Indoor Airborne Particle Level in the Animal Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory of Shanghai

2011 ◽  
Vol 356-360 ◽  
pp. 671-675
Author(s):  
Tian Tao Cheng ◽  
Zhao Qin Zhu ◽  
Da Wei Hu ◽  
Zhi Gang Song ◽  
Wen Juan Wu

Exposure to biogenic aerosols such as airborne bacterium has hazardous effects upon human health. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria is a highly pathogenic microbe and arises large challenges to the enclosed laboratories for biosafety and the health of people working in them. Number concentration and size spectra of indoor aerosols were examined in the Animal Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL-3) laboratory located in Shanghai’s south suburb in July 2010. Mean particle concentration at center of the core room in dissecting experiment to MTB infected mouse (200 cm-3) was equivalent to feeding experiment to MTB infected mouse (200 cm-3), and roughly 2 times higher than background (91 cm-3). Mean particle size distribution at center of the core room exhibited a bi-peak feature under dissecting and feeding conditions, but a mono-peak feature under background condition. Because of dual negative air pressure and high frequency cleaning, MTB bacteria emitted from infected agents did not appear in the air of the preparation and core rooms. Airborne particle sampling demonstrated that MTB aerosol contamination was not detected in the indoor air. This result indicates that online monitoring for particle microphysical properties is one valuable approach to early warn and protect the safety of ABSL-3 laboratories.

1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. B. Keats-Rohan

The COEL database and database software, a combined reference and research tool created by historians for historians, is presented here through Screenshots illustrating the underlying theoretical model and the specific situation to which that has been applied. The key emphases are upon data integrity, and the historian's role in interpreting and manipulating what is often contentious data. From a corpus of sources (Level 1) certain core data are extracted for separate treatment at an interpretive level (Level 3), based upon a master list of the core data (Level 2). The core data are interdependent: each record in Level 2 is of interest in itself; and it either could or should be associated with an(other) record(s) as a specific entity. Sometimes the sources are ambiguous and the association is contentious, necessitating a probabilty-coding approach. The entities created by the association process can then be treated at a commentary level, introducing material external to the database, whether primary or secondary sources. A full discussion of the difficulties is provided within a synthesis of available information on the core data. Direct access to the source texts is only ever a mouse click away. Fully query able, COEL is formidable look-up and research tool for users of all levels, who remain free to exercise an alternative judgement on the associations of the core data. In principle, there is no limit on the type of text or core data that could be handled in such a system.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 384-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Thelaus ◽  
Anna Lindberg ◽  
Susanne Thisted Lambertz ◽  
Mona Byström ◽  
Mats Forsman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Level 3 ◽  

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-136
Author(s):  
Fatıma YÜCEL ◽  
Hivda ÜLBEĞİ POLAT ◽  
Esin AKÇAEL ◽  
Taşkın DENİZ
Keyword(s):  
Level 3 ◽  

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Couppié ◽  
Katarina Herceg ◽  
Morgane Bourne-Watrin ◽  
Vincent Thomas ◽  
Denis Blanchet ◽  
...  

Histoplasmosis is a common but neglected AIDS-defining condition in endemic areas for Histoplasma capsulatum. At the advanced stage of HIV infection, the broad spectrum of clinical features may mimic other frequent opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis and makes it difficult for clinicians to diagnose histoplasmosis in a timely manner. Diagnosis of histoplasmosis is difficult and relies on a high index of clinical suspicion along with access to medical mycology facilities with the capacity to implement conventional diagnostic methods (direct examination and culture) in a biosafety level 3 laboratory as well as indirect diagnostic methods (molecular biology, antibody, and antigen detection tools in tissue and body fluids). Time to initiation of effective antifungals has an impact on the patient’s prognosis. The initiation of empirical antifungal treatment should be considered in endemic areas for Histoplasma capsulatum and HIV. Here, we report on 30 years of experience in managing HIV-associated histoplasmosis based on a synthesis of clinical findings in French Guiana with considerations regarding the difficulties in determining its differential diagnosis with other opportunistic infections.


