Pre-adolescent children exhibit lower aerosol particle volume emissions than adults for breathing,speaking, singing and shouting

Speaking and singing are activities linked to increased aerosol particle emissions from the respiratory system, dependent on the utilized vocal intensity. As a result, these activities have experienced considerable restrictions in enclosed spaces since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the risk of infection from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, transmitted by virus-carrying aerosols. These constraints have affected public education and extracurricular activities for children as well, from in-person music instruction to children’s choirs. However, existing risk assessments for children have been based on emission measurements of adults. To address this, we measured the particle emission rates of 15 pre-adolescent children, all eight to ten years old, with a laser particle counter for the test conditions: breathing at rest, speaking, singing and shouting. Compared with values taken from 15 adults, emission rates for breathing, speaking and singing were significantly lower for children. Particle emission rates were reduced by a factor of 4.3 across all conditions, whereas emitted particle volume rates were reduced by a factor of 4.8. These data can supplement SARS-CoV-2 risk management scenarios for various school and extracurricular settings.     

Label-Free Study of the Global Cell Behavior during Exposure to Environmental Radiofrequency Fields in the Presence or Absence of Pro-Apoptotic or Pro-Autophagic Treatments

It remains controversial whether exposure to environmental radiofrequency signals (RF) impacts cell status or response to cellular stress such as apoptosis or autophagy. We used two label-free techniques, cellular impedancemetry and Digital Holographic Microscopy (DHM), to assess the overall cellular response during RF exposure alone, or during co-exposure to RF and chemical treatments known to induce either apoptosis or autophagy. Two human cell lines (SH-SY5Y and HCT116) and two cultures of primary rat cortex cells (astrocytes and co-culture of neurons and glial cells) were exposed to RF using an 1800 MHz carrier wave modulated with various environmental signals (GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications, 2G signal), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, 3G signal), LTE (Long-Term Evolution, 4G signal, and Wi-Fi) or unmodulated RF (continuous wave, CW). The specific absorption rates (S.A.R.) used were 1.5 and 6 W/kg during DHM experiments and ranged from 5 to 24 W/kg during the recording of cellular impedance. Cells were continuously exposed for three to five consecutive days while the temporal phenotypic signature of cells behavior was recorded at constant temperature. Statistical analysis of the results does not indicate that RF-EMF exposure impacted the global behavior of healthy, apoptotic, or autophagic cells, even at S.A.R. levels higher than the guidelines, provided that the temperature was kept constant.     

Multi-scale mechanistic modelling of the host defence in invasive aspergillosis reveals leucocyte activation and iron acquisition as drivers of infection outcome

Aspergillus species are ubiquitous environmental moulds, with spores inhaled daily by most humans. Immunocompromised hosts can develop an invasive infection resulting in high mortality. There is, therefore, a pressing need for host-centric therapeutics for this infection. To address it, we created a multi-scale computational model of the infection, focused on its interaction with the innate immune system and iron, a critical nutrient for the pathogen. The model, parameterized using published data, was found to recapitulate a wide range of biological features and was experimentally validated in vivo. Conidial swelling was identified as critical in fungal strains with high growth, whereas the siderophore secretion rate seems to be an essential prerequisite for the establishment of the infection in low-growth strains. In immunocompetent hosts, high growth, high swelling probability and impaired leucocyte activation lead to a high conidial germination rate. Similarly, in neutropenic hosts, high fungal growth was achieved through synergy between high growth rate, high swelling probability, slow leucocyte activation and high siderophore secretion. In summary, the model reveals a small set of parameters related to fungal growth, iron acquisition and leucocyte activation as critical determinants of the fate of the infection.     

Studies on curcumin and curcuminoids XXI. Variation in the content of curcuminoids in Curcuma longa L. and Curcuma aromatica Salisb. from India during one season

Summary Three varieties ofCurcuma longa andC. aromatica were investigated during a growth period of 17 weeks with respect to the content of curcuminoids in the bulbs and fingers. A decrease in pigment production as a function of maturity of the rhizomes was observed. The total content of curcuminoids was equal inC. longa andC. aromatica, but with a slight difference in distribution between the fingers and bulbs in the two species. Taking the biomass into account, the fingers will be more beneficial for the isolation of curcuminoids than the respective bulbs.

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Studien über Curcumin und Curcuminoide XXI. Unterschiede des Gehaltes an Curcuminoiden bei Curcuma longa L. und Curcuma aromatica Salisb. aus Indien während einer Saison

Zusammenfassung Drei Typen vonCurcuma longa undC. aromatica wurden während einer Wachstumsperiode von 17 Wochen auf ihren Curcuminoidgehalt in den Knollen und im Wurzelstock untersucht. Eine Abnahme der Pigmentproduktion in Abhängigkeit von dem Entwicklungsstadium der Rhizome wurde festgestellt. Der Gesamtgehalt an Curcuminoiden beiC. longa undC. aromatica war der gleiche, doch bestand ein geringer Unterschied in der Verteilung dieser zwischen Knolle und Wurzelstock bei den beiden Spezies. Bei Betrachtung der Biomasse ist der Wurzelstock für die Isolation von Curcuminoiden besser geeignet als die Knollen.

     

Absence of sterol biosynthesis in oyster tissue culture

An oyster heart tissue culture was used to investigate the ability of the American oyster (Crassostrea virginica) to synthesize sterols from [¹⁴C]acetate. Lipids were extracted from cultured oyster heart cells and no label was found in the purified fatty acid fraction, 90% of which was located in the saturated and monounsaturated fractions. Although these results cannot rule out the possibility of sterol synthesis in other oyster tissues, this and previous evidence are in support of the hypothesis that the American oyster is unable to synthesize sterols.     

生态建造：教育套餐和环境手册

生态建造是一个关注于传播建成环境中可持续性的需要以及促成可持续性的方式的项目。它针对于两个群体：16-19岁的学生，为他们制作了一个交互式的光盘；建造行业中的专业人员。光盘中提出了这样的问题--你的家和学校有多绿色？它说明了类似于建筑尺度和朝向的设计决策如何影响到建筑在能耗方面的表现和CO2的排放量。光盘包括了衡量如往宅温室节能效果的术语表，来解释它们对建筑的影响。这样学生们就可以对他们自己的学校和家进行评估，并提出怎样的设计可以提高它们的节能效果。如果我们想全球化地实现可持续性的未来，下一代的介入至关重要。环境手册中更深入地研究了这些问题，并关注到了其他建筑类型，如办公建筑。本文描述了正趋于完成的教育光盘和环境手册中涉及的一些根本的环境和教育因素。     

Sigma流量计在市政排水管网的成功应用

美国内珀维尔市通过安装准确耐用的流量计,消除了传感器的漂移,为流量监测系统提供了可靠的数据。通过这些可靠的流量和液位数据,能够分析市政排水管网的状态,判断入流和渗漏问题,优化对市政排水管网的维护和管理,执行最优的污水管道修复策略,最终减少因入流和渗漏问题对污水处理厂造成的流量冲击。