Disinfectant Spray Research Articles

Neutral red/carbon dots photodynamic disinfectant spray for sports mouthguards cleaning and perishable foods preservation

Bacterial contamination of medical devices and food poses critical threat to mankind's health. Although some antibiotics can kill bacteria, their mis/overuse in healthcare and agriculture has brought about serious bacterial antibiotic resistance. Thus, developing a convenient and rapid sterilization method becomes increasingly important. Herein, the nanocomposite NR@CDs was synthesized by the assembly of neutral red (NR) with carbon dots (CDs). Compared with NR, NR@CDs has stronger reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation ability. NR@CDs can photodynamically destroy both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria efficiently, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is 45 μg mL−1. NR@CDs spray is an eco-friendly sterilizing agent, with favorable biocompatibility and water-washability properties. Just 1 min of irradiation, NR@CDs spray can quickly and accurately kill the bacteria on the surface of the mouthguards (MGs). As the NR@CDs aqueous solution sprays on cherries, it can effectively prolong the quality guarantee period of perishable foods. The present work provides an innovative strategy to solve the global bacterial contamination and antibiotic resistance problems.

Edukasi, Pendampingan, dan Pemberdayaan Keluarga yang Menjalani Isolasi Mandiri COVID 19 dalam Upaya Peningkatan Status Kesehatan Keluarga

The beginning of 2020 was the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in the world; until 2021, more and more COVID-19 cases occurred in Indonesia, and more and more positive cases in the community resulted in hospitals not being able to accept patients for treatment in hospitals, so people who experienced moderate symptoms, mild and without symptoms can self-isolate in their respective homes. As of February 28, 2021, there were 2112 positive cases in Tegal City. During self-isolation, the patient needs family support; the family has a vital role in improving health status, so education, assistance, and empowerment are needed for families; education is provided through booklet media, as well as the provision of masks, hand sanitizers, hand soap, disinfectant spray and digital thermometer to families who are self-isolating. This activity aims to increase knowledge, attitudes, and behavior about COVID-19 to improve health status and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the community, especially families.

High-throughput fabrication of antimicrobial phage microgels and example applications in food decontamination.

Engineered by nature, biological entities are exceptional building blocks for biomaterials. These entities can impart enhanced functionalities on the final material that are otherwise unattainable. However, preserving the bioactive functionalities of these building blocks during the material fabrication process remains a challenge. We describe a high-throughput protocol for the bottom-up self-assembly of highly concentrated phages into microgels while preserving and amplifying their inherent antimicrobial activity and biofunctionality. Each microgel is comprised of half a million cross-linked phages as the sole structural component, self-organized in aligned bundles. We discuss common pitfalls in the preparation procedure and describe optimization processes to ensure the preservation of the biofunctionality of the phage building blocks. This protocol enables the production of an antimicrobial spray containing the manufactured phage microgels, loaded with potent virulent phages that effectively reduced high loads of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli O157:H7 on red meat and fresh produce. Compared with other microgel preparation methods, our protocol is particularly well suited to biological materials because it is free of organic solvents and heat. Bench-scale preparation of base materials, namely microporous films (the template for casting microgels) and pure concentrated phage suspension, requires 3.5 h and 5 d, respectively. A single production run, that yields over 1,750,000 microgels, ranges from 2 h to 2 d depending on the rate of cross-linking chemistry. We expect that this platform will address bottlenecks associated with shelf-stability, preservation and delivery of phage for antimicrobial applications, expanding the use of phage for prevention and control of bacterial infections and contaminants.

