Publications by authors named "Vered Cohen-Yaniv"

Uridine contains the chromophore uracil, a base forming part of RNA. In the range 240-290 nm, the absorption spectra of uridine and DNA are very similar and correspond to the spectral inactivation sensitivity of almost all microorganisms. This makes the uridine (absorption maximum 262 nm) an ideal actinometer for determining the germicidal photon flux in the range of 240 to 290 nm.

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UV light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) have emerged as a new technology for water disinfection. Multiwell plates are a common tool in biological research, but they have never been used for UVC/UVB-inactivation experiments of microorganisms. In this study, a novel, rapid and simple UVC/UVB-inactivation assay was developed for a UV-LED system using a multiwell plate setup (96- and 24-well plates).

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A successful attempt to degrade synthetic estrogen 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) is demonstrated via combining photocatalysis employing magnesium peroxide (MgO)/low-pressure ultraviolet (LP-UV) treatment followed by biological treatment using small bioreactor platform (SBP) capsules. Reusable MgO was synthesized through wet chemical synthesis and extensively characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) for phase confirmation, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for elemental composition, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) to explain a specific surface area, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging surface morphology, and UV-visible (Vis) spectrophotometry. The degradation mechanism of EE2 by MgO/LP-UV consisted of LP-UV photolysis of HO in situ (produced by the catalyst under ambient conditions) to generate hydroxyl radicals, and the degradation extent depended on both MgO and UV dose.

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Today, two types of lamp systems dominate the UV disinfection industry: low-pressure (LP) UV lamps and medium-pressure (MP) polychromatic lamps. Both lamp types have their advantages and disadvantages in microorganism inactivation, with LP lamps being cheaper, having longer life, and working at lower temperature, hence reducing fouling, and MP lamps showing better inactivation per germicidal dose for certain microorganisms. Bacterium-based biosensors were used to compare LP and MP irradiation.

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A photocatalytic continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) was built at laboratory scale to inactivate two environmental bacteria strains (Flavobacterium and E. coli) in tap water. Several parameters were found to impact reactor efficiency.

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