scholarly journals Aerosol decontamination and spatial separation using a free-space LED-based UV-C light curtain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Wieser ◽  
Jessica Beyerl ◽  
Albrecht von Brunn ◽  
Vincent Rieker ◽  
Marcus Rieker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Light Element ◽  
Spatial Separation ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Test Channel ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Light Barrier ◽  
Solution Methods ◽  
Global Catastrophe ◽  
Uv C

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic demonstrated the vulnerability of our societies to aerosol transmitted pathogens. With no less than 260mio known cases and >5mio deaths, SARS-CoV-2 is a global catastrophe leading to human and economic losses unprecedented in recent history. Thus, effective methods to limit the spread of aerosol transmitted pathogens are needed. Universal masking and curfew laws are effective but no permanent solution. Methods: A mass producible LED light source emitting homogeneous parallel UV-C light was used as a light-barrier to block the spread of infectious aerosols. In an aerosol test channel, Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as coronavirus were nebulized and inactivation rates were determined. Findings: With air speeds of 0.1ms-1 an exposure time of 1s in the UV-C light is obtained. Reduction in CFU for E. coli was >3log10 and for S. aureus ~2.8log10. Plug-forming-units of the murine coronavirus (Mouse Hepatitis Virus, MHV) were reduced by about 3log10. Interpretation: The concept of a UV-C light barrier to ward off infectious aerosols if feasible and possible with a light element as described here. Coupled with sensor based activation/deactivation, such a technology could greatly reduce the transmission rates of aerosol transmitted pathogens while not disturbing natural human behaviour. This is an interesting technology allowing a new normal in societies after/with SARS-CoV-2.

scholarly journals Efficacy of an Automated Multiple Emitter Whole-Room Ultraviolet-C Disinfection System Against Coronaviruses MHV and MERS-CoV

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 598-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Bedell ◽  
Adam H. Buchaklian ◽  
Stanley Perlman
Keyword(s):  
Virus Strain ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Mouse Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Infect Control Hosp ◽  
Ultraviolet C ◽  
Uv C ◽  
Automated Methods

Efficient and automated methods of disinfecting surfaces contaminated with the Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) may prevent the spread of the virus. Here we report the efficacy and use of an automated triple-emitter whole room UV-C disinfection system to inactivate mouse hepatitis virus, strain A59 (MHV-A59) and MERS-CoV viruses on surfaces with a >5 log10 reduction.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;37:598–599

scholarly journals A novel astrovirus species in the gut of yaks with diarrhoea in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, 2013

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (12) ◽  
pp. 3672-3680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Chen ◽  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Hua Yue ◽  
Yong Wang ◽  
Fang Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus ◽  
Hepatitis E ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Common Disease ◽  
Diarrhoea Virus ◽  
Viral Communities

The yak (Bos grunniens) is an iconic symbol in the high-altitude region of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Diarrhoea is a common disease in yaks, resulting in major economic losses. To investigate the diversity of viral species, we reported the metagenomics-derived virome in a pooled faecal sample of 20 diarrhoeic yaks. The nine viruses found in the pooled diarrhoeic samples, in order of abundance of nucleic acid sequence, were influenza A virus, bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), rotavirus, ungulate tetraparvovirus 1 (bovine hokovirus), astrovirus (AstV), bovine enterovirus, hepatitis E virus, kobuvirus and woodchuck hepatitis virus. Compared with healthy yaks, only AstV had a significantly higher prevalence rate in diarrhoeal samples, indicating a correlation with the clinical symptoms of diarrhoea in yaks. To further investigate the molecular characterization of yak AstV, a near-full genome was obtained from a diarrhoeic sample. It was 6243 bp in length and shared 46.4–66.2 % similarity with other related bovine AstVs from faeces. Phylogenetic analysis of the genome demonstrated that the yak AstV fell within the bovine AstVs cluster, but was located in a unique lineage, suggesting a novel AstV species was identified in yaks. Interestingly, the ORF2 region of yak AstV had closer similarity and genetically relationship with deer AstV strain CcAstV-2 than that of the bovine AstVs. Further analysis showed that one possible interspecies recombination event occurred in ORF2. In summary, this study expanded our understanding of the viral communities of diarrhoeal yaks and identified a novel AstV that was associated with diarrhoea in yaks.

