scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 Inactivation Simulation Using 14 MeV Neutron Irradiation

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1372
Author(s):  
Fang Liu ◽  
Zhengtong Zhong ◽  
Bin Liu ◽  
Tianze Jiang ◽  
Hongchi Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Source ◽  
Neutron Energy ◽  
Energy Deposition ◽  
Lethal Dose ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Neutron Radiation ◽  
The Monte Carlo Method ◽  
Single Neutron ◽  
Public Health And Safety ◽  
Container Model

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is deadly, contagious, can cause COVID-19 disease, and endangers public health and safety. The development of SARS-CoV-2 inactivation technology is crucial and imminent in current pandemic period. Neutron radiation is usually used to sterilize viruses because neutron radiation is 10 times more effective than gamma-rays in inactivating viruses. In this work we established a closed SARS-CoV-2 inactivation container model by the Monte Carlo method and simulated the inactivation performance by using several different neutrons sources. To study the effects of inactivation container factors, including the reflector thickness, the type of the reflector material, the SARS-CoV-2 layer area and the distance from the radiation source on the energy deposition of a single neutron particle in SARS-CoV-2 sample, we simulated the neutron energy deposition on a SARS-CoV-2 sample. The simulation results indicate that the saturated thicknesses of reflector materials for graphite, water and paraffin are approximately 30 cm, 15 cm, and 10 cm, respectively, and the energy deposition (radiation dose) becomes larger when the SARS-CoV-2 layer area is smaller and the SARS-CoV-2 layer is placed closer to the neutron source. The calculated single-neutron energy deposition on 10 × 10 cm2 SARS-CoV-2 layer is about 3.0059 × 10−4 MeV/g with graphite as the reflection layer, when the 14 MeV neutron source intensity is 1012 n/s and the SARS-CoV-2 layer is 5 cm away from the neutron source. If the lethal dose of SARS-CoV-2 is assumed as the IAEA recommended reference dose, 25 kGy, the SARS-CoV-2 could be decontaminated in about 87 min, and the sterilization time could be less than 52s if the 14 MeV neutron intensity is increased to 1014 n/s.

scholarly journals The Fine Line: Rural Justice, Public Health and Safety, and the Coronavirus Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422110031
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sherman ◽  
Jennifer Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Personal Liberty ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Local Law ◽  
Sheriff's Department ◽  
Public Health And Safety

In this article, we provide an early glimpse into how the issues of public health and safety played out in the rural United States during the coronavirus pandemic, focusing on Washington State. We utilize a combination of news articles and press releases, sheriff’s department Facebook posts, publicly available jail data, courtroom observations, in-depth interviews with those who have been held in rural jails, and interviews with rural law enforcement staff to explore this theme. As elected officials, rural sheriffs are beholden to populations that include many who are suspicious of science, liberal agendas, and anything that might threaten what they see as individual freedom. At the same time, they expect local law enforcement to employ punitive measures to control perceived criminal activity in their communities. These communities are often tightly knit, cohesive, and isolated, with high levels of social support both for community members and local leaders, including sheriffs and law enforcement. This complex social context often puts rural sheriffs and law enforcement officers in difficult positions. Given the multiple cross-pressures that rural justice systems faced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we explore the circumstances in which they attempted to protect and advocate for the health and safety of both their incarcerated and their nonincarcerated populations. We find that certain characteristics of rural communities both help and hinder local law enforcement in efforts to combat the virus, but these characteristics typically favor informal norms of social control to govern community health. Thus, rural sheriff’s departments repeatedly chose strategies that limited their abilities to protect populations from the disease, in favor of appearing tough on crime and supportive of personal liberty.

scholarly journals The Use of Bacteriophages in the Poultry Industry

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Żbikowska ◽  
Monika Michalczuk ◽  
Beata Dolka
Keyword(s):  
Foodborne Pathogens ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Resistance ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Poultry Production ◽  
Salmonella Spp ◽  
Food Contact Surfaces ◽  
Public Health And Safety

