Listeria monocytogenes can adhere to different types of food contact surfaces within a food processing environment. Therefore, environmental sampling devices should be capable of detecting unacceptable contamination. In this study, a sponge-stick, foam spatula and an environmental swab were evaluated on their ability to detect low concentrations of L. monocytogenes on different types of food co...

The current paper presents an annex in the second edition of the European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Cervical Cancer Screening. It provides guidance on how to make a satisfactory conventional Pap smear or a liquid-based cytology (LBC) sample. Practitioners taking samples for cytology should first explain to the woman the purpose, the procedure and how the result will be communicated. T...

PURPOSE This study's purpose was to assess the amount of dental enamel loss on primary incisors after manual or mechanical microabrasion with a phosphoric acid/pumice paste. METHODS Ten exfoliated primary maxillary incisors were bisected faciolingually and the resulting 20 halves were randomly assigned to 2 groups: group 1 (N = 10)-manual technique (plastic spatula); and group 2 (N = 10)-mech...

Aim: To evaluate the outcome of a cervical cancer screening program in a population of elderly women (age ≥65 years) in Hong Kong. Methods: A retrospective audit was undertaken on the results of the cervical smear examinations performed on 9950 clients attending the Elderly Health Centers. A wooden Ayre’s spatula was used to perform the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear in all the subjects. In patients ...

The study was undertaken to evaluate liquid based cytology (Pap spin) and to compare the sensitivity of Pap spin with conventional Pap smear. Pap smears were taken from 160 patients with gynaecologic complaints with Ayre’s spatula and endocervical cytobrush and slides prepared. The residual material on both the spatula and cytobrush were rinsed in Pap spin collection fluid and centrifuged. Dire...

OBJECTIVES To compare the performance of two cervical collection devices (Cytobrush+Ayres spatula and Cervex-Brush® Combi) for cellular sampling, transformation zone representation and accuracy in diagnosing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2+. METHODS Cervical samples were collected from patients referred to the colposcopy unit of the Barretos Cancer Hospital between September 2013 a...

Plants exhibit a wide variety of growth rates that are known to be determined by genetic and environmental factors, and different plants grow optimally at different temperatures, indicating that this is a genetically determined character. Moderate decreases in ambient temperature inhibit vegetative growth, but the mechanism is poorly understood, although a decrease in gibberellin (GA) levels is...