Shutting down a working vivarium for decontamination.

Handling a rodent disease outbreak in a facility can be a challenge. After the University of Colorado Denver Office of Laboratory Animal Resources enhanced its sentinel monitoring program, > 90% of the animal colonies housed in a vivarium at the Anschutz Medical Campus (with an area of 50,000 net ft(2)), serving the labs of > 250 principal investigators, tested positive for multiple infective agents including mouse parvovirus, fur mites, pinworms and epizootic diarrhea of infant mice. The authors detail the process by which they planned and executed a shutdown and a decontamination of the facility, which involved the rederivation or cryopreservation of > 400 unique genetically modified mouse lines. The authors discuss the aspects of the project that were successful as well as those that could have been improved.

Water-soluble calix[4]resorcinarenes with hydroxyproline groups as chiral NMR solvating agents.

Water-soluble calix[4]resorcinarenes containing 3- and 4-hydroxyproline, d-nipecotic acid, (S)-2-(methoxymethyl)pyrrolidine, (S)-2-pyrrolidine methanol, and (S,S)-(+)-2,4-bis(methoxymethyl)pyrrolidine substituents are synthesized and evaluated as chiral NMR solvating agents. The derivatives with the hydroxyproline groups are especially effective at causing enantiomeric discrimination in the spectra of water-soluble cationic and anionic compounds with pyridyl, phenyl, and bicyclic aromatic rings. Binding studies show that mono- and ortho-substituted phenyl rings associate within the cavity of the calix[4]resorcinarenes, as do naphthyl rings with mono-, 2,3-, and 1,8-substitution patterns. Anthracene derivatives with an amino or sulfonyl group at the 1-position bind within the cavity, as well. Aromatic resonances of the substrates exhibit substantial upfield shifts because of shielding from the aromatic rings of the calix[4]resorcinarene. The effectiveness of the reagents at producing chiral recognition in 1H NMR spectra is demonstrated with sodium mandelate, the sodium salt of tryptophan, and doxylamine succinate. While no one reagent is consistently the most effective, the calix[4]resorcinarenes with trans-4-hydroxyproline and trans-3-hydroxyproline moieties generally produce the largest nonequivalence in the 1H NMR spectra of the substrates.

Contact investigation of a case of active tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: The Veterans Administration (VA), Marion, Illinois, following Public Health and Veterans Affairs guidance has an excellent tuberculosis (TB) control program with all employees included. METHODS: This VA is a low-risk facility for TB, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. A patient presented with active TB in January 2002. Follow-up was complicated and enlarged to the community, adjacent state, and notification of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The concentric circle approach in identifying highest-risk contacts had to be modified and expanded because of the immunocompromised condition of some of the contacts. RESULTS: After identification of active TB, contacts were identified. Initially 108 employees and 42 patients were reviewed for follow-up at the VA, with 98 employees and 27 patients actually tested. At 3-month follow-up there were 2 conversions. CONCLUSION: Because of excellent participation in the employee tuberculin skin testing program, conversion was readily identified among staff. Contact investigation of a case of TB requires both diligence in the program and prompt, effective communication and action between state and local health departments and hospitals.