.1M concentration in water with an appropriate amount of enzyme solution which was prepared from the molded bran.
(3) By this procedure, L-isomers of each amino acid were liberated and the corresponding D-isomers were obtained by acid hydrolysis of the residual acetyl-D-amino acids. Thus, the optical enantiomorphs of tryptophan, leucine and alanine were prepared with a high degree of optical purity.
(4) Acetyl-DL-tryptophan was best resolved by the asymmetric hydrolysis with mold acylase and acetyl-DL-alanine was also a susceptible substrate for mold acylase. Acetyl-DL-leucine was relatively resistant to the enzyme, as compared with the other acylated amino acids so far resolved. An amount of enzyme two and a half times as large as that for acetyl-DL-tryptophan was required for acetyl-DL-leucine.

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Benzyl alcohol, β-phenylethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol were isolated and identified as free alcohols from the Neutral fraction of the essential oil of the aged Japanese Flue Cured Tobacco Leaf. On the other hand, benzyl acetate and β-phenylethyl acetate were both isolated each in the ester form and identified, respectively. Besides these esters, the presence of methyl laurate, methyl myristate and methyl palmitate were also confirmed in their ester form. All these compounds, except methyl alcohol, were newly isolated and identified compounds from tobacco plant and they seemed to be responsible for the aroma and taste of excellent Virginia tobacco leaf.

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The contents of organic sulfur in various seedlings did not increase but rather decreased during the cultivation-period within 8 to 12 days. In mung bean seedling, the synthesis of organic sulfur from sulfate took place only in the leaves. Organic sulfur in the roots and stems may be transported from the cotyledons. Even in the excised leaves, the rapid conversion of sulfate into organic form took place both in air and reduced pressure. The organic sulfur compound synthesized during the incubation for the short period was cystine or cysteine and methionine was detected only after a long time. It may be possible that this system is employed in studies on the pathway of the conversion of sulfate into organic form.

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Two new phenylpropane derivatives, 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-propanediol-(1, 2) and 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-propanediol-(1, 3) were synthesized as lignin model compounds. The former was prepared from 2-acetoxy-l-(4-acetoxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-propanone-(1), and the latter from 3-acetoxy-l-(4-acetoxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-propanone-(1) by lithium aluminum hydride reduction, respectively. The two diols were obtained as colorless syrup, their ultraviolet spectra were determined and crystalline derivatives also prepared.

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β-Cellulose extracted from dissolving pulp with 10% aqueous sodium hydroxide, and γ-cellulose from hard sulphite pulp were fractionated into mannan, xylan and cellulose fractions according to the procedure of Hess and Liidtke.
From the results obtained it was found that the repeating fractionations caused no increase in the mannan content being more over 40% in β-mannan fraction and 50%, in γ-mannan fraction, while xylan and cellulose fractions were isolated with satisfactory results.
The purified β-mannan contained mannose, glucose and xylose at the ratio of 10:15:0.8, and the γ-mannan consisted of these sugars at the ratio of 10:9:1.
These two mannan fractions were differed from each other in the properties of their copper complex, resistances to acid hydrolysis, and degree of polymerizations.
The β-mannan was considered to consist of two parts, one of which was the degraded cellulose and the other the easily hydrolyzable γ-mannan.

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