scholarly journals Exploring Antifouling Activity of Biosurfactants Producing Marine Bacteria Isolated from Gulf of California

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (17) ◽  
pp. 6068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monserrat Alemán-Vega ◽  
Ilse Sánchez-Lozano ◽  
Claudia J. Hernández-Guerrero ◽  
Claire Hellio ◽  
Erika T. Quintana
Keyword(s):  
Marine Bacteria ◽  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Antifouling Activity ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Field Assay ◽  
Surface Active ◽  
Cell Free Culture Supernatant

Biofouling causes major problems and economic losses to marine and shipping industries. In the search for new antifouling agents, marine bacteria with biosurfactants production capability can be an excellent option, due to the amphipathic surface-active characteristic that confers antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifouling activity of biosurfactants producing marine bacteria from the Gulf of California. The cell free culture supernatant (CFCS) of Bacillus niabensis (S-69), Ralstonia sp. (S-74) (isolated from marine sediment) and of B. niabensis (My-30) (bacteria associated to the sponge Mycale ramulosa) were screened for production of biosurfactants (using hemolysis and drop collapse test, oil displacement and emulsifying activity). The toxicity and antifouling activity were evaluated against biofoulers (bacteria forming biofilm and macrofoulers) both in laboratory and field assays. The results indicate that all bacteria were biosurfactant producers, but the higher capability was shown by B. niabensis (My-30) with high emulsifying properties (E24) of 71%. The CFCS showed moderate toxicity but were considered non-toxic against Artemia franciscana at low concentrations. In the antifouling assay, the CFCS of both strains of B. niabensis showed the best results for the reduction of the biofilm formation (up 50%) against all Gram-positive bacteria and most Gram-negative bacteria with low concentrations. In the field assay, the CFCS of B. niabensis (My-30) led to the reduction of 30% of biofouling compared to the control. The results indicate that the biosurfactant produced by B. niabensis (My-30) has promising antifouling activity.

scholarly journals Genomic modeling as an approach to identify surrogates for use in experimental validation of SARS-CoV-2 and HuNoVs inactivation by UV-C treatment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brahmaiah Pendyala ◽  
Ankit Patras ◽  
Doris D’Souza
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Validation ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Inactivation Kinetics ◽  
Murine Norovirus ◽  
Murine Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Viral Pathogens ◽  
Human Noroviruses ◽  
Surface Areas ◽  
Significant Public Health ◽  
Uv C

AbstractSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to pose significant public health concerns. While research to deliver vaccines and antivirals are being pursued, various effective technologies to control its environmental spread are also being targeted. Ultraviolet light (UV-C) technologies are effective against a broad spectrum of microorganisms when used even on large surface areas. In this study, we developed a pyrimidine dinucleotide frequency based genomic model to predict the sensitivity of select enveloped and non-enveloped viruses to UV-C treatments in order to identify potential SARS-CoV-2 and human noroviruses surrogates. The results revealed that this model was best fitted using linear regression with r2=0.90. The predicted UV-C sensitivity (D90 - dose for 90% inactivation) for SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV was found to be 21 and 28 J/m2, respectively (with an estimated 18 J/m2 as published for SARS-CoV-1), suggesting that coronaviruses are highly sensitive to UV-C light compared to other ssRNA viruses used in this modeling study. Murine hepatitis virus (MHV) A59 strain with a D90 of 21 J/m2 close to that of SARS-CoV-2 was identified as a suitable surrogate to validate SARS-CoV-2 inactivation by UV-C treatment. Furthermore, the non-enveloped human noroviruses (HuNoVs), had predicted D90 values of 69.1, 89 and 77.6 J/m2 for genogroups GI, GII and GIV, respectively. Murine norovirus (MNV-1) of GV with a D90 = 100 J/m2 was identified as a potential conservative surrogate for UV-C inactivation of these HuNoVs. This study provides useful insights for the identification of potential nonpathogenic surrogates to understand inactivation kinetics and their use in experimental validation of UV-C disinfection systems. This approach can be used to narrow the number of surrogates used in testing UV-C inactivation of other human and animal ssRNA viral pathogens for experimental validation that can save cost, labor and time.

