Listeria monocytogenes can adhere to different types of food contact surfaces within a food processing environment. Therefore, environmental sampling devices should be capable of detecting unacceptable contamination. In this study, a sponge-stick, foam spatula and an environmental swab were evaluated on their ability to detect low concentrations of L. monocytogenes on different types of food co...

The paper is partly based on research done for the EU-funded (IST2004-2.4.9) project ALIS (Automated Legal Intelligent System) on Intellectual Property Law. We describe the development process of the ALIS Intellectual Property ontology from both a legal and a technical perspective. We discuss the scope and the features of this IP ontology, the lessons learned, and the problems solved. This is d...

Appropriately structured topographical features that are found in nature (e.g,, the lotus leaf) or that are produced synthetically (e.g., via lithography) can impart superhydrophobic properties to surfaces. Water beads up and readily rolls off of such surfaces, making them self-cleaning. Within the past few years, scientists and engineers have begun exploring the utility of these surfaces in mi...

BACKGROUND Intestinal colonization by Staphylococcus aureus among hospitalized patients has been associated with increased risk of staphylococcal infection and could potentially contribute to transmission. We hypothesized that S. aureus intestinal colonization is associated with increased frequency of S. aureus on patients' skin and nearby environmental surfaces. METHODS Selected inpatients w...

IMPORTANCE Household environmental surfaces may serve as vectors for the acquisition and spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among household members, although few studies have evaluated which objects are important reservoirs of MRSA. OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of environmental MRSA contamination in households of children with MRSA infection; define the mol...

MRSA, VRE and Clostridium difficile can survive on environmental surfaces for weeks or months. Surfaces contaminated with these organisms can result in nosocomial infections by two mechanisms: 1) the hands or gloves of healthcare workers (HCWs) can become contaminated via inanimate (environmental) contact and thus lead to the indirect transmission of infection and 2) these organisms can be acqu...

The cell surfaces of several toxigenic and nontoxigenic environmental and clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae non-O1 have been examined. The environmental strains, irrespective of toxigenicity, are significantly more resistant to antibiotics and detergents than are V. cholerae O1 strains. The clinical isolates of non-O1 vibrios are as sensitive to a wide variety of chemicals as the O1 vibrios....

Microbes tend to attach to available surfaces and readily form biofilms, which is problematic in healthcare settings. Biofilms are traditionally associated with wet or damp surfaces such as indwelling medical devices and tubing on medical equipment. However, microbes can survive for extended periods in a desiccated state on dry hospital surfaces, and biofilms have recently been discovered on dr...

background and objectives: hospital surfaces can serve as reservoirs of potential pathogenic bacteria.staff hands are the main source of bacterial transmission in hospital. the prevalence of bacteria harboring β– lactamase enzyme in staff hands and hospital surfaces, leads to spread of β–lactamase producing bacteria and ultimate increase of antibiotic resistance nosocomial infections. the aim o...