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a culture of service...
June, 2010
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Micro Musings...
.
Charlene, I just got a nine page memo about the lab going paperless.
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Brainteasers
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Hardy's Rapid ID...
Identify
Candida glabrata
in as little as
one hour!
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Results in 1 to 2 hours!
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Has control wells for maltose and sucrose.
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Perfect companion product to the HardyCHROM Candida plate.
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C. glabrata is the second most commonly isolated species of Candida.
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Think about it...
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I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals, I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants.
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Foot in Mouth Disease
Quotes they
wish you'd forget...
.
"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
Lord Kelvin, President Royal Society, developed the first and second laws of thermodynamics and the concept of absolute zero temperature.
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Want to receive the MicroBytes
Newsletter
at home?
CLICK HERE
Want to review past issues
of MicroBytes?
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Did you know?
Hardy Diagnostics...
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Hardy is celebrating it's 30th year of serving microbiologists!
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Manufactures over
3,000 products
for microbiology for you to choose from.
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Stocks over
12,000 laboratory products
to increase your selection of items.
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Maintains six distribution centers in the U.S. for faster turn around time to your lab.
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Is
ISO 13485
certified for the manufacture of medical devices to give you confidence in our products.
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Offers you its technical manual,
HUGO
, which contains over 4,500 pages of information regarding microbiology.
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Maintains a worldwide network of over 30 distributors.
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Advice from the Founders...
.
"Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own
reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company."
- George Washington
the first president of the United States and the "Father of Our Country".
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What is the "Hygiene Hypothesis"?
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Over 900 new cases in California...
Pertussis
Epidemic
.
An epidemic has been declared in California as the number of pertussis cases (whooping cough) continues to climb. So far this year, there have been 910 confirmed cases with 600 more that are under investigation. Five deaths have been reported. This could turn out to be the worst pertussis epidemic in California in 50 years. Those hit the hardest are the children of Hispanic farm workers. California is one of only eleven states that do not require the CDC recommended Tdap booster injections amongst middle school aged children (only 47% currently have received the booster). Add that to the persistent fear that vaccinations cause autism and the conditions become ripe for a full blown epidemic. Here are some facts about pertussis:
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Caused by the gram negative rod,
Bordetella pertussis.
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Highly contagious and can cause serious illness (including pneumonia and convulsions) or fatalities in infants.
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Can be asymptomatic in older persons, who can unknowingly infect the younger population.
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Occurrence is seasonal; incidence peaks in July and August; also peaks every three to five years.
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Immunity from vaccination is not 100% effective and wanes in about five years, hence the need for boosters.
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In 2008, there were 13,000 cases in the US with 18 fatalities.
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The disease gets its name from the whooping sound when the patient gasps for breath. You can
hear the whooping sounds
on the Utah epidemiology website.
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For treatment, the macrolides are the drug of choice; which includes erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin (only azithromycin is recommended for infants less than one month of age). Alternatively, SXT can be used for those over two months of age. The CDC publishes
guidelines
for treatment.
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Laboratory diagnosis is made by isolation of
B. pertussis
on
Regan-Lowe culture media
from a nasopharygeal specimen. PCR methods are also available.
Pearlescent gray colonies of
Bordetella pertussis
growing on Hardy Diagnostics
Regan-Lowe Agar
.
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Seeing is Believing?
__________
In which of these two photos does the
man appear to be thinner?
Look closer and you will realize that the photos are identical, only reversed vertically.
Now the question is...If you are overweight, how can you get yourself to appear to be upside down to others?
_________________________
"Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear."
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Go
Chromogenic
HardyCHROM Carbapenemase
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Wisdom to ponder...
.
A 15 year old victim of the Nazi death camps. Below are excerpts from her famous diary.
1929 ~ 1945
"I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still
remains."
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world."
"In spite of everything I still believe that people are
really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation
consisting of confusion, misery and death."
"No one has ever become poor by giving."
"Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction."
"Whoever is happy will make others happy too."
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy
is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens,
nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be."
"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands."
"Who would ever think that so much went on in the soul of a young girl?"
__________________
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You can find more of Leigh Rubin's cartoon humor by
clicking here
for a daily Rubes cartoon.
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Warning: Pun
Zone Ahead
..
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When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
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Signs of the times...
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