Patent Reports

Process for the Preparation of Epoxides of Means of Microorganisms Furuhashi et al Japan Energy Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) US 5380654; January 10, 1995 2,3-Epoxypropyl ethers valuable as intermediates for preparing medicaments prepared from the corresponding ally1 ethers by means of epoxide-producing microorganisms belonging to Nocar- din, Brevibacterium, Corynebacterium, Pseudomonas, Rhodococ- cus, Arthrobacter, or Micrococcus.

Method for the Diagnosis of Virulent Bacteria Elango et al Astra AB (Sodertalje, Sweden) US 5380648; January 10, 1995 A method of induction of virulence-related proteins in virulent pathogenic Escherichia coli and Shigella by growing such bacteria in the presence of Congo Red as the induction-triggering factor, and the application of the induction for purposes of diagnosing virulent pathogens and their antibiotic sensitivity.

Plants

Genetic Transformation of Maize Cells by Electroporation of Cells Pretreated With Pectin-Degrading Enzymes Anderson et al DeKalb Genetics Corporation (DeKalb, IL) US 5384253; January 24, 1995 A method to increase the susceptibility of cultured Zea mays cells to stable transformation with recombinant DNA via electropora- tion, by pretreating the Z. mays cells with certain pectin-degrading enzymes, so that the cells retain their ability to regenerate fertile, transgenic Z. mays plants containing the DNA.

Immunology

Molecules With Antibody Combining Sites that Catalyze Carbocyclic Ring Formation From 5,CEthylenically Unsaturated Sulfonate Molecules Janda The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA) US 5384252; January 24, 1995 Monoclonal antibody combining site-containing molecules that catalyze the formation of a six-membered ring compound from a 5,6-ethylenically unsaturated-1-sulfonate substrate.

Herpesvirus Particles and Vaccine Cunningham et al Medical Research Council (London, United Kingdom) US 5384122; January 24, 1995 A method for preparing L-particles of a herpesvirus substantially free of infectious virions (e.g., by allowing an appropriate temper- ature-sensitive mutant to replicate at its nonpermissive tempera- ture).

Methods and Compositions for the Production of Haemophilus injluenzae Type B Major Outer-Membrane Protein Antigens Hansen University of Texas (Austin, TX) US 5380655; January 10, 1995 DNA and other biologic compositions, including biologic cultures, for preparing Haemophilus influenzae antigens by recombinant means. The disclosed recombinant antigens are suitable for use in the preparation of immunogenic compositions for use in vaccina- tion against various H. influenzae type B infections.

Genetics

Expression and Purification of Cloned cY-Fetoprotein Murgita McGill University (Montreal, Canada) US 5384250; January 24, 1995 A method for producing human a-fetoprotein in prokaryotic cells.

Method of Screening a Peptide Library Lam et al Bioligand, Inc. (Tucson, AZ) US 5382513; January 17, 1995 A library of bio-oligomers of defined size and known composition, in which the library contains all of the possible sequences of the bio-oligomers, and methods for identifying bio-oligomers from a library that demonstrate desired characteristics such as binding, bioactivity, and catalytic activity.

Methods of Diagnosing Precancer or Cancer States Using Probes for Detecting Mutant P53 Finlay et al Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) US 5382510; January 17, 1995 A panel of probes that detect and distinguish between sets of human p53 gene or protein mutations that frequently occur or are selected for in precancer and cancer cells, each set giving rise to a phenotype that is different from that of wild-type p53 and of at least one other set of p53 mutants.

Expression Vectors and Methods for Intracellular Protein Production in Bacillus Palva The Finnish National Public Health Institute (Finland) US 5380653; January 10, 1995 The invention relates to recombinant DNA molecules and methods for producing proteins by means of the molecules. The DNA mol- ecules are capable of being synthesized in Bacillus strain bacteria having the regulation and deleted nonfunctional signal sequence of the a-amylase gene of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

Fungi

Preparation of Yogurt With Lac(-) Lactobacillus Bulgaricus Hottinger et al Nestec SA (Vevey, Switzerland) US 5382438; January 17, 1995 A process for preparing yogurt that involves inoculating and fer- menting a milk with a strain of Streptococcus thermophilus and a lac(-) mutant strain of Lactobacillus bulgaricus, the DNA of which has a deletion of at least part of the P-galactosidase gene.

Applications

Process for the Manufacture of an Alcohol-Free Beer Having the Organoleptic Properties of a Lager-Type Pale Beer Caluwaerts Brasserie du Cardinal Fribourg SA (Fribang, Switzerland) US 5384135; January 24, 1995 A process for the manufacture of an alcohol-free pale beer whose organoleptic properties are those of a lager beer, including the manufacture of a lager-type alcoholic pale beer from pale malts containing 20-30% of brown malts.

Mammalian cells

Method of Determining Metastatic Potential of Bladder Tumor Cells Nabi et al Michigan Cancer Foundation (Detroit, MI) US 5382521; January 17, 1995 Methods and compositions useful in the screening of human blad- der cancer cells and malignant tumors using certain human auto- crine motility factor receptors or proteins (gp78hAMFR).

310 Enzyme Microb. Technol., 1996, vol. 18, March