The emergence of multidrug-resistant infections and antibiotic failures have raised concerns over human and veterinary medicine worldwide. Poultry production has had to confront the problems of an alarming increase in bacterial resistance, including zoonotic pathogens. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis have been the most frequently reported human foodborne diseases linked to poultry. This situation has strongly stimulated a renewal of scientists’ interest in bacteriophages (phages) since the beginning of the 21st century. Bacteriophages are the viruses of bacteria. They are abundant in nature, and accompany bacteria in each environment they colonize, including human microbiota. In this review, we focused on the use of bacteriophages as therapeutic agents to treat infections and reduce counts of pathogenic bacteria in poultry, as biocontrol agents to eliminate foodborne pathogens on/in food, and also as disinfectants to reduce contamination on food-contact surfaces or poultry carcasses in industrial conditions. Most of the phage-based products are targeted against the main foodborne pathogens, such as Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Clostridium perfringens. Phages are currently addressed at all stages of the poultry production "from farm to fork", however, their implementation into live birds and food products still provokes discussions especially in the context of the current legal framework, limitations, as well as public health and safety.

Leveraging blockchain based decentralized apps for the Tokyo Olympics amid the COVID-19 pandemic

First Monday ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rishi Sabarigirisan ◽  
Aditi Biswas ◽  
Ridhi Rohatgi ◽  
Shyam KC ◽  
Shekhar Shukla
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Crowd Management ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Smooth Contact ◽  
Public Health And Safety

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a cloud of uncertainty over the mega sports event, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Cancelling or re-scheduling the event could have serious repercussions on the economic, social and environmental well-being for the involved stakeholders. Thus, it becomes critical to conduct events of this magnitude by adopting appropriate public health measures. In this research, we primarily focus on two main premises relative to public health and safety, contact tracing and crowd management. We explore and evaluate the usability of blockchain based decentralized apps in crowd management and contact tracing for the Tokyo Olympics using value-focused thinking (VFT). A VFT framework aids in narrowing fundamental and strategic objectives that need to be addressed for smooth contact tracing and crowd management by understanding stakeholder viewpoints. We established an equivalence of the objectives identified through VFT with blockchain technology properties. Further, we also present a conceptual ideation of contact tracing and crowd management through blockchain based decentralized apps for the Tokyo Olympics. This work could potentially assist decision-makers, researchers and stakeholders involved in organizing the Tokyo Olympics in understanding and analysing the utility of blockchain based decentralized apps for crowd management and contact tracing.

Examining Impacts of COVID-19-Related Stay-At-Home Orders through a Two-Way Random Effects Model

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110469
Author(s):  
Anshu Bamney ◽  
Hisham Jashami ◽  
Sarvani Sonduru Pantangi ◽  
Jayson Ambabo ◽  
Megat-Usamah Megat-Johari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Random Effects ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Random Effects Model ◽  
Public Health And Safety ◽  
Over Time ◽  
At Home

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on public health and safety, economics, and the transportation system. To reduce the spread of this disease, federal and local governments around the world have introduced stay-at-home orders and other restrictions on travel to “non-essential” businesses to implement social distancing. Preliminary evidence suggests substantial variability in the impacts of these orders in the United States, both across states and over time. This study examines this issue using daily county-level vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data for the 48 continental U.S. states and the District of Columbia. A two-way random effects model is estimated to assess changes in VMT from March 1 to June 30, 2020 as compared with baseline January travel levels. The implementation of stay-at-home orders was associated with a 56.4 percent reduction in VMT on average. However, this effect was shown to dissipate over time, which may be attributable to “quarantine fatigue.” In the absence of full shelter-in-place orders, travel was also reduced where restrictions on select businesses were introduced. For example, restrictions on entertainment, indoor dining, and indoor recreational activities corresponded to reductions in VMT of 3 to 4 percent while restrictions on retail and personal care facilities showed 13 percent lower traffic levels. VMT was also shown to vary based on the number of COVID case reports, as well as with respect to other characteristics, including median household income, political leanings, and how rural the county was in nature.

