Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals-a review.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for improved infectious aerosol concentrations through interventions that reduce the transmission of airborne infections. The aims of this review were to map the existing literature on interventions used to improve infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals and understand challenges in their implementation.

Methods: We reviewed peer-reviewed articles identified on three databases, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from inception to July 2024.

Interplay between disorder and electronic correlations in compositionally complex alloys.

Owing to their exceptional mechanical, electronic, and phononic transport properties, compositionally complex alloys, including high-entropy alloys, represent an important class of materials. However, the interplay between chemical disorder and electronic correlations, and its influence on electronic structure-derived properties, remains largely unexplored. This is addressed for the archetypal CrMnFeCoNi alloy using resonant and valence band photoemission spectroscopy, electrical resistivity, and optical conductivity measurements, complemented by linear response calculations based on density functional theory.

Two-step or one-step - are all methods for neonatal incubator decontamination equal?

Healthcare-associated pathogens, including Staphylococcus capitis, can contaminate incubator surfaces and are of significant concern in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Effective incubator decontamination is essential for infection prevention and control, with submersion decontamination often recommended. This may not always be achievable, with wipe decontamination seen as an alternative.

A microbiological survey approach to understanding the virulence factors of Pseudomonas species in healthcare sinks.

Background: Hospital water is involved in both the prevention and spread of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). Handwashing is key to reducing the transmission of pathogens, yet numerous outbreaks have been found to be caused by organisms within sinks, taps and showers. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and increasingly non-aeruginosa Pseudomonas cause waterborne HCAI, however, little is known about the virulence potential of Pseudomonas species found within hospital environments.

Trends in viable microbial bioburden on surfaces within a paediatric bone marrow transplant unit.

Background: Despite their role being historically overlooked, environmental surfaces have been shown to play a key role in the transmission of pathogens causative of healthcare-associated infection. To guide infection prevention and control (IPC) interventions and inform clinical risk assessments, more needs to be known about microbial surface bioburdens.

Aim: To identify the trends in culturable bacterial contamination across communal touch sites over time in a hospital setting.

Antibiotic Residues in UK Foods: Exploring the Exposure Pathways and Associated Health Risks.

While the use of antibiotics has been reported as extensive in the rearing of agricultural animals, insufficient information is available on the antibiotic residues in animal products and the adverse impact that consistent low-level exposure to antibiotics might have on the human body and its microbiome. The aim of this study was to estimate the antibiotic concentrations that humans are exposed to via their diet using the concentration of antibiotics in animal food products and water and an online survey on dietary intake. A total of 131 participants completed the dietary intake survey, with the majority belonging to the omnivorous diet group (76.

Antimicrobial resistance as a super wicked problem: how do we engage the public to be part of the solution.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is now regarded as one of the greatest global challenges of the 21 century. The complexity, urgent timeframe, and lack of clear solution to AMR have contributed to its classification as a 'super wicked problem'. Yet knowledge surveys of the general public have found that they still harbour numerous misconceptions linked to both the sources and impact of AMR.

Applied Methods to Assess the Antimicrobial Activity of Metallic-Based Nanoparticles.

With the rise of antibiotic resistance, the drive to discover novel antimicrobial substances and standard testing methods with the aim of controlling transmissive diseases are substantially high. In healthcare sectors and industries, although methods for testing antibiotics and other aqueous-based reagents are well established, methods for testing nanomaterials, non-polar and other particle-based suspensions are still debatable. Hence, utilities of ISO standard validations of such substances have been recalled where corrective actions had to be taken.

Antibiotic resistance genes and the association with bacterial community in biofilms occurring during the drinking water granular activated carbon (GAC) sandwich biofiltration.

The granular activated carbon (GAC) sandwich modification to slow sand filtration could be considered as a promising technology for improved drinking water quality. Biofilms developed on sand and GAC surfaces are expected to show a functional diversity during the biofiltration. Bench-scale GAC sandwich biofilters were set-up and run continuously with and without antibiotic exposure.

Geometry of population activity in spiking networks with low-rank structure.

Recurrent network models are instrumental in investigating how behaviorally-relevant computations emerge from collective neural dynamics. A recently developed class of models based on low-rank connectivity provides an analytically tractable framework for understanding of how connectivity structure determines the geometry of low-dimensional dynamics and the ensuing computations. Such models however lack some fundamental biological constraints, and in particular represent individual neurons in terms of abstract units that communicate through continuous firing rates rather than discrete action potentials.

Correction: Enhanced detoxification of Cr by adsorption on spherical and flower-like manganese ferrite nanostructures.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D2NA00691J.].

Enhanced detoxification of Cr by adsorption on spherical and flower-like manganese ferrite nanostructures.

Maximizing the safe removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr) from waste streams is an increasing demand due to the environmental, economic and health benefits. The integrated adsorption and bio-reduction method can be applied for the elimination of the highly toxic Cr and its detoxification. This work describes a synthetic method for achieving the best chemical composition of spherical and flower-like manganese ferrite (MnFeO) nanostructures (NS) for Cr adsorption.

Antibacterial Properties of Honey Nanocomposite Fibrous Meshes.

