scholarly journals Indoor Microbiological air Pollution in the Hospital

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ljiljana Stojanović Bjelić ◽  
Predrag Ilić ◽  
Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Direct Connection ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Microbiological Parameters ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi ◽  
Number Of Bacteria

Microorganisms in the air of occupational indoor environments are associated with a wide range of adverse health effects with major public health impact. The aim of this study was testing the presence of microbiological parameters (bacteria and fungi) and microclimatic parameters (temperature and relative humidity) in the clinical hospital “St. Luke the Apostle” in Doboj, which is located in the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Concentrations of bacteria ranged from 35 CFU/m3 to 6,295 CFU/m3. Maximum fungal concentration was 1,135 CFU/m3, while the minimum was 10 CFU/m3. The average levels of bacteria (1,113 CFU/m3) and fungi (186 CFU/m3) indicated that all hospital rooms were generally contaminated. Statistical analysis confirmed direct connection between the number of bacteria, fungi and microclimatic parameters, especially relative humidity.

Association Between Levels of Radon And Bioaerosols (Bacteria And Fungi) By Living Conditions

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Ho Hwang ◽  
Sangwon Lee ◽  
Jong-Uk Won ◽  
Hyo Soung Cha ◽  
Wha Me Park
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Airborne Fungi ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Airborne Bacteria ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Colony Forming Unit ◽  
Residential Environments ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi

Abstract This study aimed to measure the levels of airborne radon (Rn) and bioaerosols—culturable airborne bacteria (CAB) and culturable airborne fungi (CAF)—in South Korea’s residential environments, considering living conditions such as the number of ventilations, number of windows, floors, temperature, and relative humidity. These levels were evaluated for 32 houses of residents from the socially vulnerable class. Rn gas and bioaerosols were sampled twice: in fall and summer. A self-report survey gathered residents’ information on their general characteristics (daily residence time, heating and cooking type, cleaning and washing cycle, etc.) and health condition scores (0–100 points) on the day of sampling. The range of Rn levels was 0.43–7.439 pCi/L with a median of 0.70 pCi/L. The CAB levels were 239–488 colony-forming unit (CFU)/m3 with a median of 309 CFU/m3, and CAF levels were 174–366 CFU/m3 with a median of 233 CFU/m3. Thus, this study found that semi-basement residential indoor environments negatively affected Rn and bioaerosol levels, and living in such residences resulted in high health condition scores.

scholarly journals Influence of organic components on changes of the properties of reclaimed soils damaged by fire from coniferous dry forest

2017 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-170
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Królak ◽  
Barbara Kot ◽  
Karol Sterniczuk ◽  
Aneta Troć ◽  
Ewelina Zychowicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Organic Components ◽  
Microbiological Parameters ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi ◽  
Reclaimed Soils ◽  
Alkaline Cations ◽  
Number Of Bacteria

Abstract The main objective of the study was to analyse the influence of compost produced from urban green waste, sewage sludge from municipal treatment plants and horticultural peat on changes of selected chemical and microbiological parameters of forest soil reclaimed after a fire. Soil samples were collected one and two years after the components had been applied to the soil. The results from experimental sites were compared with those from control samples. In the soil samples the following parameters were determined: content of carbon and nitrogen, reaction, hydrolytic acidity and the total amount of alkaline cations. Also the total number of bacteria and fungi, including moulds and yeast, was analysed. A year after components application, pH and the number of yeasts and moulds in the soil increased. After two years the content of nitrogen and the total number of bacteria in the soil increased as well. The most beneficial effect on changes in soil properties had the application of sewage sludge, which manifested itself in a decrease of the C/N ratio. This indicated the suitability of sewage sludge in reclamation of poor forest habitats. Peat underwent the slowest mineralization among all the organic components applied to the soil.

