A critical review on the current state of antimicrobial glove technologies: advances, challenges and future prospects.

Following recent viral outbreaks, there has been a significant increase in global demand for gloves. Biomedical research focuses increasingly on antimicrobial gloves to combat microbial transmission and hospital-acquired infections. Most antimicrobial gloves are manufactured using antimicrobial chemicals such as disinfectants, biocides and sanitizers. The design of antimicrobial gloves incorporates advanced technologies, including colloidal particles and nanomaterials, to enhance antimicrobial effectiveness. A category of antimicrobial gloves also explores and integrates natural antimicrobial benefits from animals, plants and micro-organisms. Many types of antimicrobial agents are available; however, it is crucial that the selected agent exhibits a broad spectrum of activity and is not susceptible to promoting resistance. Additionally, future research should focus on the potential effect of antimicrobial gloves on the skin microbiota and irritation during extended wear. Careful integration of the antimicrobial agent is essential to ensure optimal effectiveness without compromising the mechanical properties of the gloves.

Attenuating influenza a virus infection by heparin binding EGF-like growth factor.

Cell entry of influenza A virus (IAV) was reported to be promoted by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). On the other hand, binding of heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) to EGFR leads to internalisation and degradation of the receptors. This study aimed to testify whether or not HB-EGF-induced downregulation of EGFR could attenuate IAV cell entry and subsequently diminish the infection. Immunoblotting and plaque assay revealed that HB-EGF-induced degradation of EGFR led to reduction of viral matrix 1 protein level and suppressed virion production. In addition, immunoblotting and imaging flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that IAV-induced phosphorylation of STAT1 and its localisation to nucleus in the early stage of infection were inhibited by HB-EGF treatment. This suggested the potential of HB-EGF in modulating uncontrolled and exaggerated inflammatory response caused by IAV infection. Together these findings attest the potential of HB-EGF mediated endocytosis and degradation of EGFR as a novel anti-IAV strategy.

Jitter reduction using native fiducials in rotating mirror ultra-fast microphotography.

Rotating mirror cameras represent a workhorse technology for high speed imaging in the MHz framing regime. The technique requires that the target image be swept across a series of juxtaposed CCD sensors, via reflection from a rapidly rotating mirror. Employing multiple sensors in this fashion can lead to spatial jitter in the resultant video file, due to component misalignments along the individual optical paths to each CCD. Here, we highlight that static and dynamic fiducials can be exploited as an effective software-borne countermeasure to jitter, suppressing the standard deviation of the corrected file relative to the raw data by up to 88.5% maximally, and 66.5% on average over the available range of framing rates. Direct comparison with industry-standard algorithms demonstrated that our fiducial-based strategy is as effective at jitter reduction, but typically also leads to an aesthetically superior final form in the post-processed video files.

A low-voltage spark-discharge method for generation of consistent oscillating bubbles.

Underwater spark-discharge methods have been widely utilized for experimental studies in many fields such as material processing, water treatment, and cavitation bubble dynamics. However, the precise control of bubble size using this method has been difficult. This poses challenges to better understand the complex interactions of non-spherical cavitation bubble growth and collapse, which require fine and careful control of bubble size. A novel low-voltage (60.0 V) underwater spark-discharge method using a metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor is presented here. We are able to repeatedly generate oscillating bubbles of consistent maximum radius, a. The dependency of the total circuit resistance to spark-generated bubble size in this method is discussed.

Interaction of a spark-generated bubble with a rubber beam: numerical and experimental study.

In this paper, the physical behaviors of the interaction between a spark-generated bubble and a rubber beam are studied. Both numerical and experimental approaches are employed to investigate the bubble collapse near the rubber beam (which acts as a flexible boundary) and the corresponding large deformation of the beam. Good agreement between the numerical simulations and experimental observations is achieved. The analysis reveals that the ratio of the bubble-beam distance to the maximum bubble radius influences the bubble evolution (from expansion to collapse) and the beam deformation. The stiffness of the beam plays an important role in the elastic beam response to bubble expansion and collapse. The effect of the vapor pressure on both bubble collapses and beam deflections is also examined. The results from this paper may provide physical insight into the complex physics of the bubble-rubber interaction. The understanding is possibly applicable in biomedicine for drug delivery to tissue, which is a soft material. It is also probably useful in the marine industry where ultrasonic bubbles are generated for the defouling of ship surfaces, which has been coated with an elastic material. There is also potential interest in underwater explosions near elastic structures.

Expression of glucose-6-phosphatase system genes in murine cortex and hypothalamus.

The glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) system participates in the regulation of glucose homeostasis by converting glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) into glucose and inorganic phosphates. We have used an RT-PCR-based cloning and sequencing approach to study the expression of components of the G6Pase system in the hypothalamus and cortex tissues of the ob/ob mouse. We observed the expression of hepatic G6Pase catalytic subunit, G6PC, in both tissues, although increased template inputs were required for its detection. Conversely, expression of both the mouse homologue of the previously-described brain-specific G6P translocase T1 (G6PT1) variant and of the hepatic G6PT1 isoform was easily detectable in hypothalamus and cortex tissues. Of the proposed G6Pase catalytic subunit homologues, the expression of murine ubiquitous G6Pase catalytic subunit-related protein (UGRP, G6PC3) was also easily detectable in both tissues. However, islet-specific G6Pase catalytic subunit-related protein (IGRP, G6PC2) was expressed in a tissue-specific manner, and was detectable only in hypothalamus tissue at increased template inputs. We conclude that cells within ob/ob mouse hypothalamus and cortex tissues express genes with either established or proposed roles in G6P hydrolysis.

A 1-hour hCG radioimmunoassay detection kit for the management of suspected ectopic pregnancy.

The value of a rapid hCG kit was assessed in 60 patients undergoing laparoscopy or laparotomy for suspected ectopic pregnancy, of whom 30 were subsequently proven to be pregnant. A high degree of specificity (93%) and sensitivity (97%) was found, with one false-negative and three false-positive results. If the kit had been used as a routine on admission three patients would not have been inadvertently discharged before the diagnosis of tubal pregnancy and 27 could have avoided a laparoscopy to exclude tubal pregnancy.