Sodium Ion-Conducting Electrolytes Based on Chloroaluminate Ionic Liquids and δ-NaCl.

Sodium-containing ionic liquids are very promising candidates as ion-conducting materials in alternative to electrolytes based on lithium chemistry. Here we investigate a series of seven ionic liquids with formula (EMImCl/(AlCl))/(δ-NaCl) (0≤x≤0.74).

Minding the matrix: The importance of inoculum suspensions on finger transfer efficiency of virus.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine how the transfer efficiency of MS-2 coliphage from the toilet seat to hands and fingertip to lip differs according to the suspension of the inoculum.

Methods And Results: Hands were sampled after lifting a toilet seat which was inoculated with MS-2 on the underneath side. MS-2 was suspended in a spectrum of proteinaceous and non-proteinaceous solutions.

Characterization of fetal exposure to multiple metals among an urban population: A case study of New York City.

Introduction: Metals and metalloids are ubiquitous and persistent in urban areas and are generally released into the environment as mixtures.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to establish baseline concentrations of selected elements in meconium samples among a large urban population in the US and understand the spatial variability in concentrations. The association of metal mixtures on birth weight was also assessed.

Tailoring plasmon excitations in [Formula: see text] armchair nanoribbons.

We have calculated and investigated the electronic states, dynamical polarization function and the plasmon excitations for [Formula: see text] nanoribbons with armchair-edge termination. The obtained plasmon dispersions are found to depend significantly on the number of atomic rows across the ribbon and the energy gap which is also determined by the nanoribbon geometry. The bandgap appears to have the strongest effect on both the plasmon dispersions and their Landau damping.

Soap, water, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virus.

Public Health Agencies worldwide (World Health Organization, United States Centers for Disease Prevention & Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, etc.) are recommending hand washing with soap and water for preventing the dissemination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. In this review, we have discussed the mechanisms of decontamination by soap and water (involving both removal and inactivation), described the contribution of the various components of formulated soaps to performance as cleansers and to pathogen inactivation, explained why adherence to recommended contact times is critical, evaluated the possible contribution of water temperature to inactivation, discussed the advantages of antimicrobial soaps .

Coherent-scatterer enhancement and Klein-tunneling suppression by potential barriers in gapped graphene with chirality-time-reversal symmetry.

We have utilized the finite-difference approach to explore electron-tunneling properties in gapped graphene through various electrostatic-potential barriers ranging from Gaussian to a triangular envelope function in comparison with a square potential barrier. The transmission coefficient is calculated numerically for each case and applied to the corresponding tunneling conductance. It is well known that Klein tunneling in graphene will be greatly reduced in gapped graphene.

Comparison of the Efficacy of Disinfectant Pre-impregnated Wipes for Decontaminating Stainless Steel Carriers Experimentally Inoculated With Ebola Virus and Vesicular Stomatitis Virus.

The authors evaluated four disinfectant pre-impregnated wipes (DPW) for efficacy against Ebola virus Makona variant (EBOV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), Indiana serotype. Steel carriers were inoculated with the infectious virus and then were wiped with DPW in the Wiperator instrument per ASTM E2967-15. Following the use of J-Cloth impregnated with medium (negative control wipes) or the use of activated hydrogen peroxide (AHP)-, ethanol-, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl)-, or single or dual quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based DPW, virus recovery from the carriers was assayed by titration assay and by two passages on Vero E6 cells in 6-well plates.

Hand hygiene: virucidal efficacy of a liquid hand wash product against Ebola virus.

Background: Hand washing is an important targeted hygiene intervention for limiting the spread of infectious agents, including the Ebola virus, which continues to re-emerge. We have assessed the virucidal efficacy of a commercially available liquid hand wash product (LHW) for inactivating Ebola virus.

Methods: The ASTM E1052-11 Standard was used to evaluate the efficacy of an LHW containing the microbicidal active salicylic acid for inactivating Ebola virus - Makona variant suspended in an organic load.

Defect capturing and charging dynamics and their effects on magneto-transport of electrons in quantum wells.