Insights into Potent Therapeutical Antileukemic Agent L-glutaminase Enzyme Under Solid-state Fermentation: A Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandrasai Potla Durthi ◽  
Madhuri Pola ◽  
Satish Babu Rajulapati ◽  
Anand Kishore Kola
Keyword(s):  
Solid State ◽  
Solid State Fermentation ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Production Studies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Hybridoma Technology ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Glutaminase Activity

Aim & objective: To review the applications and production studies of reported antileukemic drug L-glutaminase under Solid-state Fermentation (SSF). Overview: An amidohydrolase that gained economic importance because of its wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as the food industry, is L-glutaminase. The medical applications utilized it as an anti-tumor agent as well as an antiretroviral agent. L-glutaminase is employed in the food industry as an acrylamide degradation agent, as a flavor enhancer and for the synthesis of theanine. Another application includes its use in hybridoma technology as a biosensing agent. Because of its diverse applications, scientists are now focusing on enhancing the production and optimization of L-glutaminase from various sources by both Solid-state Fermentation (SSF) and submerged fermentation studies. Of both types of fermentation processes, SSF has gained importance because of its minimal cost and energy requirement. L-glutaminase can be produced by SSF from both bacteria and fungi. Single-factor studies, as well as multi-level optimization studies, were employed to enhance L-glutaminase production. It was concluded that L-glutaminase activity achieved by SSF was 1690 U/g using wheat bran and Bengal gram husk by applying feed-forward artificial neural network and genetic algorithm. The highest L-glutaminase activity achieved under SSF was 3300 U/gds from Bacillus sp., by mixture design. Purification and kinetics studies were also reported to find the molecular weight as well as the stability of L-glutaminase. Conclusion: The current review is focused on the production of L-glutaminase by SSF from both bacteria and fungi. It was concluded from reported literature that optimization studies enhanced L-glutaminase production. Researchers have also confirmed antileukemic and anti-tumor properties of the purified L-glutaminase on various cell lines.

Associated microflora of medicinal ferns: biotechnological potentials and possible applications

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (03) ◽  
pp. 4927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shubhi Srivastava ◽  
Paul A. K.
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Growth Promotion ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Hydrolytic Enzymes ◽  
In Vitro Production ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi

Plant associated microorganisms that colonize the upper and internal tissues of roots, stems, leaves and flowers of healthy plants without causing any visible harmful or negative effect on their host. Diversity of microbes have been extensively studied in a wide variety of vascular plants and shown to promote plant establishment, growth and development and impart resistance against pathogenic infections. Ferns and their associated microbes have also attracted the attention of the scientific communities as sources of novel bioactive secondary metabolites. The ferns and fern alleles, which are well adapted to diverse environmental conditions, produce various secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, steroids, alkaloids, phenols, triterpenoid compounds, variety of amino acids and fatty acids along with some unique metabolites as adaptive features and are traditionally used for human health and medicine. In this review attention has been focused to prepare a comprehensive account of ethnomedicinal properties of some common ferns and fern alleles. Association of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere, phyllosphere and endosphere of these medicinally important ferns and their interaction with the host plant has been emphasized keeping in view their possible biotechnological potentials and applications. The processes of host-microbe interaction leading to establishment and colonization of endophytes are less-well characterized in comparison to rhizospheric and phyllospheric microflora. However, the endophytes are possessing same characteristics as rhizospheric and phyllospheric to stimulate the in vivo synthesis as well as in vitro production of secondary metabolites with a wide range of biological activities such as plant growth promotion by production of phytohormones, siderophores, fixation of nitrogen, and phosphate solubilization. Synthesis of pharmaceutically important products such as anticancer compounds, antioxidants, antimicrobials, antiviral substances and hydrolytic enzymes could be some of the promising areas of research and commercial exploitation.

scholarly journals Securitisation gaps: Towards ideational understandings of state weakness

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Kevork Oskanian
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Collective Knowledge ◽  
State Action ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Interpretive Approach ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Republic

