Saturday, 19 October 2013

Nucleic Acid Preparations Identify Norovirus and Mycoplasma pneumonia


By Labmedica International staff writers
Posted on 15 Oct 2013
Image:  DiaSorin's LIAISON IXT for the purification of nucleic acids (Photo courtesy of Diasorin).
Image: DiaSorin's LIAISON IXT for the purification of nucleic acids (Photo courtesy of Diasorin).
Extraction kits provide high yield, high purity nucleic acid preparations for sensitive and accurate molecular identification of Norovirus and Mycoplasma pneumonia.

Magnetic bead technology extraction kits concentrates target microorganisms from a variety of sample matrices, including urine, sputum, culture, and swabs, and then provides a purified nucleic acid extraction for downstream molecular analysis. No enzymatic pretreatment or prior heat treatment is required.

The DiaSorin (Saluggia, Italy) BUGS’n Beads nucleic acid extraction kits, for use with the automated DiaSorin LIAISON IXT/Arrow instruments, provide a highly purified nucleic acid preparation from patient samples for Cont. Reading

UK rejects meningitis B vaccine


By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

The only vaccine to protect against a deadly form of meningitis should not be introduced in the UK, the body that advises governments on immunisation says.
About 1,870 people contract meningitis B each year and one in 10 dies.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the vaccine, Bexsero, was not cost-effective and should not yet be adopted by the NHS.
Meningitis charities have been campaigning for it to be introduced.
It is mostly children under five who are at risk from the bacterial infection, which leads to inflammations of the brain and spinal cord.
Of those who survive a meningitis B infection, one in four is left with life altering after-effects such as brain damage or limb loss.
There are vaccines against other forms of meningitis, but the jab developed by Novartis is the only one thought to protect against meningitis B.
no wristTests have suggested the vaccine is effective against 73% of the different strains of the disease. It was licensed for use in Europe in January 2013.
However, there are questions about the effectiveness as very large trials would be needed to show how it affects the number of cases or how it would control the spread of the bacterium. So far no country has introduced the vaccine.
The JCVI said: “On the basis of the available evidence, routine infant or toddler immunisation using Bexsero is highly unlikely to be cost effective at any vaccine price based on the accepted threshold for cost effectiveness used in the UK and could not be recommended.”
Meningitis
  • Meningitis is an infection of the meninges – the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
  • Meningococcal bacteria are common and carried harmlessly in the nose or throat by about 1 in 10 people.
  • They are passed on through close contact.
  • Anyone can get meningitis but babies and young children are most vulnerable.
  • Symptoms include a high fever with cold hands and feet, agitation, confusion, vomiting and headaches.Cont. Reading

Thursday, 10 October 2013

Addressing the Healthcare Needs of Our Aging Population With Technology

Arrival of the Baby-Boom generation has created an unparalleled urgency for understanding and expanding our national geriatric medical service offerings. Within the next decade it is expected that our 60+ Population will more than quadruple [Census 2000].


The effect of this demographic shift will place additional pressure on healthcare providers-it is noted that Geriatric Specialists are already in short supply. Utilization of healthcare services and their associated cost will not only increase as healthcare inflation outpaces overall inflation, but will disproportionately increase as seniors take advantage of an expanding array of new technologies for managing chronic illness and promoting active lifestyles. READ MORE

Tuesday, 8 October 2013

General fitness training







General fitness training works towards broad goals of overall health and well-being, rather than narrow goals of sport competition, larger muscles or concerns over appearance.
A regular moderate workout regimen and healthy diet can improve general appearance markers of good health such as muscle tone, healthy skin, hair and nails, while minimizing age or lifestyle-related reductions in health.
For more information about the topic General fitness training, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Surge Protective Devices (SPDs)

Current Technology® Surge Protective Devices (SPDs) offer an advanced power quality monitoring system with remote accessibility via modbus and ethernet.  The monitoring feature helps the user identify and quantify critical power quality issues at a fraction of the cost of standalone power quality monitoring systems.
The optimum line of Current Technology SPDs provide true single- and repetitive-surge test data that fully comply with engineering specifications, in contrast to calculated values for single- and repetitive-surge data that competitor SPDs provide. Additional features include: READ MORE

Babies Learn to Anticipate Touch in the Womb

Oct. 8, 2013 — Babies learn how to anticipate touch while in the womb, according to new research by Durham and Lancaster universities.
Using 4-D scans psychologists found, for the first time, that fetuses were able to predict, rather than react to, their own hand movements towards their mouths as they entered the later stages of gestation compared to earlier in a pregnancy.
The Durham-led team of researchers said that the latest findings could improve understanding about babies, especially those born prematurely, their readiness to interact socially and their ability to calm themselves by sucking on their thumb or fingers.READ MORE

