STUDY OBJECTIVE We assess the utility of the peripheral blood WBC count as a screen for lumbar puncture among young infants evaluated for serious bacterial infections. METHODS We performed logistic regression modeling and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of peripheral blood WBC count and cerebrospinal fluid WBC count for results obtained from 3- to 89-day-old infants undergoin...

The aim of the present study was to set up and evaluate a novel method for studies of platelet adhesion and activation in blood and platelet suspensions such as platelet concentrate (PC) samples using protein-coated polystyrene beads and flow cytometry. To demonstrate its usefulness, we studied PCs during storage. PCs were prepared by aphaeresis technique (n = 7). Metabolic variables and platel...

Substances such as bilirubin that bind tightly to plasma proteins cannot readily be removed from blood. We describe here the use of affinity chromatography as a new approach to the removal of proteinbound metabolites and toxins from blood. Agarose beads were coupled via cyanogen bromide to human serum albumin so as to contain 30-50 mg of albumin/g wet wt. Such beads, when exposed to plasma from...

Bovine chondrocytes were cultured in monolayers and alginate beads with or without ascorbic acid (Asc) for 16 days. Cell proliferation was examined every 4 days by staining with Hoechst 33258 dye. The gene expression of aggrecan, and collagen type I and II was analyzed at 16 days by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction. Cell morphology and the production of extracellular matrix (...

An integrated microfluidic processor is developed that performs molecular computations using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as binary bits. A complete population of fluorescein-labeled DNA "answers" is synthesized containing three distinct polymorphic bases; the identity of each base (A or T) is used to encode the value of a binary bit (TRUE or FALSE). Computation and readout occur by h...

A technology platform based on a remotely controlled and stepwise transport of an array arrangement of superparamagnetic beads (SPB) for efficient molecular uptake, delivery and accumulation in the context of highly specific and sensitive analyte molecule detection for the application in lab-on-a-chip devices is presented. The near-surface transport of SPBs is realized via the dynamic transform...

To fully understand the polymer-filler interfacial interaction mechanism, we use a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation to mainly investigate the interfacial dynamic properties by tuning the polymer-filler interaction, temperature, chain length, volume fraction of filler, and size and shape of filler. The polymer beads around the filler exhibit an obvious layering behavior and a gradien...

Forty crossbred gilts were used in three experiments to examine the effects of estradiol on embryo migration. Small, spherical beads of Silastic glue containing either cholesterol or estradiol-17 beta were used to mimic embryo migration. In the first experiment, 10 cholesterol- and 10 estradiol-impregnated beads were injected into the tip of the uterine horns, either on the same side (n = 5) or...

The potential use of expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads for control of Aedes triseriatus was tested in the laboratory and the field. Laboratory studies showed that beads present in amounts which persisted throughout a season significantly reduced the emergence of Ae. triseriatus adults by preventing normal eclosion from the pupae. In the field, tree holes containing EPS beads had significantly fe...

Complex experimental strategies involving in vitro reconstituted chromatin or simple chromatin interaction studies are much facilitated by immobilizing the nucleosomal arrays to paramagnetic beads. Chromatin-containing beads can be retrieved from a reaction mix solution on a magnet fast and quantitatively, effectively separating bound, loosely attached and unbound components efficiently. This c...