Efficacy of Removing Bacteria and Organic Dirt from Hands—A Study Based on Bioluminescence Measurements for Evaluation of Hand Hygiene When Cooking

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of dirt removal (bacteria and organic matter) of several hand-cleaning procedures. The results from the hand hygiene experiment indicated that washing hands with warm water and soap for 20 s is the most effective method investigated when hands are either dirty or greasy. Even if not proper washing, rinsing under running water for 5 s is a cleaning procedure that may significantly reduce the probability of cross-contamination, as it removes 90% of the hands’ dirt. Although less effective than water and soap, the usage of antibacterial wipes was significantly more effective than wet wipes, indicating that they are a better choice when water and soap are not available. The results of this study enable us to inform consumers about the effectiveness of hand-cleaning procedures applied in their homes when cooking. Moreover, it can make consumers understand why, during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities recommended washing hands as a preventive measure of infection and using an anti-bacterial hand gel or wiping hands with an antimicrobial wipe if water and soap are not available.

The impact of periodontal disease and dental cleaning procedures on serum and urine kidney biomarkers in dogs and cats

The objective of this study was to evaluate the benefits and inherent risks of dental cleaning procedures, based on serum and urine biomarkers for kidney function and tissue damage, in dogs and cats. Thirty-one asymptomatic, mostly older dogs (14 neutered male and 17 ovariohysterectomized female dogs of various breeds between 3 and 14 years old) and cats (19 neutered male and 12 ovariohysterectomized female domestic short hair cats between 2 and 16 years old) diagnosed with periodontal disease on physical exam, and recommended by their veterinarian to have dental cleaning under general anesthesia were evaluated in a prospective study. Serum and urine samples were collected from dogs and cats 1 week before, 6 hours after, and again 1 week after the dental cleaning procedure. Samples were analyzed for biomarkers of kidney function [serum creatinine (Cr), symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and urine for specific gravity (USG) and protein:creatinine (UPC) ratio]. A panel of biomarkers for renal tissue damage was also assessed [serum β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIB), and urine cystatin B and clusterin]. Samples collected one week before dental cleaning procedures showed that increased age and severity of dental disease were linked to abnormal kidney function biomarker values (age: elevated SDMA and Cr concentrations and isosthenuric USG values; disease severity: elevated UPC ratios) as well as elevated urine cystatin B and clusterin concentrations. Directly after the dental cleaning procedure, an increased number of cats with elevated SDMA concentrations was observed (specifically in cats with longer duration of dental procedures). Extended duration of dental procedures (≥60 min) was linked to increased urine cystatin B and clusterin concentrations, whereas shorter duration procedures was linked to decreased urine cystatin B and clusterin. Higher SDMA concentrations persisted in cats one week after the dental cleaning procedures and were linked to elevated UPC ratios one week before cleaning procedures. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate a link between severity of dental disease, renal tissue injury, and impaired renal function. Longer duration dental procedures in cats may carry inherent risks of kidney injury and impaired renal function.

Initial Conditioning of Used Cigarette Filters for Their Recycling as Acoustical Absorber Materials

Used cigarette butts represent a major and problematic form of waste, due to their abundance, toxicity, and durability. Moreover, the few proposals for their recycling are clearly insufficient, and new ones are welcome. For a new proposal regarding the reuse of used cigarette butts as acoustical absorbers in building construction, previous conditioning of the used butts is performed. This conditioning includes the elimination of moisture and toxic products accumulated in the filter of the cigarettes. Thus, in this work, the moisture content effect in acoustical absorption was analyzed, and a proposal for elimination is made. Moreover, a chemical cleaning procedure is proposed, and its influence on the acoustical behavior of the samples was also analyzed.

