Comparison of the effect of refrigerated versus room temperature media on the isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from genital specimens.

We evaluated the effect of medium temperature at the time of inoculation on the isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from urethral and cervical swabs. There were no major differences in the isolation rates of 176 positive cultures on cold or warm media. Colonies tended to be larger and more numerous on room temperature plates after 24 h; however, colonies on most refrigerated plates were easily recognized at 24 h, and growth was essentially the same on both plates after 48 h.     

Laboratory preparation of plasticware to support cell culture

Summary Many plastics, including polystyrene and poly(ethylene terephthalate), are unsuitable for cell culture applications as formed because they do not support cell growth. Although cells may attach to these materials, the attached cells typically round up and detach or die after a short time. However, plastics can be made to support normal cell attachment and growth through surface modification by glow discharge processes that produce ionized gas species which react with the surface of the plastic. This article describes radiofrequency glow discharge (RFGD) modification of plastics in the presence of organic vapors such as acetone, methanol and ethylene oxide. These treatments render laboratory plastics amenable to in vitro cell culture. Successful modification is a function of RFGD reaction parameters (position within the reactor, discharge power, system pressure, flow rate, and reaction time), and can be confirmed by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). Identification by high resolution ESCA of functional groups introduced onto the surface by the RFGD process can be used to correlate cell growth with surface chemistry. A brief discussion of other processes thought to be used for preparation of commercial tissue culture ware is also provided.     

New Insights into Lamellar Twisting in Transcrystalline Polyethylene

Summary: The morphology of the transcrystalline layer grown by nucleating high density polyethylene on fibers of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene was investigated by microbeam synchrotron X‐ray diffraction. Scanning with a 2 micron step size, it was possible to determine that near the fiber surface, the polymer chains of the transcrystalline layer are oriented at an angle of approx. 41° with respect to the fiber axis. This is consistent with the lamellar fold surface (the {201} plane) being close to perpendicular to the fiber axis. The X‐ray data support gradual twisting of the lamellae about the growth direction (the orthorhombic crystallite b‐axis) at a rate of ～0.85° per micron of radial distance from the fiber surface.

Polarized light micrograph of the transcrystalline layer in a PE/PE composite. The width of the fiber is approximately 20 μm.     

Albumin adsorption on alkanethiols self-assembled monolayers on gold electrodes studied by chronopotentiometry

Chronopotentiometry was used to study the adsorption of human serum albumin (HSA) to self-assembled monolayers with the following terminal functional groups: CH(3), COOH and OH. Surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, water contact angle measurements and cyclic voltammetry. HSA coverage of the different SAMs was investigated by chronopotentiometry and the total amount of adsorbed protein was determined using radiolabelled albumin. Both techniques have demonstrated that HSA adsorption to the different SAM-modified electrodes increases in the following order: OH相似文献   

Adsorption of baboon fibrinogen and the adhesion of platelets to a thin film polymer deposited by radio-frequency glow discharge of allylamine.

Platelet adhesion under static and flow conditions from a washed platelet suspension containing albumin to a polymer deposited by radio-frequency glow discharge of allylamine vapour on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate was measured. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis was used to characterize the surface. Fibrinogen adsorption from a series of dilute plasma solutions to radio-frequency glow discharge/allylamine, measured using 125I radiolabelled baboon fibrinogen, increased with decreasing plasma dilution to a level much higher than that previously observed on polyurethanes. Elutability by sodium dodecyl sulphate of fibrinogen adsorbed from dilute plasma also increased with increasing plasma concentration, but fibrinogen preadsorbed from plasma became non-elutable when surfaces were stored in buffer for 5 d before contact with sodium dodecyl sulphate. Platelet adhesion to substrates which had been pre-adsorbed with dilute plasma was measured using baboon platelets radiolabelled with 111In. Adhesion greatly decreased as the plasma concentration used for preadsorption increased, suggesting that non-specific platelet binding to the bare surface occurs when protein coverage is incomplete. Non-specific platelet binding was inhibited to varying degrees by preadsorption of different proteins to the surface. Platelet adhesion to surfaces preadsorbed with dilute (1.0%) baboon and human plasmas lacking fibrinogen (i.e. serum, heat-defibrinogenated plasma and congenitally afibrinogenemic plasma) was diminished compared with normal plasma. Addition of exogenous fibrinogen to the deficient plasma partially restored platelet adhesion to normal levels. Adhesion to surfaces preadsorbed with human plasma deficient in von Willebrand factor was comparable to that observed with normal plasma. The plasma preadsorption studies with fibrinogen deficient media suggested that adsorbed fibrinogen is necessary for platelet adhesion to the radio-frequency glow discharge/allylamine substrate at high protein coverage. However, since adhesion was greatly reduced when the plasma preadsorbed substrate was stored in buffer before platelet contact, the conformation of adsorbed fibrinogen is also important in mediating platelet adhesion to radio-frequency glow discharge.     

Nacre surface transformation to hydroxyapatite in a phosphate buffer solution

Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, constitutes the inner layer of mollusc shells. Nacre is a natural composite material consisting mostly of calcium carbonate in the aragonite crystal form and some organic matter. Previous studies have shown that geological aragonite, coral and nacre can convert hydrothermally to hydroxyapatite (HAP) in phosphate solution by a solid-state topotactic ion-exchange reaction. This conversion typically occurs within the range of 140-260 degrees C, although higher temperatures are possible. In this work, we have found that nacre can transform to HAP in a phosphate buffer solution at room temperature via a surface reaction. The morphology of the nacre-transformed HAP surface was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The HAP surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). A layer covered with packed particles was found in contrast to the tablet structure typical of nacre surfaces. XPS and SIMS indicated that the mineral phase of the nacre surface had converted from an aragonite phase to an HAP phase. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that phosphate (PO(4)) bands appeared after nacre was soaked in a phosphate buffer and the intensity of the PO(4) bands increased with exposure time. The FTIR was consistent with XPS and SIMS results. We suggest that this surface reaction occurs by a dissolution-precipitation mechanism. Calcium ions are released from the nacre surface, react with phosphate ions in the buffer solution, and then precipitate as HAP on the nacre surface.     

Invariant measures for unipotent translations on homogeneous spaces

It is shown that all Borel probability measures invariant under unipotent translations on homogeneous spaces of connected Lie groups are algebraic.     

Parental perceptions of children's communicative development at stuttering onset.

There has been clinical speculation that parents of young stuttering children have expectations of their children's communication abilities that are not well-matched to the children's actual skills. We appraised the language abilities of 15 children close to the onset of stuttering symptoms and 15 age-, sex-, and SES-matched fluent children using an array of standardized tests and spontaneous language sample measures. Parents concurrently completed two parent-report measures of the children's communicative development. Results indicated generally depressed performance on all child speech and language measures by the children who stutter. Parent report was closely attuned to child performance for the stuttering children; parents of nonstuttering children were less accurate in their predictions of children's communicative performance. Implications for clinical advisement to parents of stuttering children are discussed.