Most of the properties and anomalies describing the behavior of water are somehow related to the hydrogen bonded (H-bonded) network [1-3]. Albeit the features of H-bonds have been investigated and depicted by an impressive amount of research, the way in which some external conditions–such as the inclusion of ionic species–affect the three-dimensional H-bonds arrangement is wrapped up in a high ...

We study the asymptotic behavior, as Planck’s constant ~ → 0, of the number of discrete eigenvalues and the Riesz means of Pauli and Dirac operators with a magnetic field μB(x) and an electric field. The magnetic field strength μ is allowed to tend to infinity as ~ → 0. Two main types of results are established: in the first μ~ ≤ constant as ~ → 0, with magnetic fields of arbitrary direction; t...

We have demonstrated a microfabricated single-molecule DNA sizing device. This device does not depend on mobility to measure molecule size, is 100 times faster than pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and has a resolution that improves with increasing DNA length. It also requires a million times less sample than pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and has comparable resolution for large molecules. H...

We determined characteristics of Salmonella enterica pulsed-field gel electrophoresis clusters that predict their being solved (i.e., that result in identification of a confirmed outbreak). Clusters were investigated by the Minnesota Department of Health by using a dynamic iterative model. During 2001-2007, a total of 43 (12.5%) of 344 clusters were solved. Clusters of ≥4 isolates were more lik...

Polarized fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (pFRAP) has been used to study the internal dynamics of relatively long DNA molecules embedded in gels that range in concentration from 1% to 5% agarose. The data indicate that, even in very congested gels, rapid internal relaxation of DNA is largely unhindered; however, interactions with gel matrices apparently do perturb the larger amplitud...

The genomic structures of spirochete species are not well characterized, and genetic studies on these organisms have been hampered by lack of a genetic exchange mechanism in these bacteria. In view of these observations, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was used to examine the genomes of Leptospira species. Live cells, prepared in agarose plugs, were lysed in situ, and the DNA was analyzed unde...

An outbreak of serogroup W-135 meningococcal disease was reported among pilgrims returning from the annual hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) in mid-March 2000. Molecular characterization was used to investigate the similarity of the hajj-associated W-135 strains with those isolated in Sweden during a 23-year period (1978 to 2000). The same hajj-associated genosubtype, genosubtype P1.5,2,36b, has been ...

We describe a field investigation in New England that identified the emergence and epidemiology of new strains of multidrug-resistant Salmonella, Newport-MDRAmpC, and summarize the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's surveillance data for these infections. In Massachusetts, the prevalence of Newport-MDRAmpC among Salmonella serotype Newport isolates obtained from humans increased from 0...

We investigated a cluster of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections among persons at a wilderness canoe camp. Isolates from the investigation had identical profiles for susceptibility, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and toxins. Participants in activities that involve skin injury, person-to-person contact, and inadequate hygiene are at increased risk for m...