It’s a matter of microbes: a perspective on the microbiological aspects of micro- and nanoplastics in human health

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are everywhere: in the air we breathe, in our food and in virtually every type of water. Currently, it is unknown whether, and to what extent, these MNPs are hazardous to human health. Identifying risks of physical and chemical aspects of MNPs has gained a lot of attention over the last few years, and efforts have been made to quantify these risks. In our opinion, the momentum delivered by these efforts should be used to highlight the relevance of including another important aspect of MNPs: their associated microbes. Although more and more studies describe MNP-associated microbes, the interplay between physical, chemical and microbiological aspects are lacking. Hazard identification parameters describing this interplay are crucial to risk assessment strategies, yet the majority of effort has been directed towards optimizing human exposure parameters. Here, we address the importance of including microbiological aspects of MNPs in the risk assessment of MNPs. Physical and chemical aspects of MNPs impact the diversity and abundance of microbes and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In turn, environmental factors (e.g., UV radiation, antibiotics) may impact the microbial composition directly, or indirectly by impacting physical or chemical MNP aspects. Future efforts should be directed towards investigating this interplay in order to determine the effects of these dynamic outcomes on human health. We believe that elucidating these pieces of the puzzle is needed to ultimately perform a more holistic risk assessment of MNPs on human health

A survey of diving behaviour and accidental water ingestion among Dutch occupational and sport divers to assess the risk of infection with waterborne pathogenic microorganisms.

Divers may run a higher risk of infection with waterborne pathogens than bathers because of more frequent and intense contact with water that may not comply with microbiologic water quality standards for bathing water. In this study we aimed to estimate the volume of water swallowed during diving as a key factor for infection risk assessment associated with diving. Using questionnaires, occupational and sport divers in the Netherlands were asked about number of dives, volume of swallowed water, and health complaints (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and ear, skin, eye, and respiratory complaints). Occupational divers, on average, swallowed 9.8 mL marine water and 5.7 mL fresh surface water per dive. Sport divers swallowed, on average, 9.0 mL marine water; 13 mL fresh recreational water; 3.2 mL river, canal, or city canal water; and 20 mL water in circulation pools. Divers swallowed less water when wearing a full face mask instead of an ordinary diving mask and even less when wearing a diving helmet. A full face mask or a diving helmet is recommended when diving in fecally contaminated water. From the volumes of swallowed water and concentrations of pathogens in fecally contaminated water, we estimated the infection risks per dive and per year to be as high as a few to up to tens of percents. This may explain why only 20% of the divers reported having none of the inquired health complaints within a period of 1 year. It is highly recommended that divers be informed about fecal contamination of the diving water

Инновационная составляющая обеспечения конкурентоспособности национальной экономики Украины

Цель данной работы – изучение особенностей инновационных процессов в Украине и рассмотрение их как факторов повышения конкурентоспособности. Для достижения цели необходимо также изучение опыта внедрения инновационных программ и повышения национальной конкурентоспособности в зарубежных странах

Листи Г.П. Житецького: з епістолярної спадщини О.М. Лазаревського

В статье исследуются и публикуются письма филолога и украинского деятеля культуры И.П. Житецкого к известному историку и археографу А.М. Лазаревскому. Во вступительной статье, письмах и комментариях к ним сообщается о малоизвестных страницах жизни и деятельности представителей разных генераций украинских и российских деятелей культуры. Автор писем сообщает о подготовке и публикации научных работ, поисках источников, делится своими творческими планами. В письмах освещены события общественно-политической и культурной жизни Российской империи и Украины конца ХIХ и начала ХХ вв.The article contains the letters of I. Zhytetsky, a Ukrainian philologist and cultural worker, to A. Lazarevsky, a noted historian and archeographer. The Introduction, letters and comments cover little-known information about life and work of different Ukrainian and Russian cultural workers. The letters shed light on social, political and cultural life of the Russian Empire and Ukraine of late XIX – early XX centuries

Г.М.Добров и международное научно-технической сотрудничество

На основании анализа документов, архивных материалов, публикаций освещается деятельность Г.М.Доброва в международных научных организациях, его участие в выполнении международных научных программ и проектов. Приведены сведения об участии Г.М.Доброва в международных научных симпозиумах, организованных Комиссией по научно-техническому сотрудничеству СЭВ (1968—1987), а также в международных конгрессах историков естествознания и техники (1962—1988) и всемирных социологических конгрессах (1970—1982).На основі аналізу документів, архівних матеріалів, публікацій висвітлено діяльність Г.М. Доброва у міжнародних наукових організаціях, його участь у виконанні міжнародних наукових програм і проектів. Наведено відомості щодо участі Г.М. Доброва у міжнародних наукових симпозіумах, організованих Комісією з науково-технічного співробітництва СЕВ (1968—1987), а також у міжнародних конгресах істориків природознавства і техніки (1962—1988) і всесвітніх соціологічних конгресах (1970—1982).Work of G.M. Dobrov in international scientific organizations and his contributions in international research programs and projects are highlighted through analysis of documents, materials from archives and publications. Information is given about his participation in international scientific symposia organized by the Commission on S&T Cooperation at the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) (1968—1987), in international congresses of historians on natural science and technology (1962—1988) and in world congresses on sociology (1970—1982)

