Staphylococcal food poisoning is one of the leading causes of bacterial food poisoning each year. Detection kits for staphylococcal enterotoxins are commercially available and the assays can require from one and a half to twenty-four hours to complete with detection limits ranging from 0.5 to 2 ng enterotoxin per gram of food. We have successfully demonstrated a microsphere-packed capillary (MPC) ELISA for the detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) and have compared it to two commercially available kits. The MPC assay detected a lower amount of SEA in ham, chicken, cheese, and bean sprouts than either of the two commercially available kits. In addition, the novel MPC assay was completed in less than ten minutes, as compared to three and twenty-four hours for the two commercially available kits. This research also demonstrated that the MPC ELISA can contain integrated positive and negative controls and has the potential to simultaneously detect and identify multiple enterotoxins.

Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The author hereby certifies that the use of any copyrighted material in the thesis manuscript entitled: Corneal Injury to Ex-vivo Eyes Exposed to a 3.8 Micron Laserbeyond brief excerpts is with the permission of the copyright owner, and will save and hold harmless the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences from any damage that may arise from such copyright violations. Department of Preventive Medicine and BiometricsAs a consequence of the significant expansion of laser use in medicine, industry and research, specific safety standards must be developed that appropriately address eye protection. The purpose of this study is to establish injury thresholds to the cornea for 3.8 µm 8 microsecond laser light pulses and to investigate a possible replacement model to live animal testing. Previous studies of pulsed energy absorption at 3.8 µm were performed using rhesus monkey cornea and were at pulse durations two orders of magnitude different than the 8 microsecond pulses used in this study. Ex-vivo pig eyes were exposed at varying energies and evaluated to establish the statistical threshold for corneal damage. Histologic evaluation was used to determine the extent of damage to the cornea. It is expected that the results will be used to assist in the establishment of safety standards for laser use and offer an alternative to future animal use in establishment of safety standards.