The calculated defect corrections to the polarization and dielectric functions for Bloch electrons in quantum wells are presented. These results were employed to derive the first two moment equations from the Boltzmann transport theory and then applied to explore the role played by defects on the magneto-transport of Bloch electrons. Additionally, we have derived analytically the inverse momentum-relaxation time and mobility tensor for Bloch electrons by making use of the screened defect-corrected polarization function.

Laundry Hygiene and Odor Control: State of the Science.

Laundering of textiles-clothing, linens, and cleaning cloths-functionally removes dirt and bodily fluids, which prevents the transmission of and reexposure to pathogens as well as providing odor control. Thus, proper laundering is key to controlling microbes that cause illness and produce odors. The practice of laundering varies from region to region and is influenced by culture and resources.

Toilet hygiene-review and research needs.

The goal of good toilet hygiene is minimizing the potential for pathogen transmission. Control of odours is also socially important and believed to be a societal measure of cleanliness. Understanding the need for good cleaning and disinfecting is even more important today considering the potential spread of emerging pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Microbicidal actives with virucidal efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and other beta- and alpha-coronaviruses and implications for future emerging coronaviruses and other enveloped viruses.

Mitigating the risk of acquiring coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2 requires awareness of the survival of virus on high-touch environmental surfaces (HITES) and skin, and frequent use of targeted microbicides with demonstrated efficacy. The data on stability of infectious SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces and in suspension have been put into perspective, as these inform the need for hygiene. We evaluated the efficacies of formulated microbicidal actives against alpha- and beta-coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2.

Nursing Skills Video Selfies: An Innovative Teaching and Learning Strategy for Undergraduate Nursing Students to Master Psychomotor Skills.

Introduction: The quality of care for patients is linked to the performance and competence of nurses. Nurse educators are challenged to prepare graduates to deliver safe, competent, patient-centered care. Nursing skills video "selfie" is an innovative teaching and learning strategy in which nursing students use technology to create videos of themselves (video selfie) performing psychomotor skills.

Combating SARS-CoV-2: leveraging microbicidal experiences with other emerging/re-emerging viruses.

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan City, China, late in December 2019 is an example of an emerging zoonotic virus that threatens public health and international travel and commerce. When such a virus emerges, there is often insufficient specific information available on mechanisms of virus dissemination from animal-to-human or from person-to-person, on the level or route of infection transmissibility or of viral release in body secretions/excretions, and on the survival of virus in aerosols or on surfaces. The effectiveness of available virucidal agents and hygiene practices as interventions for disrupting the spread of infection and the associated diseases may not be clear for the emerging virus.

Efficacy of microbicides for inactivation of Ebola-Makona virus on a non-porous surface: a targeted hygiene intervention for reducing virus spread.

Microbicides play critical roles in infection prevention and control of Ebola virus by decontaminating high-touch environmental surfaces (HITES), interrupting the virus-HITES-hands nexus. We evaluated the efficacy of formulations containing different microbicidal actives for inactivating Ebola virus-Makona strain (EBOV/Mak) on stainless-steel carriers per ASTM E2197-11. Formulations of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) (0.

Cytochrome c oxidase oxygen reduction reaction induced by cytochrome c on nickel-coordination surfaces based on graphene oxide in suspension.

Background: The electrochemical and spectroscopic investigation of bacterial electron-transfer proteins stabilized on solid state electrodes has provided an effective approach for functional respiratory enzyme studies.

Methods: We assess the biocompatibility of carboxylated graphene oxide (CGO) functionalized with Nickel nitrilotriacetic groups (CGO-NiNTA) ccordinating His-tagged cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) from Rhodobacter sphaeroides.

Results: Kinetic studies employing UV-visible absorption spectroscopy confirmed that the immobilized CcO oxidized horse-heart cytochrome c (Cyt c) albeit at a slower rate than isolated CcO.

Assessing the Contributions of Inactivation, Removal, and Transfer of Ebola Virus and Vesicular Stomatitis Virus by Disinfectant Pre-soaked Wipes.