Abstract This article contributes a securitisation-based, interpretive approach to state weakness. The long-dominant positivist approaches to the phenomenon have been extensively criticised for a wide range of deficiencies. Responding to Lemay-Hébert's suggestion of a ‘Durkheimian’, ideational-interpretive approach as a possible alternative, I base my conceptualisation on Migdal's view of state weakness as emerging from a ‘state-in-society's’ contested ‘strategies of survival’. I argue that several recent developments in Securitisation Theory enable it to capture this contested ‘collective knowledge’ on the state: a move away from state-centrism, the development of a contextualised ‘sociological’ version, linkages made between securitisation and legitimacy, and the acknowledgment of ‘securitisations’ as a contested Bourdieusian field. I introduce the concept of ‘securitisation gaps’ – divergences in the security discourses and practices of state and society – as a concept aimed at capturing this contested role of the state, operationalised along two logics (reactive/substitutive) – depending on whether they emerge from securitisations of the state action or inaction – and three intensities (latent, manifest, and violent), depending on the extent to which they involve challenges to state authority. The approach is briefly illustrated through the changing securitisation gaps in the Republic of Lebanon during the 2019–20 ‘October Uprising’.

scholarly journals Spatio-temporal variation in number and production of neustonic and planktonic bacteria inhabiting polluted estuarine harbour channel

2021 ◽  
Vol 203 (9) ◽  
pp. 5547-5559
Author(s):  
Piotr Perliński ◽  
Zbigniew J. Mudryk ◽  
Marta Zdanowicz ◽  
Łukasz Kubera
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Secondary Production ◽  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Surface Microlayer ◽  
Water Basin ◽  
Planktonic Bacteria ◽  
Microbiological Parameters ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Number Of Bacteria

AbstractThe aim of this paper was to determine the abundance and secondary production by bacteria inhabiting the surface microlayer and subsurface water in a specific water basin, i.e., polluted estuarine harbour channel. In a 3-year seasonal cycle, the total number of bacteria and their biomass were higher in the surface microlayer (SML) 7.57 × 108cells dm−3 and 15.86 µg C dm−3 than in the subsurface water (SSW) 4.25 × 108cells dm−3 and 9.11 µg C dm−3 of the studied channel. The opposite relationship was noted in the level of the secondary production (SML—37.16 μg C dm−3 h−1, SSW—60.26 μg C dm−3 h−1) in this water basin. According to the analysed microbiological parameters, the total number of bacteria and secondary production varied along the horizontal profile in the water of the studied channel. The total number of bacteria and their secondary production showed the seasonal variation as well.

scholarly journals Developing Relative Humidity and Temperature Corrections for Low-Cost Sensors Using Machine Learning

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 3338
Author(s):  
Ivan Vajs ◽  
Dejan Drajic ◽  
Nenad Gligoric ◽  
Ilija Radovanovic ◽  
Ivan Popovic
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring ◽  
Lower Accuracy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Monitoring Stations

Existing government air quality monitoring networks consist of static measurement stations, which are highly reliable and accurately measure a wide range of air pollutants, but they are very large, expensive and require significant amounts of maintenance. As a promising solution, low-cost sensors are being introduced as complementary, air quality monitoring stations. These sensors are, however, not reliable due to the lower accuracy, short life cycle and corresponding calibration issues. Recent studies have shown that low-cost sensors are affected by relative humidity and temperature. In this paper, we explore methods to additionally improve the calibration algorithms with the aim to increase the measurement accuracy considering the impact of temperature and humidity on the readings, by using machine learning. A detailed comparative analysis of linear regression, artificial neural network and random forest algorithms are presented, analyzing their performance on the measurements of CO, NO2 and PM10 particles, with promising results and an achieved R2 of 0.93–0.97, 0.82–0.94 and 0.73–0.89 dependent on the observed period of the year, respectively, for each pollutant. A comprehensive analysis and recommendations on how low-cost sensors could be used as complementary monitoring stations to the reference ones, to increase spatial and temporal measurement resolution, is provided.