Antibacterial Potential of Novel Poly-Herbal Bio-Disinfectant

Indigenous medicinal plants like Azadirachta Indica, Mentha, Ocimum Tenuiflorum, Phyllanthus emblica and Aloe vera is traditionally used for treating different ailments in India. It is considered as safe medicinal plants and modulates the numerous biological processes without any adverse effect. It is a vital principle in the prevention control, and reduction of any acquired infection. We aim to present the herbal preparation for human health hazard free bio disinfectant. Indigenous medicinal plants with reported effective results against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi along with least toxic impact on environment. The antimicrobial activities by agar well diffusion indicated by zone of inhibition were resulted against Escherichia coli (24 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (10 mm), Serratia marcescens (11 mm), Bacillus (20 mm), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (22mm), Salmonella typhi (15 mm). The highest potential was observed in methanolic extract as compared to aqueous extract with even concentration. The use of medicinal plants extracts in bio disinfectant spray is mainly due to the anti-allergic, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties are present. The antioxidant activity was linearly proportional to the concentration and the result showed that the antioxidant activity of all the extracts was found to increase in concentration with increased absorbance of the reaction mixture indicates increase in antioxidant activity. The formulation was evaluated for its physical parameters. It is sure that these ingredients on combination behave as an effective bio-disinfectant product. It can be used as a gel, liquid, spray on medical device and it also plays an important role in the production of various types of disinfectant products. Natural herbal bio disinfectants are affordable, effective and environmentally friendly.

Evaluation of Peracetic Acid Treatment on Beef Trimmings and Subprimals Against Salmonella and E. Coli O157:H7 Within Regulatory Retained Water Limitations

The application of antimicrobial treatments to beef trimmings prior to grinding for the reduction of microbial contamination in ground beef has increased recently. However, raw single-ingredient meat products are not permitted by Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) to retain more than 0.49% water resulting from postevisceration processing. The effectiveness of antimicrobials with the limited water retention is not well documented. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of peracetic acid at varied concentrations against E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on the surface of beef trimmings and beef subprimals that was applied at industry operating parameters within the retained water requirement. One hundred and forty-four each of beef trimmings and subprimals were used to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of peracetic acid solution on reducing E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on surfaces of fresh beef within the FSIS requirement of ≤0.49% retained water from antimicrobial spray treatments using a conveyor system. A ten-strain cocktail mixture was inoculated on surfaces of fresh beef and subjected to water or four different concentrations of peracetic acid (130, 150, 200, and 400 ppm). Spray treatments with 130, 150, and 200 ppm peracetic acid reduced (P ≤ 0.05) E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella at least 0.2 log on surfaces of beef trimmings and subprimals. Spray treatment with 400 ppm peracetic acid resulted in approximately 0.5 and 0.3 log reduction of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, respectively. Results indicate that all concentrations (130–400 ppm) of peracetic acid significantly reduced E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on beef trimmings and subprimals compared to untreated controls. Thus, a range from 130 to 400 ppm of peracetic acid can be used during beef processing to improve the safety of beef trimmings and subprimals when weight gain is limited to ≤0.49% to meet regulatory requirements.

A POM/viologen-based supramolecular fluorescent probe for Ag+ detection and application of visible hydrogel based intelligent sensing system

Silver (Ag+) as a typical heavy metal ion has significant impacts on human health, so monitoring Ag+ level is an important issue. In this work, a new POM (polyoxometalates)/viologen-based supramolecular compound, [(HMSBP)2(γ-Mo8O26)]·4H2O (1) has been synthesized by hydrothermal method (MSBP = 1-(4-Methanesulfonyl-benzyl)-[4,4']bipyridinyl-1-ium). This POM/viologen-based supramolecular compound exhibits the unique supramolecular structure, excellent optical stability and superior fluorescence intensity, which is expected to become a promising fluorescent sensor. The coordination reaction between SO, pyridine N atom and Ag+ in compound 1 makes the detection of Ag+ achieved and the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.0411 μM in the range of 0.1–3 μM. Moreover, this supramolecular fluorescent probe has successfully realized the quantitative monitoring of Ag+ concentration in environmental water samples and commercially available disinfectant spray. Viologen is regarded as a good external stimulus responsive material, while its discoloration behavior can be exploited as an intelligent sensor system. The platform based on hydrogel and smartphones realizes the visualization and real-time quantification of Ag+, which provides an effective way for the rapid and convenient determination of Ag+. This provides a feasible way to promote the qualitative/semi quantitative detection of visual fluorescence POM/viologen sensors.

