Efficacy of the cytobrush versus the cotton swab in the collection of endocervical cells

Cervical smears should contain endocervical cells to be accepted as adequate for a cytologic diagnosis. Before this study was undertaken, one-third of the smears received in the Cytology Laboratory of Odense University Hospital were inadequate. In an attempt to increase the rate of adequate smears, a randomized study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of the combined spatula-Cytobrush method to that of the spatula-cotton swab method traditionally used by doctors in Denmark. The incidence of smears containing cylindrical and/or metaplastic cells was 89% by the spatula-Cytobrush method as compared to 62% by the spatula-cotton swab method (P less than .001). There were large differences between the rates of adequate smears from the various doctors when using the spatula-cotton swab method (range, 14% to 82%); these differences were far less when using the spatula-Cytobrush method (range, 75% to 100%). A large-scale application of the spatula-Cytobrush method should result in fewer repeat smears required and fewer false-negative smears.     

AVWC－test在生命科学研究中应用效果的评估

ＡＶＷＣ－ｔｃｓｔ是新近发展起来的生物统计方法,它能把非参数资料转变成参数资料进行定量统计分析。本研究进一步从国内外刊物上公开发表的学术论文中精选出了一定数量的研究数据,用ＡＶＷＣ－ｔｅｓｔ方法进行统计处理,并与传统的非参数统计方法和计量资料统计方法进行同源自身对照,研究了其统计效能。结果清楚地表明：ＡＶＷＣ－ｔｅｓｔ方法是一种应用面广,精确、灵敏、方便的生物统计分析方法,能更好地发掘科学资料的信息,提高研究效率。     

相机陷阱法在潮间带底栖蟹类群落生态学中的应用研究

潮间带大型底栖动物调查是滨海湿地生物多样性监测的重要环节。目前普遍应用的传统侵入性调查方法（挖掘法、手捕法和陷阱诱捕法）存在干扰强、耗时久和劳动密集等问题,无法客观反映活动性较强的蟹类等重要功能类群的群落结构和物种多样性。对陆地野生动物研究中常用的相机陷阱法进行了符合潮间带应用条件的便携式设计,并以红树林蟹类为例,通过与3种传统侵入性调查方法进行对比,探讨相机陷阱法在潮间带底栖蟹类群落生态学研究中的应用。结果表明：（1）相机陷阱法在种群密度测定方面比挖掘法提高2.1倍,比手捕法提高10.3倍,比陷阱诱捕法提高16.3倍;（2）相机陷阱法在调查物种数方面均高于3种传统侵入性调查方法,适用于沙蟹科（Ocypodidae）和方蟹科（Grapsidae）蟹类调查;（3）相机陷阱法对个体大小选择性弱,采样更加全面;（4）相机陷阱法在群落alpha多样性（Shannon-Wiener指数）、beta多样性（样方-多度矩阵总方差Var （Y））和功能多样性（Rao二次熵和功能离散度）调查方面整体不弱于侵入性调查方法。此外,相较于侵入性调查方法,相机陷阱法对沉积物结构破坏小、不干扰蟹类群落结构,在兼顾数据丰富性的同时又具有高效性。然而,由于相机陷阱法基于蟹类底表活动性,无法适用于冬季调查、夜行性蟹类和游泳型蟹类调查。未来,相机陷阱法的发展将与基于深度学习的图像处理技术结合以满足数据处理需求。研究揭示了相机陷阱法在潮间带底栖蟹类群落中的应用优越性与局限性,为潮间带大型底栖动物群落生态学的研究提供技术支撑。     

Employment of hydrolytic enzymes in the study of the level of DNA methylation

A new method for the determination of the level of DNA methylation was established. The method involves enzymatic hydrolysis of DNA by nuclease P1 and bacterial alkaline phosphatase, and separation of the resulting deoxyribonucleosides by HPLC. By this method, DNA was hydrolysed completely to the five deoxyribonucleosides and the complete base composition was determined. Pairing bases were shown to occur in similar amounts, and analysis could be performed on as little as 1 microgram of DNA with a high degree of reproducibility. Among other enzymes hitherto used in order to hydrolyze DNA, micrococcal nuclease, phosphodiesterase II and nuclease P1 have been shown to cause deamination of deoxyadenosine, while deoxyribonuclease I, phosphodiesterase I and bacterial alkaline phosphatase have been shown to be sensitive to contamination by RNA, and to release 5-methyldeoxycytidine at a slower rate than the other four deoxyribonucleosides. Neither of these effects was seen with the new method.     

