Quantitative Assessment of Microbial Transmission onto Environmental Surfaces Using Thermoresponsive Gelatin Hydrogels as a Finger Mimetic under In Situ-Mimicking Conditions.

Surface-mediated transmission of pathogens plays a key role in healthcare-associated infections. However, proper techniques for its quantitative analysis are lacking, making it challenging to develop novel antimicrobial and anti-fouling surfaces to reduce pathogen spread via environmental surfaces. This study demonstrates a gelatin hydrogel-based touch transfer test, the HydroTouch test, to evaluate pathogen transmission on high-touch surfaces under semi-dry conditions.

Analysis of Giant-Shell CdSe/CdS Quantum Dots via Analytical Ultracentrifugation Combined with Spectrally Resolved Photoluminescence.

Knowledge of the structure-property relationships of functional nanomaterials, including, for example, their size- and composition-dependent photoluminescence (PL) and particle-to-particle variations, is crucial for their design and reproducibility. Herein, the Angstrom-resolution capability of an analytical ultracentrifuge combined with an in-line multiwavelength emission detection system (MWE-AUC) for measuring the sedimentation coefficient-resolved spectrally corrected PL spectra of dispersed nanoparticles is demonstrated. The capabilities of this technique are shown for giant-shell CdSe/CdS quantum dots (g-QDs) with a PL quantum yield (PL QY) close to unity capped with oleic acid and oleylamine ligands.

Shear Capacity of Hollow High-Performance Concrete Beams with Cross-Wound Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement.

This paper introduces cross-wound CFRP shear reinforcement of hollow HPC beams. The CFRP reinforcement was manufactured in the form of a square tubular mesh from carbon rovings oriented at ±45° from the longitudinal axis. The shear reinforcement was made in two variants from carbon yarns with linear densities of 1600 and 3700 tex.

Nanoscale reference and test materials for the validation of characterization methods for engineered nanomaterials - current state, limitations, and needs.

The rational design of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) with improved functionality and their increasing industrial application requires reliable, validated, and ultimately standardized characterization methods for their application-relevant, physicochemical key properties such as size, size distribution, shape, or surface chemistry. This calls for nanoscale (certified) reference materials (CRMs; RMs) and well-characterized reference test materials (RTMs) termed also quality control (QC) samples, assessed, e.g.

Advancing the next generation of high-performance metal matrix composites through metal particle reinforcement.

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) offer asignificant boost to achieve a wide range of advanced mechanical properties and improved performance for a variety of demanding applications. The addition of metal particles as reinforcement in MMCs is an exciting alternative to conventional ceramic reinforcements, which suffer from numerous shortcomings. Over the last two decades, various categories of metal particles, i.

Towards a risk assessment framework for micro- and nanoplastic particles for human health.

Background: Human exposure to micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) is inevitable but human health risk assessment remains challenging for several reasons. MNPs are complex mixtures of particles derived from different polymer types, which may contain plenty of additives and/or contaminants. MNPs cover broad size distributions and often have irregular shapes and morphologies.

On the physical processes of mechanochemically induced transformations in molecular solids.

Initiating or sustaining physical and chemical transformations with mechanical force - mechanochemistry - provides an opportunity for more sustainable chemical processes, and access to new chemical reactivity. These transformations, however, do not always adhere to 'conventional' chemical wisdom, making them difficult to design and rationalise. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that not all mechanochemical transformations are equal, with mechanical force playing a different role in different types of processes.

Materials Design by Constructing Phase Diagrams for Defects.

Phase transformations and crystallographic defects are two essential tools to drive innovations in materials. Bulk materials design via tuning chemical compositions is systematized using phase diagrams. It is shown here that the same thermodynamic concept can be applied to manipulate the chemistry at defects.

Heterogeneous survival upon disinfection underlies evolution of increased tolerance.

Unlabelled: Disinfection is important to limit the spread of infections, but failure of disinfection may foster the evolution of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. Persisters are phenotypically tolerant subpopulations that survive toxic stress longer than susceptible cells, leading to failure in treatments with antimicrobials and facilitating resistance evolution. To date, little is known about persistence in the context of disinfectants.

Drone-Based Localization of Hazardous Chemicals by Passive Smart Dust.

The distribution of tiny sensors over a specific area was first proposed in the late 1990s as a concept known as smart dust. Several efforts focused primarily on computing and networking capabilities, but quickly ran into problems related to power supply, cost, data transmission, and environmental pollution. To overcome these limitations, we propose using paper-based (confetti-like) chemosensors that exploit the inherent selectivity of chemical reagents, such as colorimetric indicators.

Differential Selection for Survival and for Growth in Adaptive Laboratory Evolution Experiments With Benzalkonium Chloride.

Biocides are used to control microorganisms across different applications, but emerging resistance may pose risks for those applications. Resistance to biocides has commonly been studied using adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments with growth at subinhibitory concentrations linked to serial subculturing. It has been shown recently that adapts to repeated lethal stress imposed by the biocide benzalkonium chloride (BAC) by increased survival (i.

New Processes for Ionizing Nonvolatile Compounds in Mass Spectrometry: The Road of Discovery to Current State-of-the-Art.

