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In cooperation with Aarhus University, Risø DTU National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy and DONG Energy, Danish Technological Institute has been manager of the project "Energy Production from Marine Biomass (Ulva lactuca)" from 2008 to 2011. The project aims at clarifying the production potential as well as the energy production of sea lettuce (U. lactuca). Moreover the project will give recommendations for use of macro algae in power plants and finally give a financial evaluation of the possibility of using U. lactuca for energy purposes. In this project the research on energy potentials is focused on production of bioethanol and biogas and thermal gasification and combustion., Proceedings of the 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 18-22 June 2012, Milan, Italy, pp. 91-93

The distribution of Kalanchoe mosaic potyvirus (KMV) coat protein in Kalanchoe blossfeldiana was found to be very uneven, both in individual leaves and among leaves from different parts of the plant. Amounts of viral coat protein were highest in well-developed leaves in the middle of the plants and lowest in the older bottom leaves and in the small top leaves just appearing. For routine detection it is recommended to test leaf pairs number 3 to 5 from the top and to include at least two repetitions per plant. There was a high variation among different cultivars of K. blossfeldiana both in expression of symptoms and in coat protein concentration as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Expression of symptoms did not correlate with ELISA values either in naturally infected or in mechanically inoculated plants, and many latent infections were noted. Symptoms were most pronounced in spring coinciding with vigorous plant growth. None of 17 other Kalanchoe spp. mechanically inoculated developed symptoms even though half were latently infected. KMV was infective in a 10 -5 to 10 -6 dilution of plant sap, and remained infectious after heating to 55°C, and after storage in sap at room temperature for 16 days.

The concordance rate of Graves disease in pairs of identical twins of 30 to 60% points to the influence of environmental factors, and infections have often been incriminated in the pathogenesis9,12.17. More than 15 years ago we demonstrated an increased frequency of antibodies to Yersinia enterocolitica (Y. ent.) serotype 31. which later was confirmed by others,19.20 suggesting a link between infection with Y. ent. and autoimmune thyroid diseases.