FMEA法在医疗风险管理中的应用现状与展望

面对日趋严峻的医疗风险问题,如何识别和应对风险已经成为整个医疗行业共同面对的议题。文章以失效模式与效应分析法在医疗风险管理中的应用为研究对象,探讨失效模式与效应分析法的具体实施方法和目前在国内外医疗行业的应用现状,并对失效模式与效应分析法在未来医疗风险管理中的应用予以展望。     

The assessment of the parallelism in the results of measuring an analyzable substance and the calibrator in immunological assays]

The method for checking the results of measurements of the analyzed substance and the calibrator for parallelism the immunological testing kit ABICAP-test-DIPHTHERIA, produced by ABION (Germany), is described. The international standard sample of diphtheria antitoxin human serum was used as calibrator, and human serum No. 18, obtained from the Biomed Group (Russia), was used as the substance to be analyzed. The described method made it possible to detect the parallelism of "dose-response" curves with the relative error not exceeding 20%. Such accuracy proved to be sufficient for practical purposes and was in agreement with the amplitude of oscillations in measured optical densities. The shift of graphs along the abscissa made it possible to estimate the concentration of the serum as exceeding the concentration of the standard sample 2.3 times. The use of analytical approximation for the standard seems to be an important feature in the described method.     

A mesoscopic technique for the study of the development of the peripheral system in rat foetuses

In order to study the morphogenesis of the nervous system in the rat an acetylcholinesterase in toto method for staining nervous tissue in rat foetuses was developed. Procedure: Rat foetuses of 14-22 days are fixed "en bloc" for 24 hours in a cold sucrose-formol solution. Fixed specimens are rinsed for 2 days in cold 0.22 M sucrose in a sodiumcacodylate buffer (pH 7.2). The specimens are cut (mid-)sagittally with the aid of a razor-blade, and incubated in a medium of acetylthiocholine iodide in acetate buffer (pH 5.0). Then, dehydration in glycerine/water mixtures of increasing glycerine content follows. The specimens may be stored in pure glycerine or embedded in epoxy-resin blocks and can be studied under a binocular dissecting microscope. In using this in toto staining method both the continuity of the central and peripheral parts of the nervous system as well as details up to the level of individual perikarya and motor endplates are preserved. With this mesoscopic method the three-dimensional architecture of the peripheral nervous system and its topological relations to other structures can be studies in one specimen. The exact procedure and the results as well as a method for embedding specimens in epoxy-resin blocks for teaching purposes are described. The advantages of this mesoscopic staining method for foetuses are discussed.     

A method for the determination of the pKa of alpha-N-benzoyl-L-arginine in the presence of an impurity.

A sensitive and specific assay method for allantoin is described together with its application to rat plasma. The method consists of two main successive steps: hydrolytic formation of glyoxylic acid from allantoin, and fluorometric measurement of NAD produced from the reaction of glyoxylic acid and NADH, catalyzed by glyoxylate reductase. As little as 0.1 μg of allantoin can be determined. For the determination of endogeneous allantoin levels in rat plasma, 50 μl of the plasma is sufficient. Due to the higher sensitivity and specificity, the proposed method has advantages over the colorimetric method which has long been used for the determination of allantoin.     

An aid to the identification of arthropod fragments in the faeces of gamebird chicks (Galliformes)

A method is described for the identification of arthropod fragments in the faeces of gamebird chicks. The method of collection and preparation of faecal samples and the identification of commonly occurring arthropod parts is described. The use of diagnostic parts, specific to certain groups, enables the method to be used quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Photographs of the major diagnostic features are provided.     

