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a culture of service...
February, 2015
© 2015, Hardy Diagnostics,
all rights reserved
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Ever had a specimen cup
talk to you?
OK, maybe they don't talk, but Hardy's ClikSeal Specimen Cups will make an audible sound when the lid is securely fastened.
Everyone knows how frustrating it is to receive a leaker. With ClikSeal, the nursing staff will know that the lid is tightened by the clicking sound it will make, thus telling you that no leaks are possible.
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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...
Request
the paper version.
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Brainteasers
Brainteasers goes to
Hollywood again this month.
How well do you know the oldies?
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Making life easier
for the microbiologist...
CryoSavers
Hardy's CryoSavers are the most convenient way to preserve microorganisms.
Watch
this short video and find out how easy it is!
See
the IFU (Instructions for Use)
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The exclamation 'Eureka!' is famously attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes. He reportedly proclaimed "Eureka!" (Greek for "I found it!") when he stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose. He suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged.
He then realized that the volume of irregular objects made of gold could be measured with precision, a previously unsolved problem.
He is said to have been so eager to share his discovery that he leapt out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked.
Another instance of "I found it!" was when "Eureka" became the state motto for California, which refers to the discovery of gold in 1848, thus triggering the California gold rush.
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Try out Hardy's disposable ComfortPRO Lab Coats to experience comfort and economy at the same time!
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EnviroTrans
Do you perform Environmental Monitoring of your facility?
Watch
a short video showing how simple it is to use EnviroTrans
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Think about it...
* I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
* Why do they call it the Department of Interior when they are in charge of everything outdoors?
* Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
Do Roman paramedics refer to IV's as "4's"?
* Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
* If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?
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Wisdom to ponder...
Gilda Radner
19
46 ~1989
An American comedian
and actress. She was best remembered as an original
cast member
of the TV show "
Saturday Night Live
," for which she won an
Emmy Award
in 1978.
Tragically
, she became a victim of cancer at age 43.
"I base my fashion taste on what doesn't itch."
"I grew up in front of a television. I guess I'll grow old inside of one."
"Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next."
"I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they're the first to be rescued off sinking ships."
"Having cancer gave me membership in an elite club I'd rather not belong to."
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way that some poems don't rhyme and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end."
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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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Why do we catch
colds in the winter?
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First time seen in the US...
The Bourbon Virus
I
t was during the summer of 2014 when a male patient from Bourbon County, Kansas was admitted to the University of Kansas Hospital with a high fever, muscle aches, and loss of appetite. The man was a farmer who worked outdoors and often experienced tick bites. Results from his blood tests showed elevated liver enzymes and low platelet and white cell counts.
The patient tested negative for Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis. The illness progressed to lung and kidney failure, and after only 10 days in the hospital, the previously healthy Kansas farmer passed away.
When researchers at the CDC received blood samples to test for Heartland virus, a recently discovered tick-borne illness, they found negative results but also noticed that something else was growing in the samples. Eventually, the new virus was identified. The virus was named Bourbon virus after the county in which the only known patient originated. Bourbon virus is a Thogotovirus, belonging to the Orthomyxoviridae family of RNA viruses. It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus.
Thogotovirus has been seen in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. It was first isolated in 1965 from a pool of ticks collected from cattle in the Thogoto forest near Nairobi, Kenya.
Bourbon virus is the first Thogotovirus to be isolated in the Western Hemisphere.
Thogotovirus can replicate in both tick cells and vertebrate cells and is usually transmitted via ticks. Nonviremic transmission has been demonstrated with Thogotovirus, through cofeeding ticks. This allows uninfected ticks to pick up the virus from a host that does not yet exhibit a systemic infection which can quickly create a population of infected ticks.
An infectious disease specialist and the doctor who treated the Kansas farmer, Dr. Dana Hawkinson, states there was a lack of understanding of the illness caused by Bourbon virus and an uncertainty of the full spectrum of the disease, including its severity and modes of transmission.
