Improved methods for counting bacteria in physiological fluids

Bacterial population detection is based on detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), chemical present in all living matter. Amount of ATP in sample, after chemically removing all nonbacterial ATP, is directly related to bacterial population. Sensitivity is improved by concentration step; specificity is improved by lowering pH of solution

Method of detecting and counting bacteria in body fluids

A novel method is reported for determining bacterial levels in urine samples, which method depends on the quantitative determination of bacterial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the presence of non-bacterial ATP. After the removal of non-bacterial ATP, the bacterial ATP is released by cell rupture and is measured by an enzymatic bioluminescent assay using an enzyme obtained from the firefly

Method of detecting and counting bacteria

An improved method is provided for determining bacterial levels, especially in samples of aqueous physiological fluids. The method depends on the quantitative determination of bacterial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the presence of nonbacterial ATP. The bacterial ATP is released by cell rupture and is measured by an enzymatic bioluminescent assay. A concentration technique is included to make the method more sensitive. It is particularly useful where the fluid to be measured contains an unknown or low bacteria count

Bacterial adenosine triphosphate as a measure of urinary tract infection

Procedure detects and counts bacteria present in urine samples. Method also determines bacterial levels in other aqueous body fluids including lymph fluid, plasma, blood, spinal fluid, saliva and mucous

Quantitive determination of flavin nucleotide using the bacterial bioluminescent reaction

Photometric method based on the use of bacterial luminiscent reaction quantitatively detects the presence of flavin compounds in all forms of life. Aqueous cellular dispersion of a biological sample with an aqueous perchloric acid ruptures the cells and frees the flavin coenzymes from their proteins

Automatic device for shell freezing of liquids

Unit is insulated enclosure designed to contain liquid nitrogen. It also includes set of stainless steel rotating rods for holding vessels containing liquids to be frozen, and electric drive mechanism for rotating these rods. Present device will accept 10 vessels at a time

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as a possible indicator of extraterrestrial biology

The ubiquity of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in terrestrial organisms provides the basis for proposing the assay of this vital metabolic intermediate for detecting extraterrestrial biological activity. If an organic carbon chemistry is present on the planets, the occurrence of ATP is possible either from biosynthetic or purely chemical reactions. However, ATP's relative complexity minimizes the probability of abiogenic synthesis. A sensitive technique for the quantitative detection of ATP was developed using the firefly bioluminescent reaction. The procedure was used successfully for the determination of the ATP content of soil and bacteria. This technique is also being investigated from the standpoint of its application in clinical medicine

Analytical Applications of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence

Bioluminescence and chemiluminescence studies were used to measure the amount of adenosine triphosphate and therefore the amount of energy available. Firefly luciferase - luciferin enzyme system was emphasized. Photometer designs are also considered

Spatial effects in real networks: measures, null models, and applications

Spatially embedded networks are shaped by a combination of purely topological (space-independent) and space-dependent formation rules. While it is quite easy to artificially generate networks where the relative importance of these two factors can be varied arbitrarily, it is much more difficult to disentangle these two architectural effects in real networks. Here we propose a solution to the problem by introducing global and local measures of spatial effects that, through a comparison with adequate null models, effectively filter out the spurious contribution of non-spatial constraints. Our filtering allows us to consistently compare different embedded networks or different historical snapshots of the same network. As a challenging application we analyse the World Trade Web, whose topology is expected to depend on geographic distances but is also strongly determined by non-spatial constraints (degree sequence or GDP). Remarkably, we are able to detect weak but significant spatial effects both locally and globally in the network, showing that our method succeeds in retrieving spatial information even when non-spatial factors dominate. We finally relate our results to the economic literature on gravity models and trade globalization

Mass culture of photobacteria to obtain luciferase

Inoculating preheated trays containing nutrient agar with photobacteria provides a means for mass culture of aerobic microorganisms in order to obtain large quantities of luciferase. To determine optimum harvest time, growth can be monitored by automated light-detection instrumentation