粉末包衣技术在药物制剂领域的应用研究进展

粉末包衣技术是薄膜包衣技术发展至今的一个重要分支,其在药物制剂领域的应用优势突出,近年来受到药剂学研究者的广泛关注。分类综述目前应用于药物制剂的几种主要粉末包衣技术,包括属于物理化学法中的凝聚法、溶剂蒸发法和熔融分散法以及物理机械法中的喷雾干燥法、喷雾冷凝法、干法包衣技术和气流悬浮包衣技术,并探讨粉末包衣技术的主要功用,如用于制备缓控释制剂、药物粉末表面改性、改善口服制剂感官效果和提高药物及制剂稳定性等。     

An improved assay of inorganic phosphate in the presence of extralabile phosphate compounds: application to the ATPase assay in the presence of phosphocreatine.

Two methods of determining inorganic phosphate in the presence of labile phosphate compounds using the catalyst polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) are described. The first method provides a simple assay of ATPase activity at room temperature without deproteinization. The second method minimizes the decomposition of phosphocreatine during the assay to 1%. An application to the measurement of myofibrillar ATPase in the presence of phosphocreatine is given, as well as the advantages of the methods.     

Estimation of the number of nucleotide substitutions in the control region of mitochondrial DNA in humans and chimpanzees

Examining the pattern of nucleotide substitution for the control region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in humans and chimpanzees, we developed a new mathematical method for estimating the number of transitional and transversional substitutions per site, as well as the total number of nucleotide substitutions. In this method, excess transitions, unequal nucleotide frequencies, and variation of substitution rate among different sites are all taken into account. Application of this method to human and chimpanzee data suggested that the transition/transversion ratio for the entire control region was approximately 15 and nearly the same for the two species. The 95% confidence interval of the age of the common ancestral mtDNA was estimated to be 80,000-480,000 years in humans and 0.57-2.72 Myr in common chimpanzees.      

On the involvement of electron transfer reactions in the fluorescence decay kinetics heterogeneity of proteins

Time-resolved fluorescence study of single tryptophan-containing proteins, nuclease, ribonuclease T1, protein G, glucagon, and mastoparan, has been carried out. Three different methods were used for the analysis of fluorescence decays: the iterative reconvolution method, as reviewed and developed in our laboratory, the maximum entropy method, and the recent method that we called "energy transfer" method. All the proteins show heterogeneous fluorescence kinetics (multiexponential decay). The origin of this heterogeneity is interpreted in terms of current theories of electron transfer process, which treat the electron transfer process as a radiationless transition. The theoretical electron transfer rate was calculated assuming the peptide bond carbonyl as the acceptor site. The good agreement between experimental and theoretical electron-transfer rates leads us to suggest that the electron-transfer process is the principal quenching mechanism of Trp fluorescence in proteins, resulting in heterogeneous fluorescence kinetics. Furthermore, the origin of apparent homogeneous fluorescence kinetics (monoexponential decay) in some proteins also can be explained on the basis of electron-transfer mechanism.     

Minicolumn chromatography for the detection of sterigmatocystin in agricultural commodities

A simple method for detecting sterigmatocystin in agricultural commodities by minicolumn chromatography was developed. Clean-up as well as semi-quantitative estimation could be done on the same column. The method is suitable for the analysis of samples of rice, wheat, maize and sorghum contaminated with sterigmatocystin and could be used as an effective preliminary screening technique in public health laboratories.     

Use of the bioluminescent method for the determination of bacterial adenosinetriphosphate (ATP-metry) in microbiology

The attention of a wide circle of specialists has recently been attracted by different methods for rapid determination of pathogenic microorganisms in biological specimens, environmental objects and foodstuffs, as well as in cases of possible acts of bioterrorism. In this respect the bioluminescent method for determination of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) contained in microbial cells is of interest. The method is based on the interaction ATP, luciferase and luciferin, accompanied by giving off energy in the form of light emission. When compared with routine methods, the use of this method considerably reduces the duration of the analysis, and its high sensitivity is comparable with that of the polymerase chain reaction. In this review the data on the prospects of the practical use of the bioluminescent method of ATP-metry are presented.     

