Chemical Safety Concerns of Sulfur Mustard Analog, 2-Chloroethyl Ethyl Sulfide, in Laboratory Study

: Sulfur mustard (SM), a classic chemical weapon in the vesicant category, can induce severe damage, for which the therapy is still limited even today. Laboratory work is essential in unveiling toxicological effects and developing medical countermeasures. Sulfur mustard analog 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES), is employed in the lab for less toxicity. However, due to its similar characteristics to SM (being oily, hydrophobic, and volatile), the manipulation of CEES still needs special attention to avoid personnel injury and laboratory pollution. Here, to clear the chemical safety concerns in the laboratory study of CEES, the working procedure and experimental data are summarized, which might help educate new researchers to be skilled and professional.

The Cases of COVID-19 and Measles Co-Infection in Children

Relevance. The rapid spread of new pathogens inevitably leads to the occurrence of joint circulation with already known infectious agents, leading to the development of mixed infections. The simultaneous circulation of the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 with a highly contagious measles virus leads to the development of mixed infections in people who have not been sick or vaccinated against measles. Aims. Review cases of co-infection with measles and COVID-19 in Moscow. Material and methods. A retrospective study of cases of measles and COVID-19 co-infection in three children with a description of the epidemiological and clinical picture of the disease. Results. In all observed children, the manifestation of the disease was typical for measles, the diagnosis of COVID-19 was established based on a laboratory study carried out in a hospital, which gave reason to count. That the infection with SARSCoV-2 occurred after the infection of children with measles. Conclusions. Different incubation periods can lead to several options for the development of co-infection. The similarity of clinical symptoms at the onset of the disease does not allow excluding a certain infection clinically, without laboratory verification.

Secondary ice production during the break-up of freezing water drops on impact with ice particles

We provide the first dedicated laboratory study of collisions of supercooled water drops with ice particles as a secondary ice production mechanism. We experimentally investigated collisions of supercooled water drops (∼ 5 mm in diameter) with ice particles of a similar size (∼ 6 mm in diameter) placed on a glass slide at temperatures >-12 ∘C. Our results showed that secondary drops were generated during both the spreading and retraction phase of the supercooled water drop impact. The secondary drops generated during the spreading phase were emitted too fast to quantify. However, quantification of the secondary drops generated during the retraction phase with diameters >0.1 mm showed that 5–10 secondary drops formed per collision, with approximately 30 % of the secondary drops freezing over a temperature range between −4 and −12 ∘C. Our results suggest that this secondary ice production mechanism may be significant for ice formation in atmospheric clouds containing large supercooled drops and ice particles.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE FUNCTIONAL MARMALADE RECIPE

The article analyzes the mass fraction of sugar in the composition of the most common types of marmalade in retail chains. The hypothesis of the relationship between the statistics of childhood obesity in Russia and the increase in the consumption of "hidden" sugars is presented. The article substantiates the relevance of introducing healthy sweets into the diet of children. The results of a patent search and laboratory study of the sugar content in industrial marmalade by capillary electrophoresis are presented. A computer model of the marmalade recipe with a low sugar content and high nutritional value was obtained.

Questing behavior of adult Amblyomma americanum (L.) in a laboratory setting

Tick-borne diseases are on the rise globally; however, information is lacking about tick questing behavior. In this laboratory study, we explored tick preferences for stem type (plastic grass, wooden, and metal), questing height, and head orientation. Using 60 Amblyomma americanum adults over three 72-hour replicates, we determined that 21.7% of ticks quested at any given time and that ticks exhibited a strong preference to quest with their heads oriented downwards, irrespective of stem type. Individual ticks tended to quest on only one stem in this study, and a maximum of three. Nonetheless, ticks appeared to prefer questing on wooden and plastic grass stems over metal stems. We did not find an effect of time of day on tick questing rates. Increased understanding of tick questing behavior can improve vector control efforts.