The negative effect of starvation and the positive effect of mild thermal stress on thermal tolerance of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum.

The thermal tolerance of a terrestrial insect species can vary as a result of differences in population origin, developmental stage, age, and sex, as well as via phenotypic plasticity induced in response to changes in the abiotic environment. Here, we studied the effects of both starvation and mild cold and heat shocks on the thermal tolerance of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Starvation led to impaired cold tolerance, measured as chill coma recovery time, and this effect, which was stronger in males than females, persisted for longer than 2 days but less than 7 days.

Wallace Coulter's life and his impact on the world.

2013 is the centenary of Wallace Coulter's birth. He was an engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and visionary. He transformed the practice of laboratory hematology with his invention of the Coulter Principle and its application to blood cell analysis, together with the company he founded to bring it and his subsequent inventions and innovations to the world.

Performance of automated slidemakers and stainers in a working laboratory environment - routine operation and quality control.

The automated slidemaker/stainers of the four Beckman Coulter LH755 hematology systems in our laboratory are operated as analyzers, with similar requirements for setup, maintenance and quality control. A study was performed to confirm that these slide maker/stainers in routine use produce peripheral blood films that are completely satisfactory for microscopy and without cells, particularly abnormal cells, being pulled to the edges or sides of the film outside the usual working area. One hundred and thirty-nine automated blood films that had been produced during routine operation were compared with well-prepared manual films from the same patients.

The international consensus group for hematology review: suggested criteria for action following automated CBC and WBC differential analysis.

In the half century since the first use of automated analyzers, manual techniques, especially microscopic examination of a stained blood film, have complemented analyzer results to provide a comprehensive hematology report on a patient's blood sample. Over the years, as the capabilities and performance of automated analyzers have improved, the respective roles of the automated analyzer and the complementary procedures have changed. Manual action (most commonly smear review) following automated analyzer results is usually triggered by determining whether the results trigger one of a series of criteria for review of results.

The effects of total laboratory automation on the management of a clinical chemistry laboratory. Retrospective analysis of 36 years.

Background: Thirty-six years of data and history of laboratory practice at our institution has enabled us to follow the effects of analytical automation, then recently pre-analytical and post-analytical automation on productivity, cost reduction and enhanced quality of service.

Methods: In 1998, we began the operation of a pre- and post-analytical automation system (robotics), together with an advanced laboratory information system to process specimens prior to analysis, deliver them to various automated analytical instruments, specimen outlet racks and finally to refrigerated stockyards. By the end of 3 years of continuous operation, we compared the chemistry part of the system with the prior 33 years and quantitated the financial impact of the various stages of automation.

Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by isothermal ramification amplification method: a feasibility study.

Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Effective screening for this agent can facilitate prompt treatment and prevent its sequelae. The recent introduction of liquid-based cytology has made possible the simultaneous screening of cervical intraepithelial lesions and detection of C.

Implementation, management and continuous quality improvement of point-of-care testing in an academic health care setting.

Point-of-care testing (POCT) has economic and medical benefits in the areas of immediate medical management, resource utilization and time management. Starting with bedside glucose, the Mount Sinai Medical Center has, over the past 11 years, implemented 23 POC tests, spanning complexity from blood gas/electrolyte testing to occult blood, in compliance with all regulatory and accreditation requirements. QC data are reviewed on a daily and weekly basis and all patient results are in the electronic medical record.

Variability in absolute lymphocyte counts obtained by automated cell counters.

There is increasing interest in the absolute lymphocyte count. This is partly driven by the need to obtain absolute values for lymphocyte subsets such as absolute CD4+ counts in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons. The absolute total lymphocyte count is usually determined in the routine hematology laboratory on a separate sample from the same patient specimen and then combined with percentage results from flow cytometry to obtain the absolute value of the lymphocyte subsets.

The MAXM hematology autoanalyzer. An alternative?

The MAXM is a compact blood count and differential analyzer that appeals to both the space-limited, full-service laboratory and the large outpatient practice. The authors compared the performance of the Coulter MAXM to the larger Coulter STKS. Linearity and precision studies were comparable to the STKS.