Statistical Evaluation of Indoor Air Quality Changes after Installation of the PSD System in Seoul’s Metro

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Jeong Kim ◽  
Yong Su Kim ◽  
Abtin Ataei ◽  
Jeong Tai Kim ◽  
Jung Jin Lim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Multivariate System ◽  
Metro Station ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Subway Stations ◽  
Tele Monitoring

The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in the concentration of air pollutants in the indoor environments, which could be caused by seasonal changes or changes in operating conditions of subway metro stations. In fact, there are many different types of pollution that can cause contamination in subway stations, and changes in operating conditions can also lead to changes in the indoor air quality (IAQ). Therefore, in order to establish a proper management of IAQ, it would be necessary to evaluate the changes in IAQ according to the changes in conditions. To do this, the present study used a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results of testing the hypothesis proved that two groups, divided by the condition of a platform screen door (PSD) system, could differ statistically. Furthermore, those multidimensional differences were caused by installation of a PSD system. When applied to a real-time tele-monitoring system, MANOVA could clearly identify the daily and weekly variations of IAQ in the subway station, as well as the PSD system’s condition. Accordingly, this method could be useful for developing a multivariate system to statistically evaluate the experimental IAQ results in order to optimise operating conditions in a subway metro station to improve IAQ, and to minimise adverse health effects on passengers by exposure to harmful substances.

scholarly journals A Visual and VAE Based Hierarchical Indoor Localization Method

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 3406
Author(s):  
Jie Jiang ◽  
Yin Zou ◽  
Lidong Chen ◽  
Yujie Fang
Keyword(s):  
Image Retrieval ◽  
Indoor Localization ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Global Features ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Data Annotation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Annotation Costs ◽  
Global And Local

Precise localization and pose estimation in indoor environments are commonly employed in a wide range of applications, including robotics, augmented reality, and navigation and positioning services. Such applications can be solved via visual-based localization using a pre-built 3D model. The increase in searching space associated with large scenes can be overcome by retrieving images in advance and subsequently estimating the pose. The majority of current deep learning-based image retrieval methods require labeled data, which increase data annotation costs and complicate the acquisition of data. In this paper, we propose an unsupervised hierarchical indoor localization framework that integrates an unsupervised network variational autoencoder (VAE) with a visual-based Structure-from-Motion (SfM) approach in order to extract global and local features. During the localization process, global features are applied for the image retrieval at the level of the scene map in order to obtain candidate images, and are subsequently used to estimate the pose from 2D-3D matches between query and candidate images. RGB images only are used as the input of the proposed localization system, which is both convenient and challenging. Experimental results reveal that the proposed method can localize images within 0.16 m and 4° in the 7-Scenes data sets and 32.8% within 5 m and 20° in the Baidu data set. Furthermore, our proposed method achieves a higher precision compared to advanced methods.

Airborne bacteria concentrations and related factors at university laboratories, hospital diagnostic laboratories and a biowaste site

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Ho Hwang ◽  
Dong Uk Park ◽  
Kwon Chul Ha ◽  
Hyun Woo Cho ◽  
Chung Sik Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Sampling Site ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Airborne Bacteria ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
P Values ◽  
Regular Control ◽  
Number Of Bacteria

AimsTo evaluate concentrations of airborne bacteria in university laboratories, hospital diagnostic laboratories, and a biowaste site in Seoul, Korea. To measure total airborne bacteria (TAB), the authors assessed sampling site, type of ventilation system, weather and detection of Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), indoors and outdoors.MethodAn Andersen one-stage sampler (Quick Take 30; SKC Inc) was used to sample air at a flow rate of 28.3 l/min for 5 min on nutrient medium in Petri dishes located on the impactor. A total of 236 samples (TAB, 109 indoor and nine outdoor; GNB, 109 indoor and nine outdoor) were collected three times in each spot from the 11 facilities to compare airborne bacteria concentrations.ResultsTAB concentrations ranged from undetectable to 3451 CFU/m3 (mean 384 CFU/m3), and GNB concentrations from undetectable to 394 CFU/m3 (mean 17 CFU/m3). TAB concentrations were high in window-ventilated facilities and facilities in which GNB were detected; concentrations were also high when it was rainy (all p values <0.05). TAB concentrations correlated significantly with GNB (r=0.548, p<0.01), number of bacteria species (r=0.351, p<0.01) and temperature (r=0.297, p<0.01). The presence of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC), the number of TAB species and the detection of GNB affect TAB concentrations in laboratories.ConclusionsIt is recommended that special attention be given to regular control of indoor environments to improve the air quality of university and hospital laboratories.

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