Detection of intercalation-induced changes in DNA structure by reaction with diethyl pyrocarbonate or potassium permanganate Evidence against the induction of Hoogsteen base pairing by echinomycin

AbstractBinding of the bis-intercalators echinomycin and N,N′-di(9-acridinyl)spermidine or the mono-intercalators 9-aminoacridine and ethidium to DNA induces hypersensitivity of adenines towards reaction with diethyl pyrocarbonate. It is proposed that this hyperreactivity is due to the DNA helix unwinding and extension induced by intercalation, thereby exposing N7 in the major groove, and not as previously suggested to the formation of Hoogsteen base pairing. Hypersensitivity of thymines towards oxidation with permanganate is also induced upon binding of these drugs (especially the bis-intercalators) to DNA. This thymine hyperreactivity is both sequence- and intercalator-dependent, thereby indicating the potential of KMnO4 as a useful probe for analysing the structure of intercalator-DNA complexes in solution

Nearly-zero transmission through periodically modulated ultrathin metal films

Transmission of light through an optically ultrathin metal film with a thickness comparable to its skin depth is significant. We demonstrate experimentally nearly-zero transmission of light through a film periodically modulated by a one-dimensional array of subwavelength slits. The suppressed optical transmission is due to the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons and the zero-transmission phenomenon is strongly dependent on the polarization of the incident wave.Comment: accepted by AP

Forord

Bol og By udkommer for årgang 1992s vedkommende som et dobbelthæfte. Det er normalt ikke tidsskriftets skik, men det skyldes en ganske særlig anledning.   1. april 1992 åbnede Humanistisk Forskningscenter Menneske og Natur Odense Universitet. Det er Statens humanistiske Forskningsråd og Miljøministeriet, der økonomisk står bag centeret. Odense Universitet er som vært også stærkt involveret i centeret økonomisk, men vi kan fra Landbohistorisk Selskabs side tillade os at hævde, at vi har været en af drivkræfterne bag centerets tilblivelse. Derfor er årgang 1992 helliget det nye forskningscenter

Comparative pharmacology of a new recombinant FSH expressed by a human cell line

Recombinant FSH proteins are important therapeutic agents for the treatment of infertility, including follitropin alfa expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and, more recently, follitropin delta expressed in the human cell line PER.C6. These recombinant FSH proteins have distinct glycosylation, and have distinct pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles in women. Comparative experiments demonstrated that follitropin delta and follitropin alfa displayed the same in vitro potency at the human FSH receptor, but varied in their pharmacokinetics in mouse and rat. While follitropin delta clearance from serum depended in part on the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR), follitropin alfa clearance was unaffected by ASGPR inhibition in rat or genetic ablation in mice. The distinct properties of follitropin delta and follitropin alfa are likely to contribute to the differing pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles observed in women and to influence their efficacy in therapeutic protocols for the treatment of infertility

Fabricating plasmonic components for nanophotonics:[invited]

We report on experimental realization of different metal-dielectric structures that are used as surface plasmon polariton waveguides and as plasmonic metamaterials. Fabrication approaches based on different lithographic and deposition techniques are discussed

Continuous recycling of enzymes during production of lignocellulosic bioethanol in demonstration scale

Recycling of enzymes in production of lignocellulosic bioethanol has been tried for more than 30 years. So far, the successes have been few and the experiments have been carried out at conditions far from those in an industrially feasible process. Here we have tested continuous enzyme recycling at demonstration scale using industrial process conditions (high dry matter content and low enzyme dosage) for a period of eight days. The experiment was performed at the Inbicon demonstration plant (Kalundborg, Denmark) capable of converting four tonnes of wheat straw per hour. 20% of the fermentation broth was recycled to the hydrolysis reactor while enzyme dosage was reduced by 5%. The results demonstrate that recycling enzymes by this method can reduce overall enzyme consumption and may also increase the ethanol concentrations in the fermentation broth. Our results further show that recycling fermentation broth also opens up the possibility of lowering the dry matter content in hydrolysis and fermentation while still maintaining high ethanol concentrations.M.O. Haven wishes to thank the Danish Agency for Science, Technology, and Innovation, grant no. 09-053694 for financial support. The other authors wish to thank the European Seventh Framework Program, grant no. 239379 (the KACELLE project) for financial support