Search

Particulate contamination, the unintentional presence of particles in parenteral fluids, is associated with potential risks such as phlebitis and thrombophlebitis. Recent guidelines recommend the use of filter needles when withdrawing parenteral fluid from vials with a rubber stopper. However, the literature is limited and lacks clarity regarding the advantages of filter needles over conventional needles. The aim of this study was to assess the compliance of parenteral fluids regarding particulate contamination after withdrawing fluid using both conventional needles and filter needles, following the guidelines of European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) and United States Pharmacopoeia (USP). Visible particles were counted through visual inspection and sub-visible particles were quantified utilizing the light obscuration particle count test. Particle counts for both types of needles were compared to Ph. Eur. and USP standards and differences in particle contamination were assessed using a Mann-Whitney U test. Both types of needles demonstrated compliance with Ph. Eur. and USP standards regarding particulate contamination of visible and sub-visible particles. However, filter needles exhibited a significantly higher particle count for particles with a size of ≥25 µm compared to conventional needles (p = 0.0029). In conclusion, both types of needles demonstrate suitability for aspirating fluid from vials featuring rubber stoppers regarding particulate contamination. Nevertheless, non-filter needles are preferred for withdrawing fluid from vials with a rubber stopper over filter needles due to their lower cost., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This work proposed a simple and ultrasensitive nanozyme-based immunoassay on a filtration device for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid protein (NP). Gold core porous platinum shell nanoparticles (Au@Pt NPs) were synthesized with high catalytic activity to oxidize 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine, leading to an oblivious color change. The filtration device was designed based on the size difference of magnetic beads, filter membrane pore, and Au@Pt NPs. A simple, rapid, and consistent washing procedure can be performed with the help of a plastic syringe. This detection method could realize the quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 NP within 80 min for point-of-care needs. The limit of detection for the SARS-CoV-2 antigen was 0.01 ng/mL in buffer. The coefficients of variation of the assay were 1.78% for 10 ng/mL SARS-CoV-2 antigen, 2.03% for 1 ng/mL SARS-CoV-2 antigen, and 2.34% for the negative sample, respectively. The specificity of the detection platform was verified by the detection of various respiratory viruses. This simple and effective detection system was expected to promote substantial progress in the development and application of virus immunodetection technology.

Introduction: Exposure to harmful aerosols is of increasing public health concern due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and wildland fires. These events have prompted risk reduction behaviors, notably the use of disposable respiratory protection. This project investigated whether craniofacial morphology impacts the efficiency of disposable masks (N95, KN95, surgical masks, KF94) most often worn by the public to protect against toxic and infectious aerosols. This project was registered with ClinicaltTrials.gov (NCT05388201; registration May 18, 2022)., Methods: One-hundred participants (50 men, 50 women) visited the Environmental Protection Agency's Human Studies Facility in Chapel Hill, NC between 2022-2023. Craniometrics and 3D scans were used to separate participants into four clusters. Boosting and elastic net regression yielded five measurements (bizygomatic breadth, nose length, bizygomatic nasal arc, neck circumference, ear breadth) that were the best predictors of filtration efficiency based on overall model fit. Fitted filtration efficiency was quantified for each mask at baseline and when tightened using an ear-loop clip., Results: The mean unmodified mask performance ranged from 55.3% (15.7%) in the large KF94 to 69.5% (12.3%) in the KN95. Modified performance ranged from 66.3% (9.4%) in the surgical to 80.7% (12.0%) in the KN95. Clusters with larger face width and neck circumference had higher unmodified mask efficiency. Larger nose gap area and nose length decreased modified mask performance., Discussion: We identify face width, nose size, nose shape, neck circumference, and ear breadth as specific features that modulate disposable mask fit in both unmodified and modified conditions. This information can optimize guidance on respiratory protection afforded by disposable ear-loop masks., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Griffin, McInroe, Pennington, Steinhardt, Chen, Prince and Samet.)

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are proven to hold great promise for diverse therapeutic and diagnostic applications. However, batch preparation of sEVs with high purity and bioactivity is a prerequisite for their clinical translations. Herein, we present an electric field assisted tangential flow filtration system (E-TFF), which integrates size-based filtration with electrophoretic migration-based separation to synergistically achieve the isolation of high-quality sEVs from cell culture medium. Compared with the gold-standard ultracentrifugation (UC) method, E-TFF not only improved the purity of sEVs by 1.4 times but also increased the yield of sEVs by 15.8 times. Additionally, the entire isolation process of E-TFF was completed within 1 h, about one-fourth of the time taken by UC. Furthermore, the biological activity of sEVs isolated by E-TFF was verified by co-incubation of sEVs derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) with HT22 mouse hippocampal neuronal cells exposed to amyloid-β (Aβ). The results demonstrated that the sEVs isolated by E-TFF exhibited a significant neuroprotective effect. Overall, the E-TFF platform provides a promising and robust strategy for batch preparation of high-quality sEVs, opening up a broad range of opportunities for cell-free therapy and precision medicine.

Construction of air filter membranes bearing prominent collecting and transferring capability is highly desirable for detecting airborne pathogens but remains challenging. Here, a hyaluronic acid air filter membrane (HAFM) with tunable heterogeneous micro-nano porous structures is straightforwardly constructed through the ethanol-induced phase separation strategy. Airborne pathogens can be trapped and collected by HAFM with high performance due to the ideal trade-off between removal efficiency and pressure drop. By exempting the sample elution and extraction processes, the HAFM after filtration sampling can not only directly disperse on the agar plate for colony culture but also turn to an aqueous solution for centrifugal enrichment, which significantly reduces the damage and losses of the captured microorganisms. The following combination with ATP bioluminescence endows the HAFM with a real-time quantitative detection function for the captured airborne pathogens. Benefiting from high-efficiency sampling and non-traumatic transfer of airborne pathogens, the real-world bioaerosol concentration can be facilely evaluated by the HAFM-based ATP assay. This work thus not only provides a feasible strategy to fabricate air filter membranes for efficient microbial collection and enrichment but also sheds light on designing advanced protocols for real-time detection of bioaerosols in the field., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Development of low-cost and reliable reactors demanding minimal supervision is a need-of-the-hour for sewage treatment in rural areas. This study explores the performance of a multi-stage sponge-filled trickling filter (SPTF) for sewage treatment, employing polyethylene (PE) and polyurethane (PU) media. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nitrogen transformation were evaluated at hydraulic loading rates (HLRs) ranging from 2 to 6 m/d using synthetic sewage as influent. At influent COD of ∼350 mg/L, PU-SPTF and PE-SPTF achieved a COD removal of 97% across all HLRs with most of the removal occurring in the first segments. Operation of PE-SPTF at an HLR of 6 m/d caused substantial wash-out of biomass, while PU-SPTF retained biomass and achieved effluent COD < 10 mg/L even at HLR of 8-10 m/d. The maximum Total Nitrogen removal by PE-SPTF and PU-SPTF reactors was 93.56 ± 1.36 and 92.24 ± 0.66%, respectively, at an HLR of 6 m/d. Simultaneous removal of ammonia and nitrate was observed at all the HLRs in the first segment of both SPTFs indicating ANAMMOX activity. COD removal data, media depth, and HLRs were fitted ( R 2 > 0.99) to a first-order kinetic relationship. For a comparable COD removal, CO 2 emission by PU-SPTF was 3.5% of that of an activated sludge system., Competing Interests: The authors declare there is no conflict., (© 2024 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

This study aimed to evaluate and design masks against viruses, especially SARS-CoV-2 associated with COVID-19. A continuum filtration model was developed where the rate of particle deposition and "sticking" on the filter fibers is a critical term in the mass transfer, together with permeation velocity, filter porosity, tortuosity, and Brownian diffusion. CFD simulations of the airflow during respiration lead to the recommendation that the filter permeability should be above 4 × 10 -11 m 2 to direct the airflow for effectiveness against virus particles; otherwise, low filter permeabilities cause the unfiltered air to flow preferentially through the leak gaps between the mask and the headform. Different mask filters with microstructural and geometry data from the literature are assessed via filtration simulations for breathability and filtration efficiency. The results demonstrate that a surgical mask of 25% porosity, pore size of 150 µm and permeability of 4.4 × 10 -11 m 2 can achieve 100% minimum efficiency while demonstrating high breathability, complying with the criteria of FFP3, N95, and surgical Class II and IIR masks. Selected cotton and synthetic cloths as well as electrospun fiber layers are predicted to comply with FFP2, N95, and surgical mask Class II and IIR standards.

