Economic and Medical Applications

Various products of propionibacterial metabolism have practical uses propionic and acetic acids formed in fermentation, and other products formed in biosynthetic reactions, including their biomass. Depending on the manufacturing objectives, metabolically active or inactive biomass can be used. 

Cheese making and vitamin Bn production are large-scale industries, operating in many countries. Propionibacteria are used to produce vitamin 

Bi2 in Russia, Great Britain, Hungary. Hard rennet cheeses (Swiss, Emmental, Soviet and others), in which propionic acid bacteria are involved, are produced almost everywhere. 

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The nuclear industry makes available about 3000 nuclides, including both the stable and the radioactive nuclides. Approximately 50 radioactive nuclides, along with some stable nuclides that have been isotopically enriched, are essential in research, medical, and industrial applications. Many of these are now produced commercially, but several still are dependent on government facilities. Some, for economic reasons, come from other countries. Radiation processing for sterilization of disposable medical supplies is an important operation using cobalt-60 from Canada. Electron accelerators have replaced... 

Occupational asthma is potentially fatal. In two recent reports of deaths, the patients had remained exposed to the causal agents, TDI and flour, for economic reasons (Fabbri el al., 1988 Ehrlich, 1994). Care of a worker with a diagnosis of occupational asthma must therefore focus on eliminating exposure. Unfortunately, this often entails loss of employment. Patients who decide to remain in a job with exposure against medical advice can be supported by respiratory protection and medication but this must be accompanied by monitoring of symptoms, lung function and, where applicable, immunological responsiveness. 

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