Automated single-slide staining device

A simple apparatus and method is disclosed for making individual single Gram stains on bacteria inoculated slides to assist in classifying bacteria in the laboratory as Gram-positive or Gram-negative. The apparatus involves positioning a single inoculated slide in a stationary position and thereafter automatically and sequentially flooding the slide with increments of a primary stain, a mordant, a decolorizer, a counterstain and a wash solution in a sequential manner without the individual lab technician touching the slide and with minimum danger of contamination thereof from other slides

Microbiological surface sampling cart

Mobile sampling cart automatically swabs surfaces for the recovery of microorganisms. Unit operates without human involvement and provides for control of swabbing speed, rotation of cotton swab, and the pressure and angle applied to swab. Capability of reverse direction is also available. Sampling cart use is limited to flat surfaces

Automatic microbial transfer

Device can transfer metabolites or inhibitory agents to broth cultures of bacteria, in various stages of growth, for study. It also has application in transfer of other micro-organisms, such as yeasts, and could be useful in clinical and research laboratories. Device has been used for wide variety of purposes in experimental situations

Apparatus for microbiological sampling

An automatic apparatus is described for microbiologically sampling surface using a cotton swab which eliminates human error. The apparatus includes a self-powered transport device, such as a motor-driven wheeled cart, which mounts a swabbing motor drive for a crank arm which supports a swab in the free end thereof. The swabbing motor is pivotably mounted and an actuator rod movable responsive to the cart traveling a predetermined distance provides lifting of the swab from the surface being sampled and reversal of the direction of travel of the cart

Automated single-slide staining system

Apparatus developed to Gram-stain single slides automatically is flexible enough to accommodate other types of staining procedures. Method frees operator and eliminates necessity for subjective evaluations as to length of staining or decolorizing time

Automatic agar tray inoculation device

Automatic agar tray inoculation device is simple in design and foolproof in operation. It employs either conventional inoculating loop or cotton swab for uniform inoculation of agar media, and it allows technician to carry on with other activities while tray is being inoculated

High-redshift galaxies and low-mass stars

The sensitivity available to near-infrared surveys has recently allowed us to probe the galaxy population at z ≈ 7 and beyond. The existing Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) Infrared Camera (VIRCam) instruments allow deep surveys to be undertaken well beyond 1 μm – a capability that will be further extended with the launch and commissioning of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). As new regions of parameter space in both colour and depth are probed, new challenges for distant galaxy surveys are identified. In this paper, we present an analysis of the colours of L- and T-dwarf stars in widely used photometric systems. We also consider the implications of the newly identified Y-dwarf population – stars that are still cooler and less massive than T-dwarfs for both the photometric selection and spectroscopic follow-up of faint and distant galaxies. We highlight the dangers of working in the low-signal-to-noise regime, and the potential contamination of existing and future samples. We find that Hubble/WFC3 and VISTA/VIRCam Y-drop selections targeting galaxies at z ∼ 7.5 are vulnerable to contamination from T- and Y-class stars. Future observations using JWST, targeting the z ∼ 7 galaxy population, are also likely to prove difficult without deep medium-band observations. We demonstrate that single emission line detections in typical low-signal-to-noise spectroscopic observations may also be suspect, due to the unusual spectral characteristics of the cool dwarf star population

Measuring micro-organism gas production

Transducer, which senses pressure buildup, is easy to assemble and use, and rate of gas produced can be measured automatically and accurately. Method can be used in research, in clinical laboratories, and for environmental pollution studies because of its ability to detect and quantify rapidly the number of gas-producing microorganisms in water, beverages, and clinical samples

Kinetic Studies of the Formation of Iron (III) Ethylenediaminetetraacetate-Hydrogen Peroxide Complex

The formation of· a red-purple iron (III) ethylenediaminetetraacetate mono hydrogen peroxide species obeys the kinetic express ion rate= k LFe(EDTA) (OH)2 3-J [H 202] over the range pH 9.0-11.0. The Arrhenius equation, k = 1.9 X 10 7 exp (-6,700/RT) holds and at 25°, k = 2.5 X 10 2 M - 1 sec-1• An enhanced rate above pH = 11 .0 may be associated with enhanced reactivity of [Fe(EDTA) (0H)3] 4- or H02-. A brief compar ison is made of the results with data for pe roxidase and catalase reactions with hydrogen peroxide