Direct-on-Filter (DoF) analysis of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a useful tool for assessing exposure risks. With the RCS exposure limits becoming lower, it is important to characterize and reduce measurement uncertainties. This study systematically evaluated two filter types (i.e., polyvinyl chloride [PVC] and polytetrafluoroethylene [PTFE]) for RCS measurements by DoF FTIR spectroscopy, including the filter-to-filter and day-to-day variability of blank filter FTIR reference spectra, particle deposition patterns, filtration efficiencies, and pressure drops. For PVC filters sampled at a flow rate of 2.5 L/min for 8 h, the RCS limit of detection (LOD) was 7.4 μg/m 3 when a designated laboratory reference filter was used to correct the absorption by the filter media. When the spectrum of the pre-sample filter (blank filter before dust sampling) was used for correction, the LOD could be up to 5.9 μg/m 3 . The PVC absorption increased linearly with reference filter mass, providing a means to correct the absorption differences between the pre-sample and reference filters. For PTFE, the LODs were 12 and 1.2 μg/m 3 when a designated laboratory blank or the pre-sample filter spectrum was used for blank correction, respectively, indicating that using the pre-sample blank spectrum will reduce RCS quantification uncertainty. Both filter types exhibited a consistent radially symmetric deposition pattern when particles were collected using 3-piece cassettes, indicating that RCS can be quantified from a single measurement at the filter center. The most penetrating aerodynamic diameters were around 0.1 µm with filtration efficiencies ≥ 98.8% across the measured particle size range with low-pressure drops (0.2-0.3 kPa) at a flow rate of 2.5 L/min. This study concludes that either the PVC or the PTFE filters are suitable for RCS analysis by DoF FTIR, but proper methods are needed to account for the variability of blank absorption among different filters.

Background/purpose: Double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) can be used to remove circulating pathogenic molecules. By reclaiming filtered albumin, DFPP reduces the need for albumin and plasma replacement. Large proteins, such as fibrinogen, are removed. Our institution adopts a DFPP treatment protocol consisting of active surveillance of coagulation profiles and prophylactic supplementation of blood products containing fibrinogen. This study aims to investigate the effects of consecutive DFPP treatments on serial coagulation profiles and the risk of bleeding under this protocol., Methods: Serial laboratory data and bleeding events at a single tertiary medical center were prospectively collected. Prophylactic transfusion of cryoprecipitate or fresh frozen plasma (FFP) was instituted if significant coagulopathy or a clinically evident bleeding event was observed., Results: After the first treatment session, plasma fibrinogen levels decreased from 332 ± 106 mg/dL to 96 ± 44 mg/dL in the 37 study patients. In the following sessions, plasma fibrinogen levels were maintained at around 100 mg/dL under prophylactic transfusion. No major bleeding events were recorded, but five (14%) patients experienced minor bleeding., Conclusion: DFPP treatment might be performed safely along with active monitoring of coagulation profiles and prophylactic transfusion of cryoprecipitate or FFP., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All the authors declared no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Leukoreduction has been used to limit the risk of adverse events. The most commonly used methodology is filtration (pre- or post-storage). However, whether pre-storage filtration is better than post-storage filtration needs to be clearly defined, particularly for countries that still use post-storage filtration. This study aimed to synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of pre-storage filters compared with post-storage filters for transfusion reactions, for the occurrence of infections, for the length of hospital stay, and for the death of patients undergoing leukoreduced transfusion., Methods: We searched the MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL (EBSCO), PsycINFO (APA), Scopus (Elsevier), The Cochrane Library (J. Wiley), Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate Analytics), Embase (Elsevier), and LILACS (VHL) databases and gray literature for eligible studies in August 2020 and updated the search in October 2023. The Joanna Briggs Institute critical assessment tools were applied to analyze the quality appraisal of the studies. GRADE was used to determine the certainty of the evidence., Results: The meta-analysis showed that pre-storage filtration was a protective factor for the occurrence of febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reaction in red blood cells (RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.41-0.59) and platelet concentrate transfusions (RR 0.16, 95% CI 0.12-0.22). The same did not occur for post-surgical infection after platelet concentrate transfusions (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.65-1.04). Only one study analyzed the length of hospital stay and showed no significant difference between patients who received leukoreduced transfusions according to the type of filter used. According to the GRADE criteria, the certainty of the evidence for febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reactions was low for red blood cells and very low for platelet concentrate due to the high risk of bias. Infection was a low risk due to imprecision., Conclusions: The results of this review showed that the certainty of recommending the best type of filter (pre- or post-storage) for the benefit of the outcomes analyzed is still fragile; therefore, more robust evidence is needed., Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO CRD42020192202., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective. A simple, low-cost ripple filter consisting of multiple mesh sheets (mRiFi) was previously developed to reproducibly widen the Bragg peak of heavy-ion beams. To fabricate the mRiFi, the mRiFi parameters such as the wire material, wire diameter, wire spacing, and number of mesh sheets had to be determined. However, it was unclear how these parameters contribute to shifting and widening of the Bragg peak as well as to lateral spreading of the beam passing through the mRiFi. The purposes of this study were to clarify the contributions and to propose a recipe for fabricating a mRiFi with the desired performance values. Approach . We established an analytical calculation method to estimate shifting and widening of the Bragg peak and lateral spreading of heavy-ion beams passing through the mRiFi for given mRiFi parameter values. We also performed Monte Carlo simulations to validate the analytical calculation method. The recipe for fabricating the mRiFi with desired performances was established based on the analytical calculation method. Using the recipe, we fabricated the mRiFi for multi-ion therapy and evaluated its performance through demonstration experiments with helium-, carbon-, oxygen-, and neon-ion beams. Main results. The difference between the results of the Monte Carlo simulation and the analytical calculation was less than 0.4 mm for the peak shift, 0.15 mm for the peak width, and less than 0.11 mm for the lateral beam size which validated the analytical calculation method. The experimentally observed shift and width of the Bragg peak were consistent with the analytical calculations. Significance. We proposed a method to determine mRiFi parameters for fabricating a mRiFi with a desired performance, i.e. adequate widening of the Bragg peak with an acceptable peak shift and lateral beam spread. The proposed method allows anyone to fabricate a simple and low-cost mRiFi satisfying desired specifications., (© 2024 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.)

