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Femtosecond pulses from linac-based free-electron lasers are unique tools for future time-resolved experiments. In March 2004, BESSY published the Technical Design Report (TDR) for a free-electron-laser user facility that covers the VUV to soft X-ray range (BESSY FEL) [1]. This second-generation FEL facility is seeded and uses the High-Gain Harmonic-Generation (HGHG) [2] scheme to produce coherent radiation down to the 1 nm range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports that more than 90 participants from Europe, the U.S. and Japan gathered from April 27 to 29, 2005, in Berlin, Germany, to hold a lively international meeting on time-resolved soft X-ray science. The meeting continued the series of preceding workshops held in 2002 in Napa, California and in 2003 in Montreux, Switzerland. The aim of the workshop was to bring together the existing ultrafast laser community and the emerging ultrafast X-ray community in order lo discuss recent scientific highlights from both fields and to outline new directions for the application of ultrafast X-rays. In turn, it was hoped that this would help define the source characteristics of future ultrafast X-ray sources such as X-ray Free Electron Lasers.

High titered Clostridium sordellii lethal toxin antiserum, cross-reactive with C. difficile cytotoxin B (ToxB), was used to isolate toxB fragments from a C. difficile expression library. Recombinant clones containing toxB fragments of the 5′ and 3′ end were isolate. A 2.5-kb HincII fragment of chromosomal DNA overlaps both groups of clones. A partial restriction map of the total toxB gene is presented. The gene is positioned upstream of utxA and toxA toxB has a size of 6.9kb, corresponding to a 250-kDa polypeptide. A partial sequence of the 5′ end of toxB was determined. The sequence contains 398 bp upstream of toxB with a putative Shine-Dalgarno box (AGGAGA) and 609 bp of the toxB open reading frame. The N-terminal 203 amino acids of ToxB were compared with the N-terminal amino acids of the enterotoxin A (ToxA). A homology of 64% of the residues was detected, which proves the relatedness of ToxA and ToxB of C. difficile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyse tile transcription pattern of the five tcdA–E genes of the pathogenicity locus (PaLoc) of Clostridium difficile a protocol was established to purify RNA from strain VPI10463. Transcription analysis of the five tcdA–E genes showed that they were all transcribed. In the early exponential phase, a high level of tcdC and low levels of tedA,B,D,E transcripts were detectable; this was inverted in the stationary phase, suggesting that TcdC might have a negative influence on transcription of the other genes. Three transcription initiation sites, one for tcdA and two for tcdB were determined by primer extension analysis. Readthrough transcripts from outside the locus were not obtainable, so that parts of the transcription of tcdD, tcdB, tcdA and tcdC must occur by monocistronic transcription. Within the locus all possible intergenic readthrough transcripts were detectable except that between tcdC and tcdA, a stretch of DNA interrupted by a functional transcription terminator. Thus we found mono- and polycistronic transcription of tcdA and tcdB to occur which should lead to production of a surplus of tcdA over tcdB transcripts. This would explain the surplus of TcdA over TcdB expression observed in vitro. Due to its basic nature and similarity to BcnA of Clostridium perfringens and to Off-22 of Clostridium botulinum, TcdD is most probably a regulatory protein with DNA-binding properties. On the basis of the presented study we discuss a model for the growth-phase-related, coordinate regulation of toxin expression wherein tcdC has a negative and tcdD a positive regulatory function on transcription of the tcdD,B,E and tcdA genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several topics and events transpired during the Synchrotron Radiation in Art and Archeology workshop held in Berlin, Germany on September 27 to 29, 2006 is presented. The workshop's aim is to discuss and explore new and potential applications of synchrotron science and problems in archeology and art conservation. It also featured a talk by Zhi Liu on the composition and minerals and pigments.

Information about the International Workshop on Nanoscale Spectroscopy and Nanotechnology held in Germany on September 17 to 21, 2006 is presented. Almost 60 participants from 10 countries gathered to discuss spectroscopy in the nanometer regime. The talks and posters revolved on structural and electronic properties of different classes of nanostructures such as nanotubes, semiconductor quantum dots, and magnetic nanoparticles. Some of the invited speakers were Chris Jacobsen and Naoki Yamamoto.