Comparative Virucidal Efficacy of Seven Disinfectants Against Murine Norovirus and Feline Calicivirus,Surrogates of Human Norovirus

Human noroviruses (HuNoV) are the leading cause of acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis in humans and can be transmitted either by person-to-person contact or by consumption of contaminated food. A knowledge of an efficient disinfection for both hands and food-contact surfaces is helpful for the food sector and provides precious information for public health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of seven disinfectants belonging to different groups of biocides (alcohol, halogen, oxidizing agents, quaternary ammonium compounds, aldehyde and biguanide) on infectious viral titre and on genomic copy number. Due to the absence of a cell culture system for HuNoV, two HuNoV surrogates, such as murine norovirus and feline calicivirus, were used and the tests were performed in suspension, on gloves and on stainless steel discs. When, as criteria of efficacy, a log reduction >3 of the infectious viral titre on both surrogates and in the three tests is used, the most efficacious disinfectants in this study appear to be biocidal products B, C and D, representing the halogens, the oxidizing agents group and a mix of QAC, alcohol and aldehyde, respectively. In addition, these three disinfectants also elicited a significant effect on genomic copy number for both surrogate viruses and in all three tests. The results of this study demonstrate that a halogen compound, oxidizing agents and a mix of QAC, alcohol and aldehyde are advisable for HuNoV disinfection of either potentially contaminated surfaces or materials in contact with foodstuffs.     

Virucidal Efficacy of a Hydrogen Peroxide Nebulization Against Murine Norovirus and Feline Calicivirus,Two Surrogates of Human Norovirus

Human noroviruses (HuNoV) are amongst the leading causes of acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis in humans and can be transmitted via person-to-person contact, via contact with contaminated surfaces or by consumption of contaminated food. Contaminated surfaces in healthcare settings contribute to the transmission of viruses. No-touch automated room disinfection systems might prevent such a spread of contamination and thus their virucidal effect needs to be evaluated. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a nebulization system spraying hydrogen peroxide on two main surrogates of HuNoV, namely murine norovirus (MNV) and feline calicivirus (FCV). The viruses were dried on cover glasses and on stainless steel discs and exposed to nebulization. The number of infectious viral particles and genomic copies before and after the nebulization was compared. The efficacy in reducing infectivity of both surrogates was demonstrated. For the infectious viral titre of MNV and FCV, a log₁₀ reduction factor ≥4.84 and 4.85 was observed after nebulization, respectively, for tests on cover glasses and ≥3.90 and 5.30, respectively, for tests on stainless steel discs. Only low reductions in genomic copy numbers were observed for both surrogates. The nebulization of hydrogen peroxide showed a clear virucidal effect on both HuNoV surrogates, MNV and FCV, on two different carriers and the use of nebulization should be promoted in complementarity with conventional disinfection methods in healthcare settings and food processing facilities to reduce viral load and spread of contamination.     

Optimizing Human Intestinal Enteroids for Environmental Monitoring of Human Norovirus

Human noroviruses (HuNoV) are the leading cause of gastrointestinal illness and environmental monitoring is crucial to prevent HuNoV outbreaks. The recent development of a HuNoV cell culture assay in human intestinal enteroids (HIEs) has enabled detection of infectious HuNoV. However, this complex approach requires adaptation of HIEs to facilitate HuNoV replication from environmental matrixes. Integrating data from 200 experiments, we examined six variables: HIE age, HIE basement membrane compounds (BMC), HuNoV inoculum processing, HuNoV inoculum volume, treatment of data below limit of detection (LOD), and cutoff criteria for determining positive HuNoV growth. We infected HIEs with HuNoV GII.4 Sydney positive stool and determined 1.4 × 10³ genome equivalents per HIE well were required for HuNoV replication. HIE age had minimal effect on assay outcomes. LOD replacement and cutoff affected data interpretation, with lower values resulting in higher estimated HuNoV detection. Higher inoculum volumes lead to minimal decreases in HuNoV growth, with an optimal volume of 250uL facilitating capture of low concentrations of HuNoVs present in environmental isolates. Processing of HuNoV inoculum is valuable for disinfection studies and concentrating samples but is not necessary for all HIE applications. This work enhances the HuNoV HIE cell culture approach for environmental monitoring. Future HIE research should report cell age as days of growth and should clearly describe BMC choice, LOD handling, and positive cutoff.

