Types Of Stoppers Research Articles

ANew Type of Stopper for the Cultivation of Tubercle Bacilli

ANew Type of Stopper for the Cultivation of Tubercle Bacilli

Storage of poisons in the homes of families with small children.

Great attention has been paid all over the world during recent years to the subject of poisoning in children, and several workers have shown that in Sweden also the problem is important. Berfenstam (1954, 1958), for example, estimated the number of cases of poisoning treated in the Pediatric and Ear, Nose and Throat departments in Sweden as 2,000 to 3,000 annually. It is usually small children who are the victims of accidental poisoning. Karlsson (1955), in a study of about 3,000 cases of poisoned children in Stockholm, found a rapidly increasing frequency from the age of 9 months, reaching a maximum at 11 to 15 months, followed by a slow decline. 81 per cent, of the poisonings occurred in children less than 3 years old. Both Lindquist (1954), in data from Lund, and Ber fenstam, Ehrenpreis, Ekstrom, Garsten, and Myrin (1950) showed similar age distributions. Practical measures of different kinds have been taken in Sweden for the prevention of accidental poisoning in children. A joint committee to cam paign against accidents to children has repeatedly pointed out the importance of such measures. It may be mentioned, in particular, that in Sweden different types of safety locks and stoppers have been devised (Christiansson, 1954; Christiansson and Berfenstam, 1958; Myrin, Berfenstam, and Karlsson, 1960); much propaganda has been issued concerning them, and the use of secure medicine cupboards has also been recommended. The large number of poisoning cases and the increasing quantities of poisonous medicines and chemical preparations in domestic use (pest and vermin destroyers, cleaning powders and fluids, polishes, disinfectants, etc.) justifies more detailed studies of the problem (Barr, 1958). It is well known that behind every accident there is a complex mechanism (Jacobziner, 1957; Koumans, 1960). One method of studying the problem which may be of great value is to obtain detailed information through home visits after cases of accidental poisoning (Mclntire and Simmons, 1960). In this paper a study is presented of one pre disp sing factor: the too easy access to poisonous preparations. In this type of study objectivity and replicability is of primary importance from the point of view of method, and one of the aims of the present survey is to establish an acceptable method of i vestigation with especial regard to these qualities.

Storage of Preserved Insect Specimens

Several methods of storing insect specimens in liquid preservatives have been used at the Forest Biology Laboratory at Victoria, all of them unsatisfactory to a varying degree. The method described herein was devised by the author and has proved successful during the past year.Homeopathic vials approximately 62 mm. overall outside length × 15 mm. greatest outside diameter × 11 mm. inside neck measurement, with 000 rubber stoppers, are the most suitable size for insect specimens. The different stages of nearly any of the species of insects encountered by the Forest Insect Survey can be easily accommodated in a single vial of this size. Small shell vials may be used for double mounts when tiny insects are involved which might otherwise be lost in the larger vials. For material too large for the 11 mm. neck of the homeopathic vial, shell vials 65 mm. × 15 mm. can be used with serum sleeve-type stoppers. All but mass collections and a few of the larvae can be preserved in these sizes. Both types of rubber stoppers are satisfactory, although the sleeve type requires more effort to put on and seal, and also conceals the top of the vial. Air bubbles can be removed from the latter by inserting a hypodermic needle through the top of the stopper.

Flipping Device for Flange Rubber Stoppers

THE advantages of the flange type rubber stopper for the safe distribution of various bottled biological products are obvious. The difficulty of flipping the flanges by hand during the process of bottling, however, renders the use of this type of stopper almost iinpossible, especially if rubber gloves are worn. Since we were not aware of any device on the market for performing this rather simple but important act, we decided to develop a mechanical flipper for our use in the laboratory.* The instrument has proved so thoroughly satisfactory that we feel it might be of value to others who are producing biological products.