In vivo REPAIR OF CYTOSINE HYDRATES IN DNA OF CULTURED HUMAN LYMPHOBLASTS

Abstract— Ultraviolet irradiation of DNA in vitro results in the production of a wide variety of pyrimidine base alterations, including cytosine hydrates. Enzymes that initiate the repair of monomeric pyrimidine damage have been identified in both bacterial and mammalian systems; however, the in vivo formation and repair of cytosine photohydrates has not been demonstrated in cellular DNA. Using Escherichia coli endonuclease III as a damage-specific probe, we have shown that ring-saturated pyrimidines are formed in cultured human cells by irradiation with broadspectrum UV light. In addition, these types of base damage are removed from the DNA of human lymphoblasts within 5 h following the irradiation. Analysis of the action spectrum for the formation of cytosine hydrates in DNA reveals that these photoproducts are formed most efficiently by irradiation in the range of 255–265 nm light, coinciding with the wavelengths that are maximally absorbed by the DNA bases.     

Microstructural characterization of self-supported 1.6 μm Pd/Ag membranes

The microstructures of self-supported 1.6 μm thick Pd/23 wt% Ag membranes grown by magnetron sputtering and tested for hydrogen permeability under water–gas shift reaction conditions at different temperatures have been studied. The highest hydrogen permeation was observed through the membrane tested at the highest temperature. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy were used to characterize the membranes. The grain structure is highly textured and the surface topology is roughened as a function of testing temperature. Hydrogen was trapped in the membranes, localized at and near the feed surface, and the level increased with temperature. The Ag composition at some positions on the feed side of the membrane tested at the highest temperature was reduced to around 5 wt%, probably due to the presence of impurities in the feed gas. This dealloying was associated with the presence of Fe impurity and is probably the cause of small satellite peaks in the X-ray diffractograms.     

Unveiling the role of molecule-assisted homolysis: a mechanistic probe into the chemistry of a bicyclic peroxide

Unlike the reaction of aryl-substituted diazenes, pyrolysis of alkyl-substituted diazenes in the presence of molecular oxygen generates an unexpectedly complex product mixture. Using deuterium labeling studies, in conjunction with quantum calculations, a reasonable mechanistic hypothesis for the decomposition of the resultant [3.3.0] peroxide, and subsequent formation of the keto-alcohol and Z-configured α,β-unsaturated keto-aldehyde, is proposed. Surprisingly, molecule-assisted homolysis plays a key role in this transformation, the details of which are discussed herein.     

Very efficient search for protein alignment--VESPA

A novel approach to the problem of protein alignments is described, which in comparison with existing approaches is visibly more efficient. This approach is based on superposition of amino acid adjacency matrices of a pair of proteins, which have been modified to record the sequential order of amino acids. As a result, one obtains simultaneously all segments of the two proteins which are shifted relative to one another by one or more positions in either directions, without need of a prior exhaustive search for an alignment that included unproductive directions and unknown displacement steps.