Gram staining v1

Gram staining is one of the first techniques used for the identification of group B Streptococcus agalactiae and one would expect to see gram-positive cocci under the microscope. The technique consists of applying a series of colorants and bleaches (acetone), which interact with the lipids of the membranes of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The cell walls of gram-positive organisms retain the dye after acetone treatment and appear purple in color, whereas gram-negative organisms become discolored after acetone treatment and appear pink.

Acetone application for administration of bioactive substances has no negative effects on longevity, fitness, and sexual communication in a parasitic wasp

Administration of defined amounts of bioactive substances is a perseverative problem in physiological studies on insects. Apart from feeding and injection, topical application of solutions of the chemicals is most commonly used for this purpose. The solvents used should be non-toxic and have least possible effects on the studied parameters. Acetone is widely used for administration of chemical substances to insects, but possible side-effects of acetone application on fitness and behavioral parameters have been rarely investigated. Here we study the effects of acetone application (207 nl) on fitness and sexual communication in the parasitic wasp Nasonia giraulti Darling. Application of acetone had neither negative effects on longevity nor on offspring number and offspring sex ratio of treated wasps. Treatment of females hampered courtship and mating of N. giraulti couples neither directly after application nor one day after. Male sex pheromone titers were not influenced by acetone treatment. Three application examples demonstrate that topical acetone application is capable of bringing active amounts of insect hormones, neuromodulators, and biosynthetic precursors even in tiny insects. We advocate the use of acetone as a convenient, conservative, and broadly applicable vehicle for studying the effects of bioactive substances in insects.

Study the Effect of Chemical Treatment on Substrate Surface on the Formation Nanodots Array and its Optical Properties

In this research, an effective method to fabricate various metallic nanoand micro structure patterns is developed by combination of chemical stamping and selective peeling off technique. The feasibility of the process is experimentally studied and demonstrated. In this paper, the authors present the effects of the chemical treatment on the substrate surface on the formation of the nanodots array and its absorbance property. The results show that the chemical treatment by dropping Acetone solution on the quartz glass substrate strongly affects the morphology and absorbance property of the nanodots array. With the Acetone treatment on the substrate, the nanodots become smaller and more uniform in size through thermal dewetting process. Simultaneously, it results in blue shifted of the absorbance peak and enhancement of the absorbance peak intensity. The improvement of the optical property of the nanodots array is useful for plasmonic solarcell and bio sensing applications.

Improving Interfacial Adhesion of Sub-Micro PA6 Composites with De-Sized Carbon Fiber

In our previous study we showed the the potential of using of sub-micro Alumina/Titanium (ALTi) particles as a multifunctional reinforcement which can produce multifunctional polymer composites. This paper aims to investigate the interfacial shear properties for different contents of ALTi particles incorporated into PA6 with de-sized carbon fiber. By means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), activated carbon atoms can be detected, which are defined as the carbon atoms conjunction with oxygen and nitrogen. Sizing removal can reduce the acid parameter of carbon fibers surface promoting bonding strength at the fiber/matrix interface which is a desirable property for the carbon fiber composites. XPS also, showed that epoxide group still appeared with using acetone treatment while disappeared with conventional heating at the oven for 25min ate 450oC. SEM images did not show any damage for the carbon fiber after heat treatment. Interfacial shear strength (IFSS) showed an improvement in interfacial adhesion with de-sizing carbon fiber than neat PA6.