Improving spray performance of vehicle disinfection systems in livestock farms using computational fluid dynamics analysis

Effective vehicle disinfection systems (VDSs) are crucial in livestock-related industries to prevent the spread of diseases. This study aimed to improve the nozzle arrangement and operation of VDSs using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The CFD simulations were conducted for two types of systems (simple and tunnel) which are commonly installed at farm entrances, and five vehicle types, including sedans, SUVs, cargo trucks, box trucks, and feed trucks. The results demonstrated significant improvements in the disinfection coverage and uniformity. For the simple-type VDS, the existing system exhibited low disinfection coverage on the wheels, top, and rear sections of vehicles; however, the modification of the nozzle positions and angles improved the coverage and uniformity. Additionally, increasing the number of nozzles and spray volume resulted in a 36–48 % increase in coverage across the vehicle entire surface. The tunnel-type VDS exhibited excessive disinfectant spray, leading to surface runoff and uneven coverage at the wheels and rear sections. This excessive disinfectant usage was reduced by 17 % by adjusting the nozzle arrangements and reducing spraying time by 5 s, while maintaining comparable coverage and uniformity. These findings highlight the importance of enhanced nozzle design and spray volume for effective vehicle disinfection. Livestock-related industries can enhance biosecurity measures and mitigate disease transmission risks by implementing the proposed improvements.

Numerical simulation study of indoor disinfection spray distribution based on CFD-DPM method

In today's world, environmental safety has become a top priority, with a special focus on terminal disinfection of indoor environments, which has proven to be a crucial and formidable issue in infection control. The use of hydrogen peroxide disinfection through vaporization or atomization presents a viable solution to the challenges posed by traditional wiping disinfection and ultraviolet disinfection methods that are plagued by incomplete disinfection and other factors that can significantly reduce the virus content within a room. To improve the application of hydrogen peroxide disinfection spray, the CFD-DPM (Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Particle Model) method is employed to simulate the particle distribution of traditional sprays in a 30 m3 room. The study places emphasis on analyzing the impact of the placement position and bottle number of disinfection spray on the distribution of spray particles. The results demonstrate an impressive consistency between the numerical simulation method and experimental findings regarding the particle size distribution of disinfectant spray across various Schemes, validating the method's accuracy and reliability. However, the placement of a single disinfection spray source is insufficient to achieve uniformly distributed particles throughout the space when a bathroom is present within a given room. Nevertheless, by placing internal and external sources within the bathroom, the distribution of disinfectant spray particles becomes more even, thanks to a well conceived placement technique and an increased number of spray sources. Among all the schemes tested, Scheme 4 stands out for its ability to produce the greatest number of spray particles, with almost 60.71% of these particles remaining airborne for over 40 s. Therefore, it is also the most effective scheme for conducting disinfection.

Problems and Transformation Measures of Urban Parks in the Post-pandemic Era

The outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic shattered peoples peaceful lives, seriously threatened human lives, and sounded an alarm for urban development and public safety and health. In resisting the pandemic, a major public health emergency, public awareness of health has also been raised to an unprecedented level. This study takes Baishamen Park in Haikou city as an example to identify the current problems of urban parks and put forward some transformation strategies based on a pandemic-related perspective. The study discovers that currently, urban parks lack detailed designs for social distance requirements and psychological healing. The infrastructures and intelligent facilities in urban parks are not complete. Urban parks also fail to appropriately deal with visitors with different attitudes toward the infection risks. Then, the study puts forward some transformation strategies and designs, such as: planting some virus-inhibiting plants, adding disinfection facilities, introducing spray disinfection robots, and designing some facilities to control social distance. These transformation measures can be helpful for urban parks to meet the new needs of peoples recreation in the post-pandemic era.

Evaporation of alcohol droplets on surfaces in moist air

Droplets of alcohol-based formulations are common in applications from sanitizing sprays to printing inks. However, our understanding of the drying dynamics of these droplets on surfaces and the influence of ambient humidity is still very limited. Here, we report the drying dynamics of picoliter droplets of isopropyl alcohol deposited on a surface under controlled humidity. Condensation of water vapor in the ambient environment onto alcohol droplets leads to unexpectedly complex drying behavior. As relative humidity (RH) increases, we observed a variety of phenomena including enhanced spreading, nonmonotonic changes in the drying time, the formation of pancake-like shapes that suppress the coffee-ring effect, and the formation of water-rich films around an alcohol-rich drop. We developed a lubrication model that accounts for the coupling between the flow field within the drop, the shape of the drop, and the vapor concentration field. The model reproduces many of the experimentally observed morphological and dynamic features, revealing the presence of unusually large spatial compositional gradients within the evaporating droplet and surface-tension-gradient-driven flows arising from water condensation/evaporation at the surface of the droplet. One unexpected feature from the simulation is that water can evaporate and condense concurrently in different parts of the drop, providing fundamental insights that simpler models based on average fluxes lack. We further observed rim instabilities at higher RH that are well-described by a model based on the Rayleigh-Plateau instability. Our findings have implications for the testing and use of alcohol-based disinfectant sprays and printing inks.