Background: Particulate contamination due to infusion therapy (administration of parenteral nutrition and medications) carries a potential health risk for infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). This particulate consists of metals, drug crystals, glass fragments, or cotton fibers and can be generated by drug packaging, incomplete reconstitution, and chemical incompatibilities. In-line filters have been shown to remove micro-organisms, endotoxin, air, and particles in critically ill adults and older infants, but its benefits in newborn remain to be demonstrated. Moreover, 50% of inflammatory episodes in the setting of NICUs are blood culture-negative. These episodes could be partly related to the presence of particles in the infusion lines., Methods: A multicenter randomized single-blind controlled trial was designed. All infants admitted to NICUs for which prolonged infusion therapy is expected will be enrolled in the study and randomized to the Filter or Control arm. All patients will be monitored until discharge, and data will be analyzed according to a "full analysis set." The primary outcome is the frequency of patients with at least one sepsis-like event, defined by any association of suspected sepsis symptoms with a level of c-reactive protein (CRP) > 5 mg/L in a negative-culture contest. The frequency of sepsis, phlebitis, luminal obstruction, and the duration of mechanical ventilation and of catheter days will be evaluated as secondary outcomes. The sample size was calculated at 368 patients per arm., Discussion: This is the first multicenter randomized control trial that compares in-line filtration of parenteral nutrition and other intravenous drugs to infusion without filters. Sepsis-like events are commonly diagnosed in clinical practice and are more frequent than sepsis in a positive culture contest. The risk of these episodes in the target population is estimated at 30-35%, but this data is not confirmed in the literature. If the use of in-line filters results in a significant decrease in sepsis-like events and/or in any other complications, the use of in-line filters in all intravenous administration systems may be recommended in NICUs., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05537389, registered on 12 September 2022 ( https://classic., Clinicaltrials: gov/ct2/show/results/NCT05537389?view=results )., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Nanopore sequencing is extremely promising for the high-throughput detection of pathogenic bacteria in natural water; these bacteria may be transmitted to humans and cause waterborne infectious diseases. However, the concentration of pathogenic bacteria in natural water is too low to be detected directly by nanopore sequencing. Herein, we developed a mica filter to enrich over 85% of bacteria from > 10 L of natural water in 100 min, which led to a 10 2 -fold improvement in the assay limits of the MinION sequencer for assessing pathogenic bacteria. Correspondingly, the sequencing time of S. Typhi detection at a concentration as low as 10 5 CFU/L was reduced from traditional 48 h to 3 h. The bacterial adsorption followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and the successful adsorption of bacteria to the mica filter was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier infrared spectroscopy et al. The mica filter remained applicable to a range of water samples whose quality parameters were within the EPA standard limits for freshwater water. The mica filter is thus an effective tool for the sensitive and rapid monitoring of pathogenic bacteria by nanopore sequencing, which can provide timely alerts for waterborne transmission events., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Although the isolation and counting of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are essential steps in sEV research, an integrated method with scalability and efficiency has not been developed. Here, we present a scalable and ready-to-use extracellular vesicle (EV) isolation and counting system (EVics) that simultaneously allows isolation and counting in one system. This novel system consists of (i) EVi, a simultaneous tandem tangential flow filtration (TFF)-based EV isolation component by applying two different pore-size TFF filters, and (ii) EVc, an EV counting component using light scattering that captures a large field-of-view (FOV). EVi efficiently isolated 50-200 nm-size sEVs from 15 µL to 2 L samples, outperforming the current state-of-the-art devices in purity and speed. EVc with a large FOV efficiently counted isolated sEVs. EVics enabled early observations of sEV secretion in various cell lines and reduced the cost of evaluating the inhibitory effect of sEV inhibitors by 20-fold. Using EVics, sEVs concentrations and sEV PD-L1 were monitored in a 23-day cancer mouse model, and 160 clinical samples were prepared and successfully applied to diagnosis. These results demonstrate that EVics could become an innovative system for novel findings in basic and applied studies in sEV research., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Extracellular Vesicles published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society for Extracellular Vesicles.)

Objective: To assess the residual risk of waterborne contamination by Pseudomonas aeruginosa from a water network colonized by a single genotype [sequence type (ST) 299] despite the presence of antimicrobial filters in a medical intensive care unit (ICU)., Methods: During the first 19-month period since the ICU opened, contamination of the water network was assessed monthly by collecting water upstream of the filters. Downstream water was also sampled to assess the efficiency of the filters. P. aeruginosa isolates from patients were collected and compared with the waterborne ST299 P. aeruginosa by multiplex-rep polymerase chain reaction (PCR), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole-genome sequencing. Cross-transmission events by other genotypes of P. aeruginosa were also assessed., Results: Overall, 1.3% of 449 samples of filtered water were positive for P. aeruginosa in inoculum, varying between 1 and 10 4  colony-forming units/100 mL according to the tap. All P. aeruginosa hydric isolates belonged to ST299 and displayed fewer than two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Among 278 clinical isolates from 122 patients, 10 isolates in five patients showed identical profiles to the hydric ST299 clone on both multiplex-rep PCR and PFGE, and differed by an average of fewer than five SNPs, confirming the water network reservoir as the source of contamination by P. aeruginosa for 4.09% of patients. Cross-transmission events by other genotypes of P. aeruginosa were responsible for the contamination of 1.75% of patients., Discussion/conclusion: Antimicrobial filters are not sufficient to protect patients from waterborne pathogens when the water network is highly contaminated. A microbiological survey of filtered water may be needed in units hosting patients at risk of P. aeruginosa infections, even when all water points-of-use are fitted with filters., (Copyright © 2024 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Prefiltration before chromatographic analysis is critical in the monitoring of environmental micropollutants (MPs). However, in an aqueous matrix, such monitoring often leads to out-of-specification results owing to the loss of MPs on syringe filters. Therefore, this study investigated the loss of seventy MPs on eight different syringe filters by employing Random Forest, a machine learning algorithm. The results indicate that the loss of MPs during filtration is filter specific, with glass microfiber and polytetrafluoroethylene filters being the most effective (<20%) compared with nylon (>90%) and others (regenerated-cellulose, polyethersulfone, polyvinylidene difluoride, cellulose acetate, and polypropylene). The Random Forest classifier showed outstanding performance (accuracy range 0.81-0.95) for determining whether the loss of MPs on filters exceeded 20%. Important factors in this classification were analyzed using the SHapley Additive exPlanation value and Kruskal-Wallis test. The results show that the physicochemical properties (LogKow/LogD, pKa, functional groups, and charges) of MPs are more important than the operational parameters (sample volume, filter pore size, diameter, and flow rate) in determining the loss of most MPs on syringe filters. However, other important factors such as the implications of the roles of pH for nylon and pre-rinsing for PTFE syringe filters should not be ignored. Overall, this study provides a systematic framework for understanding the behavior of various MP classes and their potential losses on syringe filters., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: To evaluate the evidence related to maintaining the integrity and filtration efficiency of N95 and/or PFF2 respirators after decontamination in health care professionals' protection against COVID-19., Methods: Systematic review, developed based on the guidelines from Joanna Briggs Institute for syntheses focusing on effectiveness evidence. The protocol was registered on the International Prospective Register of Ongoing Systematic Reviews platform, under the number CRD42022354256. This study report was developed in accordance with the guidelines recommended by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Publications between January 2020 and August 2022 were selected of Embase, Medline, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane, SciELO and Virtual Health Library databases. Joanna Briggs critical appraisal tool for nonrandomized experimental tests was used to evaluate the evidence quality., Results: Seven articles were included in the data extraction and critical evaluation, and 3 in the meta-analysis. Four studies evaluated the integrity by visual inspection and 2 by electron microscopy. There was no association between the number of cycles increase and the reduction in filtration in up to 10 cycles. None study was considered of high methodological quality., Conclusions: There is some evidence that integrity and filtration capacity were maintained after decontamination of N95/PFF2 respirators to prevent COVID-19., (Copyright © 2024 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Membrane fouling is a persistent challenge that has impeded the broader application of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs). To mitigate membrane fouling, between the outlet of the UASB anaerobic bioreactor and the PVDF membrane to form the anaerobic filter membrane bioreactor (AnFMBR) system. Through comprehensive experiments, the optimal pore size for cloth filters was determined to be 50 μm. A comprehensive assessment over 140 days of operation shows that the novel AnFMBR had significantly greater resistance to membrane pollution than the traditional AnMBR. The AnFMBR system membrane tank exhibited lower mixed liquor suspended solid and mixed liquor volatile suspended solid concentrations, smaller sludge particle sizes, increased hydrophilicity of sludge flocs, and optimized microbial community distribution compared to those of conventional AnMBRs. The total solids foulant accumulation rate in the AnMBR was 5.1 g/m 2 /day, while in the AnFMBR, the rate was 2.4 g/m 2 /day, marking a 53.7 % decrease in fouling rate for the AnFMBR compared with the AnMBR. This decrease indicates that integrating the filtration assembly significantly lowered the rate of solid foulant accumulation on the membrane surface, primarily by controlling the buildup of solid foulants in the cake layer, thereby alleviating membrane fouling. AnFMBR compared to AnMBR, the membrane fouling rate halved, effectively doubled the interval between membrane cleaning from seven days, as observed in the AnMBR system, to fourteen days. These findings underscore the potential of integrating cloth media filters into AnMBRs to improve operational efficiency, economic viability, and sustainability., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Hongchen Wang reports financial support was provided by Renmin University of China School of Environment and Natural Resource. Hongchen Wang reports a relationship with Renmin University of China School of Environment and Natural Resource that includes: employment., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The engineering of a home-made portable double-layer filtration and concentration device with the common syringe for rapid analysis of water samples is reported. The core elements of the device were two installed filtration membranes with different pore sizes for respective functions. The upper filtration membrane was used for preliminary intercepting large interfering impurities (interception membrane), while the lower filtration membrane was used for collecting multiple target pathogens (enrichment membrane) for determination. This combination can make the contaminated environmental water, exemplified by surface water, filtrated quickly through the device and just retained the target bacteria of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes on the lower enrichment membrane. Integrating with surface-enhanced Raman spectra (SERS) platform to decode the SERS-Tags (SERS-Tag CVa , SERS-Tag R6G , and SERS-Tag MB ) already labeled on each of the enriched bacteria based the antibody-mediated immuno-recognition effect, fast separation, concentration, and detection of multiple pathogenic bacteria from the bulk of contaminated environmental water were realized. Results show that within 30 min, all target bacteria in the lake water can be simultaneously and accurately measured in the range from 10 1 to 10 6 CFU mL -1 with detection limit of 10.0 CFU mL -1 without any pre-culture procedures. This work highlights the simplicity, rapidness, cheapness, selectivity, and the robustness of the constructed method for simultaneous detecting multiple pathogens in aqueous samples. This protocol opens a new avenue for facilitating the development of versatile analytical tools for drinking water and food safety monitoring in underdeveloped or developing countries., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Diarrhoeal disease disproportionately affects children <5 years in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The pathogens responsible for diarrhoea are commonly transmitted through faecally-contaminated drinking water. Lifestraw Family point-of-use water filters have been the subject of intervention studies for over a decade and were the first filters evaluated by the World Health Organization in its water treatment evaluation scheme to provide comprehensive protection against many diarrhoea-causing pathogens. This systematic review aimed to: 1) report on aspects related to physical environment and implementation and 2) conduct an updated meta-analysis on Lifestraw Family filter effectiveness against childhood diarrhoea based on studies with ≥12 months of follow-up., Methods: We conducted a literature search in November 2022 using MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases. Inclusion criteria were: 1) RCTs, cluster-RCTs, quasi-experimental, or matched cohort studies on 2) Lifestraw Family 1.0 or 2.0 filters 3) conducted in LMICs 4) that evaluated filter effectiveness against diarrhoea in children <5 and 5) analysed ≥12 months of follow-up data on clinical effectiveness against diarrhoea and were 6) published from 2010 with 7) full-text availability in English. A modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess risk of bias. Relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted and analysed using a random-effects meta-analysis., Results: We included 6 studies in LMICs involving 4740 children <5. Of the four clinically-effective interventions, common characteristics were access to improved water sources (75%), the 2.0 version of the filter or the 1.0 version with additional water storage (100%), use of behaviour change theory, community engagement, and health messaging (75%), local filter repair-and-replace mechanisms (75%), and specially-trained local interventionists (100%). The meta-analysis showed a 30% reduction in diarrhoea risk in the intervention group (RR = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.52-0.91, P = 0.01)., Conclusions: Lifestraw Family water filters can be effective interventions to reduce diarrhoea in vulnerable paediatric populations for at least one year, though certain aspects related to physical environment and implementation may increase their public health impact. The findings of this study suggest considerations for scale-up that can be applied in settings in need of longer-term interim solutions until universal access to safe drinking water is achieved., Competing Interests: Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests., (Copyright © 2024 by the Journal of Global Health. All rights reserved.)