KINETIC PARAMETERS OF THERMOLUMINESCENCE BASED ON ISOTHERMAL DECAY CURVES

The majority of the current techniques for getting the recurrence factors utilize the snare profundity making a few suppositions about the request for the energy. This causes irregularities in the announced benefits of catching boundaries due that the estimations of the actuation energy got by various techniques contrast obviously among them. At that point, it is important to utilize a technique autonomous of the snare profundity utilizing the isothermal iridescence rot (ILD) method. The catching boundaries related with the unmistakable shine pinnacle of BeO (280°C) are accounted for using ILD strategy. As a check, the snare boundaries are additionally determined by sparkle bend shape strategy subsequent to disconnecting the conspicuous shine top by warm cleaning procedure. Our outcomes show an awesome arrangement between the catching boundaries determined by the two techniques. ILD strategy was utilized for deciding the catching boundaries of BeO. Results got applying this technique are in acceptable concurrence with those acquired utilizing different strategies, besides in the estimation of the recurrence factor.

ATP Bioluminescence for Assessing the Efficacy of the Manual Cleaning Procedure during the Reprocessing of Reusable Surgical Instruments

Achieving sterilization by adopting proper practices is essential to ensure that surgical instruments do not transmit microorganisms to patients. As the effectiveness of sterilization mandates effective cleaning, it is necessary to verify the success of cleaning procedures. In this study, we used the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence method for assessing the efficacy of the manual cleaning procedure during the reprocessing of reusable surgical instruments. The ATP bioluminescence assay was performed on 140 surgical instruments of 12 different types, both before being cleaned (baseline) and after each of the cleaning procedures (i.e., decontamination, manual washing, drying, and visual inspection). For each instrument, two swabs were used as follows: one to sample the entire surface (test point 1) and the other to sample the most difficult part of the surface to clean (test point 2). Overall, for each type of instrument, there was a decrease in contamination ranging from 99.6 to >99.9% (log reduction from 2.40 to 3.76). Thus, in order to standardize the assessment of cleanliness, it may be useful to introduce the bioluminescence method into the daily routine or, at least, at regular time intervals as a complementary check combined with visual inspection. This would allow real-time verification of the achievement of an adequate level of cleanliness.

A Generalized Model of Advertised Sales

To better understand temporary price reductions or “sales,” this paper presents a generalized “clearinghouse” framework of advertised sales and explores some applications. By viewing the firms as competing in utility and amending the conventional tiebreak rule, we allow for multiple dimensions of firm heterogeneity in complex market environments. Moreover, we (i) provide original insights into the number and types of firms that use sales, (ii) offer new results on how firm heterogeneity affects market outcomes, (iii) extend a common empirical “cleaning” procedure, and (iv) analyze a family of activities in sales markets, including persuasive advertising and obfuscation. (JEL D21, D43, L13, L25, M37)

Microorganism identification and environmental cleaning effectiveness in radiology settings: cross-sectional and experimental studies

Introduction: Despite the large number of patients passing through and some invasive procedures, radiology may still be considered unlikely to transmit pathogens. However, radiation protection aprons touched by radiology professionals and shared between patients could be prone to contamination. Our goals were to (1) assess qualitatively and quantitatively the microorganisms present on the radiation protection aprons with a cross-sectional study, and (2) determine the effectiveness of routine cleaning with an experimental design. Methods: For objective 1, 108 samples were collected on radiation protection aprons of two radiology settings: the diagnostic radiology (DR) setting, with a cleaning procedure in place, and the emergency setting without. Total cultivable bacteria, staphylococci, enterobacteria and fungi were quantified. For purpose 2, the number of total bacteria and staphylococci were compared between before and after cleaning the aprons. Results: The median number of total bacteria were respectively 0.97 and 1.56 cfu/cm2 in the DR and emergency settings, whereas the median number of Staphylococcus were 0.04 and 0.15 cfu/cm2 in these settings (Objective 1). Thus the number of microorganisms were lower in the setting with the cleaning procedure, although significantly only for staphylococci (p = 0.025). Enterobacteria, fungi and Staphylococcus aureus were not detected in any sample. In the second part of the study, the median number of total bacteria dropped from 0.80 to 0.17 cfu/cm2 between before and after cleaning (p = 0.0017) and for Staphylococcus it decreased from 0.84 to 0.15 cfu/cm2 (p = 0.13). Conclusion: A number of microorganisms have been found, although the absence of enterobacteria, fungi and S. aureus is reassuring as they can cause serious healthcare-associated infections. Our study showed that the cleaning of radiation protection aprons can significantly reduce the microbial load and should be encouraged.