Lymphocyte blastogenesis assays and immunoblotting were used to investigate and compare murine B-cell responses to preparations of extracellular membrane blebs (BAg) and spirochetes (Ag) of Borrelia burgdorferi. Immunoblotting BAg, Ag, and medium control preparations with serum from naive and infected C57BL/10 mice revealed that BAg and Ag had similar specific reactivity profiles except that ma...

To culture preimplantation embryos in vitro, water-jacketed CO(2) incubators are used widely for maintaining an optimal culture environment in terms of gas phase, temperature and humidity. We investigated the possibility of mouse embryo culture in a plastic bag kept at 37°C. Zygotes derived from in vitro fertilization or collected from naturally mated B6D2F1 female mice were put in a drop of me...

It is frequently not possible to type group A streptococei. Only 33% of group A streptococei from Nashville children in a recent study (Quinn and Martin, Am. J. Hyg. 73:193, 1961) were typable, and there have been years when as few as 5% could be typed. This study was designed to test one possible reason for failure to type certain strains of group A streptococci, namely, inadequacy of growth m...

We compared the recovery of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on a new selective chromogenic agar, BD BBL CHROMagar MRSA II (CMRSAII), to that on traditional culture media with 293 stool specimens. The recovery of MRSA was greater on the CMRSAII agar. Screening of stool samples can identify patients who were previously unknown carriers of MRSA.

The expression and function of the newly identified Bcl-2- and Raf-1- binding protein, Bag-1, during the cytokine-regulated growth of B and T cell lines was examined. Immunoblot analysis of lysates from the interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent B cell line Ba/F3, and the PRL-dependent T cell line Nb2, revealed that variations in Bag-1 levels paralleled alterations in cellular proliferation, viability,...

OBJECTIVE To analyze the correlation of risk factors to the occurrence of urinary tract infection in full-term newborn infants. PATIENTS AND METHODS Retrospective study (1997) including full-term infants having a positive urine culture by bag specimen. Urine collection was based on: fever, weight loss > 10% of birth weight, nonspecific symptoms (feeding intolerance, failure to thrive, hypoact...

Bioactive glasses (BAGs) are highly interesting materials for bone regeneration applications in orthopedic and dental defects. It is quite well known that ionic release from BAGs influences cell behavior and function. Mindful of the clinical scenario, we hypothesized that local cell populations might additionally physically interact with the implanted BAG particles and respond differently than ...

To study the molecular mechanism of calcium current modulation in the bag cell neurons of Aplysia californica, we have identified calcium channel subtypes expressed in these cells and analyzed their distribution using channel-specific antibodies. Using PCR to amplify reverse-transcribed RNA from bag cell clusters, we identified two classes of calcium channel alpha1 subunit. One, BCCa-I, belongs...

  Objective: Bioactive glass 45S5 is a surface reactive glass-ceramic biomaterial, developed in 1969. BAG 45S5 with particle size of 20-60 nm has the ability of bone regeneration, broad spectrum antibacterial effect, repairs and replaces diseased or damaged bone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity and determine MIC and MBC values of nano-BAG45S5 on Streptococcus mu...