Optical Nanosensors for the Detection of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are common active ingredients in chemical disinfectants, household cleaners, cosmetics, pesticides, etc. Recently QACs have been detected in human blood and breast milk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Humans can be exposed to QACs through dermal adsorption during application, hand-to-mouth ingestion of disinfectant residues, and inhalation of indoor air upon treatment with disinfectant spray. Exposure to these chemicals can cause respiratory illness such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, increase inflammatory cytokines, decrease mitochondrial function, and disrupt cholesterol biosynthesis. However, the complete biological fate of QACs is currently unknown. Therefore, a real-time continuous monitoring system in complex biological environments is crucial to learn the long-term effects of QACs on human health.Photoluminescent single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are great candidates for developing optical probes to monitor biological systems due to their outstanding photophysical properties in the tissue-transparent near-infrared spectral region, high sensitivity, and high stability. Furthermore, nanotube-based sensors exhibit a great potential for an implantable, real-time, wireless optical detection technology. Herein, we developed a carbon nanotube-based optical sensor for the detection of QACs in complex solution. Our findings from this research could provide a basis for engineering an optical detection technology to gain insight on the long-term effects of QACs to human health.

Preparation of nano‐silver coated poly(vinyl alcohol) via a heterogeneous coating system for various antimicrobial products

AbstractSilver‐coated polyvinyl alcohol (Ag/PVA) was prepared using 3,4‐dihydro‐3,6‐dimethyl‐1,3‐2H‐benzoxazine as a reducing agent reported in the petty patent of our research group. Ag/PVA22000 is applicable for making solutions and gels. Solutions of Ag/PVA22000 have exhibited antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans, while the gels inhibited only S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa. Therefore, the solutions and gels tend to be used in antimicrobial sprays and gel bandages. Moreover, Ag/PVA145000 was able to form hydrogels by gamma‐ray irradiation. Therefore, the hydrogels with the lowest amount of silver were prepared from 5.0 wt.% of Ag/PVA145000 at the 20 kGy of gamma‐ray irradiation. The results illustrated that the hydrogels exhibited antimicrobial properties against S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa. However, no inhibition of C. albicans was observed for any prepared hydrogels.

Photoelectrochemical water splitting performance of LaFeO3 thin film photocathode prepared by spray gun deposition

To date, numerous methods have been employed in fabricating lanthanum iron oxide (LaFeO3) photocathodes. However, producing practical and stable single thin film LaFeO3 photocathodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) operation remains a challenge as the photocurrent produced is too low. In the present work, LaFeO3 photocathodes were fabricated via spin coating and spray deposition using an inexpensive commercialized disinfectant spray gun. The study discovered that applying the spray gun deposition onto the spin-coated layer resulted in enhanced LaFeO3 micro-structural formation with a high degree of surface roughness. The visible light absorption improved with the energy band gap reduced from (2.45 ± 0.1) eV to (2.42 ± 0.1) eV due to the enhancement of morphological formation. Furthermore, the PEC performance showed a good photocathodic response with the photocurrent density increased from 15.2 μA cm−2 to 27.0 μA cm−2 at 0.6 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), resulting in good charge transfer behavior and stability in the strong alkaline solution. Therefore, the LaFeO3 thin film fabricated in this study could provide valuable information, hence, would be reliable to apply on scalable optoelectronic device production particularly the PEC photocathodes with simple processes and low-cost equipment.

