We examined the ability of Melanesian ovalocytes from Papua New Guinea to be deformed in order to probe the resistance of these cells to invasion by several species of malaria parasite. We found ovalocytes were refractile to drug-induced endocytosis, that they formed abnormal rouleaux, showed reduced deformability when aspirated into 0.6-micron diameter pores in polycarbonate sieves, and failed...

A new method of enumerating Mycobacterium leprae has been developed. Suspensions containing the organisms were filtered through a polycarbonate membrane filter (25-mm diameter, 0.4-micronm pore size, 10-micronm thick; Nucleopore) to concentrate the organisms. The membrane was then mounted on a glass slide and stained with a standard acid-fast stain. Finally, the membrane was treated with a smal...

PURPOSE Endothelial cell (EC) migration is a key event in angiogenesis, and is likely to play an important role in choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Altered elastin metabolism has been described in AMD, and the present study sought to determine the effects of elastin-derived peptides (EDPs) on choroidal EC migration and proliferation. METHODS Migration of...

An alternative epifluorescence microscopy (EFM) technique for virus enumeration has been developed using polycarbonate Track Etch (PCTE) filter membranes in place of aluminum oxide Anodisc membranes. The established EFM technique, first developed by Hennes and Suttle in 1995 and later expanded upon by Noble and Fuhrman in 1998, uses supported 20 nm pore-size Anodisc filter membranes to determin...

BACKGROUND Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high-production-volume chemical commonly used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic. Low-level concentrations of BPA in animals and possibly in humans may cause endocrine disruption. Whether ingestion of food or beverages from polycarbonate containers increases BPA concentrations in humans has not been studied. OBJECTIVES We examined the association bet...

An electrochemical method for the determination of the liposome–water partition coefficients of drugs was developed. Interactions of liposomes and b-blockers were studied using square wave voltammetry (SWV) at a water–DCE interface created at the tip of a micropipette. Five different b-blockers, propranolol, timolol, carteolol, nadolol and metoprolol were encapsulated in liposomes prepared usin...

Filtration of a solution may lower metal concentrations through adsorption of metal species to the filter. Processes such as filter-sterilizing nutrient solution and filtration of field water are sensitive to these sorption artifacts, yet basic data on the affinity of different filters for metals are lacking. This article describes the adsorption of five metals to eight types of 0.2-microm memb...