     

Survival and Inactivation by Advanced Oxidative Process of Foodborne Viruses in Model Low-Moisture Foods

Enteric viruses, such as human norovirus (NoV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV), are the major causes of foodborne illnesses worldwide. These viruses have low infectious dose, and may remain infectious for weeks in the environment and food. Limited information is available regarding viral survival and transmission in low-moisture foods (LMF). LMFs are generally considered as ready-to-eat products, which undergo no or minimal pathogen reduction steps. However, numerous foodborne viral outbreaks associated with LMFs have been reported in recent years. The objective of this study was to examine the survival of foodborne viruses in LMFs during 4-week storage at ambient temperature and to evaluate the efficacy of advanced oxidative process (AOP) treatment in the inactivation of these viruses. For this purpose, select LMFs such as pistachios, chocolate, and cereal were inoculated with HAV and the norovirus surrogates, murine norovirus (MNV) and feline calicivirus (FCV), then viral survival on these food matrices was measured over a four-week incubation at ambient temperature, by both plaque assay and droplet-digital RT-PCR (ddRT-PCR) using the modified ISO-15216 method as well as the magnetic bead assay for viral recovery. We observed an approximately 0.5 log reduction in viral genome copies, and 1 log reduction in viral infectivity for all three tested viruses following storage of select inoculated LMFs for 4 weeks. Therefore, the present study shows that the examined foodborne viruses can persist for a long time in LMFs. Next, we examined the inactivation efficacy of AOP treatment, which combines UV-C, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide vapor, and observed that while approximately 100% (4 log) inactivation can be achieved for FCV, and MNV in chocolate, the inactivation efficiency diminishes to approximately 90% (1 log) in pistachios and 70% (< 1 log) in cereal. AOP treatment could therefore be a good candidate for risk reduction of foodborne viruses from certain LMFs depending on the food matrix and surface of treatment.

     

拟除虫菊酯类农药中间体在鱼体肌肉中的积累和释放行为的研究

本文研究了8种与拟除虫菊酯合成有关的化合物在金鱼和鲤鱼肌肉中的积累和释放行为.实验结果表明,不同鱼种积累同一化合物的程度不同,其差别随着分配系数的增加而显著增加.平衡时的生物富集因子的对数log(BCF)值与分配系数的对数log P值之间有较好的线性关系,其相关方程式为log(BCF)=1.062 logP-1.558(n=8,r=0.975).化合物从鱼体释放到水中的速度符合一级反应动力学公式.释放半衰期的对数log t_(1/2)值亦与log P值相关.其相关方程式为log t_(1/2)=0.784 log P-1.571(n=8,r=0.945).本文结果有助于预测该类有机污染物对环境的影响.     

Estimation of Human Norovirus Infectivity from Environmental Water Samples by In Situ Capture RT-qPCR Method

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are highly infectious viruses for which water is an important medium of transmission. In this study, we explored a new in situ capture RT-qPCR (ISC-RT-qPCR) methodology to estimate the infectivity of HuNoV in environmental water samples. This assay was based on capturing encapsidated HuNoV by viral receptors, followed by in situ amplification of the captured viral genomes by RT-qPCR. We demonstrated that the ISC-RT-qPCR did not capture and enable signal amplification of heat-denatured Tulane Virus (TV) and HuNoVs. We further demonstrated that the sensitivity of ISC-RT-qPCR was equal or better than that of conventional RT-qPCR procedures for the detection of HuNoV GI and GII. We then utilized the ISC-RT-qPCR to detect HuNoV in environmental water samples for comparison against that from a conventional RT-qPCR procedure. TV was used as a process control virus. While complete inhibition of TV genomic signal was observed in 27% of samples tested by RT-qPCR, no inhibition of TV genomic signal was observed by ISC-RT-qPCR. From 72 samples tested positive for HuNoV GI signal by RT-qPCR, only 20 (27.8%) of these samples tested positive by ISC-RT-qPCR, suggesting that 72.2% of RT-qPCR-positive samples were unlikely to be infectious. From 16 samples tested positive for HuNoV GII signal by RT-qPCR, only one of these samples tested positive by ISC-RT-qPCR. Five samples that had initially tested negative for HuNoV GII signal by RT-qPCR, was tested as positive by ISC-RT-qPCR. Overall, ISC-RT-qPCR method provided an alternative assay to estimate infectivity of HuNoV in environmental samples.     

Curcumin-Mediated Photodynamic Inactivation of Norovirus Surrogates

Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is extensively used to inactivate different type of pathogens through the use of photosensitizers (PS). Curcumin has been identified as an excellent natural photosensitizer with some potential applications in the food industry. The aim of this study was to assess the antiviral activity of photoactivated curcumin on norovirus surrogates, feline calicivirus (FCV), and murine norovirus (MNV). Initially, different concentrations of curcumin (13.5–1358 µM) were individually mixed with each virus at titers of ca. 6–7 log TCID₅₀/ml and photoactivated by LED blue light with light dose of 3?J/cm². Results showed that photoactivated curcumin at 50 µg/mL reduced FCV titers by almost 5 log after incubation at 37 °C for 30 min. Lower antiviral activity (0.73 log TCID₅₀/mL reduction) was reported for MNV. At room temperature, curcumin at 5 µg/mL reduced FCV titers by 1.75 log TCID₅₀/mL. These results represent a step forward in improving food safety using photoactivated curcumin as an alternative natural additive to reduce viral contamination.     

节水灌溉和控释肥施用耦合措施对单季稻田CH4和N2O排放的影响

以我国华东地区典型单季稻水稻田(江苏宜兴)的原柱状土为研究对象,通过两年土柱观测试验,研究不同灌溉管理模式(长期淹水CF、间隙灌溉Ⅱ、控制灌溉CI)和氮肥施用(不施氮CK、尿素Urea和控释肥CRF)耦合措施对水稻生长期内CH4和N2O排放和产量的影响,以期优选典型单季稻田减排增效的水肥管理模式.结果表明,两种节水灌溉方式(CI和Ⅱ)均显著影响稻田土壤CH4和N2O排放量及二者的综合温室效应(GWP)和排放强度(GHGI),与CF相比,Ⅱ和CI均显著提高了 N2O排放量(P＜0.05),降低了 CH4排放量(P＜0.05),进而二者的GWP和GHGI分别显著降低28.9％～71.4％和14.3％～70.4％(P＜0.05);两种节水灌溉模式相比,CI较Ⅱ模式呈现较好的CH4减排优势,排放总量降低了 57.7％～91.8％,而二者的N2O排放量无显著性差异(P＞0.05),最终CI对GWP和GHGI的减排效应略优于Ⅱ模式2.0％～56.2％.施用氮肥(Urea和CRF)均显著促进N2O排放18.4％～2547.8％(P＜0.05),其中CRF处理N2O排放量均略高于Urea处理32.7％～78.6％,但无显著性差异(P＞0.05);CH4排放总量对施氮处理的响应随水分管理模式的不同而不同,总体而言,施用CRF较Urea对稻田土壤GWP和GHGI均无显著影响(P＞0.05).相关分析表明,2018年CF模式的Urea处理和Ⅱ模式的Urea、CRF处理中N2O排放通量与田面水NH4+-N浓度分别呈现显著(P＜0.05)和极显著的正相关关系(P＜0.01),而二者在2019年CI模式的CK和CRF处理中呈现相反规律;2018年CI模式下CK、CRF处理的N2O排放通量与田面水NO3--N浓度呈极显著的正相关关系(P＜0.01).节水灌溉和氮肥施用对水稻产量均呈显著影响(P＜0.05),与CF相比,两种节水灌溉模式(Ⅱ、CI)水稻产量均下降了 14.7％～37.7％;CRF处理较Urea处理略提高水稻产量2.5％～7.4％(P＜0.05).综合考虑稻田土壤GWP、GHGI和水稻产量,节水模式与控释肥施用对稻田土壤减排增产的耦合效应仍有待进一步研究.     

苯甲酸盐厌氧驯化体系中三氯乙烯的还原脱氯特性

采用气相色谱法实时监测了厌氧条件下,以苯甲酸盐为唯一碳源的驯化活性污泥体系对三氯乙烯(TCE)的还原脱氯情况;同时,结合454焦磷酸测序和实时荧光定量PCR技术对该体系中的微生物群落结构及脱卤拟球菌(DHC)的数量进行分析.结果表明,该驯化体系在94 d内能将TCE完全去除,最终转化产物为一氯乙烯(VC),同时伴随大量的甲烷产生;体系中微生物的多样性很高,涵盖了16个门、33个纲、52个目、88个科和129个属,而且体系中约有51.2%的微生物的分类地位尚未明确,说明体系中还存在很多未知的功能菌;体系对TCE的降解过程其实就是还原脱氯菌与其它功能菌相互作用的结果,且起主要还原脱氯作用的是携带tce A功能基因的DHC.     

Requisites to consider when choosing low volatility pressroom solvents for lithographic printing operations

Low volatile organic compound solvents for use with low volatility soy based lithographic printing inks are evaluated for several criteria related to performance and environmental health and safety (EHS) impact. Solvents encompassed the chemical categories of hydrocarbon alcohol mixtures, fatty acid derivatives, hydrocarbon distillates including fatty acids and alkyl benzene sulfonate mixtures, hydrocarbon distillate mixtures (long-chain), and hydrocarbon distillates including alkoxylated alcohols and proplyene glycol ethers. Five different captive printing operations served as on-press evaluation sites and one University teaching laboratory, all running small-frame sheet fed lithographic presses. A two-color negative was used with a standard image, allowing for testing with both red and black soy ink. Solvents were randomly assigned to each of the six presses. On-press evaluations included the Likert ranking of ease of cleaning and wipeability.. Wipeability was evaluated for the black ink only. A total of 120 data measures were evaluated via a Likert scale ranking process, with solvents serving as their own controls. Frequency distributions were calculated on the performance scales. While individual solvents varied somewhat in performance ranking, an analysis of all solvents indicated that 88% of solvents performed at a 3 (scale of 1–5) or better ranking for cleaning effort and 87% of the samples performed at a 3 or better level in terms of wipeability. Subsequent analysis for significance using the Friedman Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance on Ranks underscored the overall good performance of the solvents as significant differences were not found for cleaning effort (p=0.6) and wipeability (p=0.2). Performance findings with the on-press evaluations underscored the importance of the subjective health and safety evaluations. These were based on current state of knowledge, were conducted on each of the ten different solvent formulations, and resulted in the categorization of these solvents according to risk to employee health. This ranking was performed according to what is known concerning the major chemical constituents of the solvent mixtures and their health effects. Results from these evaluations are presented in concert with the performance data to provide a final EHS ranking for the solvents. This work will aide technical assistance providers and small scale press operators in reducing dissipative losses to the environment through intelligent product substitution choices.     

平流层飞艇囊体材料老化测试研究概述

基于对国内外有关囊体材料老化测试研究文献的充分调研,综述了囊体材料老化机理、老化试验方法、试验对象的选取、性能影响表征与评价等方面的研究现状,老化后的囊体材料常用形貌表征、拉伸测试、透氦率表征及化学结构表征等4种表征方法。鉴于当前对平流层飞艇囊体老化研究缺乏统一的评价指标,且大多研究在囊体材料老化性能验证方面存在不足,提出了后续研究的手段和方向,为浮空器囊体材料的可靠性测试研究和发展提供参考。     

生活废弃物焚烧处置烟气中二(口恶)英排放特性研究

研究了某市10座生活垃圾焚烧炉烟气中二噁英的排放特性,对比了焚烧炉炉型、焚烧处理量、烟气净化系统对二噁英排放特性的影响.结果表明:10座生活垃圾焚烧炉二噁英的排放浓度为0.016~0.104 ng·Nm~(-3)(以I-TEQ计),9座垃圾焚烧炉二噁英排放满足国家相应的排放标准(0.1 ng·Nm~(-3)(以I-TEQ计)).根据二噁英排放浓度排序对应的烟气净化系统分别为SNCR(Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction)+半干法+活性炭喷射+布袋湿法+活性炭喷射+布袋半干法+活性炭喷射+布袋,表明安装SNCR装置有利于二噁英的减排.另外,不同垃圾焚烧炉排放的二噁英指纹特性不仅与烟气净化系统和炉型有关,还与垃圾来源有一定关联.     

Comparison of the Activity of Alcohol-Based Handrubs Against Human Noroviruses Using the Fingerpad Method and Quantitative Real-Time PCR

Noroviruses (NoV) are the most common cause of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis in the United States, and human hands play an important role in their transmission. Little is known about the efficacy of hand hygiene agents against these highly infectious pathogens. We investigated the activity of seven commercially available hand hygiene products against human noroviruses by in vivo fingerpad tests. The in vivo activity of alcohol-based handrubs ranged from 0.10 to 3.74 log reduction and was not solely dependent on alcohol concentration. A handrub (VF481) based on 70% ethanol and a blend of other skin care ingredients reduced Norwalk virus (NV) by 3.74 log in 15 s and provided significantly greater NV reduction than all the other products tested (P < 0.001). Furthermore, VF481 was the most effective product tested against the NoV genogroup II strains Snow Mountain virus (GII.2) and a GII.4 strain. These results demonstrate that alcohol by itself is not effective against NoV, but effective formulation of alcohol-based handrubs can achieve significant reduction of norovirus RNA on fingers.     

Wasps robbing food from ants: a frequent behavior?

Food robbing, or cleptobiosis, has been well documented throughout the animal kingdom. For insects, intrafamilial food robbing is known among ants, but social wasps (Vespidae; Polistinae) taking food from ants has, to the best of our knowledge, never been reported. In this paper, we present two cases involving social wasps robbing food from ants associated with myrmecophytes. (1) Polybioides tabida F. (Ropalidiini) rob pieces of prey from Tetraponera aethiops Smith (Formicidae; Pseudomyrmecinae) specifically associated with Barteria fistulosa Mast. (Passifloraceae). (2) Charterginus spp. (Epiponini) rob food bodies from myrmecophytic Cecropia (Cecropiaceae) exploited by their Azteca mutualists (Formicidae; Dolichoderinae) or by opportunistic ants (that also attack cleptobiotic wasps). We note here that wasps gather food bodies (1) when ants are not yet active; (2) when ants are active, but avoiding any contact with them by flying off when attacked; and (3) through the coordinated efforts of two to five wasps, wherein one of them prevents the ants from leaving their nest, while the other wasps freely gather the food bodies. We suggest that these interactions are more common than previously thought.