The isolation wards, institutional quarantine centers, and home quarantine are generating a huge amount of bio-medical waste (BMW) worldwide since the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease-2019 ...(COVID-19). The personal protective equipment, testing kits, surgical facemasks, and nitrile gloves are the major contributors to waste volume. Discharge of a new category of BMW (COVID-waste) is of great global concern to public health and environmental sustainability if handled inappropriately. It may cause exponential spreading of this fatal disease as waste acts as a vector for SARS-CoV-2, which survives up to 7 days on COVID-waste (like facemasks). Proper disposal of COVID-waste is therefore immediately requires to lower the threat of pandemic spread and for sustainable management of the environmental hazards. Henceforth, in the present article, disinfection technologies for handling COVID-waste from its separate collection to various physical and chemical treatment steps have been reviewed. Furthermore, policy briefs on the global initiatives for COVID-waste management including the applications of different disinfection techniques have also been discussed with some potential examples effectively applied to reduce both health and environmental risks. This article can be of great significance to the strategy development for preventing/controlling the pandemic of similar episodes in the future.
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•New category of bio-medical waste has emerged after COVID-19 outbreak.•Disinfection of COVID-waste is necessary to control the mass spread of pandemic.•Effective management of COVID-waste is challenging to mitigate the health risks.•Policy briefs essence a combined approach by environmental and medical researchers.
This article discusses the artist, filmmaker, and writer Lana Lin’s “revisioning” of Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals (1980) to consider how the poetic encounter between two artists from different ...generations exemplifies the relational praxis that Lorde pursued throughout her life. In revealing the ways in which Lorde opens acoustic sensory spaces for contemporary readers and listeners of her work, I specifically focus on the political and aesthetic dynamic of recitation in Lin’s experimental documentary The Cancer Journals Revisited (2018). I trace how recitation becomes a coalitional practice of feminist chorus through which readers and listeners embody the sonorous space they co-create through and with Lorde. The article further looks into the ways Lin pairs recitation performance with visceral images of body parts on the screen to argue that the film’s visuals dwell in and extend the form of the chorus; which is to say, the film expands the meaning and practice of chorus beyond the realm of the sonic. The bodies on the screen extend the chorus, immersing the audience in a participatory rethinking of the experience of cancer (particularly breast cancer) not merely as an individual misfortune or an aesthetic concern. In adjoining textual, visual, and acoustic elements, Lin’s film provides a powerful transformative sensory environment, reverberating through the reciters and the audience.
This study proposes a technology that allows automatic extraction of vectorized indoor spatial information from raster images of floor plans. Automatic reconstruction of indoor spaces from floor ...plans is based on a deep learning algorithm, which trains on scanned floor plan images and extracts critical indoor elements such as room structures, junctions, walls, and openings. The newly developed technology proposed herein can handle complicated floor plans which could not be automatically extracted by previous studies because of its complexity and difficulty in being trained in deep learning. Such complicated reconstruction solely from a floor plan image can be digitized and vectorized either through manual drawing or with the help of newly developed deep learning-based automatic extraction. This study proposes an evaluation framework for assessing this newly developed technology against manual digitization. Using the analytical hierarchy process, the hierarchical aspects of technology value and their relative importance are systematically quantified. The analysis suggested that the automatic technology using a deep learning algorithm had predominant criteria followed by, substitutability, completeness, and supply and demand. In this study, the technology value of automatic floor plan analysis compared with that of traditional manual edits is compared systemically and assessed qualitatively, which had not been done in existing studies. Consequently, this study determines the effectiveness and usefulness of automatic floor plan analysis as a reasonable technology for acquiring indoor spatial information.
Recently, photothermal therapy has attracted attention as an alternative treatment to conventional surgical techniques because it does not lead to bleeding and patients quickly recover after ...treatment compared to incisional surgery. Photothermal therapy induces tumor cell death through an increase in the temperature using the photothermal effect, which converts light energy into thermal energy. This study was conducted to perform numerical analysis based on heat transfer to induce apoptosis of tumor tissue under various heating conditions in photothermal therapy. The Monte Carlo method was applied to evaluate a multi-layered skin structure containing squamous cell carcinoma. Tissue-equivalent phantom experiments verified the numerical model. Based on the effective apoptosis retention ratio, the numerical analysis results showed the quantitative correlation for the laser intensity, volume fraction of gold nanorods injected into the tumor, and cooling time. This study reveals optimal conditions for maximizing apoptosis within tumor tissue while minimizing thermal damage to surrounding tissues under various heating conditions. This approach may be useful as a standard treatment when performing photothermal therapy.
