The effect of temperature and concentration on the relaxation of poly r-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG-mol. wt. 394, 000 to 397, 000) was examined as a model of protein behavior under “stress” leading to the definition of intra- and inter-molecular forces involved. The relaxation of PBLG, unlike that of the random coil polymers, takes places in two stages. The lower the temperature and concentration of the polymer, the greater is the shift of the inflexion point towards the lower √t values.
The distribution spectrum of relaxation has a three zone characteristic. The possible significance of each of them is discussed.

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A new phosphotransferring reaction which phosphorylated pyridoxine through the phosphoryl group transfer from p-nitrophenylphosphate was found, and the distribution of the reaction in several microorganisms was investigated. The transferring activity was widely distributed in various kinds of microorganisms, especially in fungi belonging to genus such as Aspergillus. The phosphorylated product was isolated from the reaction mixture with the dried cells of Aspergillus flavus and identified as pyridoxine 5'-phosphate.

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Mycelia of Rhizopus oryzae, a lactate forming fungus, were used to study respiration and glucose degradation in this organism.
The respiration of the mycelia obtained during an early stage of shake culture growth, when only a little lactate was produced, was completely inhibited by KCN, while the respira-tion of the mycelia obtained from older shake cultures, or from surface cultures, regardless of the age, was not inhibited by KCN. These results suggest that energy for growth of Rhizopus oryzae is predominantly obtained by a respiratory system involving cytochromes and that a loss of this system occurs in older shake cultures which then begin to accumu-late lactate. This observation was confirmed by the enzymatic studies on cell-free extracts. 1) A 00bayashi and M. Kanie, This Journal, 30, 725 (1966).

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During the course of some works on sugar metabolism in bacteria, we could find out bacteria having producibility of free n-ribose. Among 1395 strains isolated from soil, only nine strains were found to be able to produce aldopentose which was identified chromato-graphically as ribose. From cultured broth of Pseudomonas reptilivora S-1104, a representative strain among these nine strains, n-ribose was isolated in crystalline form as aldopentose. It was also found that ribose was formed not only from glucose but also from n-fructose, n-arabitol, gluconic acid, etc., and that n-fructose and a glucoside (remained unknown) were also accumulated at the same time in the culture broth of PseudoMnonas reptilivora S-1104.

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The influence of sugars on the heat destruction of the basic and sulphur containing amino acids of soybean products, soybean protein and also pure amino acids has been investigated.
Amino acids were estimated by microbiological assay procedure. Cystine was also determined chromatographically.
Lysine, arginine and histidine were destroyed in different ways behaved when soybean products, soybean protein or pure amino acids mixed with and without sugars were auto-claved; and the condition of added sugars tended to influence the way of destruction.
Cystine was the most heat-labile amino acid. But the destruction did not appear to be ascribed to added sugars except 50% ethyl alcohol-soluble sugar solution of defatted soybean flour. This finding was also substantiated by the chromatographic analysis.
Methionine, in soybean products and soybean protein or as pure amino acid with and without the addition of sugars, was not influenced by autoclaving.

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The neutral protease of Bacillus amylosacchariticus was inactivated by low concentra-tions of several metal-chelating agents and the inactivated enzyme with EDTA restored its activity almost completely by the addition of Zn⁺⁺ or Co⁺⁺ and partially by Fe⁺⁺ or Mn⁺⁺ if these metal ions were added shortly after the EDTA-treatment. The native enzyme was found to contain 0.19% of zinc together with a significant amount of calcium. Parallel increase in specific activity and zinc content of enzyme preparation was observed throughout the purification procedure. The elution pattern of enzyme activity on a CM-cellulose column chromatography also completely coincided with that of protein-bound zinc. A zinc-free inactive enzyme was also reactivated by the addition of zinc or cobalt ions, clearly showing that the neutral protease of B. amylosacchariticus is a zinc metalloenzyme.

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Both acidic and basic fraction of flavor components in raw soybean were investigated. The acidic fraction, having a weak but characteristic odor, contained nine sorts of volatile fatty acids, which were identified with gas chromatography as acetic, propionic, isovaleric, n-valeric, isocaproic, n-caproic, n-caprylic, n-nonanoic (pelargonic), and n-capric acid. Among those, main components were isocaproic, n-caproic and n-caprylic acid, and the others were contained in smaller amounts. Total amount of these acids, however, was so small that it would have little practical effect on soybean flavor.
The basic fraction exhibited a characteristic odor just like a dried fishery product, and ammonia, monomethylamine, dimethylamine, piperidine, and cadaverine were detected in this fraction with gas and paper chromatography. Particularly, dimethylamine was isolated as 2, 4-dinitrophenyl derivative.

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The fluorescence spectra of various kinds of Saké were measured by using spectrofluoro-photometer (Hitachi MPF-2). At least two kinds of fluorescent color were observed in Saké, the one is blue and the other yellowish green. Blue color was dominant but its char-acters varied with kinds of Saké; on the con-trary yellowish green color was weak but seemed to have always the same characters. By the addition of salicylic acid to Saké, the blue color increased and its spectrum varied dis-tinctly from that of original Saké, and by the treatment with active charcoal, they decreased together remarkably.
From the observation on fluorescence spec-itra of Saké, it seemed that the components of fluorescent color of Saké aged for a long time was similar to those of Saké kept under direct sunlight.
Among. the blue fluorescent components, ferulic acid was isolated only from Saké in young on the contrary a considerable amount of harman was found in Saké kept under direct sunlight. Harman was isolated by the ethereal extraction from Saké and the sub-sequent paperchromatography.
It was considered that an increment of blue fluorescent color in aging was caused by that of harman.

