Bidirectional electroactive microbial biofilms and the role of biogenic sulfur in charge storage and release.

The formation of combined electrogenic/electrotrophic biofilms from marine sediments for the development of microbial energy storage systems was studied. Sediment samples from the German coasts of the Baltic and the North Sea were used as inocula for biofilm formation. Anodic biofilm cultivation was applied for a fast and reproducible biofilm formation.

Functional and Molecular Characterization of a Novel Traumatic Peripheral Nerve-Muscle Injury Model.

Traumatic injuries to human peripheral nerves are frequently associated with damage to nerve surrounding tissues including muscles and blood vessels. Currently, most rodent models of peripheral nerve injuries (e.g.

Atf3 mutant mice show reduced axon regeneration and impaired regeneration-associated gene induction after peripheral nerve injury.

Axon injury in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) induces a regeneration-associated gene (RAG) response. Atf3 (activating transcription factor 3) is such a RAG and ATF3's transcriptional activity might induce 'effector' RAGs (e.g.

Composition changes in the cuticular surface lipids of the helophytes Phragmites australis and Juncus effusus as result of pollutant exposure.

Aim Of The Study: Helophytes like rush and reed are increasingly used for phytoremediation of contaminated water. This study characterises the response of rush and reed plants to chemical stressors such as chlorobenzene, benzene and methyl-tert-butyl ether. The extractable wax layer of the cuticle was chosen for detailed investigations due to its multiple, particularly, protective functions for plants and its easy availability for analysis.

Proteolytic cleavage of soybean Bowman-Birk inhibitor monitored by means of high-performance capillary electrophoresis. Implications for the mechanism of proteinase inhibitors.

The hydrolysis of the soybean Bowman-Birk inhibitor in the presence of catalytic amounts of bovine trypsin and the formation of the non-covalent enzyme-inhibitor complex with an equimolar amount of enzyme are monitored by means of high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE). The inhibitor is cleaved in the trypsin-reactive and more slowly in the chymotrypsin-reactive subdomain. HPCE proves itself as the only reliable analytical tool to monitor these reactions in clear contrast to classical electrophoretic, chromatographic and enzymatic methods.