Size-based particle filtration has become indispensable in numerous biomedical and environmental applications. In this study, bioinspired by the filter-feeding mechanism (lobe filtration) of manta rays, we designed a U-shaped biomimetic gill rake filter that combined lobe filtration and Dean flow to filter monodisperse suspensions, bi-disperse suspensions and yeast cells. Compared with other equipment using the inertial focusing technology, our equipment can perform high-throughput (up to 8 mL min -1 ) and high-efficiency filtration of particles (maximum filtration efficiencies of 96.08% and 97.14% for 10 and 15 μm monodisperse suspensions at the optimum flow rate of 6 mL min -1 ). The complex velocity field of the micro-fluidic flow within the filter is numerically simulated, and in combination with experiments, a threshold for the flow rate is identified. When the inlet flow rate exceeds the threshold value, the efficiency of particle filtration is increased rapidly. Afterwards, by analysing the filtration mechanism, we develop three novel filtration processes. The equilibrium positions of the particles and yeast cells in the main channel are close to the outer wall at high flow rate, which diminishes the likelihood of particles and yeast cells entering the side channel. This configuration establishes a self-cleaning mechanism, ensuring prolonged and efficient operation of the filter with high-throughput processing. Furthermore, the influence of the filter lobe angle and channel width on the filtration efficiency and outlet flow rate ratio are explored, and an optimisation plan is prepared.

INTRODUCTION: The absence of a consistent downward G vector can make separation of gases from liquids challenging, such as in field medicine without stable upright equipment or during spaceflight. This limits the use of medical equipment and procedures like administration of intravenous (IV) fluids in microgravity and can make field medicine hazardous. Administering IV fluids and medications in microgravity requires a technique to separate air from the liquid phase. Current commercial filters for separation of gases are incompatible with high flow and blood. We present a novel filter designed to provide adequate air clearance without a consistent downward G vector. METHODS: Inline air-eliminating filters were designed for use with IV fluid tubing in microgravity using computer-aided design software and printed using nylon 12 on an EOS Selective Laser Sintering 3D printer. A 0.2-μm membrane filter was adhered around a central, hollow pillar with external spiral baffles allowing separation and venting of air from the fluid. Results were compared against commercially available inline air-eliminating filters. RESULTS: The 3D-printed filters outperformed the commercial filters in both percentage of air removed and flow rates. The centrifugal, baffled filter had flow rates that far exceeded the commercial filters during rapid transfusion. DISCUSSION: IV fluid administration is an often underappreciated and a necessary basic requirement for medical treatment. An air-eliminating filter compatible with blood and rapid transfusion was developed and validated with crystalloid solutions to allow the successful administration of IV fluid and medication without a consistent downward G vector. Formanek A, Townsend J, Ottensmeyer MP, Kamine TH. A novel 3D-printed gravity-independent air-eliminating filter for rapid intravenous infusions . Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2024; 95(6):327-332.

Granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration is a commonly used method for advanced wastewater treatment. Filters can be operated continuously or discontinuously, with continuous operation not requiring feed flow interruption for backwashing and circulation (B/C). This study investigated the influence of B/C on the effluent quality of continuous filters. Two continuous GAC filters were operated for 1.5 years, with analysis of dissolved substances and particulate matter in the influent and effluent. The results indicated that various B/C modes had no impact on the removal of dissolved organic carbon and organic micropollutants (OMP), achieving an OMP removal of over 70% after 5,600 treated bed volumes (m 3 treated wastewater per m 3 GAC). However, it was evident that continuous B/C over 2-4 h resulted in increased turbidity, total suspended solids over 30 mg/L and total phosphorus concentrations of 1.3 mg/L in the filter effluent. Additionally, the study demonstrated that longer and more intensive B/C processes resulted in GAC size degradation with AC concentrations of up to 6.9 mg/L in the filter effluent, along with a change in GAC particle size. Furthermore, the importance of pre-filtration in reducing particulate matter in the filter influent and decreasing hydraulic head loss could be demonstrated., Competing Interests: The authors declare there is no conflict., (© 2024 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

