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a culture of service...
June, 2014
© 2014, Hardy Diagnostics,
all rights reserved
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Clinical Microbiology
Update on Video...
Schreckenberger Seminar
Now you can watch a seminar on your computer that will bring you up to date on numerous topics in clinical microbiology. Hardy Diagnostics offers excerpts from the recent seminar that took place this year in Palm Springs, California. The instructor is world renowned microbiologist, Paul Schreckenberger, PhD, who is the director of Clinical Microbiology at the Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. This video and PowerPoint provides recent information to assist microbiologists in the identification and susceptibility testing of pathogenic bacteria.
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Enterobacteriaciae
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Non-Fermentors
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Carbapenem Resistance
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Urinary Tract Infection Pathogens
This course will provide almost five hours of detailed instruction. Once you are provided with the link, you can start, stop, and resume any time you like.
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Brainteasers
Time to conjure up
some mental magic.
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Bioluminescent bacteria thought to aid in healing war wounds
"Angel's Glow" Saves Civil War Soldiers
It's a historical fact that some of the wounded Civil War soldiers after the battle of Shiloh in 1862 reported a mysterious phenomenon which caused their wounds to glow in the dark. Those soldiers with the "Angel's Glow," as they called it, actually seemed to heal better than those without the glow.
This remained a mystery until recently a bioluminesent bacteria known as
Photorhadus luminenscens
was found to thrive in the gut of the nematode,
Heterorhaditis
that is common to that area of Tennessee.
Photo showing the green bioluminescent
P. luminescens
bacteria living in the gut of the
Heterorhabditis
nematode.
Based on the evidence for
P. luminescens's
presence at Shiloh and the reports of the strange glow, it is thought that the bacteria from the soil, along with the nematodes, got into the soldiers' wounds. This not only turned their wounds into night lights, but may have saved their lives. The chemical cocktail that
P. luminescens
uses to clear out its competition probably helped kill off other pathogens that might have infected the soldiers' wounds.
Since neither
P. luminescens
nor its associated nematode species are very infectious to humans, they would have soon been cleaned out by the soldier's immune system themselves, allowing the wounds to heal faster.
Before the age of antibiotics, the Angel's Glow phenomenon has also been known to save soldiers during World War I as well.
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Phraseology
"Let the cat
out of the bag"
This expression, as we know, means to divulge a secret or deception.
It originates from long ago when farmers would take one of their pigs to the market wrapped in a bag.
Unscrupulous ones would put a cat in the bag instead. If someone let the cat out of the bag, it would reveal the deceit.
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HardyDisks
Hardy offers a complete line of disks for antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
All the commonly used antibiotics are offered in cartridges that are compatible with the commonly used BD disk dispensers.
The last disk is marked to let you know that it's time to refill the dispenser with a new cartridge.
View
our complete susceptibility mini-catalog.
Request
a sample cartridge for evaluation.
Request
a special price quote.
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Think about it...
* If you are driving at the speed of light and you turn on your headlights,what happens?
* You know how most packages say "Open here." What is the protocol if the package says, "Open somewhere else?"
* Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?
* Why is it that when you transport something by car, it's called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship it's called cargo?
* You know that little indestructible black box that is used on planes? Why can't they make the whole plane out of the same substance?
* Why is it that when you are driving and looking for an address, you turn the radio down?
* Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
* Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
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Wisdom to ponder...
Plutarch
AD 46 ~ AD 120
Greek historian, essayist,
philosopher and biographer
"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality."
"I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better."
"Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks."
"To find fault is easy; to do better may be difficult."
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled."
"An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics."
"Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly."
"Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly."
"The omission of good is no less reprehensible than the commission of evil."
"We ought not to treat living creatures like shoes or household belongings, which when worn with use, we throw away."
"A few vices are sufficient to darken many virtues
."
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Download Our
Mini Catalogs
No matter what industry you may be in, Hardy has a mini catalog that contains the microbiology products that are needed in your lab.
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Food and Beverage
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Veterinary
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Anaerobic Microbiology
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Susceptibility Testing
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Control Organisms
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Cosmetics
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Pharmaceuticals
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Dehydrated Culture Media
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And more...
View a complete list
and download the PDF version.
Request
the paper version.