Bogus Doctor Deceptions during Multi-Casualty Events and Disasters

2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antony Nocera ◽  
Anne M. Newton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Medical Literature ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Medical Practitioner ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Secure Systems ◽  
Public Health And Safety

AbstractBogus doctors pose a threat to public health and safety, and they present a security threat at disaster and multi-casualty event sites. A “bogus doctor” is an individual who misrepresents him/herself as a registered medical practitioner by their demeanour, actions, dress, or surroundings, while not entitled to be on a register of medical practitioners. There are very few reports in the medical literature, but practitioners have encountered them at the site of a disaster or multi-casualty event. This paper examines the five cases identified in the literature. Secure systems that confirm a health professional's identity and qualifications are required to avoid unnecessary delays and to protect the victims and health professionals providing the care.

scholarly journals Understanding Why Codes and Standards Fail

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Batzer ◽  
John S. Morse ◽  
Dong Y. Don Lee
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Asymmetric Information ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Information Cost ◽  
Minimal Level ◽  
Corporate Behavior ◽  
Adverse Impacts ◽  
Public Health And Safety

The enduring issues regarding codes and standards for consumer products and corporate behavior are discussed in this paper. It has been frequently asserted that the adherence of a product to a recognized government or private standard ensures that the product has a minimal level of safety, and that said product is therefore presumably non-defective. The agencies which promulgate these codes and standards are ostensibly impartial and informed, and have the public’s best interests in mind. This conviction is undoubtedly true in some instances, but is also unquestionably false in others. The issues regarding codes and standards and their impact upon products and the trusting public include, but are not limited to, asymmetric information, cost concerns, ethics, foreseeable misuses, non-alignment of interests, and technological advancements after the standards were adopted. In short, the adherence to the letter, rather than the spirit, of individual codes and standards is a manifestation of the Principal-Agent conflict, in which the agent, acting on behalf of the principal, has a different set of incentives than does the principal. This conflict and the underlying issues listed above are discussed. Case studies of numerous products with possible, known, and unforeseen adverse impacts upon public health and safety will be used as illustrations of products that were within the letter of the code or standard, but manifestly defective.

scholarly journals Measurements of neutron-induced light-charged particle emission reactions

2020 ◽  
Vol 239 ◽  
pp. 01001
Author(s):  
Guohui Zhang ◽  
Huaiyong Bai ◽  
Haoyu Jiang ◽  
Zengqi Cui ◽  
Yi Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Source ◽  
Neutron Energy ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Energy Region ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Reaction Cross ◽  
Tandem Accelerator ◽  
Peking University ◽  
Three Body ◽  
Charged Particle Emission

In the past two decades cooperating with Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics (FLNP), Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) measurements of (n, α) reaction cross sections for 6Li, 10B, 25Mg, 39K, 40Ca, 54,56,57 Fe, 58Ni, 63Cu, 64,67 Zn, 95Mo, 143Nd and 147,149 Sm nuclei were performed in the MeV neutron energy region based on the 4.5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator at Peking University. In recent years, our measurements were extended in three aspects. Firstly, measurements were expanded from two-body reactions to three-body reactions such as 10B (n, t2 α). Secondly, the neutron energy region was extended from below 8 MeV to 8 - 11 MeV by using the HI-13 tandem accelerator of China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), with which cross sections of 54,56 Fe(n, α)53,51Cr reactions were measured. Thirdly, based on the newly-built China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) Back-n WNS (White Neutron Source), differential and angle-integrated cross sections for 6Li(n, t) and 10B(n, α) reactions were measured in the neutron energy region from 1 eV to 3 MeV.

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