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a culture of service...
November, 2013
© 2013, Hardy Diagnostics,
all rights reserved
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There's an abundance of information available to you on our website. You will find descriptions and photos of over 13,000 products. You will also find:
and discover what Hardy Diagnostics can do for you!
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HardyCHROM MRSA
Hardy's chromogenic media for MRSA will amaze you by the distinct and clear color development.
Study 1
- HardyCHROM outperforms a popular brand.
Study 2
- HardyCHROM outperforms a popular brand again!
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Brainteasers
Teasers to test your temperament.
Enter here
...if you dare.
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Hardy's TB MODS kit will identify TB and perform two susceptibility tests in one procedure! Here's why TB MODS represents the logical choice for the management of tuberculosis....
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Performs susceptibility testing for Isoniazid and Rifampin simultaneously with TB detection.
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Detects TB within 8.5 days on the average.
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Simple microscopic read-out.
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No expensive equipment needed other than an inverted microscope.
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For TB detection, the sensitivity was 99.4% and specificity was 98.4%.
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For detection of MDR TB, the sensitivity was 100% and the specificity was 99.4%.
Find out
more about Hardy's TB MODS Kit.
View a recent study
on TB MODS
Please send me more information
.
Not available for diagnostic use in the United States.
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TransPRO
Hardy's new TransPRO is a liquid based transport media with a patented flocked swab for greater recovery and elution of specimens.
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Versatile
- Maintains viability of aerobic, anaerobic, and fastidious bacteria for up to 48 hours at room and refrigerated temperatures.
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Compatible
- Works well with automatic specimen processing machines. Ideal platform for automated liquid handling.
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Liquid-Based
- Liquid Amies medium, so no solid media will trap the specimen. More specimen elutes from swab to liquid phase.
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Advanced Flocked Swab
- With patented Hydra-Flock flocked swab, TransPRO picks up more specimen and elutes more specimen for increased sensitivity.
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Expands Testing Capabilities
- Run multiple tests from the same specimen using 1ml of liquid sample suspension. TransPRO provides up to 10 identical 100µl aliquots of liquid sample suspension to facilitate repeat testing.
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Only One Product Needed
- TransPRO allows laboratories to simplify and streamline specimen collection and culture transport and replaces multiple SKUs.
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Could Japanese Pickles be the Next Superfood
?
A traditional Japanese pickled turnip, known as Suduki, contains a probiotic that is thought to prevent infections from the flu virus.
Lactobacillus brevis
in the pickle resists stomach acid and produces an exopolysaccharide that may be the component that stimulates the production of antibodies that eradicate influenza virus.
So far, only studies on mice using the H1N1 flu virus have been completed. However, studies with humans given the
L. brevis
probiotic drink are currently underway.
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Think about it...
* How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America?
* Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.
* I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting
clothing. If I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!
* Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life, we could simply press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and start all over?
* Just remember...if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.
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Feeling guilty yet?
The average American will consume about 4,500 calories at the typical Thanksgiving meal. That's double the daily recommended caloric input for an entire day. You might want to think of it as wolfing down seven Burger King Whoppers.
Here's what it would take to burn off that 4,500 calorie dinner:
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Run for 7.7 hours.
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Cycle for 15 hours.
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Play basketball for 7.7 hours.
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Row for 10.3 hours.
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Play football for 7.7 hours.
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Hike for 10.3 hours.
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Swim for 10.6 hours.
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Bowl for 20.6 hours.
Or watching football from the couch for 79 hours...
now you're talkin'!
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Wisdom to ponder...
Albert Schweitzer
1875 ~ 1965
German musician, philosopher, physician, and medical
missionary in Africa
"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory."
"Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light."
"Do something wonderful; people may imitate it."
"Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier."
"Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid."
"A man does not have to be an angel in order to be saint."
"Serious illness doesn't bother me for long because I am too inhospitable a host."
"We cannot possibly let ourselves get frozen into regarding everyone we do not know as an absolute stranger."
"Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf."
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QUICK LINKS...
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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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Is celebrating its 33rd year of serving microbiologists.
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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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Services over 9,000 labs and maintains a worldwide network of over 40
distributors.
Send a
message to the president
.
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Advice to politicians?
"Sincerity is the ticket...
If you can fake that,
you've got it made!"
~ George Burns~
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C. diff Update
Endoscopic photo of pseudomembranous colitis, a characteristic manifestation of full-blown
Clostridium difficile
colitis, showing yellow plaques on the colorectal musosa
. There were
14,000 American deaths last year due to this disease.
Courtesy of Gregory Ginsberg, MD, University of Pennsylvania.
1
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New Recommendations for Treatment.
