Search results for "Contamination"
showing 10 items of 916 documents
Development of a real-time PCR assay for detection and quantification of enterotoxigenic members of Bacillus cereus group in food samples
2009
A highly sensitive real-time PCR (qPCR) procedure, targeting the phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C gene (pc-plc), was developed for specific detection and quantification of strains belonging to Bacillus cereus group. The target region was selected based on the enterotoxigenic profiles of 75 Bacillus strains. The inclusivity and exclusivity of the RTi-PCR assay were assessed with 59 isolates of the B. cereus group, 16 other Bacillus spp., and 4 non-Bacillus strains. The assay was also used to construct calibration curves for different food matrices, and it had a wide quantification range of 6 log units using both serial dilutions of purified DNA and calibrated cell suspensions of …
Real-time quantitative PCR of Staphylococcus aureus and application in restaurant meals.
2006
Staphylococcus aureus is considered the second most common pathogen to cause outbreaks of food poisoning, exceeded only by Campylobacter. Consumption of foods containing this microorganism is often identified as the cause of illness. In this study, a rapid, reliable, and sensitive real-time quantitative PCR was developed and compared with conventional culture methods. Real-time quantitative PCR was carried out by purifying DNA extracts of S. aureus with a Staphylococcus sample preparation kit and quantifying it in the LightCycler system with hybridization probes. The assay was linear from a range of 10 to 10(6) S. aureus cells (r2 > 0.997). The PCR reaction presented an efficiency of >85%. …
Comparison of Four Commercial DNA Extraction Kits for PCR Detection of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Staphylococc…
2008
Four commercial DNA extraction methods, PrepMan Ultra (Applied Biosystems), InstaGene Matrix (BioRad), DNeasy Tissue kit (Qiagen), and UltraClean (MoBio), were tested for PCR detection of Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157: H7, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus in fresh, minimally processed vegetables. For comparative purposes, sensitivity assays with specific PCRs were carried out after DNA extraction with the four methods in green pepper, broccoli, and onion artificially inoculated with the four pathogens separately. As confirmed by statistical analysis, the DNeasy Tissue kit rendered the highest sensitivity values in the three matrices assayed for Salmonella, L. monocytoge…
Microbiological quality of carbonated drinking water produced with in-home carbonation systems.
2005
The microbiological quality of carbonated water produced with tap water in commercial in-home carbonation systems was determined, the results being discussed in the context of the microbiological quality of the tap water used, the properties of the drink makers, and the procedures of preparation and washing of various parts of the appliance. The last-mentioned data were received from each participant of the study by questionnaire. Escherichia coli, coliforms, fecal streptococci and spore-forming sulphite-reducing anaerobes were used as indicators for the hygienic quality of the water. Tap-water samples were collected according to the usual procedure when filling the carbonating bottle, i.e.…
Direct Peel Monitoring of Xenobiotics in Fruit by Direct Analysis in Real Time Coupled to a Linear Quadrupole Ion Trap–Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer
2013
Study of xenobiotics present in fruit peel by exposing it (without any pretreatment) to direct analysis in real time coupled to a high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometer (DART-HRMS) is reported for the first time. Variables such as DART gas heater temperature and pressure, source-to-MS distance, and sample velocity are investigated. The analysis of one sample by DART-MS lasts ca. 1 min, and the benefits of both high-resolution and tandem mass spectrometry to elucidate nontarget or unknown compounds are combined. Identification of postharvest fungicides, antioxidants, and sugars in fruit peel is performed in the positive ion mode. A possible elemental formula is suggested for marker compo…
Disinclusion of unerupted teeth by mean of self-ligating brackets: Effect of blood contamination on shear bond strength
2012
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of blood contamination on the shear bond strength and failure site of three different orthodontic self-ligating brackets. Study Design: 240 bovine permanent mandibular incisors were randomly divided into 12 groups of 20 specimens each. Orthodontic self-ligating brackets were tested under four different enamel surface conditions: a) dry, b) blood contamination before priming, c) blood contamination after priming, d) blood contamination before and after priming. Brackets were bonded to the teeth and subsequently tested using a Instron universal testing machine. Shear bond strength values and adhesive failure rate were recorded. Statis…
Luting of ceramic crowns with a self-adhesive cement: Effect of contamination on marginal adaptation and fracture strength
2012
Objectives: This study evaluated the percentages of continuous margins (%CM) and fracture strength (FS) of crowns made out from blocs of leucite-reinforced ceramic (IPS Empress CAD) and luted with a representative self-adhesive cement (RelyX Unicem) under four contaminating agents: saliva, water, blood, a haemostatic solution containing aluminium chloride (pH= 0.8) and a control group with no contamination. Study Design: %CM at both tooth-cement (TC) and cement-crown (CC) interfaces were determined before and after a fatigue test consisting of 600’000 chewing loads and 1’500 temperature cycles changing from 5º C to 50º C. Load to fracture was recorded on fatigued specimens. Kruskal-Wallis t…
Italian multicenter study on infection hazards during dental practice: Control of environmental microbial contamination in public dental surgeries
2008
Abstract Background The present study assessed microbial contamination in Italian dental surgeries. Methods An evaluation of water, air and surface microbial contamination in 102 dental units was carried out in eight Italian cities. Results The findings showed water microbial contamination in all the dental surgeries; the proportion of water samples with microbial levels above those recommended decreased during working. With regard to Legionella spp., the proportion of positive samples was 33.3%. During work activity, the index of microbial air contamination (IMA) increased. The level of microbial accumulation on examined surfaces did not change over time. Conclusion These findings confirm …
Comparison and improvement of the existing methods for the determination of aflatoxins in human serum by LC-MS/MS
2010
Aflatoxins are toxic metabolites of some Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius strains that occur in many foods and feeds. Aflatoxin B1 is the most abundant and toxic member of the family, and it is also the most potent hepatocarcinogen known. In order to estimate the potential human health risk of aflatoxin B1, it is useful to measure its blood concentration. In this work a rapid liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 and its metabolites, aflatoxins M1 and M2 in human serum, is proposed. Small serum volumes have been used and the extracts have been obtained without any clean-up proce…
Flow-injection determination of water in organic solvents by near-infrared spectrometry
1993
Abstract A flow-injection (FI) procedure was developed for the direct determination of water in organic solvents by using the O-H stretch absorbance band of water in the near-infrared (NIR) region. Dichloromethane was employed as a test solvent to study the influence of the flow parameters (carrier flow and sample injection volume) and time interval on the sensitivity and repeatability of the FI-NIR measurements. The developed procedure permits the determination of water in dichloromethane and isobutyl methyl ketone samples with limits of detection of 0.01 and 0.005% (v/v), respectively. Real and spiked samples of solvents were analysed by FI-NIR and accurate results were found. The method …