Suspension polymerization process is commonly used to produce expandable polystyrene. In the conventional method for producing this polymer, two different initiators are added to the process at two different temperature levels. In the industrial scale, this process is time consuming and difficult to control. A new method (Multi-Stage Initiator Dosing, MID) is proposed, in which, the initiator i...

The formation of a specific ternary complex between eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2), the initiator methionyl-tRNA (Met-tRNA), and GTP is a critical step in translation initiation in the cytoplasmic protein-synthesizing system of eukaryotes. We show that the A1 x U72 base pair conserved at the end of the acceptor stem in eukaryotic and archaebacterial initiator methionine tRNAs plays an im...

The formation of a specific ternary complex between eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2), the initiator methionyl-tRNA (Met-tRNA), and GTP is a critical step in translation initiation in the cytoplasmic proteinsynthesizing system of eukaryotes. We show that the A1 z U72 base pair conserved at the end of the acceptor stem in eukaryotic and archaebacterial initiator methionine tRNAs plays an imp...

The dehydroquinate synthase (DHQ synthase) functional domain from the pentafunctional AROM protein of Aspergillus nidulans has previously been overproduced in Escherichia coli [van den Hombergh, Moore, Charles and Hawkins (1992) Biochem J. 284, 861-867]. We now report the purification of this domain to homogeneity and subsequent characterization. The monofunctional DHQ synthase was found to ret...

Arabidopsis plants possess a composite AtLKR/SDH locus encoding two different polypeptides involved in lysine catabolism: a bifunctional lysine-ketoglutarate reductase/saccharopine dehydrogenase (LKR/SDH) enzyme and a monofunctional SDH enzyme. To unravel the physiological significance of these two enzymes, we analyzed their subcellular localization and detailed biochemical properties. Sucrose ...

Reline of ill-fitting complete and removable partial dentures enhances their stability and retention by improving the adaptation between the denture intaglio surface and denture-bearing mucosa1). In clinical situations, that reline procedure is usually performed using a direct (chair-side reline system) rather than indirect (laboratory-processed reline system) method, because the former is more...

Methionine binding converts monofunctional platinum antitumor agents to trans configuration adducts in the reaction with DNA, which suggests the correlation of two classes of platinum complexes in the antitumor mechanism.

Unlike the chromosome of Escherichia coli that needs only one replication initiator protein (origin recognition protein) called DnaA, many plasmid replicons require dual initiators: host-encoded DnaA and a plasmid-encoded origin recognition protein, which is believed to be the major determinant of replication control. Hitherto, the relative mechanistic roles of dual initiators in DNA replicatio...

Platinum compounds are a mainstay of cancer chemotherapy, with over 50% of patients receiving platinum. But there is a great need for improvement. Major features of the cisplatin mechanism of action involve cancer cell entry, formation mainly of intrastrand cross-links that bend and unwind nuclear DNA, transcription inhibition and induction of celldeath programmes while evading repair. Recently...

In situ photopolymerization of alkyl acrylate monomers in the presence of a nematic fluid provides a cellular matrix of liquid crystalline droplets in which the chemical structure of the encapsulating polymer exerts control over the alignment (anchoring) of the liquid crystalline molecules. Control is obtained by variation of the alkyl side chains and through copolymerization of two dissimilar ...