A dye-binding induced conformational transition of poly-(methacrylic acid) by Auramine O in aqueous solutions. I. Experimental results

Binding of auramine O to poly-(methacrylic acid) (PMA) has been established over a large range of C⁰_p/C⁰_d values using spectroscopic methods (UV absorption and visible fluorescence emission spectra), equilibrium and sedimentation dialysis, potentiometric and viscosimetric titrations. All the results show qualitative agreement with those obtained previously with the system crystal violet-PMA although the binding seems to be less strong for auramine O than for crystal violet. From dialysis experiments binding isotherms were obtained at three different degrees of neutralization α'; at α' = 0.10 the results could be fitted to a Langmuir isotherm but at α' equal to 0.40 and 0.65 deviations with respect to such an isotherm occur. The results of potentiometric and viscosimetric titrations confirm that the conformational transition which the dye-free PMA exhibits upon ionization is affected by the dye binding. The region in which the conformational transion occurs is broadened and is less sharply defined in the presence of auramine O.     

Cloning and characterization of an adenoviral vector for highly efficient and doxycycline – suppressible expression of bioactive human single – chain interleukin 12 in colon cancer

Background  

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is well characterized to induce cellular antitumoral immunity by activation of NK-cells and T-lymphocytes. However, systemic administration of recombinant human IL-12 resulted in severe toxicity without perceptible therapeutic benefit. Even though intratumoral expression of IL-12 leads to tumor regression and long-term survival in a variety of animal models, clinical trials have not yet shown a significant therapeutic benefit. One major obstacle in the treatment with IL-12 is to overcome the relatively low expression of the therapeutic gene without compromising the safety of such an approach. Our objective was to generate an adenoviral vector system enabling the regulated expression of very high levels of bioactive, human IL-12.     

Plasmodesmenstudien

Ohne ZusammenfassungIn schwedischer Sprache wurde diese Untersuchung im Arkiv för Botanik, Bd. 5, Stockholm 1905, veröffentlicht.     

A simple model of growth form-dependent recovery from disease in coral reef sponges, and implications for monitoring

For clonal organisms that can suffer high levels of partial mortality and still recover, the conditions that influence infection and development of disease (e.g., abiotic stressors, population density) may be very different from the conditions that influence recovery. Recovery from infectious disease may increase if an individual can mount a defense before infection spreads throughout its body. If pathogens spread within an organism from an initial infection point, growth form—in conjunction with size—can influence the amount of time before all the tissue is diseased, and recovery precluded. A simple model of pathogen progression within individual sponges predicts that species with massive growth forms will be most susceptible to being overwhelmed by pathogen infection, and branching species will be most likely to recover. These predictions may help to explain the seemingly contradictory observations that branching species had the greatest prevalence of disease, and massive species the greatest rate of loss, in a monitored coral reef community. Disease may be observed disproportionately frequently in the organisms that are most likely to recover, resulting in underestimation, by standard monitoring procedures, of the effect of disease on losses from the community.     

Einfluss von<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mucor racemosus</Emphasis> und<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ulocladium chartarum</Emphasis> auf ruminale Fermentationsvorgänge beim Rind (in vitro)

Using the long term rumen simulation technique RUSITEC a possible relationship between Mucor racemosus and Ulocladium chartarum and cerebrocortical necrosis (CCN) in cattle was investigated. In phase one only M. racemosus or U. chartarum and in phase two M. racemosus or U. chartarum in combination with thiamine were tested. The following differences between test groups and controlls could be noted: sVFA ?7,5%, cellulase activity +62,1%, protein concentration ?16,4%, thiamine ?11% (only phase two). Thus, although a clear influence of M. racemosus and U. chartarum on rumen fermentation could be shown, a relation to CCN was not detected.     

First experiences in application of RFLP analysis for carrier detection in preparation of prenatal diagnosis of hemophilia A in the GDR

The application of the intragenic probe F8 e16-19 of factor VIII gene is reported for carrier detection in preparation of prenatal diagnosis of hemophilia A in a family at risk. The proband's mother is heterozygous for the Bcl I polymorphism and prenatal diagnosis can be offered to this family.