|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
a culture of service...
June, 2012
© 2012, Hardy Diagnostics,
all rights reserved
|
|
What are they
saying about Hardy?
_______________________
"I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy dealing with you. Your assistance in matters and level of customer service is exceptional."
~ D. Johnson
"I would like to commend Hardy's employees for the quality service they have provided me. The shipments are prompt and when I talk to a representative I am always greeted pleasantly and helped immediately. Thank you for your high standards. You have an excellent staff. "
~ V. Andrews
"I want to make sure that you know how much we appreciate how user-friendly Hardy's product information is... Hardy Diagnostics understands clinical microbiology and has never disappointed us whenever we need support, even if that support is electronic."
~ M. Stepney
See more...
# # # # #
|
|
Supplies when you need them...
The Hardy Network
Did you know that Hardy Diagnostics maintains eight distribution centers and two manufacturing facilities in order to serve you better?
This network provides either one or two day service to 99% of the country.
Click here
to see our "Coast to Coast" coverage.
# # # # #
|
|
Brainteasers
|
Phraseology
"
Sleep Tight
"
We have all heard the expression, "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite." So what does it mean exactly to "sleep tight?" There are several explanations: one more interesting than the other.
In olden days, the bed frames had ropes to hold up the mattress. One had to periodically tighten the ropes to prevent the mattress from sagging in order to get a good night's sleep. This was accomplished with a "rope key" as demonstrated below.
Another less interesting explanation has to do with an alternate meaning of the word "tight." According to
Webster's Dictionary
"tight" could mean "well, soundly, or properly."
~ ~ ~
|
|
Think about it...
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* Why is Greenland white?
* Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?
* Do you need to use a silencer to shoot a mime?
* I
f a book about failures doesn't sell, is it a success?
* * *
|
Wisdom to ponder...
Robert F. Kennedy
1925 ~ 1968
American politician who served his country as US Senator; advisor to his brother, John F. Kennedy; US Attorney General; and champion of civil rights. He was assassinated in Los Angeles while running for president in 1968.
"I was the seventh of nine children. When you come from that far down you have to struggle to survive."
"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
"People say I am ruthless. I am not ruthless. And if I find the man who is calling me ruthless, I shall destroy him."
"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?"
"One-fifth of the people are against everything all the time."
"All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity."
"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."
"I thought they'd get one of us, but Jack, after all he's been through, never worried about it. I thought it would be me."
* * * * *
|
|
We crave your comments...
How are we doing?
Are you a Hardy customer? If so, we need your help in assessing our performance.
At Hardy Diagnostics, we are fanatics about implementing Continuous Improvement. Would you please take a moment to answer two questions?
It should only take a minute or two and would be an immense help to us in honing our skills.
Provide some feedback...
|
|
QUICK LINKS...
|
Want to receive the MicroBytes
Newsletter
at home?
CLICK HERE
Want to review past issues
of MicroBytes?
|
|
Did you know?
Hardy Diagnostics...
-
Is celebrating its 32nd year of serving microbiologists.
-
Maintains eight distribution centers in the U.S. for faster turn around time to your lab.
-
Is
ISO 13485
certified for the manufacture of medical devices to give you confidence in our products.
-
Offers you its technical manual,
HUGO
, which contains over 4,500 pages of information regarding microbiology.
-
Maintains a worldwide network of over 40
distributors.
Send a
message to the president
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Micro Musings..
|
.
Preventing
Post-Biopsy
Infections
I
nfections following prostate biopsy continue to be a problem that has perplexed urologists since this cancer screening procedure was implemented. Now there's a way to prevent serious infections and septicemia that can follow this procedure.
Click here
to find out how...
|
Garlic Compound Eliminates Pseudomonas Biofilms
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
is the predominant organism of chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The organism is particularly difficult to treat because of its ability to colonize the lungs of its hosts and form a biofilm. Biofilms are far more resistant to antibiotic therapy than individual bacterial cells. Consequently, patients with CF are especially vulnerable to infection by
P. aeruginosa
and, despite intensive treatment, the organism is responsible for a high rate of morbidity and mortality.
|
|
A substance found in garlic has been found to defeat the biofilms of Pseudomonas in the lungs of mice. Could this prolong the life of cystic fibrosis patients?
|
There are several opportunistic pathogens, such as
P. aeruginosa
, capable of utilizing their arsenal of virulence factors in an organized fashion. These pathogens have evolved a chemical language referred to as quorum sensing (QS). QS enables bacterial cells to communicate more effectively, to keep track of their numbers and to minimize host responses until sufficient cell numbers have amassed to overwhelm the host immune system. Therefore, despite rigorous antibiotic therapy, CF patients have a life expectancy of about 40 years, with the main cause of death being complications associated with chronic
P. aeruginosa
infection.