2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (7) ◽  
pp. 2003-2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ch. Keppas ◽  
J. Crosier ◽  
T. W. Choularton ◽  
K. N. Bower

Abstract On 21 January 2009, the warm front of an extensive low pressure system affected U.K. weather. In this work, macroscopic and microphysical characteristics of this warm front are investigated using in situ (optical array probes, temperatures sensors, and radiosondes) and S-band polarimetric radar data from the Aerosol Properties, Processes and Influences on the Earth’s Climate–Clouds project. The warm front was associated with a warm conveyor belt, a zone of wind speeds of up to 26 m s−1, which played a key role in the formation of extensive mixed-phase cloud mass by ascending significant liquid water (LWC; ~0.22 g m−3) at a level ~3 km and creating an ideal environment at temperatures ~ −5°C for ice multiplication. Then, “generating cells,” which formed in the unstable and sheared layer above the warm conveyor belt, influenced the structure of the stratiform cloud layer, dividing it into two types of elongated and slanted ice fall streaks: one depicted by large ZDR values and the other by large ZH values. The different polarimetric characteristics of these ice fall streaks reveal their different microphysical properties, such as the ice habit, concentration, and size. We investigate their evolution, which was affected by the warm conveyor belt, and their impact on the surface precipitation.


Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander S. Jureka ◽  
Jesus A. Silvas ◽  
Christopher F. Basler

In late 2019, a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, the capital of the Chinese province Hubei. Since then, SARS-CoV-2 has been responsible for a worldwide pandemic resulting in over 4 million infections and over 250,000 deaths. The pandemic has instigated widespread research related to SARS-CoV-2 and the disease that it causes, COVID-19. Research into this new virus will be facilitated by the availability of clearly described and effective procedures that enable the propagation and quantification of infectious virus. As work with the virus is recommended to be performed at biosafety level 3, validated methods to effectively inactivate the virus to enable the safe study of RNA, DNA, and protein from infected cells are also needed. Here, we report methods used to grow SARS-CoV-2 in multiple cell lines and to measure virus infectivity by plaque assay using either agarose or microcrystalline cellulose as an overlay as well as a SARS-CoV-2 specific focus forming assay. We also demonstrate effective inactivation by TRIzol, 10% neutral buffered formalin, beta propiolactone, and heat.


1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 43-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Emery ◽  
Pek Lee ◽  
James Garman

Heightened interest in pathogens with the potential for aerosol transmission and for which prevention and medical treatment is not readily available has resulted in a need for more work environments that meet Biosafety Level 3 (BSL 3) criteria. Recognizing that the facility-based criteria for BSL 3 cannot be achieved by some existing laboratories, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) biological safety guidelines provide an option for attaining BSL 3 status through the use of Biosafety Level 2 (BSL 2) facilities and strict adherence to BSL 3 practices (BSL 2/3). Inherent to this provision is a greater emphasis on safe work practices. Since the extent to which this approach is actually used in practice is not known, a nationwide mail survey of medical academic and research institutions was conducted to provide an objective indication of the proportion of BSL 3 operations actually being carried out in the BSL 2/3 mode. The results obtained indicate that 2% of activities designated as BSL 3 in the study population actually achieve this level of protection using the BSL 2/3 approach. The findings quantitatively estimate for the first time the proportion of BSL 3 activities being carried out in this fashion, and can serve as a reference point for future studies to evaluate usage trends. The results also demonstrate the utility of flexible, performance-based health and safety guidelines, as a significant amount of clinical and research work is being accommodated with the BSL 2/3 provision.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 818-822
Author(s):  
Hideaki Higashi ◽  
◽  
Hiroshi Kida

The Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control (CZC) established the Hokudai Center for Zoonosis Control in Zambia (HUCZCZ) at the School of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Zambia, in 2007 to control zoonotic diseases in the areas of South Africa, where various emerging infectious diseases have occurred. The CZC promotes epidemiological studies and basic researches of infectious diseases caused by viruses, protozoa, and bacteria by using the biosafety level 3 facility in the HUCZCZ. This article introduces research activities of the HUCZCZ in Zambia.


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