This paper describes current progress in the development of a robot for locating patches of chemical deposited on the ground. It is envisaged that this form of chemical location will be useful for such tasks as verifying the effectiveness of decontamination and finding spills of nonvolatile chemicals. In many cases the approximate location of the chemical is known and the search extends outward...

To address the Defense Department's need for safe, effective protection against biological warfare agents (BWA's), natural products with a historical record of bactericidal efficacy such as bacteriocins, biosurfactants, lytic enzymes and essential oils or their active components were tested against non-pathogenic Bacillus anthracis and the plague pathogen surrogate Yersinia intermedia. Unlike t...

Introduction: Exposure to toxic fumes from an industrial chemical fire may not only lead airway burns and inhalational injury but also exposure via the transdermal route. Method: A 45-year-old gentleman presented with dyspnea two hours after a ten-minute while fighting without personal protective equipment. He reported voice hoarseness chest tightness. Nasoendoscopy demonstrated paranasal sinus...

INTRODUCTION During hygienic-microbiological monitoring of the water quality in dental units, the total bacterial colony count was found to exceed the limits for drinking water quality; in addition, mold contamination was detected. The presumed cause was irregular decontamination of the units through purging and intensive decontamination. METHODS To decontaminate the units, the manufacturer's...

The microbial ecology in the human digestive tract is diverse and here environmental triggers, immune signals and genetic susceptibility can affect the human host’s response to infection [1]. Selective decontamination has emerged as a potential treatment for patients at high risk of infection such as those; in the critical care environments, undergoing invasive surgical operations, or with sign...

Filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) are recommended for use as precautions against airborne pathogenic microorganisms; however, during pandemics demand for FFRs may far exceed availability. Reuse of FFRs following decontamination has been proposed but few reported studies have addressed the feasibility. Concerns regarding biocidal efficacy, respirator performance post decontamination, decont...