The thin-film dielectric response of organic films confined within a surface forces apparatus ~SFA! and also between parallel sheets of atomically smooth mica is reported for the first time. Analysis is presented to infer dielectric properties of the organic film from the measured capacitance of the total system: sample, and mica sheets intervening between sample and electrodes. Measurements co...

Metallothionein (MT) is a low molecular weight cysteine-rich protein with a number of roles in the pro/antioxidant balance and homeostasis of essential metals, such as zinc and copper, and in the detoxification of heavy metals, such as cadmium and mercury. Until now, detection of metallothionein in biological fluids remained difficult because of a lack of a broadly reactive commercial test. Mea...

Lyme disease spirochetes demonstrate strain- and species-specific differences in tissue tropism. For example, the three major Lyme disease spirochete species, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii, and B. afzelii, are each most commonly associated with overlapping but distinct spectra of clinical manifestations. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the most common Lyme spirochete in the...

AIM To describe the clinicopathological features of 33 aneurysmal fibrous histiocytomas (AFH), including five cases with a haemangiopericytoma-like pattern. METHODS Thirty three cases of AFH were studied by using routine histology and immunohistochemistry for factor XIIIa, the "cell activity marker" E9 (anti-metallothionein), NK1C3 (CD57), smooth muscle actin (SMA), factor VIII, ulex europaeu...

BACKGROUND Several point-of-care (POC) tests are available for evaluation of febrile patients, but the data about their performance in acute care setting is sparse. We investigated the analytical accuracy and feasibility of POC tests for white blood cell (WBC) count and C-reactive protein (CRP) at the pediatric emergency department (ED). METHODS In the first part of the study, HemoCue WBC and...

Nuclease colicins bind their target receptor BtuB in the outer membrane of sensitive Escherichia coli cells in the form of a high-affinity complex with their cognate immunity proteins. The release of the immunity protein from the colicin complex is a prerequisite for cell entry of the colicin and occurs via a process that is still relatively poorly understood. We have previously shown that an e...

BACKGROUND Protein transport across cellular membranes is an important aspect of toxin biology. Escherichia coli cell killing by nuclease colicins occurs through DNA (DNases) or RNA (RNases) hydrolysis and to this end their cytotoxic domains require transportation across two sets of membranes. In order to begin to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying the membrane translocation of colicin...

The avian basilar papilla is composed of hair and supporting cells arranged in a regular pattern in which the hair cells are surrounded and isolated from each other by supporting cell processes. This arrangement of cells, in which the apical borders of hair cells do not contact one another, may be generated by contact-mediated lateral inhibition. Little is known, however, about the way in which...