Considering Covid-19 Treatments as Applied to Facility Seating: Developing a Methodology to Examine Adverse Surface Color Effects

During Covid-19, a facility management researcher/instructor team examined potential effects of various disinfectant treatments on the surface appearance of furniture currently located in their academic facility. Treatments (i.e., bleach wipes, alcohol wipes, disinfectant sprays and UltraViolet wands) are used by students, staff, faculty, visitors, facility managers and custodians in an effort to reduce spread of Corona. Further, EMist© with Vital Oxide treatments were regularly applied by University-contracted facility maintenance staff during study period. While procedures exist for measuring color change regarding light exposure and changes due to abrasion, no current published methods were found regarding surface color before and after Covid-19 intervention treatments. Researchers/instructors anticipate findings from study would inform facility management and other courses. They anticipate results would allow generalizability to hospitality and healthcare. Changes in surface color of upholstered furniture in facilities may be extremely negative regarding interior aesthetics, corporate image, and replacement costs. Therefore, it was determined there was a great need to study the effects of treatments and inform facility stakeholders. Researchers posited that Covid-19 intervention treatments may alter surface color of upholstered furniture over time. The purpose of the study was to develop methodology to examine color degradation that may be caused by agents used in common disinfecting practices. Three seating pieces (drafting chair, drafting stool, classroom chair) made of different materials were studied. Five treatments were applied to each furniture piece at regular intervals over an 8-week period. Researchers measured color before and after treatments. The procedures were photo-documented and videotaped to capture treatments in-process and to support future educational presentations. Preliminary findings revealed limited variability in color changes. Future research should consider other seating and room-finish materials, disinfectants and treatments, facility types, and timeframes.

Screening of aggregation-induced emission and multi-response acrylonitrile-bridging fluorescent molecules tailored for rapid turn-on detection of HClO as well as ratiometric visualizing of extreme basicity.

Realizing the rapid and sensitive tracing of multiple analysis indicators using single molecular probe through structural designing is urgently desired for exploring novel multi-response chemosensors. Herein, a series of acrylonitrile-bridging organic small molecules have been rationally designed. Among these donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) compounds with efficient aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics, a unique derivative, 2-(1H-benzo[d]imidazole-2-yl)-3-(4-(methylthio)phenyl) acrylonitrile, named MZS, has been screened out for multifunctional utilizing. First, probe MZS can respond to hypochlorous acid (HClO) through specific oxidation reaction, showing a marked fluorescence turn-on signal (I495). This special sensing reaction is ultra-fast with a rather low detection limit (LOD=13.6nM). Next, versatile MZS is also sensitive to the extreme pH fluctuation, displaying an intriguing ratiometric signal variation (I540/I450), facilitating the real-time and naked-eye visualizing, which is even stable and reversible. Furthermore, probe MZS has been used for the monitoring of HClO in real water and commercially available disinfectant spray samples with satisfactory results. We envision that probe MZS would be a flexible and powerful tool for monitoring of environmental toxicity and industrial operations under realistic scenarios.

Evaluation the Presence of Border Molding in Final Impression for Fabrication of Removable Prosthesis by General Practitioner in Tripoli, Libya

Background and objectives. Cross infection among prosthodontologist and dental lab technicians is very important issue, especially after several studies found that transmission of infection to dental lab technicians is mainly by contaminated impressions or by improper handling of clinical items after arrival at the Dental laboratory. Dental impressions can be cross-contaminated by patient’s saliva and blood, which then cross-infect the dental casts poured from the impressions. The present study was carried out to evaluate the knowledge and the practice of infection control of dental impressions among dental technicians in Tripoli, Libya. Methods. This study was based on questionnaire that designed to cover different aspects of cross-infection control in the dental clinic. The questionnaire consists of 10 closed end question and 3 yes, no question. Results. The response rate was 85%. The questionnaire showed that almost 32.9% of the dental technicians did not have instructions related to disinfection in the dental lab. Upon receipt of dental impressions, the majority (80.5%) reported always rinsing them with water only. Moreover, about 7.8% of the dental technicians reported never disinfecting dental impressions and about 16.9% reported that they sometimes disinfected impressions. In the labs were the disinfection applied, 12% of the dental labs used spray disinfection (without water) and also 12% of dental technicians used immersion disinfection (without water). Conclusion. The findings of this study show that practices and awareness of dental technicians regarding infection control are less than ideal, moreover there is lack of communication between dentists and dental technicians so should increase awareness and establishing educational programs for both dentists and dental technicians to decrease the risk of transmission of diseases in dental laboratories.