Flow cytochemical patterns of white blood cells in human hematopoietic malignancies: III. Miscellaneous hemopoietic diseases.

Peripheral blood samples from 48 untreated and 20 treated patients with disease entities that directly or indirectly affect hematopoiesis [dys-myelopoietic syndrome (DMS), refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB) or in transformation (RAEBIT), lymphoma, myeloma, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and solid tumors with uninvolved bone marrow] were measured with the Technicon H-6000 automated hematology analyzer; this instrument provides a differential count on 10(4) white blood cells (WBC) effected by means of flow cytochemistry (peroxidase content) and volume (light scatter) discrimination. Cases with DMS and RAEB showed statistically significantly lower WBC counts than normal, whereas cases with lymphoma showed significantly higher values. No disease entity demonstrated changes in mean peroxidase activity (MPA) that were significantly different from normal, although all disease entities, including cases with solid tumors, showed significantly higher (two to severalfold) proportions of cells with high peroxidase (HPX) content, probably as a reflection of a disturbance of normal hemopoiesis with the emergence of younger granulocytic forms.

Flow cytochemical patterns of white blood cells in human haematopoietic malignancies. II. Chronic leukaemias.

Peripheral blood samples from 73 patients with chronic leukaemia were measured with the Technicon H-6000 automated haematology analyser to provide flow cytochemical (peroxidase content) and volume (light scatter) discriminated scattergram patterns. For chronic granulocytic leukaemia (CGL), these patterns were so reproducible and distinct that they allowed an immediate diagnosis even without the benefit of microscopic examination. Relative and absolute basophilia was an invariable feature, and remained detected by the H-6000 even when the patient was in haematologic and cytogenetic remission or progressed into blast crisis (BC).

Flow cytochemical patterns of white blood cells in human haematopoietic malignancies. I. Acute leukaemias.

Peripheral blood samples from 118 patients with acute leukaemia (68 untreated; 50 treated) were measured with the Technicon H-6000 automated haematology analyser. This instrument provides, in addition to measurements of the classical haematology parameters (i.e.

Comparison of performance for leukocyte differential counting of the Technicon H6000 system with a manual reference method using the NCCLS standard.

The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) has published a tentative standard for leukocyte differential counting, by means of which a manual or automated method for leukocyte differential counting can be compared with a manual reference method. The performance of the Technicon H6000 system was evaluated using the standard at Stamford and Overlook Hospitals. A total of 502 patient samples were analyzed: 315 from Overlook and 187 from Stamford.

Gestational undernutrition and the development of obesity in rats.

The effects of early gestational undernutrition and subsequent refeeding patterns on offspring food intake, body weight and adiposity were examined. Pregnant rats were food restricted to 50% of their preconception intake levels during the first 2 weeks of pregnancy and were then either returned to ad libitum feeding or pair-fed to nonrestricted control rats. Male and female offspring of previously deprived, ad libitum refed mothers gained significantly more weight when fed a standard low fat, high carbohydrate diet than did control offspring.

The Lee Obesity Index vindicated?

Correlations are reported for rats between the Lee Obesity Index and percent body fat. At weaning, rats were divided into 4 groups; supermarket diet and ovariectomy, supermarket diet and sham surgery. Lab Chow pellets and ovariectomy, and Lab Chow pellets and sham surgery.

Horizontal stereotaxic atlas of the albino rat brain.

An atlas of the albino rat brain was prepared in the horizontal plane, extending from the olfactory bulbs through the hind brain. It was drawn to the scale of König and Klippel's rat brain atlas so as to be used in conjunction with their atlas. Corresponding histological sections were also prepared.

Axon-sparing brain lesioning technique: the use of monosodium-L-glutamate and other amino acids.

Infusions of monosodium-L-glutamate into the rostral hypothalamus, believed to contain neurons mediating satiety, produced persistent hyperphagia and obesity, thus suggesting that a brain lesion had been produced. Similar infusions into the caudal hypothalamus, believed to contain unmyelinated axons of passage that mediate satiety, failed to alter food intake or body weight. Histological examination of the affected tissue confirmed the behavioral evidence that suggests that this technique spares axons but destroys cell bodies.