Natural substances are increasingly being developed for use in health-related applications. Honey has attracted significant interest, not only for its physical and chemical properties, but also for its antibacterial activity. For the first time, suspensions of Black Forest honeydew honey and manuka honey UMF 20+ were examined for their antibacterial properties against and using flow cytometry.

Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic-Resistant Genes and the Quantification of Antibiotics in Drinking Water Treatment Plants of Malaysia: Protocol for a Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a known global public health threat. In addition, it brings serious economic consequences to agriculture. Antibiotic resistance in humans, animals, and environment is interconnected, as proposed in the tricycle surveillance by the World Health Organization.

Human health risk estimation of antibiotics transferred from wastewater and soil to crops.

Antibiotics enter into agricultural land, via manure application or wastewater irrigation. The practices of using untreated wastewater in the agricultural system help in the bioaccumulation of antibiotics in vegetables and other crops. Exposure to the bioaccumulated antibiotics poses serious health risks to ecosystem and human.

A post-occupancy study of ventilation effectiveness from high-resolution CO monitoring at live theatre events to mitigate airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Mass-gathering events were closed around the world in 2020 to minimise the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Emerging research on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 emphasised the importance of sufficient ventilation. This paper presents the results of an indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring study over 82 events in seven mechanically ventilated auditoria to support the UK government Events Research Programme.

Microbes in the built environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged scientists and the general population to think more than ever before about how we interact with microbes in our indoor spaces. Research investigating transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has advanced our knowledge significantly in the last two years. However, indoor and built environment microbiomes are extremely complex polymicrobial systems.

Exploiting the antiviral potential of intermetallic nanoparticles.

Viral pandemic outbreaks cause a significant burden on global health as well as healthcare expenditure. The use of antiviral agents not only reduces the spread of viral pathogens but also diminishes the likelihood of them causing infection. The antiviral properties of novel copper-silver and copper-zinc intermetallic nanoparticles against bacteriophage MS2 (RNA virus) and bacteriophage T4 (DNA virus) are presented.

In-situ fluorescence spectroscopy is a more rapid and resilient indicator of faecal contamination risk in drinking water than faecal indicator organisms.

Faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) are limited in their ability to protect public health from the microbial contamination of drinking water because of their transience and time required to deliver a result. We evaluated alternative rapid, and potentially more resilient, approaches against a benchmark FIO of thermotolerant coliforms (TTCs) to characterise faecal contamination over 14 months at 40 groundwater sources in a Ugandan town. Rapid approaches included: in-situ tryptophan-like fluorescence (TLF), humic-like fluorescence (HLF), turbidity; sanitary inspections; and total bacterial cells by flow cytometry.

Copper nanowire embedded hypromellose: An antibacterial nanocomposite film.

The present work reports a novel antibacterial nanocomposite film comprising of copper nanowire impregnated biocompatible hypromellose using polyethylene glycol as a plasticiser. Detailed physico-chemical characterization using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectroscopy and electron microscopy shows uniform dispersion of copper nanowire in the polymer matrix without any apparent oxidation. The film is flexible and shows excellent antibacterial activity against both Gram positive and negative bacteria at 4.

Barriers to the Delivery and Uptake of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Promotion and Infant Diarrhea Prevention Services: A Case Study in Rural Tribal Banswara, Rajasthan.

Objective: We aimed to identify key barriers to Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) promotion and infant diarrhea prevention services delivered by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in rural India.

Methods: A case-study was conducted across nine tribal villages in Banswara district (Rajasthan), where in-depth observational and qualitative data was collected from frontline health workers and infant caregivers.

Results: ASHAs' prioritization of their incentive-based link-worker tasks over their health activist roles, limited community mobilization, and lack of monitoring of such activities hindered the delivery of WASH promotion and infant diarrhea prevention services.

Does size matter? The impact of a small but targeted cleaning training intervention within a paediatric ward.

Background: Cleaning is a critical tool for infection prevention and control, and is a key intervention for preventing healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) and controlling intermediate transmission routes between patient and environment. This study sought to identify potential areas of weakness in clinical surface cleaning, and assess the effectiveness of a staff group specific training intervention.

Observations: One-hundred hours of audit observations in a paediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) assessed surface cleaning technique of healthcare staff within bedspaces.

Towards transformative WASH: an integrated case study exploring environmental, sociocultural, economic and institutional risk factors contributing to infant enteric infections in rural tribal India.

Background: Despite clear linkages between poor Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) and enteric disease, the design of effective WASH interventions that reduce child enteric infections and stunting rates has proved challenging. WASH factors as currently defined do not capture the overall exposure factors to faecal pathogens through the numerous infection transmission pathways. Understanding the multiple and multifaceted factors contributing to enteric infections and their interconnectedness is key to inform future interventions.

Removal of antibiotics in sand, GAC, GAC sandwich and anthracite/sand biofiltration systems.

Drinking water biofiltration offers the possibility of the removal of trace level micropollutants from source water. Sand, granular activated carbon (GAC), GAC sandwich (a layer of GAC loaded in the middle of sand bed), and anthracite-sand dual biofilters were set-up in duplicate at bench-scale to mimic the filtration process in real drinking water treatment works. During the 3-month system operation, removal of five antibiotics (amoxicillin, clarithromycin, oxytetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim) and overall biofilter performance were evaluated.