With the increasing population worldwide more wastewater is created by human activities and discharged into the waterbodies. This is causing the contamination of aquatic bodies, thus disturbing the marine ecosystems. The rising population is also posing a challenge to meet the demands of fresh drinking water in the water-scarce regions of the world, where drinking water is made available to people by desalination process. The fouling of composite membranes remains a major challenge in water desalination. In this innovative study, we present a novel probabilistic approach to analyse and anticipate the predominant fouling mechanisms in the filtration process. Our establishment of a robust theoretical framework hinges upon the utilization of both the geometric law and the Hermia model, elucidating the concept of resistance in series (RIS). By manipulating the transmembrane pressure, we demonstrate effective management of permeate flux rate and overall product quality. Our investigations reveal a decrease in permeate flux in three distinct phases over time, with the final stage marked by a significant reduction due to the accumulation of a denser cake layer. Additionally, an increase in transmembrane pressure leads to a correlative rise in permeate flux, while also exerting negative effects such as membrane ruptures. Our study highlights the minimal immediate impact of the intermediate blocking mechanism (n = 1) on permeate flux, necessitating continuous monitoring for potential long-term effects. Additionally, we note a reduced membrane selectivity across all three fouling types (n = 0, n = 1.5, n = 2). Ultimately, our findings indicate that the membrane undergoes complete fouling with a probability of P = 0.9 in the presence of all three fouling mechanisms. This situation renders the membrane unable to produce water at its previous flow rate, resulting in a significant reduction in the desalination plant's productivity. I have demonstrated that higher pressure values notably correlate with increased permeate flux across all four membrane types. This correlation highlights the significant role of TMP in enhancing the production rate of purified water or desired substances through membrane filtration systems. Our innovative approach opens new perspectives for water desalination management and optimization, providing crucial insights into fouling mechanisms and proposing potential strategies to address associated challenges., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Providing the population with high-quality drinking water is one of the main state tasks. Rural water supply systems and water supply systems of small settlements in the region require special attention, namely, the development of technologies for individual, small-sized water treatment equipment, as well as equipment for collective use, designed to purify groundwater for drinking purposes. In many areas, there are groundwaters containing excess levels of several pollutants, which makes their purification much more difficult. Elimination of shortcomings in the known methods of water iron removal is possible by reconstructing existing water supply systems from underground sources in small settlements. A rational solution is to search for groundwater treatment technologies that make it possible to provide the population with high-quality drinking water at a lower cost. The result of increasing the concentration of oxygen in water was obtained in the process of modifying the filter by changing the excess air exhaust system, which was made in the form of a perforated pipeline located in the lower half of the granular filter layer connected to the upper branch pipe. At the same time, high-quality groundwater treatment, sufficient simplicity and reliability in operation are ensured, local conditions and the inaccessibility of many objects and settlements in the region are taken into account as much as possible. After the filter was upgraded, the concentration of iron decreased from 4.4 to 0.27 mg/L and ammonium nitrogen from 3.5 to 1.5 mg/L.

Diversity studies of aquatic picoplankton (bacterioplankton) communities using size-class filtration, DNA extraction, PCR and sequencing of phylogenetic markers, require a robust methodological pipeline, since biases have been demonstrated essentially at all levels, including DNA extraction, primer choice and PCR. Even different filtration volumes of the same plankton sample and, thus, different biomass loading of the filters, can distort the sequencing results. In this study, we designed an Arduino microcontroller-based flowmeter that records the decrease of initial (maximal) flowrate as proxy for increasing biomass loading and clogging of filters during plankton filtration. The device was tested using freshwater plankton of Lake Constance, and total DNA was extracted and an 16S rDNA amplicon was sequenced. We confirmed that different filtration volumes used for the same water sample affect the sequencing results. Differences were visible in alpha and beta diversities and across all taxonomic ranks. Taxa most affected were typical freshwater Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, increasing up to 38% and decreasing up to 29% in relative abundance, respectively. In another experiment, a lake water sample was filtered undiluted and three-fold diluted, and each filtration was stopped once the flowrate had reduced to 50% of initial flowrate, hence, at the same degree of filter clogging. The three-fold diluted sample required three-fold filtration volumes, while equivalent amounts of total DNA were extracted and differences across all taxonomic ranks were not statistically significant compared to the undiluted controls. In conclusion, this work confirms a volume/biomass-dependent bacterioplankton filtration bias for sequencing-based community analyses and provides an improved procedure for controlling biomass loading during filtrations and recovery of equivalent amounts of DNA from samples independent of the plankton density. The application of the device can also avoid the distorting of sequencing results as caused by the plankton filtration bias., Competing Interests: NO authors have competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Fournier et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Is there a "missing device" for respiratory personal protection? Does it exist an easy-to-use device, allowing extensive use in everyday settings by the population, maximizing tolerability and low visual and physical invasiveness protecting from a wide range of threats including airborne pathogens, hence including the particle range of fine and ultrafine particles? Looking at the recent past, in the urgency of finding ready-to-use solutions for the respiratory protection of the population during the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, devices for occupational safety have been used, such as filtering face masks. These are devices intended for workers operating during work shifts in environments characterized by potential high risk, known a priori, often directly sensible; this makes wearers motivated to tolerate discomfort for a given period to face a localized risk, and safety managers determined to supervise compliance with usage specifications. Their use by general population has implied known shortcomings, such as weak compatibility with relational work and activities, low tolerability during prolonged use, low compliance with the proper use of the device, all of this lessening actual protection. The need for a new perspective has emerged, targeting effectiveness in whole daily life, rather than punctual efficacy. Nasal filters are promising candidates to protect individuals throughout the day during the most varied activities, but they lack a systematic definition as a device and as a product; it follows that the high complexity needed to reach an effective performance envelop is generally underestimated. By reviewing available literature, the present paper draws on the experience from the pandemic and infers systematic product specifications and characterization methods for a new, effective personal respiratory protection device; these specifications are compared with the stringent constraints associated with the endonasal applications and, based on air filtration state of the art, quantifies the need for technology disruption and outlining possible new development paths., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Fiber has been considered as an ideal material for virus insulation due to the readily available electrostatic adsorption. However, restricted by the electrostatic attenuation and filtration performance decline, their long-lasting applications are unable to satisfy the requirements of medical protective equipment for major medical and health emergencies such as global epidemics, which results in both a waste of resources and environmental pollution. We overcame these issues by constructing a fiber-in-tube structure, achieving the robust reusability of fibrous membranes. Core fibers within the hollow could form generators with tube walls of shell fibers to provide persistent, renewable static electricity via piezoelectricity and triboelectricity. The PM 0.3 insulation efficiency achieved 98% even after 72 h of humidity and heat aging, through beating and acoustic waves, which is greatly improved compared with that of traditional nonwoven fabric (∼10% insulation). A mask spun with our fiber also has a low breathing resistance (differential pressure <24.4 Pa/cm 2 ). We offer an approach to enrich multifunctional fiber for developing electrifiable filters, which make the fiber-in-tube filtration membrane able to durably maintain a higher level of protective performance to reduce the replacement and provide a new train of thought for the preparation of other high-performance protective products.

Cultivation-independent molecular biological methods are essential to rapidly quantify pathogens like Legionella pneumophila ( L. pneumophila ) which is important to control aerosol-generating engineered water systems. A standard addition method was established to quantify L. pneumophila in the very complex matrix of process water and air of exhaust air purification systems in animal husbandry. Therefore, cryopreserved standards of viable L. pneumophila were spiked in air and water samples to calibrate the total bioanalytical process which includes cell lysis, DNA extraction, and qPCR. A standard addition algorithm was employed for qPCR to determine the initial concentration of L. pneumophila . In mineral water, the recovery rate of this approach (73%-134% within the concentration range of 100-5000 Legionella per mL) was in good agreement with numbers obtained from conventional genomic unit (GU) calibration with DNA standards. In air samples of biotrickling filters, in contrast, the conventional DNA standard approach resulted in a significant overestimation of up to 729%, whereas our standard addition gave a more realistic recovery of 131%. With this proof-of-principle study, we were able to show that the molecular biology-based standard addition approach is a suitable method to determine realistic concentrations of L. pneumophila in air and process water samples of biotrickling filter systems. Moreover, this quantification strategy is generally a promising method to quantify pathogens in challenging samples containing a complex microbiota and the classical GU approach used for qPCR leads to unreliable results.