Influence of Cell Wall Composition on the Fossilisation of Bacteria and the Implications for the Search for Early Life Forms

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 491-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Westall
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Cation Binding ◽  
Positive Bacterium ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Hydrothermal Sediments ◽  
Identification Of Bacteria ◽  
The Difference

AbstractThe oldest cell-like structures on Earth are preserved in silicified lagoonal, shallow sea or hydrothermal sediments, such as some Archean formations in Western Australia and South Africa. Previous studies concentrated on the search for organic fossils in Archean rocks. Observations of silicified bacteria (as silica minerals) are scarce for both the Precambrian and the Phanerozoic, but reports of mineral bacteria finds, in general, are increasing. The problems associated with the identification of authentic fossil bacteria and, if possible, closer identification of bacteria type can, in part, be overcome by experimental fossilisation studies. These have shown that not all bacteria fossilise in the same way and, indeed, some seem to be very resistent to fossilisation. This paper deals with a transmission electron microscope investigation of the silicification of four species of bacteria commonly found in the environment. The Gram positiveBacillus laterosporusand its spore produced a robust, durable crust upon silicification, whereas the Gram negativePseudomonas fluorescens, Ps. vesicularis, andPs. acidovoranspresented delicately preserved walls. The greater amount of peptidoglycan, containing abundant metal cation binding sites, in the cell wall of the Gram positive bacterium, probably accounts for the difference in the mode of fossilisation. The Gram positive bacteria are, therefore, probably most likely to be preserved in the terrestrial and extraterrestrial rock record.

Immune Electron Microscopy (IEM) of a Canine Adeno-Associated Virus

1974 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 256-257
Author(s):  
Gunter F. Thomas ◽  
M. David Hoggan
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Cultures ◽  
Complement Fixation ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Immune Electron Microscopy ◽  
Adeno Associated Virus ◽  
Virus Like Particle ◽  
Dog Kidney ◽  
Green Monkeys

In 1968, Sugimura and Yanagawa described a small 25 nm virus like particle in association with the Matsuda strain of infectious canine hepatitis virus (ICHV). Domoto and Yanagawa showed that this particle was dependent on ICHV for its replication in primary dog kidney cell cultures (PDK) and was resistant to heating at 70°C for 10 min, and concluded that it was a canine adeno-associated virus (CAAV). Later studies by Onuma and Yanagawa compared CAAV with the known human serotypes (AAV 1, 2, 3) and AAV-4, known to be associated with African Green Monkeys. Using the complement fixation (CF) test, they found that CAAV was serologically related to AAV-3 and had wide distribution in the dog population of Japan.

Microanatomy of the Periplasm of Bacillus Licheniformis

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 262-263
Author(s):  
B.K. Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Bacillus Licheniformis ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Permeability Barrier ◽  
Periplasmic Space ◽  
Modified Technique ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria

Periplasm of bacteria is the space outside the permeability barrier of plasma membrane but enclosed by the cell wall. The contents of this special milieu exterior could be regulated by the plasma membrane from the internal, and by the cell wall from the external environment of the cell. Unlike the gram-negative organism, the presence of this space in gram-positive bacteria is still controversial because it cannot be clearly demonstrated. We have shown the importance of some periplasmic bodies in the secretion of penicillinase from Bacillus licheniformis.In negatively stained specimens prepared by a modified technique (Figs. 1 and 2), periplasmic space (PS) contained two kinds of structures: (i) fibrils (F, 100 Å) running perpendicular to the cell wall from the protoplast and (ii) an array of vesicles of various sizes (V), which seem to have evaginated from the protoplast.

