We reported previously that the absorption of cholesterol and long-chain cholesteryl esters by rabbit small-intestinal brush border membranes (BBMV) is protein-mediated (Thurnhofer, H., and H. Hauser. 1990. Biochemistry. 29:2142-2148; Compassi, S., M. Werder, D. Boffelli, F. E. Weber, H. Hauser, and G. Schulthess. 1995. Biochemistry. 34: 16473-16482). Evidence is presented for similar cholester...

PURPOSE To compare the efficacy of an oscillating-rotating power toothbrush with a novel brush head incorporating angled CrissCross bristles (Oral-B Pro 7000 SmartSeries and Oral-B CrossAction brush head) versus a marketed sonic toothbrush (Colgate ProClinical A1500 with the Triple Clean brush head) in the reduction of gingivitis and plaque over a 6-week period. METHODS This was a single cent...

The brush border of intestinal epithelial cells consists of an array of tightly packed microvilli. Within each microvillus is a bundle of 20-30 actin filaments. The basal ends of the filament bundles are embedded in and interconected by a filamentous meshwork, the terminal web, which lies directly beneath the microvilli. When calcium and ATP are added to isolated brush borders that have been tr...

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study the lubricating properties of neutral and charged bottle-brush coatings as a function of the compression and shear stresses and brush grafting density. Our simulations have shown that in charged bottle-brush systems under shear there is a layer with excess counterions located in the middle between brush-bearing surfaces. The main deformation mode o...

Designable media can control properties of nanocomposite materials by spatially organizing nanoparticles. Here we theoretically study particle organization by ultrathin polymer films of grafted chains ("brushes"). Polymer-soluble nanoparticles smaller than a brush-determined threshold disperse in the film to a depth scaling inversely with particle volume. In the polymer-insoluble case, aggregat...

We investigate the mechanical properties of ultra-thin layers of polystyrene/poly (2-vinylpyridine) (PS/P2VP) block copolymers by means of a Surface Forces Apparatus adapted to operate as a rheometer at the molecular level. Two systems are studied: "brush/wall" and "brush/brush". A comparison of the normal force curves shows that when brushes are compressed against each other, they contract rat...

The brush border of intestinal epithelial cells consists of a tightly packed array of microvilli, each of which contains a core of actin filaments. It has been postulated that microvillar movements are mediated by myosin interactions in the terminal web with the basal ends of these actin cores (Mooseker, M.S. 1976. J. Cell. Biol. 71:417-433). We report here that two predictions of this model ar...

The nature of the cytoplasmic coat present on the apical invaginations of the kidney proximal tubule cell was investigated by immuneoverlay and immunocytochemistry of renal brush borders with anticlathrin antibodies. When kidney cortex was prepared for electron microscopy using methods that enhance visualization of clathrin coats, the apical invaginations at the base of the brush border microvi...

Previous research has demonstrated that extinction in the form of re-presentation of expelled bites is an effective intervention for treating food expulsion. The current study compared the effectiveness of re-presenting expulsions with a spoon to re-presenting with a Nuk brush for a 4-year-old boy with a feeding disorder. Fewer expulsions were observed when using the brush for re-presentation, ...