In the face of growing global freshwater scarcity, the imperative to recycle and reuse water becomes increasingly apparent across industrial, agricultural, and domestic sectors. Eliminating a range of organic pollutants in wastewater, from pesticides to industrial byproducts, presents a formidable challenge. Among the potential solutions, membrane technologies emerge as promising contenders for treating diverse organic contaminants from industrial, agricultural, and household origins. This paper explores cutting-edge membrane-based approaches, including reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, gas separation membranes, and pervaporation. Each technology's efficacy in removing distinct organic pollutants while producing purified water is scrutinized. This review delves into membrane fouling, discussing its influencing factors and preventative strategies. It sheds light on the merits, limitations, and prospects of these various membrane techniques, contributing to the advancement of wastewater treatment. It advocates for future research in membrane technology with a focus on fouling control and the development of energy-efficient devices. Interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, engineers, policymakers, and industry players is vital for shaping water purification innovation. Ongoing research and collaboration position us to fulfill the promise of accessible, clean water for all., Competing Interests: The authors declare there is no conflict., (© 2024 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

Sterilization methods to produce sterile preparations include heat, gas, radiation, and filtration. This article focuses on heat, gas, and radiation sterilization, plus a brief introduction to bright-light sterilization. Microbiology basics and microbial death kinetics, key to understanding why these sterilization methods work, will also be briefly discussed. Filtration sterilization will be covered in a separate article., (Copyright© by International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding, Inc.)

This study addresses the heightened global reliance on point-of-use (PoU) systems driven by water quality concerns, ageing infrastructure, and urbanization. While widely used in Egypt, there is a lack of comprehensive evaluation of these systems. We assessed 10 reverse osmosis point-of-use systems, examining physicochemical, bacteriological, and protozoological aspects of tap water (inlets) and filtered water (outlets), adhering to standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. Results showed significant reductions in total dissolved solids across most systems, with a decrease from 210 ± 23.6 mg/L in tap water to 21 ± 2.8 mg/L in filtered water for PoU-10. Ammonia nitrogen levels in tap water decreased from 0.05 ± 0.04 to 2.28 ± 1.47 mg/L to 0.02 ± 0.04 to 0.69 ± 0.64 mg/L in filtered water. Despite this, bacterial indicators showed no significant changes, with some systems even increasing coliform levels. Protozoological analysis identified prevalent Acanthamoeba (42.5%), less frequent Naegleria (2.5%), Vermamoeba vermiformis (5%), and potentially pathogenic Acanthamoeba genotypes. Elevated bacterial indicators in filtered water of point-of-use systems, combined with essential mineral removal, indicate non-compliance with water quality standards, posing a public health concern. Further research on the long-term health implications of these filtration systems is essential., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

As the need for higher volumetric productivity in biomanufacturing grows, biopharmaceutical companies are increasingly investing in a perfusion cell culture process, most commonly one that uses a hollow fiber filter as the cell retention device. A current challenge with using hollow fiber filters is fouling of the membrane, which reduces product sieving and can increase transmembrane pressure (TMP) past process limitations. In this work, the impact of hollow fiber filter geometries on product sieving and hydraulic membrane resistance profiles is evaluated in a tangential flow filtration (TFF) perfusion system. The hollow fibers tested had lengths ranging from 19.8 to 41.5 cm, inner diameters (IDs) ranging from 1.0 to 2.6 mm, and pore sizes of 0.2 or 0.65 μm. The results showed that the shortest hollow fibers experienced higher product sieving while larger IDs contributed to both higher product sieving and lower hydraulic membrane resistances, illustrating the impact of filter geometry on process performance. The results also showed 0.2 μm pore size filters maintain higher product sieving, but also higher membrane resistances compared to 0.65 μm pore size filters. This study highlights the need for optimized hollow fiber filter geometries to maximize use of the membrane area, which in turn can reduce production costs and increase scalability of the perfusion process., (© 2024 AstraZeneca. Biotechnology Progress published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Institute of Chemical Engineers.)

The use of soiled-bedded sentinels (SBSs) has historically been the standard for colony health surveillance monitoring at our institution. With the advent of newer technologies in which dust collected from filters is tested by PCR, we compared traditional SBS with PCR testing of both exhaust air dust collected from a filter in the downstream vertical plenum (exhaust dust test [EDT]) and the SBS cage-level exhaust filter (SCEF). Our hypothesis was that both methods of filter testing would identify more pathogens than SBS testing. Twenty-five individually ventilated mouse racks that used disposable caging were sanitized and placed into rotation. Rack plenums were tested by PCR to verify negative results before the study start. Exhaust dust collection media were placed in the exhaust plenum (n = 25). SBS cages were placed on each side of the rack with 2 mice per cage (n = 42 mice), with the remaining cage slots occupied by research animals. At each triweekly cage change, the exhaust air filters were carefully removed from the cage top, placed in sterile 50-mL conical tubes, and pooled for submission. After 3mo, the SBS mice were tested via serology for bacterial and viral agents and by PCR for Helicobacter species, pinworms, and ectoparasites. In addition, the EDT filter and SCEF were collected for PCR to evaluate for the same agents. Our results indicate that the SCEF consistently detected agents more frequently than the EDT filter placed in the plenum and that the EDT filter media detected agents more frequently than did the SBS mice. Our data suggest that both PCR methods of detection are superior to SBS for individually ventilated disposable rodent cages and that the SCEF is superior to EDT. These data supported our movement of institution toward environmental monitoring as a method of rodent colony health surveillance.

Global warming needs immediate attention to reduce major greenhouse gas emissions such as methane (CH 4 ). Bio-oxidation of dilute CH 4 emissions in packed-bed bioreactors such as biofilters has been carried out over recent years at laboratory and large scales. However, a big challenge is to keep CH 4 biofilters running for a long period. In this study, a packed-bed lab-scale bioreactor with a specialized inorganic-based filter bed was successfully operated over four years for CH 4 elimination. The inoculation of the bioreactor was the active leachate of another CH 4 biofilter which resulted in a fast acclimation and removal efficiency (RE) reached 80% after seven weeks of operation for CH 4 inlet concentrations ranging from 700 to 800 ppmv and an empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 6 min. During four years of operation, the bioreactor often recorded REs higher than 65% for inlet concentrations in the range of 1900-2200 ppmv and an EBRT of 6 min. The rate and interval of the nutrient supply played an important role in maintaining the bioreactor's high performance over the long operation. Forced shutdowns were unavoidable during the 4-year operation and the bioreactor fully tolerated them with a partial recovery within one week and a progressive recovery over time. In the end, the bioreactor's filter bed started to deteriorate due to a long shutdown of twelve weeks and the extended operation of four years when the RE dropped to below 8% with no sign of returning to its earlier performance.

Objective: Determine the hemolytic effect of an 18-µm microaggregate blood filter during in vitro sea turtle whole blood transfusions as well as describe the average diameter of leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) RBCs., Animals: 5 green (Chelonia mydas), 5 loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and 5 Kemp's ridley sea turtles (total n = 15)., Methods: Heparinized sea turtle blood was infused at 60 mL/h through a microbore extension set without and then with a postsyringe, inline 18-µm microaggregate blood filter. Pre- and postfiltration PCV, Hct, total solids, sodium, chloride, potassium, glucose, and free plasma hemoglobin concentrations were measured. With the use of light microscopy and archived blood smears, the maximum and minimum diameter of 20 RBCs from each of the 5 leatherback and 5 Kemp's ridley sea turtles were measured with a calibrated ocular micrometer using 400X magnification., Results: There were no significant differences between pre- and postfiltration samples for Hct, total solids, sodium, chloride, potassium, glucose, and free plasma hemoglobin concentrations; however, there was a significant median postfiltration decrease in PCV of approximately 4%, representing a 13% decrease of the total RBCs transfused. Average maximum diameters for leatherback and Kemp's ridley sea turtle RBCs were 19.7 and 16.1 µm, respectively., Clinical Relevance: Although the 18-µm microaggregate blood filter does not hemolyze transfused sea turtle RBCs and is likely safe for in vivo blood transfusions, the filter's pores may retain a small proportion of infused RBCs given their diameter.