Disinfection and Isotonic Drinks' Influence on Hardness and Color Stability of Ethylene-Vinyl-Acetate Copolymer Mouthguards Used in Martial Arts: An In Vitro Study.

This in vitro study aimed to evaluate the hardness and color change of an ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) material for mouthguards after exposition to different cleaning agent solutions and isotonic drinks. Four hundred samples were prepared and divided into four equinumerous groups (n = 100), in which there were 25 samples from each color of EVA (red, green, blue and white). The hardness, using the digital durometer, and the color coordinates (CIE L*a*b*), using the digital colorimeter, were measured before the first exposition and after 3 months of exposition to spray disinfection and incubation in the oral cavity temperature, or immersion in isotonic drinks. The values of Shore A hardness (HA) and color change (ΔE-calculated by Euclidean distance) were statistically analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, multiple comparison ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis and appropriate post-hoc tests. Statistically significant changes in color and hardness between the tested groups were demonstrated after the use of agents predestined for disinfecting the surface of mouthguards on the tested samples. There were no statistically significant differences in color and hardness between the groups immersed in isotonic sport drinks potentially consumed by competitors practicing combat sports using mouthguards. Despite the changes in color and hardness after the use of disinfectants, the deviations were minor and limited to specific colors of the EVA plates. The intake of isotonic drinks practically did not change either the color or the hardness of the samples, regardless of the tested color of the EVA plates.

Intermediate Cluster Disinfection: Which Disinfection Solution Is Most Effective on Milking Liners? A Comparison of Microorganism Reduction on Liner Inner Surfaces Using Quantitative Swab Sampling Technique.

During machine milking, pathogenic microorganisms can be transmitted from cow to cow through liners. Therefore, in Germany, a spray method for the intermediate disinfection of the milking cluster is often used for prevention. This method of cluster disinfection is easy to perform, requires little time and no extra materials, and the disinfection solution is safe from outside contamination in the spray bottle. Since no data on a systematic efficacy trial are available, the aim of this study was to determine the microbial reduction effect of intermediate disinfection. Therefore, laboratory and field trials were conducted. In both trials, two sprays of 0.85 mL per burst of different disinfectant solutions were sprayed into the contaminated liners. For sampling, a quantitative swabbing method using a modified wet-dry swab (WDS) technique based on DIN 10113-1: 1997-07 was applied. Thus, the effectiveness of disinfectants based on Peracetic Acid, Hydrogen Peroxide and Plasma-Activated Buffered Solution (PABS) was compared. In the laboratory trial, the inner surfaces of liners were contaminated with pure cultures of Escherichia (E.) coli, Staphylococcus (S.) aureus, Streptococcus (Sc.) uberis and Sc. agalactiae. The disinfection of the contaminated liners with the disinfectants resulted in a significant reduction in bacteria with values averaging 1 log for E. coli, 0.7 log for S. aureus, 0.7 log for Sc. uberis and 0.8 log for Sc. agalactiae. The highest reduction was obtained for contamination with E. coli (1.3 log) and Sc. uberis (0.8 log) when PABS was applied and for contamination with S. aureus (1.1 log) and Sc. agalactiae (1 log) when Peracetic Acid Solution (PAS) was used. Treatment with sterile water only led to an average reduction of 0.4 log. In the field trial, after the milking of 575 cows, the liners were disinfected and the total microorganism count from the liner surface was performed. The reduction was measured against an untreated liner within the cluster. Although a reduction in microorganisms was achieved in the field trial, it was not significant. When using PAS, a log reduction of 0.3 was achieved; when using PABS, a log reduction of 0.2 was obtained. The difference between the two disinfection methods was also not significant. Treatment with sterile water only led to a reduction of 0.1 log. The results show that spray disinfection under these circumstances does result in a reduction in the bacteria on the milking liner surface, but for effective disinfection a higher reduction would be preferred.

