Assessment of bacterial diversity in Hyalomma aegyptium, H. marginatum and H. excavatum ticks through tag-encoded pyrosequencing.

Ticks are among the most significant human-biting ectoparasites and they play a major role in transmission of many pathogenic agents to humans. In the present study, three species of Hyalomma ticks, Hyalomma aegyptium, H. marginatum and H.

Evaluation of the bacterial diversity of pressure ulcers using bTEFAP pyrosequencing.

Background: Decubitus ulcers, also known as bedsores or pressure ulcers, affect millions of hospitalized patients each year. The microflora of chronic wounds such as ulcers most commonly exist in the biofilm phenotype and have been known to significantly impair normal healing trajectories.

Methods: Bacterial tag-encoded FLX amplicon pyrosequencing (bTEFAP), a universal bacterial identification method, was used to identify bacterial populations in 49 decubitus ulcers.

Nondestructive experimental determination of bimaterial rectangular cantilever spring constants in water.

In order to address the issue of spring constant calibration in viscous fluids such as water, a new method is presented that allows for the experimental calibration of bimaterial cantilever spring constants. This method is based on modeling rectangular cantilever beam bending as a function of changing temperature. The temperature change is accomplished by heating water as it flows around the cantilever beams in an enclosed compartment.

Decoupling functionalization from sensor array assembly using detachable cantilevers.

Cantilevers are useful as sensor devices with high sensitivity and have shown great promise for dense, multianalyte arrays. One of the difficulties has been the fabrication of multianalyte arrays that are capable of the simultaneous detection of a wide range of chemical and biological species. Functionalization procedures for one class of analytes are often incompatible with other classes and cross contamination is a significant concern when ink-jet deposition processes are used.

A simple method for the removal of thiols on gold surfaces using an NH4OH-H2O2-H2O solution.

The removal behavior of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiol molecules on a gold substrate by an NH(4)OH-H(2)O(2)-H(2)O solution was studied using attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Furthermore, the impact of the concentration of NH(4)OH and H(2)O(2) in the solution and reaction temperature on the SAM removal rate and efficiency was explored. The SAM removal rate and efficiency were significantly influenced by the concentration of NH(4)OH rather than H(2)O(2).