Calculation of the Root/Shoot Ratio in the Models of Higher Plant Organogenesis

A new method for calculating the assimilate distribution between plant shoots and roots in dynamic models of production process for agricultural crops is suggested. The method is based on direct calculation of the dynamics of photosynthate accumulation and absorption rates of nitrogen compounds in the plant root system. The hypothesis underlying this method is that all mobile compounds entering the plant are completely utilized for the production of structured biomass. Unlike the method of distribution keys, which is widely used in similar models, the suggested procedure accounts for adaptive plant responses to both uncontrolled weather conditions and mineral nutrition. The suggested method was implemented as software within the framework of Agrotool (version 3) simulation system. Verification of the method in many years' field experiments with barley confirmed its efficiency and showed a satisfactory accuracy of model calculations.     

Application of the Ovarian Teratoma Mapping Method in the Mouse

Murine ovarian teratomas were used to determine recombination percentages for gene-gene and centromere-gene intervals. Data were obtained utilizing a recombinant inbred strain, LTXBJ, and a number of newly developed LT/SvEi congenic strains.--Centromere-gene recombination was measured at 11.3 +/- 1.2% for the centromere of chromosome 7 - Gpi-1 interval and 15.8 +/- 2.4% for the centromere of chromosome 14 - Np-1 interval using the ovarian teratoma method. The centromere - Np-1 interval was measured at 26.5 +/- 3.6% using a standard backcross involving the Rb6Bnr Robertsonian translocation as a centromere marker.--To assess the accuracy of the ovarian teratoma mapping method, we compared the recombination frequency obtained for the Mpi-1-Mod-1 interval on chromosome 9 using the ovarian teratoma method to that obtained using a standard backcross. The recombination percentage was 22.9 +/- 5.4 using the ovarian teratoma method and 18.6 +/- 3.3 using the backcross method, indicating that the two methods produce equivalent estimates of recombination. In addition, for centromere-gene intervals known to be more than 30 cM in length, the ovarian teratoma method was consistent with classical recombination methods, yielding high recombination percentages. We conclude from these results that the ovarian teratoma mapping method is a reliable method for estimating recombination frequencies and the most accurate method available for estimating centromere-gene recombination frequency in the mouse.     

High-performance liquid chromatography determination of polydeoxyribonucleotides in plasma: its application to the determination of defibrotide's pharmacokinetics in the rabbit.

We describe an HPLC method for the determination of whole polydeoxyribonucleotides in animal plasma. This method was compared to a colorimetric method, which evaluates the sugar moiety of polydeoxyribonucleotides, and to an agarose gel electrophoresis method, which evaluates the whole polydeoxyribonucleotides as does the HPLC method, and was found to give results very close to those obtained with these two other methods. A pharmacokinetic study of the antithrombotic, profibrinolytic, polydeoxyribonucleotidic drug defibrotide was carried out by evaluating the plasma drug levels by these three methods. The pharmacokinetic parameters calculated from the data are very similar.     

Non-destructive semi-quantitative determination of acetylene reduction in the field

Summary Direct injection of acetylene into soil around plant roots, followed by determination of ethylene/acetylene ratios in the soil atmosphere has been tested as a rapid, non-destructive method of estimating acetylene reducing activity. In pots of artificial media as well as in field soil, the ratios determined within 10 min. after injection were significantly correlated with the rates of acetylenedependent ethylene production in detached roots. The method may be useful in preliminary screening of large numbers of plant-bacteria combinations.     

Use of the loss-tangent function in dielectric spectroscopy

A new method for finding the dielectric parameters of biological substances is presented. The method makes use of the loss-tangent as a function of frequency to identify the dominating relaxation process. The method was tested for a few cell suspensions (blood and lymphocytes) and two tissues (liver and spleen). The obtained parameters agree well with those calculated from Maxwell-Wagner theory (beta dispersion).