A positive temperature coefficient is the term which has been used to indicate that an increase in solubility occurs as the temperature is raised, whereas a negative coefficient indicates a decrease in solubility with rise in temperature.

Effect of Temperature

The economics of preventing hospital acquired infections is most often described in general terms. The underlying concepts and mechanisms are rarely made explicit but should be understood for research and policy-making. We define the key economic concepts without using technical language and specify an illustrative model using hypothetical data to identify how two related questions might be addressed. These are (a) how much should be invested for infection control, and, (b) what are the most appropriate infection control programmes? We aim to make explicit the economics of preventing hospital acquired infections.

Economics and Preventing Hospital-Acquired Infection

Risks for public health related to the presence of Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus spp. including Bacillus thuringiensis in foodstuffs

The aim of this study was to identify and characterise Bacillus cereus from a unique national collection of 564 strains associated with 140 strong-evidence food-borne outbreaks (FBOs) occurring in France during 2007 to 2014. Starchy food and vegetables were the most frequent food vehicles identified; 747 of 911 human cases occurred in institutional catering contexts. Incubation period was significantly shorter for emetic strains compared with diarrhoeal strains A sub-panel of 149 strains strictly associated to 74 FBOs and selected on Coliphage M13-PCR pattern, was studied for detection of the genes encoding cereulide, diarrhoeic toxins (Nhe, Hbl, CytK1 and CytK2) and haemolysin (HlyII), as well as panC phylogenetic classification. This clustered the strains into 12 genetic signatures (GSs) highlighting the virulence potential of each strain. GS1 (nhe genes only) and GS2 (nhe, hbl and cytK2), were the most prevalent GS and may have a large impact on human health as they were present in 28% and 31% of FBOs, respectively. Our study provides a convenient molecular scheme for characterisation of B. cereus strains responsible for FBOs in order to improve the monitoring and investigation of B. cereus-induced FBOs, assess emerging clusters and diversity of strains.

/pdf/bacillus-cereus-induced-food-borne-outbreaks-in-france-2007-2of4hqfemt.pdf

Bacillus cereus-induced food-borne outbreaks in France, 2007 to 2014: epidemiology and genetic characterisation.

Chromium tolerance, bioaccumulation and localization in plants: An overview.

Bacillus cereus is a spore-forming, Gram-positive bacterium commonly associated with outbreaks of food poisoning. It is also known as an opportunistic pathogen causing clinical infections such as bacteremia, meningitis, pneumonia, and gas gangrene-like cutaneous infections, mostly in immunocompromised patients. B. cereus secretes a plethora of toxins of which four are associated with the symptoms of food poisoning. Two of these, the non-hemolytic enterotoxin Nhe and the hemolysin BL (Hbl) toxin, are predicted to be structurally similar and are unique in that they require the combined action of three toxin proteins to induce cell lysis. Despite their dominant role in disease, the molecular mechanism of their toxic function is still poorly understood. We report here that B. cereus strain ATCC 10876 harbors not only genes encoding Nhe, but also two copies of the hbl genes. We identified Hbl as the major secreted toxin responsible for inducing rapid cell lysis both in cultured cells and in an intraperitoneal mouse toxicity model. Antibody neutralization and deletion of Hbl-encoding genes resulted in significant reductions of cytotoxic activity. Microscopy studies with Chinese Hamster Ovary cells furthermore showed that pore formation by both Hbl and Nhe occurs through a stepwise, sequential binding of toxin components to the cell surface and to each other. This begins with binding of Hbl-B or NheC to the eukaryotic membrane, and is followed by the recruitment of Hbl-L1 or NheB, respectively, followed by the corresponding third protein. Lastly, toxin component complementation studies indicate that although Hbl and Nhe can be expressed simultaneously and are predicted to be structurally similar, they are incompatible and cannot complement each other.

/pdf/the-bacillus-cereus-hbl-and-nhe-tripartite-enterotoxin-ly3an1ka77.pdf

The Bacillus cereus Hbl and Nhe Tripartite Enterotoxin Components Assemble Sequentially on the Surface of Target Cells and Are Not Interchangeable

The present study was conducted to determine the microbial profile in urine samples. Differential and selective chromogenic culture media were used for the rapid detection, identification and enumeration of urinary tract pathogens namely, E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Proteus mirabilis. Urine samples of normal healthy individuals as well as patients with Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) were screened on hicrome agar plates. The cultivable bacteria present in urine were isolated based on chromogenic detection. Antibiotic sensitivity assay, morphological characterization and biochemical tests, namely protease, oxidase, catalase, lipase, DNase and lecithinase assay were performed with the 15 isolates obtained from urine samples. The molecular analyses of the isolates were done through partial sequencing of the 16SrDNA gene; six of them were found to be novel and submitted in GenBank under the accession numbers EF644491-96. Phylogenetic tree of the isolates were constructed by neighbour joining method.

/pdf/characterization-of-bacterial-strains-isolated-through-4tc07yo8oh.pdf

Characterization of Bacterial Strains Isolated Through Microbial Profiling of Urine Samples

Calcutta has a unique waste management system which uses the traditional non conventional practice for treating both the solid as well as soluble waste for its 12 million inhabitants . It not only detoxifies the waste but also generates resources for the existing society in form of employment as well as edibles like sufficient vegetable, fish as well as paddy for consumption. The elemental analysis of these products showed no metal toxicity due to their cultivation using waste resource. Thus East Calcutta Wetland can be sited as the best example of integrated resource recovery.

/pdf/waste-management-a-case-study-of-ongoing-traditional-4enb4qykw5.pdf

Waste Management: A Case Study of Ongoing Traditional Practices at East Calcutta Wetland

http://www.processcleaningsolutions.com/pdf/efficacyofdisinfectingwipeshighlighted.pdf

Poulomi Nandy

Papers

The Bacillus cereus Hbl and Nhe Tripartite Enterotoxin Components Assemble Sequentially on the Surface of Target Cells and Are Not Interchangeable

Characterization of Bacterial Strains Isolated Through Microbial Profiling of Urine Samples

Waste Management: A Case Study of Ongoing Traditional Practices at East Calcutta Wetland

Ability of cleaning-disinfecting wipes to remove bacteria from medical device surfaces.

Designing for cleanability: The effects of material, surface roughness, and the presence of blood test soil and bacteria on devices.