High Humidity Causes Abnormalities in the Process of Appressorial Formation of Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei

High humidity decreases the penetration rate of barley powdery mildew Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. However, the mechanism is not well understood. In this study, the morphological and cytochemical analyses revealed that substances containing proteins leaked from the tip of the appressorial germ tube of conidia without the formation of appressorium under a high humidity condition. In addition, exposure to high humidity prior to the formation of appressorium caused the aberrant formation of the appressorial germ tube without appressorium formation, resulting in failure to penetrate the host cell. These findings suggest that the formation and maturation of the appressorium requires a low humidity condition, and will be clues to improve the disease management by humidity control.

Ozone removal efficiency of the KI-denuder in the carbonyl sampling

In the carbonyl sampling of 2, 4- dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) impregnated cartridge, the ozone removal was necessary because ozone reacted with the DNPH derivatives. A commercial ozone scrubber was usually used to remove O3. However, high humidity leaded to carbonyl compounds being trapped on the ozone scrubber before passing through the DNPH cartridge. The purpose of this study was to assess the ozone removal by KI-denuder under the climatic conditions of Ho Chi Minh City. Several parameters including air sampling flow rate and denuder length were optimized to achieve the highest removal efficiency. The optimum parameters of the KI denuder were the sampling flow rate of less than 1 L/min, and the denuder length of 20 cm. The effect of the initial O3 concentration on the removal efficiency was also investigated. Finally, the ozone removal efficiency of KI-denuder was compared to that of ozone scrubber when two devices were applied for the carbonyl sampling during field measurement. The results show that KI-denuder could be used to replace the ozone scrubber with high removal efficiency, particularly in high humidity condition. In conclusion, KI-denuder was effective, simple, easy to use and cheap. Therefore, it was encouraged to use in carbonyl sampling.

Evaluation method for thermal protection of firefighters’ clothing in high-temperature and high-humidity condition

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide the details of developments to researchers in test apparatus and evaluation methods to rate the thermal protective performance (TPP) of firefighters’ clothing under high-temperature and high-humidity condition. Design/methodology/approach – This review paper describes the influence laws of moisture on thermal protection and the moisture distribution in actual fire environment. Different evaluation methods used for assessing the effect of moisture on the TPP were investigated, with an emphasis on test devices, evaluation indexes as well as their relationship and limitations. Findings – The moisture from the ambient, clothing and human perspiration plays an important role in determining the TPP of firefighter protective clothing. It is obvious that research on moisture-driven heat transfer in firefighter’s clothing system are comparatively little, primarily focussing on pre-wetted methods of multi-layer fabric. Further studies should be conducted to develop more standardized moistening systems and improve the current calculation methods for evaluating the performance of protective clothing. New explorations for heat and moisture transfer mechanism in protective clothing should be investigated. Practical implications – Protective clothing is the efficient way to provide fire-fighting occupational safety. To accurately evaluate the TPP of protective clothing under high-temperature and high-humidity condition will help to optimize the clothing performance and choose the proper clothing for providing firefighters with the best protection under multiple thermal hazards. Originality/value – This paper is offered as a concise reference for scientific community further research in the area of the TPP evaluation methods under high-temperature and high-humidity condition.