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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 34th 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 detailed technical inserts, comprised of over 4,500 pages of information regarding microbiology.
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Services over 9,000 labs and maintains a worldwide network of over 65
distributors.
Send a
message to the president
.
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Microbiologically speaking...
What are the hazards
of summertime?
___________________________________
before you pack up for
your summer vacation...
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Are the dots white, gray, or black?
"Believe half of what you see
and none of what you hear."
~ Marvin Gaye ~
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Mouth Bacteria
Trigger Oral Cancer
If you've ever skipped or delayed that routine cleaning at the dentist, think again. A new study shows that chemicals released from bacteria that commonly cause gum disease can incite oral lesions and tumors and trigger oral cancer.
A new study by Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) reveals that high levels of certain oral bacteria commonly found in saliva may increase the risk of oral cancer. The study was conducted to determine why most people never develop disease and what it is that protects them. The answer is all about the kind of bacteria.
Kaposi's sarcoma-related lesions and tumors in the mouth are commonly caused by
Porphyromonas gingivalis
and
Fusobacterium nucleatum
, species normally associated with gum disease.
To determine who is most at risk, researchers recruited patients, and all subjects underwent a standard gum disease screen. Patients were then divided into two groups: patients with an average age of 50 and severe chronic gum disease and patients with an average age of 26 with healthy gums.
P. gingivalis
and
F. nucleatum
were common to the patients exhibiting gum disease.
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Fusobacterium nucleatum
(rods) are seen here coaggregating with
Porphyromonas gingivalis.
Baylor College of
Medicine.
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Though the vast majority of gum disease is easily prevented by routine good oral hygiene-physically removing microorganisms and tartar build-up from plaque-causing microorganisms-it is also heavily influenced by genetics and other environmental factors such as poor diet, smoking, stress, and underlying health conditions such as diabetes.
What researchers discovered in the CWRU study is that these bacteria produce fatty acids that can recruit and facilitate the growth of oral cancer-causing viruses. Therefore, this discovery may lead to early saliva testing for bacteria that cause gum disease; thereby improving preventive treatments and monitoring for early signs of malignancy
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As we age, these environmental factors increase the risk of chronic disease by
P. gingivalis
and
F. nucleatum,
especially if we don't foster good habits at a young age.
So the next time you're thinking of delaying that trip to the dentist, ask yourself. . . .is it worth the risk?
~Kerry Pierce, MS, RM (NRCM)
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HardyCHROM SS is a new patented chromogenic media designed to streamline the screening of stool specimens for
Salmonella
and
Shigella
.
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Would you like to eliminate annoying false positives from
Proteus
spp?
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Would you like to reduce the time to report out positives from three down to two days?
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See the survey results.
..
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Should all new patients be screened for MRSA?
Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) continues to be a serious problem plaguing hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Studies show that 2% of the population harbors MRSA in their nasal passages.
Currently, there are about 80,000 cases annually of MRSA as Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI). Compared to the numbers in 2005, the rate of infection has been cut in half; so some progress is being made. The cost of added surveillance can be burdensome to hospitals already strapped for money. However, the cost of an average MRSA infection in the hospital is $14,000. Should all incoming hospital patients be screened for MRSA so that isolation measures can be taken?
Find out
what your fellow
MicroBytes readers thought about this...
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"Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.
Science is the highest personification of the nation, because that nation will remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence."
Louis Pasteur
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A palindrome is a word or phrase that is the same when read forwards or backwards.
Question: What palindrome did Adam use to
introduce himself to Eve?
"Madam in Eden, I'm Adam"
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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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Tell a man that there are
400 billion stars
in the universe,
and he'll believe you.
Tell him a bench has wet paint,
and he has to touch it.
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Name badges at a canine convention.
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Actual goofy signs found in various spots around the world
...
Sign in a Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES
PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT
Sign in a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS
In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT
BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN
In an office:
AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN
ON THE DRAINING BOARD
Outside a secondhand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES ETC. WHY NOT BRING
YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?
Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS
Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR
S
een during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE
ON THE FIRST FLOOR
Notice in a field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL
CHARGES
Message on a leaflet
:
IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS
Sign on a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING
(PLEASE KNOCK HARD -
THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)
Spotted in a toilet in a London office block:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER.
PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW
.
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