Helping Students Break Barriers In Science, Engineering -- Computational Biology Program Will Encourage Research Training Across Disciplines


Jan. 20, 1999 — Chemists, biologists, computer scientists and engineers usually work independently, pursuing their own research projects with their own tools and methods. But a $2.5-million grant will allow The Johns Hopkins University to launch a new way of training tomorrow's scientists and engineers, by breaking through some of the boundaries that traditionally divide the scientific disciplines.
The grant, to be provided over five years by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, will help establish the Johns Hopkins Program in Computational Biology. The program will have a special emphasis on cutting-edge genomics research, in which scientists sequence DNA from cells and viruses and then use that information to solve the far more difficult questions of how cells assemble the larger molecules and complex structures that make them work.
It will be directed by Michael E. Paulaitis, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering in the university's Whiting School of Engineering, and George D. Rose, professor of biophysics and biophysical chemistry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from throughout the university will be eligible to apply for the program.
The goal, organizers say, is not to attract new students into biological research but to give students from other scientific fields and the engineering disciplines the training and tools to tackle tough biological problems. For example, computer scientists involved in gene research must learn to think of DNA sequences as more than just a series of ones and zeros in a machine; they need to understand the biological and chemical processes.
"We want to foster a program that utilizes the formally rigorous treatment that comes out of chemistry and physics but where the subject matter is biology," says Rose. "The trick is to produce scientists who can apply these formal techniques but who have the knowledge to preserve the richness and complexity of biological data."
This change in the way scientists and engineers are trained is imperative, Paulaitis adds. "We just can't make significant advances or do the important research we strive to do without this multidisciplinary approach," he says. About 14 participants are expected to be enrolled in the new program at any one time; the first graduate students are expected to enter in the fall. Their specialized training will include internships at the Institute for Genomic Research, in Rockville, Md.
"I expect that the competition to participate in this program will be fierce," Paulaitis says. "Students recognize this as a new and exciting area of research, and there are many high-quality labs participating in the program, working on important research problems in this area. This will be a unique program, so we expect to attract and select the very best students."
Johns Hopkins is among six universities and educational consortia selected to receive these Burroughs Wellcome grants since 1996, when the foundation launched a program called "Interfaces Between the Physical/Chemical/Computational Sciences and the Biological Sciences."
"These awards are intended to improve the interdisciplinary training of promising graduate and postdoctoral students from the physical, chemical, and computational sciences so they can better apply their unique knowledge and talents to biological problems," says Enriqueta C. Bond, president of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. "We believe this is the only private program devoted to bridging the physical and biological sciences through institutional interdisciplinary training grants, and the awards help fill the gap left by federal funding efforts that are predominantly built around specific disciplines."
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is an independent private foundation established to advance the medical sciences by supporting research and other scientific and educational activities. It was founded in 1955 as the corporate foundation of the pharmaceutical firm Burroughs Wellcome Co. In 1993, a gift from its sister foundation in the United Kingdom, the Wellcome Trust, enabled the fund to become fully independent from the company, which was acquired by Glaxo in 1995.
Related Web Sites:
Johns Hopkins Department of Chemical Engineering: http://www.jhu.edu/~cheme/
Johns Hopkins Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry: http://biophysics.med.jhu.edu/
Michael Paulaitis' Home Page: http://www.jhu.edu/~cheme/faculty/paulaitis.html
George Rose's Home Page: http://www.jhu.edu/~biophys/Rose/rose.html

Tuesday, 17 September 2013

Handle with care: Commonly used lab reagents and their hazards


Author: Abdul Wahab M Kannde

Source: http://chemistry.boisestate.edu/images/safety_art.jpg
I am continuing the series of chemicals & safety which I started last week, hope you find it useful, just give a comment to tell me how you handle these chemicals.

DO
  • Use the appropriate size container for the job.
  • Get help when needed.
  • Clean containers after use with deionized water.
  • Work under a fume hood unless you have been told otherwise by the lab manager/supervisor.
  • Use a funnel when pouring chemicals into a small container.
  • Open bottles slowly to avoid spilling and allow vapors to escape.
  • Know what type of reactions to expect.
  • Remember to triple-A (AAA): Always Add Acid to water.
DON'T
  • Reuse containers (adverse chemical reaction may occur).
  • Eat, drink, smoke, or touch any body part before washing your hands when working with chemicals.
  • Be afraid to ask questions.
  • Pour leftover chemicals back in its source container, contamination may result.
  • Put your face close to the bottle when pouring.
  • Puncture cap or lid of any bottle.
 
