| 1. |
- Amin, H., et al.
(författare)
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Indoor Airborne Microbiome and Endotoxin: Meteorological Events and Occupant Characteristics Are Important Determinants
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 57:32, s. 11750-11766
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Minimal research exists onthe factors influencing the indoorbacterial community. Despite their proposed importance for health,here we report environmental factors influencing the composition ofthe indoor bacterial communities. Airborne bacteria and endotoxin may affect asthma andallergies.However, there is limited understanding of the environmental determinantsthat influence them. This study investigated the airborne microbiomesin the homes of 1038 participants from five cities in Northern Europe:Aarhus, Bergen, Reykjavik, Tartu, and Uppsala. Airborne dust particleswere sampled with electrostatic dust fall collectors (EDCs) from theparticipants' bedrooms. The dust washed from the EDCs'clothes was used to extract DNA and endotoxin. The DNA extracts wereused for quantitative polymerase chain (qPCR) measurement and 16SrRNA gene sequencing, while endotoxin was measured using the kineticchromogenic limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. The results showedthat households in Tartu and Aarhus had a higher bacterial load anddiversity than those in Bergen and Reykjavik, possibly due to elevatedconcentrations of outdoor bacterial taxa associated with low precipitationand high wind speeds. Bergen-Tartu had the highest difference (ANOSIM R = 0.203) in & beta; diversity. Multivariate regressionmodels showed that & alpha; diversity indices and bacterial and endotoxinloads were positively associated with the occupants' age, numberof occupants, cleaning frequency, presence of dogs, and age of thehouse. Further studies are needed to understand how meteorologicalfactors influence the indoor bacterial community in light of climatechange.
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| 2. |
- Alsved, M., et al.
(författare)
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Temperature-controlled airflow ventilation in operating rooms compared with laminar airflow and turbulent mixed airflow
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Hospital Infection. - : W B SAUNDERS CO LTD. - 0195-6701 .- 1532-2939. ; 98:2, s. 181-190
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: To evaluate three types of ventilation systems for operating rooms with respect to air cleanliness [in colony-forming units (cfu/m(3))], energy consumption and comfort of working environment (noise and draught) as reported by surgical team members. Methods: Two commonly used ventilation systems, vertical laminar airflow (LAF) and turbulent mixed airflow (TMA), were compared with a newly developed ventilation technique, temperature-controlled airflow (T(c)AF). The cfu concentrations were measured at three locations in an operating room during 45 orthopaedic procedures: close to the wound (<40 cm), at the instrument table and peripherally in the room. The operating team evaluated the comfort of the working environment by answering a questionnaire. Findings: LAF and T(c)AF, but not TMA, resulted in less than 10 cfu/m(3) at all measurement locations in the room during surgery. Median values of cfu/m(3) close to the wound (250 samples) were 0 for LAF, 1 for T(c)AF and 10 for TMA. Peripherally in the room, the cfu concentrations were lowest for T(c)AF. The cfu concentrations did not scale proportionally with airflow rates. Compared with LAF, the power consumption of T(c)AF was 28% lower and there was significantly less disturbance from noise and draught. Conclusion: T(c)AF and LAF remove bacteria more efficiently from the air than TMA, especially close to the wound and at the instrument table. Like LAF, the new T(c)AF ventilation system maintained very low levels of cfu in the air, but T(c)AF used substantially less energy and provided a more comfortable working environment than LAF. This enables energy savings with preserved air quality.
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| 3. |
- Ling, M. L., et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Ice Nucleation Protein Repeat Number and Oligomerization Level on Ice Nucleation Activity
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. - 2169-8996. ; 123:3, s. 1802-1810
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ice nucleation active bacteria have attracted particular attention due to their unique ability to produce specific ice nucleation proteins (INpros), which are the most efficient ice nuclei known as they induce nucleation at temperatures close to 0°C. Our model bacterium Pseudomonas syringae strain R10.79 produced INpros containing 67 tandem repeats, forming the proposed ice-binding surface. To understand the role of the INpro repeats as well as the role of intermolecular interactions between INpros for their ice nucleation behavior, we produced a truncated version of the protein with only 16 tandem repeats (INpro16R). The purified INpro16R produced oligomers of varying sizes. Immersion freezing ice nucleation behavior of purified INpro16R was characterized by droplet-freezing assays and in the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator. Predominant INpro16R oligomers introduced into Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator as single particles with diameters of 50 nm or 70 nm were ice nucleation active at temperatures of -26°C and -24°C, respectively. These are much lower temperatures compared to that of intact INpros (-12°C). The data clearly indicated that the number of repeats determines the ice nucleation temperature. In addition, ice nucleation between -9°C and -10°C, comparable to the activity of intact INpro, was caused by higher-order INpro16R oligomers. This supported previous observations that INpro oligomerization increases the ice-binding surface, thereby affecting ice nucleation activity. In conclusion, both repeat number and oligomerization contribute in a seemingly independent manner to the nucleation mechanism of INpros.
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| 4. |
- Tesson, Sylvie V M, et al.
(författare)
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Airborne Microalgae: Insights, Opportunities, and Challenges
- 2016
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Ingår i: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 82:7, s. 1978-1991
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Airborne dispersal of microalgae has largely been a blind spot in environmental biological studies because of their low concentration in the atmosphere and the technical limitations in investigating microalgae from air samples. Recent studies show that airborne microalgae can survive air transportation and interact with the environment, possibly influencing their deposition rates. This minireview presents a summary of these studies and traces the possible route, step by step, from established ecosystems to new habitats through air transportation over a variety of geographic scales. Emission, transportation, deposition, and adaptation to atmospheric stress are discussed, as well as the consequences of their dispersal on health and the environment and state-of-the-art techniques to detect and model airborne microalga dispersal. More-detailed studies on the microalga atmospheric cycle, including, for instance, ice nucleation activity and transport simulations, are crucial for improving our understanding of microalga ecology, identifying microalga interactions with the environment, and preventing unwanted contamination events or invasions.
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