Nanofiltration (NF) has been used as the default sulfate removal process in platforms to treat seawater for water flooding. Seawater is generally pretreated by chlorination and cartridge filters to reduce fouling of the membranes; however, this pretreatment is insufficient to provide water quality high enough to maintain the productivity of the NF membranes. In this study, the performances of two different pretreatment routes were evaluated. Microfiltration (MF) was evaluated as a replacement for cartridge filters, and the advanced oxidation process UV/H 2 O 2 was evaluated as an additional stage of pretreatment upstream of the cartridge filters. The permeability of the NF membranes after 12 h of seawater sulfate removal in a bench system was 4.4 L·h -1 ·m -2 ·bar -1 when the UV/H 2 O 2 process was adopted as the pretreatment and 2.9 L·h -1 ·m -2 ·bar -1 when the MF process was adopted, compared to 1.6 L·h -1 ·m -2 ·bar -1 achieved for the pretreatment with the cartridge filter alone. These results indicate that NF membrane fouling was significantly higher when seawater was pretreated only by the cartridge filter in comparison to both proposed pretreatments. An economic analysis showed that both systems are economically viable and can potentially reduce the operational costs of the NF sulfate removal process on platforms.

Clinical diagnostics of infectious diseases via nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) depend on a separate step of isolation of nucleic acids from cells/viruses embedded in complex biological matrices. The most recent example has been reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for amplification and detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for COVID-19 diagnostics. Kits for RNA extraction and purification are commercially available; however, their integration with amplification systems is generally lacking, resulting in two separate steps, i.e., sample preparation and amplification. This makes NAATs more time-consuming, requiring skilled personnel, and can increase the likelihood of contamination. Here, we describe a setup and methodology to perform the quick extraction and detection of nucleic acids in an integrated manner. In particular, we focus on the use of an immiscible filtration device for capture, isolation, concentration, amplification, and colorimetric detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Electronic devices with multifunctional capabilities is forever an attractive area with diverse scope including towards developing solutions to sustainable energy technology. Microbial biofuel cells (MiBFCs) are one such sustainable energy technology based electronic device which can not only harvest energy, but can perform biosensing leading to bioremediation. However, low energy yield, costly fabrication procedures and bulky devices are some of the limitations of such MiBFCs. In this work, for the first time a simple vacuum filtration fabrication technique is used for making thin and conductive electrodes with homogeneous CNT solution for MiBFC application. The fully paper-based MiBFC is integrated into a compact micro device with 3D printed components which adds novelty to the work. The MiBFC is capable of maintaining a stable open circuit voltage of 410 mV for more than 1 h and can deliver a maximum power density of 192 μW/cm 2 which is reasonably high for such paper-based MiBFCs operating with micro-volume of substrate. This device will help in developing more freestanding power sources for instant diagnostics and data transfer., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The adverse impact of particulate air pollution on human health 1,2 has prompted the development of purification systems that filter particulates out of air 3-5 . To maintain performance, the filter units must inevitably be replaced at some point, which requires maintenance, involves costs and generates solid waste 6,7 . Here we show that an ion-doped conjugated polymer-coated matrix infiltrated with a selected functional liquid enables efficient, continuous and maintenance-free air purification. As the air to be purified moves through the system in the form of bubbles, the functional fluid provides interfaces for filtration and for removal of particulate matter and pollutant molecules from air. Theoretical modelling and experimental results demonstrate that the system exhibits high efficiency and robustness: its one-time air purification efficiency can reach 99.6%, and its dust-holding capacity can reach 950 g m -2 . The system is durable and resistant to fouling and corrosion, and the liquid acting as filter can be reused and adjusted to also enable removal of bacteria or odours. We anticipate that our purification approach will be useful for the development of specialist air purifiers that might prove useful in a settings such as hospitals, factories and mines., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

In recent years, adsorption-based membranes have been widely investigated to remove and separate textile pollutants. However, cyclic adsorption-desorption to reuse a single adsorbent and clear scientific evidence for the adsorption-desorption mechanism remains challenging. Herein, silk nanofibers were used to assess the adsorption potential for the typical anionic dyes from an aqueous medium, and they show great potential toward the removal of acid dyes from the aqueous solution with an adsorption rate of ∼98% in a 1 min interaction. Further, we measured the filtration proficiency of a silk nanofiber membrane in order to propose a continuous mechanism for the removal of acid blue dye, and a complete rejection was observed with a maximum permeability rate of ∼360 ± 5 L·m -2 ·h -1 . The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies demonstrate that this fast adsorption occurs due to multiple interactions between the dye molecule and the adsorbent substrate. The as-prepared material also shows remarkable results in desorption. A 50-time cycle exhibits complete adsorption and desorption ability, which not only facilitates high removal aptitude but also produces less solid waste than other conventional adsorbents. Additionally, fluorescent 2-bromo-2-methyl-propionic acid (abbreviated as EtOxPY)-silk nanofibers can facilitate to illustrate a clear adsorption and desorption mechanism. Therefore, the above-prescribed results make electrospun silk nanofibers a suitable choice for removing anionic dyes in real-time applications.

Transmission of pathogens through air is a critical pathway for the spread of airborne diseases, as airborne pathogenic microorganisms cause several harmful infections. This review summarizes the occurrence, transmission, and adverse impacts of airborne pathogenic microorganisms that spread over large distances via bioaerosols. Air cleaning technologies have demonstrated great potential to prevent and reduce the spread of airborne diseases. The recent advances in air cleaning technologies are summarized on the basis of their advantages, disadvantages, and adverse health effects with regard to the inactivation mechanisms. The application scope and energy consumption of different technologies are compared, and the characteristics of air cleaners in the market are discussed. The development of high-efficiency, low-cost, dynamic air cleaning technology is identified as the leading research direction of air cleaning. Furthermore, future research perspectives are discussed and further development of current air cleaning technologies is proposed., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Routing protocols for underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSN) and underwater Internet of Things (IoT&#95;UWSN) networks have expanded significantly. DBR routing protocol is one of the most critical routing protocols in UWSNs. In this routing protocol, the energy consumption of the nodes, the rate of loss of sent packets, and the rate of drop of routing packets due to node shutdown have created significant challenges. For this purpose, in a new scenario called FB-DBR, clustering is performed, and fuzzy logic and bloom filter are used in each cluster's new routing protocol in underwater wireless sensor networks. Due to the fuzzy nature of the parameters used in DBR, better results are obtained and bloom filters are used in routing tables to compensate for the deceleration. as the average number of accesses to routing table entries, dead nodes, Number of Packets Sent to Base Station (BS), Number of Packets Received at BS, Packet Dropped, and Remaining Energy has improved significantly., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objectives: Copper filtration removes lower energy X-ray photons, which do not enhance image quality but would otherwise contribute to patient radiation dose. This study explores the use of additional copper filtration for neonatal mobile chest imaging., Methods: A controlled factorial-designed experiment was used to determine the effect of independent variables on image quality and radiation dose. These variables included: copper filtration (0 Cu, 0.1 Cu and 0.2 Cu), exposure factors, source-to-image distance and image receptor position (direct / tray). Image quality was evaluated using absolute visual grading analysis (VGA) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and entrance surface dose (ESD) was derived using an ionising chamber within the central X-ray beam., Results: VGA, CNR and ESD significantly reduced ( p < 0.01) when using added copper filtration. For 0.1 Cu, the percentage reduction was much greater for ESD (60%) than for VGA (14%) and CNR (20%), respectively. When compared to the optimal combinations of parameters for incubator imaging using no copper filtration, an increase in kV and mAs when using 0.1-mm Cu resulted in better image quality at the same radiation dose (direct) or, equal image quality at reduced dose (in-tray). The use of 0.1-mm Cu for neonatal chest imaging with a corresponding increase in kV and mAs is therefore recommended., Conclusion: Using additional copper filtration significantly reduces radiation dose (at increased mAs) without a detrimental effect on image quality., Advances in Knowledge: This is the first study, using an anthropomorphic phantom, to explore the use of additional Cu for digital radiography neonatal chest imaging and therefore helps inform practice to standardise and optimise this imaging examination.