This covers discovery and mechanistic aspects as well as initial applications of novel ionization processes for use in mass spectrometry that guided us in a series of subsequent discoveries, instrument developments, and commercialization. matrix-assisted ionization on an intermediate pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization source the use of a laser, high voltages, or any other added energy was simply unbelievable, at first. Individually and as a whole, the various discoveries and inventions started to paint, , an exciting new picture and outlook in mass spectrometry from which key developments grew that were at the time unimaginable, and continue to surprise us in its simplistic preeminence.

Online Isotope Analysis of Sulfur in Proteins via Capillary Electrophoresis Coupled With Multicollector ICP-MS (CE/MC-ICP-MS): A Proof of Concept Study.

Isotope ratio analysis of sulfur in biological samples using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has gained significant interest for applications in quantitative proteomics. Advancements like coupling separation techniques with multicollector ICP-MS (MC-ICP-MS) enhance the throughput of species-specific sulfur isotope ratio measurements, fostering new avenues for studying sulfur metabolism in complex biological matrices. This proof-of-concept study investigates the feasibility of online CE/MC-ICP-MS for directly analyzing sulfur isotope ratios in proteins (albumin).

Development of a one-pot synthesis of rGO in water by optimizing Tour's method parameters.

Since its first synthesis in 2004, graphene has been widely studied and several different synthesis methods has been developed. Solvent exfoliation of graphite and the reduction of graphene oxide previously obtained through graphite oxidation are the most employed. In this work, we exploited synthesis conditions of a method usually employed for obtaining graphene oxide (the Tour's method) for directly obtaining a very poorly oxidised material with characteristics like reduced graphene oxide.

Materials Acceleration Platforms (MAPs): Accelerating Materials Research and Development to Meet Urgent Societal Challenges.

Climate Change and Materials Criticality challenges are driving urgent responses from global governments. These global responses drive policy to achieve sustainable, resilient, clean solutions with Advanced Materials (AdMats) for industrial supply chains and economic prosperity. The research landscape comprising industry, academe, and government identified a critical path to accelerate the Green Transition far beyond slow conventional research through Digital Technologies that harness Artificial Intelligence, Smart Automation and High Performance Computing through Materials Acceleration Platforms, MAPs.

Elastin-specific MR probe for visualization and evaluation of an interleukin-1β targeted therapy for atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the arteries and represents the primary cause of various cardiovascular diseases. Despite ongoing progress, finding effective anti-inflammatory therapeutic strategies for atherosclerosis remains a challenge. Here, we assessed the potential of molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to visualize the effects of 01BSUR, an anti-interleukin-1β monoclonal antibody, for treating atherosclerosis in a murine model.

The evolution of data treatment tools in single-particle and single-cell ICP-MS analytics.

Single-particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (sp-ICP-MS) is one of the most powerful tools in the thriving field of nanomaterial analysis. Along the same lines, single-cell ICP-MS (sc-ICP-MS) has become an invaluable tool in the study of the variances of cell populations down to a per-cell basis. Their importance and application fields have been listed numerous times, across various reports and reviews.

Synthesis and properties of SrLaNiWO, a new S = 1 triangular lattice magnet.

Magnetic materials featuring triangular arrangements of spins are frequently investigated as platforms hosting magnetic frustration. Hexagonal perovskites with ordered vacancies serve as excellent candidates for two-dimensional triangular magnetism due to the considerable separation of the magnetic planes. In this work, the effects of chemical pressure on the ferromagnetic ground state of BaLaNiWO by substitution of Ba with Sr to produce SrLaNiWO are investigated.

Towards 3D determination of the surface roughness of core-shell microparticles as a routine quality control procedure by scanning electron microscopy.

Recently, we have developed an algorithm to quantitatively evaluate the roughness of spherical microparticles using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The algorithm calculates the root-mean-squared profile roughness (RMS-R) of a single particle by analyzing the particle's boundary. The information extracted from a single SEM image yields however only two-dimensional (2D) profile roughness data from the horizontal plane of a particle.

Mechanochemical Synthesis of a Sodium Anion Complex [Na(2,2,2-cryptand)Na] and Studies of Its Reactivity: Two-Electron and One-Electron Reductions.

Group 1 metal molecular chemistry is dominated by a +1 oxidation state, while a 0 oxidation state is widespread in the metals. A more exotic, yet still available, oxidation state of group 1 metal is -1, i.e.

A Comparative Evaluation of Powder Characteristics of Recycled Material from Bronze Grinding Chips for Additive Manufacturing.

In the manufacturing process of ship propellers, large quantities of grinding chips are generated. These grinding chips result from the finishing of the blade surfaces after the primary casting process of the propeller. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare different preparation processes used to produce chip powders with sufficient powder quality for the additive manufacturing process of directed energy deposition.

Simple Determination of Affinity Constants of Antibodies by Competitive Immunoassays.

The affinity constant, also known as the equilibrium constant, binding constant, equilibrium association constant, or the reciprocal value, the equilibrium dissociation constant (K), can be considered as one of the most important characteristics for any antibody-antigen pair. Many methods based on different technologies have been proposed and used to determine this value. However, since a very large number of publications and commercial datasheets do not include this information, significant obstacles in performing such measurements seem to exist.

Hunting for pigments in bacterial settlers of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a significant collection of plastic introduced by human activities, provides an ideal environment to study bacterial lifestyles on plastic substrates. We proposed that bacteria colonizing the floating plastic debris would develop strategies to deal with the ultraviolet-exposed substrate, such as the production of antioxidant pigments. We observed a variety of pigmentation in 67 strains that were directly cultivated from plastic pieces sampled from the Garbage Patch.