This study examined the water-to-air transfer and viability of the fecal indicator bacteria, enterococci, and compared capture performance of an impactor and aerosol filter. Results show that concentration of viable enterococci collected by the impactor (70.1 colony-forming units [CFU]/L) was lower than that using the filter (171.2 CFU/L) at 95% significance. Between the impactor and filter, coefficients of variation equaled 13% and 14%, respectively. Hence, for the collection of aerosolized enterococci in a controlled environment, use of the aerosol filter yielded significantly higher recovery relative to impaction, though equally variable data were collected by both methods. This work confirms that viable enterococci transfer across a simulated air-sea interface and that aerosol filters perform well in capturing viable bacteria. Results from this study are relevant to studies that measure environmentally generated aerosols such as those that occur via wave breaking from sewage-contaminated waters.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnac003 | DOI Listing |
Macromol Rapid Commun
December 2024
Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles, St. Gallen, 9014, Switzerland.
Facemask materials have been under constant development to optimize filtration performance, wear comfort, and general resilience to chemical and mechanical stress. While single-use polypropylene meltblown membranes are the established go-to material for high-performing mask filters, they are neither sustainable nor particularly resistant to sterilization methods. Herein an in-depth analysis is provided of the sterilization efficiency, filtration efficiency, and breathing resistance of selected aerosol filters commonly implemented in facemasks, with a particular focus on the benefits of nanofibrous filters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Earth Space Chem
December 2024
Université Paris-Est Créteil and Université Paris Cité, CNRS, LISA, Créteil F-94010, France.
Hydroxyacetone (HA) is an atmospheric oxidation product of isoprene and other organic precursors that can form brown carbon (BrC). Measured bulk aqueous-phase reaction rates of HA with ammonium sulfate, methylamine, and glycine suggest that these reactions cannot compete with aqueous-phase hydroxyl radical oxidation. In cloud chamber photooxidation experiments with either gaseous or particulate HA in the presence of the same N-containing species, BrC formation was minor, with similar mass absorption coefficients at 365 nm (<0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnaesth Crit Care Pain Med
December 2024
Perioperative Care Program, Perioperative Medicine Team, Telethon Kids Institute, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Ave, Nedlands WA 6009, Perth, Australia; Division of Emergency Medicine, Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine, Medical School, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley WA 6009, Perth, Australia; School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley WA 6009, Perth, Australia; Institute for Paediatric Perioperative Excellence, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley WA 6009, Perth, Australia; Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Ave, Nedlands WA 6009, Perth, Australia. Electronic address:
Small
December 2024
Fiber and Particle Engineering Research Unit, Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4300, Oulu, 90014, Finland.
Here, hybrid stimuli-responsive (exhibiting pyroelectricity and piezoelectricity) porous cryogels are engineered by embedding tourmaline nanoparticles (TNs) in a cellulose nanofiber (CNF) skeleton to generate high-performance CNF-TN-based airborne particulate matter (PM) filters. First, single-layer hybrid cryogels with varying TN contents (0-5% w v) are assembled, and the design principles for multilayered filters are established based on a novel sequential pre-freezing and freeze-drying technique. As observed, the embedded TNs transformed the CNF network into a more homogeneous, isotropic, and firm structure, thus improving the structural integrity and thermal stability of the assembled cryogels while maintaining their ultrahigh porosity and low density.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Air Waste Manag Assoc
December 2024
Air Quality Research Center, University of California, Davis, California, USA.
The IMPROVE program (Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environments) tracks long-term trends in the composition and optics of regional haze aerosols in the United States. The absorptance of red (633-nm) light is monitored by filter photometry of 24 h-integrated samples of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5).
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