In this work, consideration is given to an aerodynamic concept to boost the filtration in face masks of airborne hygroscopic particles such as those caused by an infected person when coughs or sneezes. Nowadays, increasing the filtration efficiency of face masks implies either increasing the number of crisscrossing fiber layers or decreasing the equivalent hydraulic diameter of the pore, however, both measures are in clear detriment of its breathability. Here, a novel strategy is proposed in which the filtration of an airborne particle is boosted by increasing its diameter. We called properly this concept as the aerodynamic barrier layer. In this concept, a traditional crisscrossing fiber layer is replaced by a parallel rearranged of the fibers in the direction of the flow. This rearrangement will promote central lift forces which will push the particles toward the center of the channel where after clustering they will coalesce resulting in a bigger particle that can be now easily captured by a conventional fiber crisscrossing layer. Utilizing a simplified geometrical model, an expression for the required length of the aerodynamic barrier layer was derived. It is shown that an aerodynamic barrier layer with a length of only a few millimeters can aerodynamically focus water droplets around 1 μm-diameter and the penetration of airborne particles can be reduced up to 55%., (Copyright © 2022 by ASME.)

During the first wave of Covid-19 infections in Germany in April 2020, clinics reported a shortage of filtering face masks with aerosol retention> 94% (FFP2 & 3, KN95, N95). Companies all over the world increased their production capacities, but quality control of once-certified materials and masks came up short. To help identify falsely labeled masks and ensure safe protection equipment, we tested 101 different batches of masks in 993 measurements with a self-made setup based on DIN standards. An aerosol generator provided a NaCl test aerosol which was applied to the mask. A laser aerosol spectrometer measured the aerosol concentration in a range from 90 to 500 nm to quantify the masks' retention. Of 101 tested mask batches, only 31 batches kept what their label promised. Especially in the initial phase of the pandemic in Germany, we observed fluctuating mask qualities. Many batches show very high variability in aerosol retention. In addition, by measuring with a laser aerosol spectrometer, we were able to show that not all masks filter small and large particles equally well. In this study we demonstrate how important internal and independent quality controls are, especially in times of need and shortage of personal protection equipment., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background and Objectives: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a blood purification treatment capable of removing large molecular weight substances from plasma. It is commonly used for the removal of circulating pathogenic immunoglobulins presumed to be the cause of many autoimmune diseases. TPE can be performed with a membrane-based system (mTPE) or a centrifugal-based system (cTPE). When plasma separation is performed with a membrane, filter clotting can lead to longer treatment time, higher cost and can negatively impact patient satisfaction. In this study, we examine the operational characteristics that might influence filter life., Design, Setting, Participants, & Measures: We report on 24 patients, with a total of 135 mTPE treatments in a single tertiary care academic center using the NxStage machine. The study focuses on treatment specific parameters that may lead to procedure failure. The main parameters of interest were transmembrane pressure (TMP) and the filtration fraction as displayed on the machine (FFd) compared to the calculated filtration fraction (FFc). Primary outcome was to measure whether TMP, FFc, and FFd influenced filter survival. Secondary outcomes included factors that might have indirectly resulted in filter failure, including hematocrit (Hct), platelet count, heparin use, and intra-treatment calcium administration., Results: In this study, we demonstrated that machine displayed filtration fractions (FFd) were lower than FFc and this difference was significantly larger in TPE sessions that experienced a clotting event (7.58 vs 6.22, P = .031). TPE sessions that clotted had a higher mean TMP (57.48 mmHg vs 44.43 mmHg, P = .001) and clotting events tended to have a lower mean blood flow rate (175.83 mL/min vs 189.55 mL/min, P = .002). In TPE sessions that received prefilter calcium administration, a higher mean dose of calcium gluconate was found in the sessions that experienced clotting (3.27 g vs 2.70 g, P = .013). Patients who experienced at least one clotting event were noted to be heavier than those patients without any clotting events (91.52 kg vs 72.15 kg, P = .040). Prefilter heparin administration was not associated with a lower incidence of filter clotting. We did not find a statistically significant difference in clotting events based upon type of intravenous access, pretreatment hematocrit, or pretreatment platelet counts., Conclusion: Among patients undergoing mTPE, machine FFd on the NxStage system are consistently lower than FFc. Treatments where there was a greater difference between displayed and FFc had a greater likelihood of filter clotting. Treatments with higher TMP were associated with failed treatments. Prefilter calcium administration during treatment was associated with increased filter clotting. Lower blood flow rates and higher patient weight were also associated with increased filter clotting. Prefilter heparin administration did not reduce the incidence of filter clotting., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Respirators, medical masks, and barrier face coverings all filter airborne particles using similar physical principles. However, they are tested for certification using a variety of standardized test methods, creating challenges for the comparison of differently certified products. We have performed systematic experiments to quantify and understand the differences between standardized test methods for N95 respirators (NIOSH TEB-APR-STP-0059 under US 42 CFR 84), medical face masks (ASTM F2299/F2100), and COVID-19-related barrier face coverings (ASTM F3502-21). Our experiments demonstrate the role of face velocity, particle properties (mean size, size variability, electric charge, density, and shape), measurement techniques, and environmental preconditioning. The measured filtration efficiency was most sensitive to changes in face velocity and particle charge. Relative to the NIOSH method, users of the ASTM F2299/F2100 method have commonly used non-neutralized (highly charged) aerosols as well as smaller face velocities, each of which may result in approximately 10% higher measured filtration efficiencies. In the NIOSH method, environmental conditioning at elevated humidity increased filtration efficiency in some commercial samples while decreasing it in others, indicating that measurement should be performed both with and without conditioning. More generally, our results provide an experimental basis for the comparison of respirators certified under various international methods, including FFP2, KN95, P2, Korea 1st Class, and DS2., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Propagation-based X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography (PB-PCCT) has been increasingly popular for distinguishing low contrast tissues. Phase retrieval is an important step to quantitatively obtain the phase information before the tomographic reconstructions, while typical phase retrieval methods in PB-PCCT, such as homogenous transport of intensity equation (TIE-Hom), are essentially low-pass filters and thus improve the signal to noise ratio at the expense of the reduced spatial resolution of the reconstructed image. To improve the reconstructed spatial resolution, measured phase contrast projections with high edge enhancement and the phase projections retrieved by TIE-Hom were weighted summed and fed into an iterative tomographic algorithm within the framework of the adaptive steepest descent projections onto convex sets (ASD-POCS), which was employed for suppressing the image noise in low dose reconstructions because of the sparse-view scanning strategy or low exposure time for single phase contrast projection. The merging strategy decreases the accuracy of the linear model of PB-PCCT and would finally lead to the reconstruction failure in iterative reconstructions. Therefore, the additive median root prior is also introduced in the algorithm to partly increase the model accuracy. The reconstructed spatial resolution and noise performance can be flexibly balanced by a pair of antagonistic hyper-parameters. Validations were performed by the established phase-contrast Feldkamp-Davis-Kress, phase-retrieved Feldkamp-Davis-Kress, conventional ASD-POCS and the proposed enhanced ASD-POCS with a numerical phantom dataset and experimental biomaterial dataset. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the conventional ASD-POCS in spatial evaluation assessments such as root mean square error (a ratio of 9.78%), contrast to noise ratio (CNR) (a ratio of 7.46%), and also frequency evaluation assessments such as modulation transfer function (a ratio of 66.48% of MTF 50% (50% MTF value)), noise power spectrum (a ratio of 35.25% of f 50% (50% value of the Nyquist frequency)) and noise equivalent quanta (1-2 orders of magnitude at high frequencies). Experimental results again confirm the superiority of proposed strategy relative to the conventional one in terms of edge sharpness and CNR (an average increase of 67.35%).