Design and fabrication of a biodegradable face shield by using cleaner technologies for the protection of direct splash and airborne pathogens during the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to global supply chain disruptions and high demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), the rapidly expanding COVID-19 crisis left millions of front-line fighters unprotected. The disposal of PPE in the environment caused significant environmental pollution. Hence, indigenous initiatives have been taken to fabricate antiviral and biodegradable face shields with the help of neoteric and cleaner technologies. This paper describes a novel endeavor to design, manufacture, and performance analysis of a face shield made by plastic injection molding and LASER Cutting. Because of the requirement of permanent wear, the face shield's ergonomic design is considered low weight and easy head fixation, alongside high production ability. Here, face shield frames are made with lightweight, biodegradable plastic called Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), whereas an optical grade PLA sheet is used as the visor for better clarity. Visors PLA Sheet is coated with Nano-Silver disinfectant spray to incorporate antiviral properties to the Faceshield. Partially circumferential adjustable elastic straps are used for comfortable head fixation. To evaluate the product, clinical fit tests along with statistical survey were conducted, and the feedback from the end-users on comfort (41% Excellent, 30% Good, 26% Average and 3% Poor), clear view (33% Excellent, 38% Good, 24% Average, and 5% Poor), design features (43% Excellent, 35% Good, and 22% Average), simplicity of installation and disassembly (29% Excellent, 33% Good, and 38% Average), and ease of wearing/removing (45% Excellent, 40% Good, and 15%Average) are encouraging.

October Notebook

October Notebook Daniel Poppick (bio) A folk song about counting.A folk song about imitating a police siren.A folk song containing the lyric, "I only love my bed and my mama, I'm sorry."A folk song containing the lyric, "The only tune that the fiddle would play was 'O, the Wind and the Rain.'" I travel to rural Ohio, where I've been invited to give a poetry reading at my alma mater."How do you write poetry that's true but that also isn't overly personal?" asks an undergraduate after the reading.I don't know how to respond. Were I a painter, I might say that art is an invented canvas full of real bullshit. But I am not a painter. parable of bloodlines After the poetry reading, I ate dinner with R., a beloved former religious studies professor. R. is one of the gentlest men I've ever known, possessed of a gentleness verging on genius–inquisitive [End Page 66] but never hectoring, polite but genuinely so–there exists a spiteful politeness in the Midwest–thoughtful but silly, grave but cheerful, meandering but focused. In the class I took with him in college, called "Meanings of Death," a survey of death and mourning rituals across world religions, one of the assignments was to write a eulogy for someone we loved who was still alive. To this day there is a bit of this assignment in every poem I write, premature nostalgia being something like my calling card.R. is now retired. He has many close friends in town but so far as I know has never married or had children. At dinner he gleefully described his retirement plans–writing a murder mystery set in a seminary, a story based on events that he witnessed as a young man that I would recount for you here if I remembered.Our dinner ended and we said our goodbyes, hugged, wished each other well. The night was open before me in my old stomping grounds where I too might have been inspired to write a murder mystery, if I could only witness one. But at present I am too old to hang out with the students and too young to pass the evening with the professors, who all go to bed early anyway. It was a beautiful fall night, the rest of which passed without incident. I slept poorly.I woke before dawn to catch a shuttle back to the airport in Columbus. A man about R.'s age pulled up in a sedan in the dark and introduced himself as D.I disliked D. immediately. He chatted with me in the car like a genial prison guard, in a tone that made no secret of the fact that he didn't care at all what I said in response. Conversation in this context was a kind of disinfectant spray against intimacy. He was unwilling to hazard the exquisite awkwardness of sitting with a stranger in silence, which I cherish, but also seemed unwilling to talk about anything that actually mattered to either of us. [End Page 67] He asked me what I "did," and when I told him that I was a poet, he asked me what sports I liked. I asked him what he "did," and he told me that he was a retired math teacher. He lived in a nearby community with his wife. I asked him how he had liked teaching at the local high school, and he told me that it "had a good reputation." At this point I was already completely exhausted, counting the seconds until I could get out of the car. The cornfields rolled out in the darkness like an infinite bruise."So what's your poetry about?" he said.At this point I should really have an answer to this question, but I do not. I gave him my stock answer: "Most of it doesn't rhyme." But then I remembered that there was a lot of internal rhyme in my recent work, and added, idiotically, "But recently a lot of it does."D. didn't care, of course–this contentless answer was exactly the kind of adventure...