О синергетическом феномене наноструктурного композита краситель–цеолит

Рассмотрены причины возникновения аномального эффекта люминесценции при создании нанокомпозита краситель–цеолитРозглянуто причини виникнення аномального ефекту люмінесценції при створенні нанокомпозиту барвник–цеоліт.The causes of the origin of an abnormal effect of luminescence at creating dye–zeolite nanocomposite are considered

Risk governance of potential emerging risks to drinking water quality: Analysing current practices

The presence of emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment may affect human health via exposure to drinking water. And, even if some of these emerging contaminants are not a threat to human health, their presence might still influence the public perception of drinking water quality. Over the last decades, much research has been done on emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment, most of which has focused on the identification of emerging contaminants and the characterisation of their toxic potential. However, only limited information is available on if, and how, scientific information is implemented in current policy approaches. The opportunities for science to contribute to the policy of emerging contaminants in drinking water have, therefore, not yet been identified. A comparative analysis was performed of current approaches to the risk governance of emerging chemical contaminants in drinking water (resources) to identify any areas for improvement. The policy approaches used in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and the state of Minnesota were analysed using the International Risk Governance Council framework as a normative concept. Quality indicators for the analysis were selected based on recent literature. Information sources used were scientific literature, policy documents, and newspaper articles. Subsequently, suggestions for future research for proactive risk governance are given. Suggestions include the development of systematic analytical approaches to various information sources so that potential emerging contaminants to drinking water quality can be identified quickly. In addition, an investigation into the possibility and benefit of including the public concern about emerging contaminants into the risk governance process was encouraged.</p

Некоторые патофизиологические аспекты хирургического лечения гнойно−деструктивных поражений кишечника

Проанализированы принципы хирургического лечения больных с гнойно−деструктивными поражениями кишечника. Сделан вывод, что обязательным элементом такого лечения при любом варианте заболевания является полное и стабильное восстановление кишечного пассажа, причем сроки восстановления должны быть опережающими в отношении нарастающих расстройств гомеостаза и дегенеративных нарушений в выключенных отделах кишечного тракта.The author analyzes the principles of treatment of patients with purulent destructive lesions of the intestine. It is concluded that the obligatory element of this treatment in any type of the disease is complete and stable restoration of the intestine passage. The terms of restoration should forestall the increasing homeostasis disorders and degenerative changes in the excluded portions of the intestinal tract

Detection of noroviruses in foods: a study on virus extraction procedures in foods implicated in outbreaks of human gastroenteritis.

Disease outbreaks in which foods are epidemiologically implicated as the common source are frequently reported. Noroviruses and enteric hepatitis A viruses are among the most prevalent causative agents of foodborne diseases. However, the detection of these viruses in foods other than shellfish is often time-consuming and unsuccessful. In this study, three virus concentration methods were compared: polyethylene glycol (PEG) plus NaCl, ultracentrifugation, and ultrafiltration. Two RNA extraction methods, TRIzol and RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen), were compared for detection of viruses in whipped cream and lettuce (as representatives of the dairy and vegetable-fruit food groups, respectively). A seeding experiment with canine calicivirus was conducted to determine the efficiency of each virus extraction procedure. The PEG-NaCl-TRIzol method was most efficient for the detection of viruses in whipped cream and the ultracentrifugation-RNeasy-Mini Kit procedure was best for detection on lettuce. Based on the seeding experiments, food items implicated in norovirus-associated gastroenteritis outbreaks were subjected to the optimal procedure for a specific composition and matrix. No noroviruses were detected in the implicated food items, possibly because the concentration of virus on the food item was too low or because of the presence of inhibitory factors. For each food group, a specific procedure is optimal. Inhibitory factors should be controlled in these procedures because they influence virus detection in food

The course of hepatitis E virus infection in pigs after contact-infection and intravenous inoculation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Worldwide, hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 is observed in pigs and transmission to humans is implied. To be able to estimate public health risks from <it>e.g</it>. contact with pigs or consumption of pork products, the transmission routes and dynamics of infection should be identified. Hence, the course of HEV-infection in naturally infected pigs should be studied.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To resemble natural transmission, 24 HEV-susceptible pigs were infected either by one-to-one exposure to intravenously inoculated pigs (C1-pigs; n = 10), by one-to-one exposure to contact-infected pigs (C2-pigs: n = 7; C3-pigs: n = 5) or due to an unknown non-intravenous infection route (one C2-pig and one C3-pig). The course of HEV-infection for contact-infected pigs was characterized by: faecal HEV RNA excretion that started at day 7 (95% confidence interval: 5–10) postexposure and lasted 23 (19–28) days; viremia that started after 13 (8–17) days of faecal HEV RNA excretion and lasted 11 (8–13) days; antibody development that was detected after 13 (10–16) days of faecal HEV RNA excretion. The time until onset of faecal HEV RNA excretion and onset of viremia was significantly shorter for <it>iv</it>-pigs compared to contact-infected pigs, whereas the duration of faecal HEV RNA excretion was significantly longer. At 28 days postinfection HEV RNA was detected less frequently in organs of contact-infected pigs compared to <it>iv</it>-pigs. For contact-infected pigs, HEV RNA was detected in 20 of 39 muscle samples that were proxies for pork at retail and in 4 of 7 urine samples.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The course of infection differed between infection routes, suggesting that contact-infection could be a better model for natural transmission than <it>iv </it>inoculation. Urine and meat were identified as possible HEV-sources for pig-to-pig and pig-to-human HEV transmission.</p