Frequency of instrument, environment, and laboratory technologist contamination during routine diagnostic testing of infectious specimens

ABSTRACT Laboratory testing to support the care of patients with highly infectious diseases may pose a risk for laboratory workers. However, data on the risk of virus transmission during routine laboratory testing conducted using standard personal protective equipment (PPE) are sparse. Our objective was to measure laboratory contamination during routine analysis of patient specimens. Remnant specimens were spiked with the nonpathogenic bacteriophage MS2 at 1.0 × 10 7 PFU/ml, and contamination was assessed using reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) for MS2. Specimen containers were exteriorly coated with a fluorescent powder to enable the visualization of gross contamination using UV light. Testing was performed by two experienced laboratory technologists using standard laboratory PPE and sample-to-answer instrumentation. Fluorescence was noted on the gloves, bare hands, and laboratory coat cuffs of the laboratory technologist in 36/36 (100%), 13/36 (36%), and 4/36 (11%) tests performed, respectively. Fluorescence was observed in the biosafety cabinet (BSC) in 8/36 (22%) tests, on test cartridges/devices in 14/32 (44%) tests, and on testing accessory items in 29/32 (91%) tests. Fluorescence was not observed on or in laboratory instrumentation or adjacent surfaces. In contrast to fluorescence detection, MS2 detection was infrequent (3/286 instances [1%]) and occurred during test setup for the FilmArray instrument and on FilmArray accessory equipment. The information from this study may provide opportunities for the improvement of clinical laboratory safety practices so as to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission to laboratory workers. </jats:p

Spontaneous magnetization generated by spin, pulsating, and planar combustion synthesis

The motion of the high temperature front during combustion synthesis of ferrite materials generates residual magnetization in cylindrical product samples. The combustion wave created a current density of up to 10 A/cm2, which influenced the magnetization distribution. The measured peak magnetic field intensity was up to 8 mT. Qualitatively different magnetic field maps were generated in ferrite samples synthesized by different combustion modes. The average magnetization vector generated by either planar or pulsating combustion was oriented at a smaller angle with respect to the pellet axis ~f\u3c45°! than those generated by spin combustion ~60

Aging of polyurethane foam insulation in simulated refrigerator walls

Laboratory data are presented on the thermal conductivity of polyurethane foam insulation in composite test panels that simulate refrigerator walls. The test panels consisted of a steel skin, an ABS plastic liner, and a polyurethane foam core. Foam cores were produced with three different blowing agents (CFC-11, HCFC-141b, and a HCFC-142/22 blend). Periodic thermal measurements have been made on these panels over a three and one half year period in an effort to detect aging processes. Data obtained on foam encased in the panels were compared with measurements on thin foam slices that were removed from similar panels. The data show that the encapsulation of the foam in the solid boundary materials greatly reduces the aging rate. The plan is presented for a follow-on project that is being conducted on the aging of foams blown with HCFC-141b, HFC-134a, HFC-245fa, and cyclopentane

Laboratory test results on the thermal resistance of polyisocyanurate foamboard insulation blown with CFC-11 substitutes: A cooperative industry/government project

The fully halogenated chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFC-11 and CFC-12) are used as blowing agents for foam insulations for building and appliance applications. The thermal resistance per unit thickness of these insulations is greater than that of other commercially available insulations. Mandated reductions in the production of these chemicals may lead to less efficient substitutes and increase US energy consumption by one quad or more. This report describes laboratory thermal and aging tests on a set of industry-produced, experimental polyisocyanurate (PIR) laminate boardstock to evaluate the viability of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFSs) as alternative blowing agents to chlorofluorcarbon-11 (CFC-11). The PIR boards were blown with five gases: CFC-11, HCFC- 123, HCFC-141b, and 50/50 and 65/35 blends of HCFC-123/HCFC-141b. These HCFC gases have a lower ozone depletion potential than CFC-11 or CFC-12. Apparent thermal conductivity (k) was determined from 0 to 50{degrees}C. Results on the laminate boards provide an independent laboratory check on the increase in k observed for field exposure in the Roof Thermal Research Apparatus (RTRA). The measured laboratory increase in k was between 8 and 11% after a 240-d field exposure in the RTRA. Results are reported on a thin-specimen, aging procedure to establish the long-term thermal resistance of gas-filled foams. These thin specimens were planed from the industry-produced boardstock foams and aged at 75 and 150{degrees}F for up to 300 d. The resulting k-values were correlated with an exponential dependency on (diffusion coefficient {times} time){sup {1/2}}/thickness and provided diffusion coefficients for air components into, and blowing agent out of, the foam. This aging procedure was used to predict the five-year thermal resistivity of the foams. The thin-specimen aging procedure is supported with calculations by a computer model for aging of foams. 43 refs., 33 figs., 25 tabs

Evaluation of the NG-Test CARBA 5 lateral flow assay with an IMP-2-producing Morganella morganii and other Morganellaceae

An isolate of Morganella morganii (MMOR1) that tested susceptible to

Design and construction of the MicroBooNE Cosmic Ray Tagger system

The MicroBooNE detector utilizes a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) with an 85 t active mass to study neutrino interactions along the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab. With a deployment location near ground level, the detector records many cosmic muon tracks in each beam-related detector trigger that can be misidentified as signals of interest. To reduce these cosmogenic backgrounds, we have designed and constructed a TPC-external Cosmic Ray Tagger (CRT). This sub-system was developed by the Laboratory for High Energy Physics (LHEP), Albert Einstein center for fundamental physics, University of Bern. The system utilizes plastic scintillation modules to provide precise time and position information for TPC-traversing particles. Successful matching of TPC tracks and CRT data will allow us to reduce cosmogenic background and better characterize the light collection system and LArTPC data using cosmic muons. In this paper we describe the design and installation of the MicroBooNE CRT system and provide an overview of a series of tests done to verify the proper operation of the system and its components during installation, commissioning, and physics data-taking

Ionization Electron Signal Processing in Single Phase LArTPCs II. Data/Simulation Comparison and Performance in MicroBooNE

The single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) provides a large amount of detailed information in the form of fine-grained drifted ionization charge from particle traces. To fully utilize this information, the deposited charge must be accurately extracted from the raw digitized waveforms via a robust signal processing chain. Enabled by the ultra-low noise levels associated with cryogenic electronics in the MicroBooNE detector, the precise extraction of ionization charge from the induction wire planes in a single-phase LArTPC is qualitatively demonstrated on MicroBooNE data with event display images, and quantitatively demonstrated via waveform-level and track-level metrics. Improved performance of induction plane calorimetry is demonstrated through the agreement of extracted ionization charge measurements across different wire planes for various event topologies. In addition to the comprehensive waveform-level comparison of data and simulation, a calibration of the cryogenic electronics response is presented and solutions to various MicroBooNE-specific TPC issues are discussed. This work presents an important improvement in LArTPC signal processing, the foundation of reconstruction and therefore physics analyses in MicroBooNE.Comment: 54 pages, 36 figures; the first part of this work can be found at arXiv:1802.0870