New rapid technique for counting microorganisms directly on membrane filters

The proposed technique is a modification of classical procedures for counting micoorganisms directly on membrane filters. The technique consists of clearing the filter with immersion oil, paraffin oil or cedar oil prior to staining with crystal violet, carbol fuchsin or malachite green. Millipore filters (0.1 micron pore size, VC type) were found to be superior to other filters with regard to the contrast between microorganisms and filter surface.     

Evaluation of a dielectrophoretic bacterial counting technique

Dielectrophoresis, an electrokinetic migration of particles, can occur in non-uniform alternating electric fields and is dependent upon the dielectric nature of the cells and their suspending medium. An enumeration system utilising this phenomenon is described, which has the potential to count particles selectively, including different bacterial or eukaryotic cell species and even sub-populations of different cell viability states or sizes. Relationships were observed between suspension concentrations and the extent of dielectrophoretic (DEP) collection for polystyrene latex beads, pure bacterial samples and mixtures of bacterial species including Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis. A similar relationship was utilised for polystyrene latex as a calibration line to enable the concentration of particles in a suspension to be determined according to the level of DEP collection. The particle concentration of an unknown test sample was found to lie within the predicted concentration range determined on the basis of DEP collection. In addition, the predicted limits were found only to deviate between -6.2 and +6.9% from the mean particle concentration.     

Correlation between apoptotic figure counting and the TUNEL technique

OBJECTIVE: To compare histologic detection of apoptotic (AP) figures and terminal transferase UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) detection in colorectal carcinomas and lymphomas. STUDY DESIGN: We evaluated the percentage of AP cells by AP figure counting and by the TUNEL technique in formalin-paraffin material from 39 tumors--29 colorectal carcinomas and 10 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The Lucia G image analysis system (Laboratory Imaging, Prague, Czech Republic) was used for cellularity evaluation and AP counting. RESULTS: On average, 0.81 +/- 0.5% AP cells were detected by figure counting; 0.91 +/- 0.35% were identified by TUNEL. A statistically high correlation between these techniques was found using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = .56, P < .001). TUNEL, although probably more sensitive, was difficult to standardize. CONCLUSION: AP figure counting seems to be the method of choice for routine work, particularly because of its cost effectiveness and reproducibility.     

An improved technique for counting leucocytes in milk by the direct microscopic method

An improved microscopic method for counting leucocytes in milk has been developed, which results in acceptable levels of reproducibility. To overcome the lack of uniform cell distribution within a film a stratified sampling of the total film area is examined, which prevents the counting of any one area twice. The mean between-film coefficient of variation (S.D./x X 100) for all milk samples examined which contained more than 350,000 leucocytes/ml. was less than 10%.     

鸡球虫重组疫苗的研究进展

球虫病是由艾美耳球虫引起的一种对家禽危害极为严重的全球性寄生虫病,目前仍以药物防治为主。由于球虫抗药株的不断出现、研制新药的费用昂贵和药物残留的日趋严重,使得球虫疫苗研究成为近年的热点。采用ＤＮＡ重组技术获得的重组疫苗逐渐受到人们的重视,发展很快。综述近年来家禽球虫重组疫苗的研究情况,探讨重组疫苗的利用前景、存在问题和解决途径。