Cytochemical Studies of Cell Wall Biosynthesis in Staphylococcus Aureus

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 328-329
Author(s):  
Masaatsu Koike ◽  
Koichi Nakashima ◽  
Kyoko Iida
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Periodate Oxidation ◽  
Early Time ◽  
The Other ◽  
Penicillin G ◽  
Cell Wall Biosynthesis ◽  
Septal Wall ◽  
Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Cross Linkage

Penicillin exerts the activity to inhibit the peptide cross linkage between each polysaccharide backbone at the final stage of wall-peptidoglycan biosynthesis of bacteria. Morphologically, alterations of the septal wall and mesosome in gram-positive bacteria, which were occurred in early time after treatment with penicillin, have been observed. In this experiment, these alterations were cytochemically investigated by means of silver-methenamine staining after periodate oxidation, which is applied for detection of localization of wall mucopolysaccharide.Staphylococcus aureus strain 209P treated with 100 u/ml of penicillin G was divided into two aliquotes. One was fixed by Kellenberger-Ryter's OSO4 fixative at 30, 60 and 120 min after addition of the antibiotic, dehydrated through alcohol series, and embedded in Epon 812 (Specimen A). The other was fixed by 21 glutaraldehyde, dehydrated through glycolmethacrylate series and embedded in glycolmethacrylate mixture, according to Bernhard's method (Specimen B).

Computer programs for the calculation of x-ray intensities emitted by elements in multi-layer structures

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-217
Author(s):  
G.F. Bastin ◽  
H.J.M. Heijligers ◽  
J.M. Dijkstra
Keyword(s):  
Software Package ◽  
Light Element ◽  
Matrix Correction ◽  
Excellent Performance ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Know How ◽  
Accurate Knowledge ◽  
Layer Structures ◽  
Bulk Matrix

For the calculation of X-ray intensities emitted by elements present in multi-layer systems it is vital to have an accurate knowledge of the x-ray ionization vs. mass-depth (ϕ(ρz)) curves as a function of accelerating voltage and atomic number of films and substrate. Once this knowledge is available the way is open to the analysis of thin films in which both the thicknesses as well as the compositions can usually be determined simultaneously.Our bulk matrix correction “PROZA” with its proven excellent performance for a wide variety of applications (e.g., ultra-light element analysis, extremes in accelerating voltage) has been used as the basis for the development of the software package discussed here. The PROZA program is based on our own modifications of the surface-centred Gaussian ϕ(ρz) model, originally introduced by Packwood and Brown. For its extension towards thin film applications it is required to know how the 4 Gaussian parameters α, β, γ and ϕ(o) for each element in each of the films are affected by the film thickness and the presence of other layers and the substrate.

The Microscopy of Compatibility and Incompatibility in Ulmus

1985 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 504-505
Author(s):  
B. L. Redmond ◽  
Christopher F. Bob
Keyword(s):  
Dutch Elm Disease ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Hybrid Progeny ◽  
Ulmus Pumila ◽  
Ulmus Americana ◽  
American Elm ◽  
Asian Species ◽  
Ulmus Parvifolia ◽  
Initial Appearance ◽  
Chinese Elm

The American Elm (Ulmus americana L.) has been plagued by Dutch Elm Disease (DED), a lethal disease caused by the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi (Buisman) c. Moreau. Since its initial appearance in North America around 1930, DED has wrought inexorable devastation on the American elm population, triggering both environmental and economic losses. In response to the havoc caused by the disease, many attempts have been made to hybridize U. americana with a few ornamentally less desirable, though highly DED resistant, Asian species (mainly the Siberian elm, Ulmus pumila L., and the Chinese elm Ulmus parvifolia Jacq.). The goal is to develop, through breeding efforts, hybrid progeny that display the ornamentally desirable characteristics of U. americana with the disease resistance of the Asian species. Unfortunately, however, all attempts to hybridize U. americana have been prevented by incompatibility. Only through a firm understanding of both compatibility and incompatibility will it be possible to circumvent the incompatibility and hence achieve hybridization.

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