Analytical microbiology may be defined as that branch of microbiology in which microorganisms are used as reagents for the quantitative determination of certain chemical compounds. The procedures used for analysis are based on the reaction of a particular microorganism to its environment. If a suitable microorganism will react with a measurable response to a certain chemical entity, an analytic...

In this work, we describe a project, jointly started by DEIS University of Bologna and Dianoema S.p.A., in order to build a system which is able to monitor nosocomial infections. To this purpose, the system computes various statistics that are based on the count of patient infections over a period of time. The precise count of patient infections needs a precise definition of bacterial strains. ...

A large outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Japan, caused by salt-pickled napa cabbage, highlighted potential hazards posed by this vegetable, which is a ready-to-use form of kimchi or some side dishes that does not undergo heat treatment. Here, microbiological quality of 500 commercial salted napa cabbages were examined (quantitative analysis: Aerobic Plate Count [APC], total coliforms [TC...

Folic acid (pteroylmonoglutamic acid) is used in enriched foods; however, very little folic acid occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables. For the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program, a number of fruits and vegetables have been assayed for endogenous folates, by a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method, to evaluate the accuracy of existing data ...

In this study, the influence of different treatments was evaluated: nonwashing, washing in chlorinated water and washing/soaking in chlorinated water and sodium chloride on the quality of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fillets during storage at 1.0 ± 0.5°C through daily analysis of pH, moisture, and lipids content. Microbiological analysis and growth modeling for mesophilic and psychrotro...

In view of the morbidity potential of oral complications in patients with leukemia, this study evaluated the clinical and microbiological alterations that occur in the oral mucosa of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) undergoing antineoplastic chemotherapy and prophylactic administration of 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate. The sample consisted of 17 children aged 2 to 12 years that ...

Introduction: Recipients of corneal transplants are at risk of healthcare-associated infections, which, apart from other causes of surgical site infections, may also occur as a result of the transfer of infected corneal tissue. In this study we assessed the risk of bacterial and fungal infections based on the results of routine microbiological testing of cornea preservation fluid samples. Mater...

A high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed for the analysis of cefazolin in serum. Serum was deproteinized by the addition of 6% trichloroacetic acid and injected onto a reverse-phase column with a mobile phase of 10 to 15% methanol in 1% aqueous acetic acid. Cefazolin chromatographed without interference from ultraviolet-absorbing components of serum, with a retenti...

Optical mapping (OM) has been used in microbiology for the past 20 years, initially as a technique to facilitate DNA sequence-based studies; however, with decreases in DNA sequencing costs and increases in sequence output from automated sequencing platforms, OM has grown into an important auxiliary tool for genome assembly and comparison. Currently, there are a number of new and exciting applic...

BACKGROUND Fungal keratitis has been rarely reported following intracorneal ring segment (ICRS) inmplantation. This paper aims to report a case of fungal keratitis with aspergillus fumigatus following ICRS implantation for correction of keratoconus. METHODS A retrospective chart review was done. Data including demographics, clinical history and presentation, microbiological analysis as well a...