The European Society for Clinical Microbiology has released an updated algorithm for the treatment of various types of
C. difficile
infections which include the use of probiotics and fecal transplants for cases with multiple recurrences.
See page 52
for schematic algorithm.
2
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Fecal Transplant Pills Found to be Effective.
Researchers from the University of Calgary in Canada have been preparing pills made up of feces from the family members of the afflicted patient. Of the 27 patients tested, all were successfully treated and experienced no recurrences of disease. Only the bacteria was extracted from the feces, which was encased in a triple layer of gelatin capsules to help survive the acid conditions of the stomach before it reaches the small intestine.
More information.
3.
C. Diff Infections Not Always Acquired from Symptomatic Patients
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Researchers at the University of Oxford found that over half of infected patients did not acquire their infection from other patients, but rather from outside sources such as water, pets, farm animals, or food. They performed whole gene sequencing on 957 isolates obtained from symptomatic patients.
More information.
4.
Asymptomatic Carriers a Major Source of Infection.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that 29% of infected patients contracted their disease from asymptomatic carriers. They concluded, "In our hospital, with an established infection control program designed to contain transmission from symptomatic CDI patients, asymptomatic carriers appear to have played an important role in transmission. Identification and isolation of carriers may be necessary to further reduce transmission of
C. difficile
in such settings."
View the abstract.
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Below are some examples of Dr. Niall Hamilton's petri plate art from New Zealand. This microbiologist turned MD explains his entry into the world of art this way: "I wanted to create a unique greeting card that reflected my passion for my work and my passion for science. The design worked and looked pretty good, so I continued trying to create interesting images."
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A rose created by Rhodotorula and Cladosporium
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Elephants created by Rhodotorula and Aureobasidium.
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If you would like to see more of Dr. Hamilton's art,
click here
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How many faces can you find?
If you look hard enough, you should
be able to find eleven.
"Believe half of what you see
and none of what you hear."
~ Marvin Gaye ~
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See the survey results...
Are drones an acceptable way to fight the war on terrorism?
In 2000, the Pentagon had fewer than fifty aerial drones; ten years later, it had a fleet of nearly 7,500, and the US Air Force now trains more drone "pilots" than bomber and fighter pilots combined. Drones are already a $5 billion business in the US alone. Drone strikes have killed about 5,000 people so far. The civilian death rate has been estimated to be anywhere from 8 to 34%.
Today, nearly a third of all US warplanes are flying robots, and there are 11 other countries that possess armed drones as well
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Are drone strikes, and the inevitable civilian casualties associated with them, a necessary and unavoidable part of the war on terror; or is it a police action that deprives the victim of due process of law and perhaps violates international law?
Find out
what your fellow
MicroBytes readers had to say...
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Take our survey.
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Are "Right to Work"
Laws Desirable?
The state of Michigan joined the 24 other "right-to-work" states in March of this year (pictured in green above). The law makes it illegal to require an employee's membership, payment of
union dues
, or fees as a condition of employment, either before or after hiring. This law applies to both private and government jobs.
The intent is to promote the creation of more jobs and reduce unemployment, supporters say. Detractors claim that in the long run some employees will be harmed and lose their ability to collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions.
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Sting Operation Exposes Sleazy Journals
After becoming concerned about unscrupulous online journals that will publish just about anything, the editors of the reputable journal
Science
decided to conduct a sting operation to expose junk science.
One of the editors fabricated a paper that was purporting to discover a chemical extracted from lichen that kills cancer cells. The study was full of fundemental errors on method, data, and conclusions. In addition, its authors were fake also.
In the end, the paper's bogus study with fictitious authors got 157 acceptance letters and 98 rejections - a success score of 61%!
The
Science
editors are particularly concerned about drug companies easily getting their dubious studies published to promote their latest remedies. They ask everyone to use caution when citing references to these online journals of doubtful repute.
List of suspected journals.
Where they are located.
More information.
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Part 2
I've Learned...
by Andy Rooney
American journalist
1919 ~ 2011
I've learned...
that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned...
that the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?
I've learned...
that to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I've learned..
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that when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
I've learned...
that love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned...
that the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
I've learned...
that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
I've learned...
that I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.
I've learned...
that one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I've learned...
that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
I've learned...
that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
I've learned...
that it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life-threatening situation.
I've learned...
that the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.
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I'm aloof, distant, and judgmental.
I think I may be a cat.
anonymous
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Advice for the day:
If you have a
headache
,
do what it says on the aspirin bottle:
Take two, and KEEP AWAY FROM
CHILDREN
.
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Online
Ordering
Made
Easy!
Watch
a short video
to learn how easy it is
to order from Hardy on-line!
Pick
. Click. You're Done!
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