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A strain of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from soil, transformed blasticidin S into four substances designated U1, U2, U3 and U4 respectively. U1 is less toxic and retains biological activities. Structural elucidation of these compounds comes to the conclusion that they differ from blasticidin S in pyrimidine base, e.g., uracil instead of cytosine nucleus. The structures of U2, U3 and U4 are elucidated.

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D-Glucose-isomerizing enzyme from Escherichia intermedia HN-500, which converts D-glucose to D-fructose in the presence of arsenate, was purified by treating with manganous sulfate, rivanol, and DEAE-Sephadex column chromatography. About 180-fold purified enzyme preparation was obtained by the above procedures. The purified preparation was free from the activities of D-glucose-, D-galactose-, glucose-6-phosphate-, mannitol-, and sorbitol- dehydrogenases and was homogeneous on polyacrylamide gel in zone electrophoresis. Optima of pH and temperature for the enzyme were found to be pH 7.0 and 50°C, respec-tively. The enzyme was completely inactivated by heating at 60°C for ten minutes and stable in the pH range of 7.0_??_9.0 at 30°C. Activation energy for the isomerizing enzyme was calculated to be 15, 300 calories per mole-degree from Arrhenius' equation. Either in the absence or presecne of arsenate, D-mannose, D-xylose, D-mannitol and D-sorbitol could not be isomerized by the purified enzyme at all, but the present enzyme isomerized exclu-sively glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate in the absence of arsenate.

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Series of phenoxypyrimidines and phenoxytriazines were prepared to be evaluated as herbicides. Among them, 2-(2, 6-dichlorophenoxy)-pyrimidine (XV), 2-phenoxy-4, 6-dimethyl-pyrimidine (XVII), 2-(3-methyl-4-chlorophenoxy)-4, 6-bis(ethylamino)-s-triazine (LIV), 2-(2, 4-dichlorophenoxy)-4, 6-bis(ethylamino)-s-triazine (LVIII), and 2-(2, 6-dichlorophenoxy)-4, 6-bis(ethylamino)-s-triazine (LX) showed high pre-emergent herbicidal activity to radish. On the other hand, 2-chloro-4-(2, 6-dichlorophenoxy)-6-methylpyrimidine (XXX) revealed high efficiency to millet. Some structure-activity relationship is discussed.

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Properties and minor constituents were examined for soybean oils obtained from soy-beans with various moisture contents. Yields of crude oils by extraction process of experi-mental scale and tocopherol content in the extracted oil were found to be correlated to the moisture content in soybeans (moisture range, 8-18%). When moistened raw soybeans (moisture 18%) are dried (moisture 8%), the tocopherol content in the extracted crude oil from the dried beans increased. This phenomenon can be observed only in the case of drying whole beans and not in the case of drying crushed raw soybeans. When soybeans with ordinary moisture (moisture 13%, tocopherol 1.25mg/g) are dried to reduce the moisture to 1.9%, the tocopherol content in the extracted crude oil increases (1.90mg/g), but it decreases (0.33mg/g) again when the dried soybeans are moistened (moisture 18%).

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Further characterization of the HM-phages of Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum was described; plaque morphology, thermal inactivation, pH stability, inactivation by ultra-violet irradiation, and lysis of infected culture. Differences in the characteristics were observed among the three groups of HM-phages.

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A new gibberellin C₂₀H₂₆O₆, tentatively named “bamboo gibberellin”, was isolated from water extract of bamboo shoots (Phyllostachys edulis) through successive purification proce-dures: countercurrent distribution, charcoal column chromatography, and silicic acid adsorp-tion and partition chromatography. Its structure was established as lα-methyl-4aβ-fromyl-7β-hydroxy-8-methylenegibbane-lβ, 10α-dicarboxylic acid (VI) from analysis on infrared, NMR and mass spectra of its methyl ester.

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The critical concentrations of minerals in a growing medium for maximum fermentation of yeast were as follows: P, 1mmol/l; Mg, 0.2mmol/l; and K, 1_??_2mmol/l. These values are lower than those for the saturation of the cells with each mineral. The order of the concentration for maximum fermentation (K>;P>Mg) is in agreement with that for yeast growth.
Only a small amount of mineral salt was required to increase the fermentative activity. Very small increase of fermentative activity was observed when the starved yeast was enriched with corresponding minerals by incubating cells with the mineral salt and glucose.

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The effect of polyamide on the extraction of polyphenol oxidase in the leaves and the localization of the enzyme in tea leaf cell were investigated.
In the homogenate treated with polyamide, a major part of the enzyme activity appeared in the centrifugal precipitates in the range of 1, 400×g to 15, 000×g, and polyphenol content decreased. Therefore, it was thought that the enzyme in tea leaves existed primarily on the particle as small as mitochondria, but that it coagulated easily in the homogenate containing a high concentration of polyphenol, and precipitated by centrifugation at 1, 40O×g.
And also from the comparison of the ratio of the enzyme activity to chlorophyll concen-tration in each fraction separated by centrifugation, it was assumed that a major part of the enzyme did not exist in the chloroplast, but was bound on the precipitable particle in the range of 1, 400×g to 15, 000×g.

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The satisfactory method for the separation of 1, 4-naphthoquinone derivatives by thin-layer chromatography, using silica gel plate and various solvents as developer, is described.
It was found that the RF values were markedly influenced by the presence or absence of hydroxyl and amino groups.

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