Roles of two white-rot basidiomycete fungi in decolorisation and detoxification of olive mill waste water.

A Phanerochaete chrysosporium strain was isolated from Moroccan olive mill waste water (OMW) and its ability to degrade OMW in different culture conditions was investigated and compared to that of Pleurotus ostreatus. The results indicated that Ph. chrysosporium isolate is more efficient than Pl. ostreatus in decolorising and detoxifying OMW in the presence of added nutrients. Ph. chrysosporium is able to remove more than 50% of the colour and phenols from OMW within 6 days of incubation, whereas Pl. ostreatus needs more than 12 days to reach similar results in the same conditions. Many factors affecting the treatment of diluted OMW (20%) by Ph. chrysosporium were studied, including the effects of added nutrients, initial pH, temperature and inoculated biomass. Once the optimisation of 20% OMW biodegradation process had been set up, higher OMW concentrations (50%) were tested. The results show that the fungus is capable of reducing all parameters analysed (colour A395, phenol content and chemical oxygen demand) by at least 60%, after only 9 days of growth.

Oral contraceptive use and secondary amenorrhea.

Among 1099 patients seen over an 8-year period for amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea, 115 (10.5%) had developed amenorrhea after ceasing oral contraception. These patients were the subject of a special study. Those who were treated received either clomiphene alone, hMG/hCG therapy, or both. There was no correlation between the incidence of either spontaneous or treatment-induced ovulation and menstruation and the duration of use of oral contraception, previous parity, or the nature of prior menstrual cycles. The incidence of treatment-induced resumption of menses was essentially the same as that for spontaneous resumption. An average duration of 30 months of oral contraceptive use did not significantly affect urinary excretion levels of estrogens and gonadotropins.