According to Dr. Hawkinson, it is possible that there have been milder cases where people have recovered, but without any previous reports, there is no way to know. Public health departments must rely on investigating future cases to gather more information on this virus and the disease it causes.
Symptoms of Bourbon virus infection include fever, loss of appetite, muscle aches, and a general feeling of malaise accompanied by exposure to ticks. Tick-borne illnesses are not commonly seen during the winter months, but as spring approaches this year, it is important to protect oneself from tick bites and tick-borne illnesses by wearing long clothes and insect repellent whenever there is a risk of exposure.
The CDC recommends using repellents that contain 20-30% DEET on exposed skin and to treat clothing with products that contain 0.5% permethrin. Remember to also perform thorough tick checks after possible exposure.
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by Alani Barajas
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Two new products form Rosco...
Carbapenemase
Detection
Hardy Diagnostics is pleased to present two new Gram-negative resistance detection products manufactured by Rosco Diagnostica (Denmark).
Neo-Rapid CARB kit
(Cat. no.
RO98024
) is a carbapenemase detection kit based on the organism's ability to hydrolyze the indicator carbapenem (imipenem). This kit is based on the concept of the Carba NP test as described in the CLSI M100 document. The principle of the test is that a heavy inoculum of a possible carbapenemase-producing strain would cause hydrolysis of imipenem resulting in acid production and a color change from red to yellow within two hours.
Ordering information.
Product IFU
.
KPC/Metallo-β-Lactamase and OXA-48 Confirm Kit
(Cat. no.
RO98015
) is based on the phenotypic differentiation between carbapenem (meropenem) disk alone compared to the same carbapenem combined with different β-Lactamase inhibitors. For instance, organisms producing KPC enzymes are generally susceptible to phenylboronic acid as are AmpC producers. Consequently, cloxacillin is used to distinguish these two because AmpC producers are susceptible to cloxacillin. Metallo enzymes such as NDM, IMP, and VIM are usually inhibited by dipicolinic acid, so a difference between the zone diameters for meropenem versus meropenem/dipicolinic acid would be indicative of MBL production. Lastly, a temocillin disk is included as a negative carbapenem synergy test, and resistance to temocillin is usually indicative of OXA-48 type resistance.
Ordering information.
Product IFU.
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Pre-reduced Culture Media...
Hardy's AnaeroGRO ensures superior recovery of anaerobic bacteria. The plates are packaged in a nitrogen gas flushed pouch that also includes an oxygen scavenger sachet.
Learn
more about AnaeroGRO.
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Did you hear the one about...
The bartender says,
"Hey, we don't serve time travelers here."
A time traveler walks into a bar
.
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Warning:
Pun Zone Ahead
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When is the best time to visit the dentist? . . . Tooth hurty.
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A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.
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A will is a dead giveaway
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With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
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A boiled egg is hard to beat.
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Franklin's Prayer
.
"Help me, O Father,
that I may have tenderness for the weak, and a reverent respect for the ancient.
That I may be kind to my
neighbors
,
good-n
atured
to my companions,
and hospitable to strangers.
Help me, O Father,
that I may be averse to craft and overreaching, abhor extortion, perjury,
and every kind of wickedness.
Help me, O Father,
that I may be honest and openhearted, gentle, merciful and good, cheerful in spirit, rejoicing in the good of others."
Benjamin Franklin
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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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Our Optical Oddity for this month is a photo of a rare form of meteorite found in Fukang, China in the year 2000. It is believed to be some 4.5 billion years old, which is as ancient as Earth itself.
It is a pallasite, a type of meteorite with translucent golden crystals of a mineral called olivine (or peridot) embedded in a silvery honeycomb of nickel-iron. Less than 1% of meteorites are of this type.
This meteorite is possibly the most stunning extraterrestrial piece of rock man has ever seen. It is currently in the collection of the
University
of
Arizona in Tucson
. Below is a photo from the same meteorite that was cut in a thin section and polished.
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