However, there may now be a glimmer of hope in the fight against biofilms that is of particular significance to CF patients. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen and their collaborators have developed a mechanism to identify sources of potential, non-toxic QS-inhibitor compounds in certain foods. The presence of these naturally occurring compounds suggests that diet may offer a more holistic prophylaxis against infection by
P. aeruginosa
.
Garlic provides benefits to the cardiovascular and immune systems, but it is also an effective anti-fungal, anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-protozoan and anti-microbial compound. Now, the team of researchers has identified a constituent of garlic that works to block QS-properties required for biofilm formation. The garlic-derived QS-inhibitor, ajoene, is the major constituent of sulfur-containing compounds released when garlic is crushed. During the study, ajoene was found to inhibit the expression of QS-controlled bacterial genes and, furthermore, worked to reduce the production of bacterial rhamnolipid, a key component in shielding biofilms from white blood cells.
Moreover, by combining ajoene with tobramycin, the team was able to demonstrate a 90 percent reduction in biofilm forming cells and a rapid clearing of pulmonary
P. aeruginosa
infection in mice.
With documented success, the team now hopes to find a pharmaceutical partner to develop antimicrobial drugs based on ajoene that will provide a more effective treatment solution for CF patients. The notion of moving beyond the conventional concept of killing bacterial cells to a more dynamic approach of blocking bacterial communication may prove immediately beneficial in the treatment of
P. aeruginosa
infections, while paving the way for more advanced developments in antibiotic therapy.
# # #
|
Optical oddities...
Huh?
No photo manipulation going on here...
Just someone with a bizarre sense of humor.
"Believe half of what you see
and none of what you hear."
~ Marvin Gaye
|
Take our MicroBytes Survey...
Which time period
produced the best music?
Every generation has an entirely different idea of what constitutes good music. In your opinion, what era generated superior tunes?
|
See the survey results...
Compared to when you
were a child,
is our educational system better or worse?
According to the
Program for International Student Assessment
(PISA), here is how America ranks
for secondary education compared to other countries:
Reading - #17
Math - #31
Science - #23
China was ranked #1 for all three categories.
|
Turn off your spell checker!
Can you raed this? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh, and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! Pelase dno't tlel an Enlgish teahcer aobut tihs!
|
|
Save time and money....
Rapid Test Methods
Hardy offers a variety of rapid test methods to streamline your ID protocols. Please feel free to ask for more information. Our microbiologists are
ready to help
in any way they can!
Aerococcus
spp,
StrepQuick
Campylobacter
spp,
Indoxyl Acetate
Candida albicans
,
AlbiQuick
Candida glabrata
,
GlabrataQuick
Candida glabrata
,
Rapid Trehalose
Clostridium difficile
,
C. diff PRO
Corynebacteria jeikeium
,
RSU Broth
Cryptococcus neoformans
,
Caffeic Acid
E. coli
,
ColiScreen
E. coli
,
Spot Indole
E. coli
O157,
E. coliPRO O157
Enterococcus
spp,
Rapid MGP
Enterococcus faecalis
,
PYR Test
Gardnerella vaginalis
,
Hippurate
Gemella
spp,
StrepQuick
Haemophilus
spp,
X and V Factors
Helicobacter pylori
,
Rapid Urea
Legionella
spp,
Latex Test Kit
Listeria
spp
.
,
Latex Test Kit
Moraxella catarrhalis
,
CatScreen
MRSA,
PBP2a Lateral Flow
Neisseria gonorrhoeae,
CarboFerm
Neisseria meningitidis
,
CarboFerm
Penicillin Resistance,
Nitrocef
Proteus,
Urea/PDA Disks
Staphylococcus aureus,
Coagulase Cryo
Staphylococcus aureus
,
StaphTex
Staphylococcus lugdunensis,
Rapid Ornithine
Streptococcus agalactiae
,
Carrot Broth
Streptococcus anginosus
,
Rapid Anginosus
Streptococcus pneumoniae
,
Bile Spot
Streptococcus pyogenes
,
PYR Test
Strep Typing,
StrepPRO Kit
Vibrio
spp,
O129 Disks
Request
a complete
Rapid Test Catalog.
# # #
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