Commonly used lab reagents & their hazards
Acetic Acid CH3COOH, Concentrated acetic acid is corrosive and must therefore be handled with appropriate care, since it can cause skin burns, permanent eye damage, and irritation to the mucous membranes. These burns or blisters may not appear until hours after exposure. Reacts vigorously with oxidizing agents and other acids (particularly nitric). Odor similar to that of strong vinegar (do not smell it, strong odour). Incompatible with most other acids. Store seperately!  
Chromic Acid H2CRO4 Liquid and vapors cause severe burns to skin. Corrosive to nasal passages. Contains a suspected carcinogen. Carcinogenic.
Hydrochloric Acid HCl Concentrated hydrochloric acid (fuming hydrochloric acid) forms acidic mists. Both the mist and the solution have a corrosive effect on human tissue, with the potential to damage respiratory organs, eyes, skin, and intestines. Repeated exposure causes erosion of teeth. Strong chlorine odor detectable at 1-5 PPM. 
Hydrofluoric Acid HF Hydrofluoric acid is corrosive and a contact poison. It should be handled with extreme care, beyond that accorded to other mineral acids, in part because of its low dissociation constant, which allows HF to penetrate tissue more quickly. Symptoms of exposure to hydrofluoric acid may not be immediately evident. HF interferes with nerve function and burns may not initially be painful. Liquid and vapors cause burns that may not be immediately painful or visible. HF attacks glass. Found in Buffered Oxide Etch (BOE). Use only plastic containers.
Nitric Acid HNO3 Nitric acid is a powerful oxidizing agent, and the reactions of nitric acid with compounds such as cyanides, carbides, and metallic powders can be explosive. Reactions of nitric acid with many organic compounds, such as turpentine, are violent and hypergolic (i.e., self-igniting). Concentrated nitric acid dyes human skin yellow due to a reaction with the keratin. These yellow stains turn orange when neutralized. Highly corrosive to skin, mucous membranes and teeth. Use only glass containers.
Phosphoric Acid H3PO4 Liquid is highly irritating to skin. Vapors are highly toxic. Contact with most metals causes formation of flammable and explosive hydrogen gas. 
Sulfuric Acid H2SO, The corrosive properties of sulfuric acid are accentuated by its highly exothermic reaction with water. Hence burns from sulfuric acid are potentially more serious than those of comparable strong acids (e.g. hydrochloric acid), as there is additional tissue damage due to dehydration and particularly due to the heat liberated by the reaction with water; i.e. secondary thermal damage. The danger is obviously greater with more concentrated preparations of sulfuric acid, but it should be remembered that even the normal laboratory "dilute" grade (approx. 1 M, 10%) will char paper by dehydration if left in contact for a sufficient time. Solutions equal to or stronger than 1.5 M should be labeled CORROSIVE, while solutions greater than 0.5 M but less than 1.5 M should be labeled IRRITANT. Liquid and vapors are extremely corrosive to skin and mucous membranes. Generates heat upon contact with water. Keep away from water
Sodium Hydroxide NaOH, Solid sodium hydroxide or solutions containing high concentrations of sodium hydroxide may cause chemical burns, permanent injury or scarring, and blindness. Dissolution of sodium hydroxide is highly exothermic, and the resulting heat may cause heat burns or ignite flammables. Sodium hydroxide is extremely caustic, and can react with fats and oils on skin, in a reaction which creates salts. For this reason, sodium hydroxide is very dangerous, and skin should be washed thoroughly with water following contact with this substance. A solution of 0.5 M or more of sodium hydroxide should be labeled corrosive, while a solution between 0.5-0.05 M should be labeled irritant.
Ammonium Fluoride NH4F Highly toxic and irritating to skin and mucous membranes. Emits toxic vapors when heated or when in contact with acids.  
Ammonium compounds should never be allowed to come in contact with bases (unless in an intended and contained reaction), as dangerous quantities of ammonia gas could be released.
Hydrogen Peroxide H2O2 Strong oxidizing agent. Irritating to skin and mucous membranes. Reacts violently with acids and organic solvents.  Cap with vented cap. Do not boil in open vessels, may cause explosion.  Above roughly 70% concentrations, hydrogen peroxide can give off vapor that can detonate above 70 °C (158 °F) at normal atmospheric pressure. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide, if spilled on clothing (or other flammable materials), will preferentially evaporate water until the concentration reaches sufficient strength, at which point the material may spontaneously ignite. Large oral doses of Hydrogen peroxide on a 3% concentration may cause "irritation and blistering to the mouth, throat, and abdomen", as well as "abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea".
Phosphorous Oxychloride POCl3 POCI3 and its vapors cause severe burns to the eyes, nose, throat, skin and mucous membranes. POCI3 and water, when combined, will form hydrochloric acid and will produce a violent, exothermic reaction. POCI3 is unstable at high temperatures.  Keep away from water. Discard gloves discolored by POCI3. Discard yellow or cloudy POCI3 as it may be contaminated. 
Reference: