COVID-19 crisis: a time for practical assessment of hygienic principles observance

Simultaneously with COVID-19 pandemic, numerous protocols have been developed to prevent the infection. COVID-19 can be more fatal in the bone marrow transplant ward because patients admitted to these wards have a weakened immune system. Assessment of the protocol specified for this wards and practical evaluation of the hygienic principles observance by the medical staff during COVID-19 pandemic can be a step towards saving the lives of the patients. Coinciding with COVID-19 pandemic, 40 patients underwent bone marrow transplantation at Imam Reza Hospital of Kermanshah, Iran from February 2020 to June 2022. A follow-up program was performed to evaluate the possibility of COVID-19 transmission and the rate of hygiene practice by medical staff. The principles of hygienic protocols were scored as a questionnaire in which the observance/non-observance method were applied. Real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based on three genes of the virus was used to diagnose the COVID-19 patients. The results of RT-PCR tests were negative in all patients who were hospitalised during the study. The rate of observance of the hygienic principles by the staff in the studied ward was 100%.The obtained result in the present study was a reflection of the step-by-step implementation of the hygienic protocol specified for bone marrow transplantation ward by the staff. The protocol specified for the bone marrow transplantation ward was highly overlapped with COVID-19 general hygienic guidelines

Physical properties of kumquat fruit

Some physical properties of kumquat were investigated. Physical properties which were measured included fruit dimensions, mass, volume, projected area, density, geometric mean diameter, sphericity and surface area. Bulk density, porosity and also packaging coefficient were calculated. Mechanical properties such as the elasticity modulus, rupture force and energy required for initial rupture have been determined. The experiments were carried out at moisture content of 82.6% (w.b.). The results show that the kumquat fruit is one of the smallest fruit in the citrus family

Physical properties of kumquat fruit

Some physical properties of kumquat were investigated. Physical properties which were measured included fruit dimensions, mass, volume, projected area, density, geometric mean diameter, sphericity and surface area. Bulk density, porosity and also packaging coefficient were calculated. Mechanical properties such as the elasticity modulus, rupture force and energy required for initial rupture have been determined. The experiments were carried out at moisture content of 82.6% (w.b.). The results show that the kumquat fruit is one of the smallest fruit in the citrus family

Nitrogen-doped graphene-silver nanodendrites for the non-enzymatic detection of hydrogen peroxide

An organic-metal hybrid film based on nitrogen-doped graphene-silver nanodendrites (Ag-NG) was fabricated on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode using a simple electrophoretic and electrochemical sequential deposition approach. The microwave-assisted method was utilized for the synthesis of nitrogen-doped graphene. This method involves a three-step process consisting of graphite oxidation, exfoliation, and finally chemical reduction with the use of hydrazine as the reducing agent, which leads to the simultaneous reduction of graphene oxide and production of nitrogen-doped graphene. The morphology and structure of the as-fabricated electrode were determined by X-ray diffraction, field emission electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The as-prepared Ag-NG-modified ITO electrode exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity toward hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) reduction, with a wide linear detection range of 100 μM to 80 mM (r = 0.9989) and a detection limit of 0.26 μM with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Furthermore, the fabricated non-enzymatic H2O2 electrochemical sensor exhibited excellent stability and reproducibility