Publications by authors named "Brooke L Smith"

While antibiotic resistance poses a threat from both Gram-positive bacteria (GPB) and Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), GNB pose a more imminent public health hazard globally. GNB are a threat to growing antibiotic resistance because of the complex makeup of the membrane. The AcrAB-TolC efflux pump is a known resistance mechanism of Escherichia coli (E.

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Two poultry Confined Animal Feeding Units (CAFUs), "House A" and "House B", were selected from the TAMU poultry facility for the study, and samples were collected over a five-day period. Bioaerosol sampling was conducted using a Wetted Wall Cyclone (WWC) bioaerosol collector at the two CAFU houses, in which House A housed approximately 720 broiler chickens and roosters, while House B remained unoccupied and served as a reference. Both houses consisted of 24 pens arranged on either side of a central walkway.

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Article Synopsis
  • A low cutpoint wetted wall bioaerosol sampling cyclone (LCP-WWC) was developed to efficiently aerosolize and collect bacteria, specifically strain MG1655, at a flow rate of 300 L/min for lab studies.
  • Samples were collected over 15 days to measure culturable bacteria and gene copy numbers, revealing changes in protein composition and antimicrobial resistance through various testing methods.
  • Results indicated that after 2 days of storage at different temperatures, bacteria displayed increased growth and a nearly four-fold rise in antibiotic resistance, suggesting that environmental conditions significantly influence bacterial survival and resistance mechanisms.
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To understand how SARS-CoV-2 spreads indoors, in this study bovine coronavirus was aerosolized as simulant into a plexiglass chamber with coupons of metal, wood and plastic surfaces. After aerosolization, chamber and coupon surfaces were swiped to quantify the virus concentrations using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Bio-layer interferometry showed stronger virus association on plastic and metal surfaces, however, higher dissociation from wood in 80% relative humidity.

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