Disinfectant pre-soaked wipes (DPW) containing activated hydrogen peroxide (AHP) or quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC) were tested using ASTM E2967-15 to determine removal, transfer, and inactivation of Ebola virus Makona variant (EBOV/Mak) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) from contaminated stainless steel prototypic environmental surfaces. The infectious virus-contaminated carriers were subjected to wiping in the Wiperator per the standard. Following the use of negative control (J-Cloth)-, AHP-, or QAC-based wipes, recovery of residual infectious virus was assayed.

A 21st century view of infection control in everyday settings: Moving from the Germ Theory of Disease to the Microbial Theory of Health.

Background: The growing understanding of the importance of a healthy microbiome is challenging traditional thinking that resulted in the general acceptance of the Germ Theory of Disease. We propose a more encompassing Microbial Theory of Health that will have implications for the way that we address our relationship with microbes, including hygiene policy and community-based infection control practices.

Methods: This paper considers theories over the last 30 years that have impacted hygiene policy and consumer practice, from the Germ Theory of Disease and the Hygiene Hypothesis, to the Microbial Theory of Health, including the concept of Bidirectional Hygiene.

Use of a small-scale, portable test chamber for determining the bactericidal efficacy of aerosolized glycol formulations.

This study aimed to understand the efficacy and mechanisms of action of an aerosolized glycol-ethanol formulations against bacteria. We validated a small-scale in-house test chamber to determine the microbicidal efficacy of four aerosolized formulations combining dipropylene glycol and ethanol against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli embedded in alginate. The aerosolized glycol/ethanol formulation decreased bacterial viability by 3 log and was more efficacious than an ethanol only control formulation.

Investigating the potentiality of Scenedesmus obliquus and Acinetobacter pittii partnership system and their effects on nutrients removal from synthetic domestic wastewater.

A lab-scale study of Scenedesmus obliquus: Acinetobacter pittii (S. obliquus: A. pitti) partnership cultured in synthetic domestic wastewater was conducted to evaluate the partnership performance for growth and removal of nutrients from wastewater.

Effectiveness of Dettol Antiseptic Liquid for Inactivation of Ebola Virus in Suspension.

The efficacy of Dettol Antiseptic Liquid (DAL) for inactivating Ebola virus (Makona C07 variant) (EBOV/Mak) within an organic load in suspension was evaluated per ASTM E1052-11. Three DAL lots were evaluated at dilutions of 1:10, 1:20, and 1:40, with contact times of 0.5, 1, 5, and 10 min.

A quantitative method to assess the role of indoor air decontamination to simultaneously reduce contamination of environmental surfaces: testing with vegetative and spore-forming bacteria.

Indoor air can spread pathogens, which can be removed/inactivated by a variety of means in healthcare and other settings. We quantitatively assessed if air decontamination could also simultaneously reduce environmental surface contamination in the same setting. Two types of vegetative bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii), and a bacterial spore-former (Geobacillus stearothermophilus) were tested as representative airborne bacteria.

Assessment of a respiratory face mask for capturing air pollutants and pathogens including human influenza and rhinoviruses.

Background: Prevention of infection with airborne pathogens and exposure to airborne particulates and aerosols (environmental pollutants and allergens) can be facilitated through use of disposable face masks. The effectiveness of such masks for excluding pathogens and pollutants is dependent on the intrinsic ability of the masks to resist penetration by airborne contaminants. This study evaluated the relative contributions of a mask, valve, and Micro Ventilator on aerosol filtration efficiency of a new N95 respiratory face mask.

Airborne Pathogens inside Automobiles for Domestic Use: Assessing In-Car Air Decontamination Devices Using Staphylococcus aureus as the Challenge Bacterium.

Family cars represent ∼74% of the yearly global output of motorized vehicles. With a life expectancy of ∼8 decades in many countries, the average person spends >100 min daily inside the confined and often shared space of the car, with exposure to a mix of potentially harmful microbes. Can commercial in-car microbial air decontamination devices mitigate the risk? Three such devices (designated devices 1 to 3) with HEPA filters were tested in the modified passenger cabin (3.