We describe an outbreak of Bacillus cereus bacteremia that occurred at Jichi Medical University Hospital in 2006. This study aimed to identify the source of this outbreak and to implement appropriate control measures. We reviewed the charts of patients with blood cultures positive for B. cereus, and investigated B. cereus contamination within the hospital environment. Genetic relationships among B. cereus isolates were analyzed. Eleven patients developed B. cereus bacteremia between January and August 2006. The hospital linens and the washing machine were highly contaminated with B. cereus, which was also isolated from the intravenous fluid. All of the contaminated linens were autoclaved, the washing machine was cleaned with a detergent, and hand hygiene was promoted among the hospital staff. The number of patients per month that developed new B. cereus bacteremia rapidly decreased after implementing these measures. The source of this outbreak was B. cereus contamination of hospital linens, and B. cereus was transmitted from the linens to patients via catheter infection. Our findings demonstrated that bacterial contamination of hospital linens can cause nosocomial bacteremia. Thus, blood cultures that are positive for B. cereus should not be regarded as false positives in the clinical setting.
The adhesion force between rail and wheel is one of the important factors for proceeding towards the realization of high-speed railway. On the other hand, it is supposed that the water film formed between the rail and wheel has a remarkable influence on the adhesion force under rainy condition at higher speeds. In this paper, taking Bett and Cappi's viscosity values of water, which show quite a different behaviour from the viscosity of oil, the influence has been investigated of important factors such as rolling speed, contact pressure and temperature on water film thickness for a smooth surface by applying elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory. Based on the numerical solutions, an empirical equation has been developed for water film thickness relating to rolling speed, load and material parameter by using a linear regression method and comparing it with other authors' works on a lower material parameter or elastic± isoviscous contact. Furthermore, in order to understand the influence of the above factors and the surface roughness on the adhesion force, adhesion coefficients have been calculated on a trial basis in the case of rough surface contact under limited conditions, and the theoretical results have been compared with the measured values of the tests on Japanese Shinkansen vehicles in the field.
DNA testing has good clinical implications for the management of patients with MEN 2 and the timing and operative procedures of thyroidectomy can be modified according to the genotype.
The design and synthesis of molecular probes competent for pH signaling within or beyond a certain range is a complicated matter. Herein a new mechanism for ''OFF-ON-OFF'' absorbance and fluorescence intensities vs. pH behaviour is described. The probe design is based on the connection of carboxylic acid derivatized benzoxazole and 7-hydroxycoumarin/iminocoumarin parts. The protonation/deprotonation of the carboxylic acid (-COOH), N atom of benzoxazole ring and hydroxy part of the coumarin ring have been used for this mechanistic study. We have designed the molecule in such a fashion that deprotonation of the hydroxy part takes place at a lower pK(a) compared to deprotonation of the -COOH. The dual ''OFF-ON-OFF'' properties of our probes depend on the C-C bond between the two different heterocyclic parts. Quantum mechanical calculations showed that the particular 'C-C' bond has an additional π-character. The twisting around this bond in different forms is responsible for such an ''OFF-ON-OFF'' property. This mechanism is new in fluorescence alteration processes. The delocalization of charge from one heterocyclic part to the other heterocyclic part in the mono- and dianionic forms controls the ''OFF-ON-OFF'' properties. The role of the carboxylic acid group was examined using an acetyl substituted derivative. One of our probes was successfully applied in live cell imaging studies in media at different pH.
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