The aggregation of nanoplastics (NPs) is a key issue in understanding the dynamic nature of NPs in the environment. The aggregation of NPs under various environmental conditions has not yet been ...studied. We investigated the influences of inorganic ions and natural organic matter (NOM) on polystyrene (PS) NPs aggregation in solutions. Results showed that PS NPs remained stable in wide ionic strength solutions of NaCl (1–100 mM) and CaCl2 (0.1–15 mM), and only in low ionic strength FeCl3 solutions (0.01 mM). However, obvious PS NPs aggregation was observed in FeCl3 solutions with an increase in ionic strength (0.1 and 1 mM). Moreover, NOM had a negligible effect on PS NPs aggregation in all ionic strengths of NaCl and CaCl2 solutions and in low ionic strength FeCl3 solutions (0.01 mM). However, NOM reduced PS NPs aggregation in an intermediate ionic strength FeCl3 (0.1 mM) solution and increased aggregation in a high ionic strength FeCl3 (1 mM) solution. Based on the theoretical analysis of interaction forces among PS NPs, the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek force was a contributor governing PS NPs aggregation either in the absence or presence of NOM. In addition, other factors, including electrostatic heterogeneity of PS NPs surfaces, steric repulsion induced by NOM, and clusters formed via bridging effect in the presence of NOM also contributed to altered PS NPs aggregation under selected conditions. The PS NPs-NOM clusters were directly observed using a cryogenic scanning electron microscope.
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•Effects of inorganic ions and NOM on the aggregation of NPs were first studied.•High valence of ions is liable to induce NPs aggregation than low valence of ions.•Effect of NOM on NPs aggregation is dependent on specific solution conditions.•DLVO force is a contributor affecting the aggregation of NPs.•Cryo-SEM was used to directly observe the in-situ morphology of NPs in suspensions.
Despite the significance of destination branding in both academia and industry, literature on its conceptual development is limited. The current study aims to develop and test a theoretical model of ...destination branding, which integrates the concepts of the branding and destination image. The study suggests unique image as a new component of destination brand associations. It is proposed that the overall image of the destination (i.e., brand image) is a mediator between its brand associations (i.e., cognitive, affective, and unique image components) and tourists’ future behaviors (i.e., intentions to revisit and recommend). The results confirmed that overall image is influenced by three types of brand associations and is a critical mediator between brand associations and tourists’ future behaviors. In addition, unique image had the second largest impact on the overall image formation, following the cognitive evaluations.
Among the various anti-cancer treatments, photothermal therapy (PTT) is gaining traction as it is a non-invasive treatment. PTT is a treatment technique involving the use of a laser to raise the ...temperature of the target tumor until it dies. In this study, the effects of PTT under various conditions of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) occurring in the skin were numerically analyzed and optimized. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with different radii were injected into the center of the SCC. Subsequently, the diffusion behavior of the AuNPs was analyzed to calculate the distribution area of the AuNPs that changed over time. Furthermore, at each elapsed time point after injection, the temperature distribution in the tissue was calculated, as treatment was performed using varying laser intensities. The diffusion coefficient of AuNPs was calculated using the Stokes–Einstein equation, and diffusion behavior of AuNPs in biological tissues was analyzed using the convection–diffusion equation. Additionally, temperature distribution was analyzed using the Pennes bioheat equation. The effect of PTT under each condition was quantitatively analyzed using apoptotic variables. As a result, As the radius of AuNPs increased, the optimal treatment start time was derived as 2 h, 8 h, 8 h, and 12 h, respectively, and the laser intensity at that time was derived as 0.44 W, 0.46 W, 0.42 W, and 0.42 W, respectively. The study findings will provide reference for the optimization of the efficacy of PTT.
Due to increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation caused by increased outdoor activities, the incidence of skin cancer is increasing. Incision is the most typical method for treating skin cancer, ...and various treatments that can minimize the risks of incision surgery are being investigated. Among them, photothermal therapy is garnering attention because it does not cause bleeding and affords rapid recovery. In photothermal therapy, tumor death is induced via temperature increase. In this study, a numerical study based on heat transfer theory was conducted to investigate the death of squamous cell carcinoma located in the skin layer based on various shapes of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) used in photothermal therapy. The quantitative correlation between the conditions of various AuNPs and the laser intensity that yields the optimal photothermal treatment effect was derived using the effective apoptosis ratio. It was confirmed that optimal conditions exist for maximizing apoptosis within a tumor tissue and minimizing the thermal damage to surrounding normal tissues when using AuNPs under various conditions. Furthermore, it is envisioned that research result will be utilized as a standard for photothermal treatment in the future.
Particle‐larly good! Thermal annealing and etching of physical composite butyl‐capped Si gels and SiO2 nanoparticles at 900 °C under an Ar atmosphere is a versatile method for the formation of 3D ...porous bulk Si particles (see picture). Complete etching of the SiO2 from the SiO2/carbon‐coated Si (c‐Si) composite results in the retention of the remaining c‐Si as a highly porous but interconnected structure, which preserves the starting morphology.
Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) serve as a unique source for cell therapy. We investigated whether exosomes from iMSCs promote the proliferation of human ...keratinocytes (HaCaT) and human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). iPSCs were established from human Wharton's jelly MSCs and were allowed to differentiate into iMSCs. Exosomes were collected from the culture supernatant of MSCs (MSC-exo) and iMSCs (iMSC-exo), and their characteristics were investigated. Both exosome types possessed basic characteristics of exosomes and were taken up by skin cells in vitro and in vivo. A significant increase in HaCaT proliferation was observed with iMSC-exo, although both exosomes increased the viability and cell cycle progression in HaCaT and HDFs. No significant difference was observed in the closure of wound scratch and the expression of reparative genes between cells treated with the two exosome types. Both exosomes enhanced the secretion of collagen in HaCaT and HDFs; however, an increase in fibronectin level was observed only in HaCaT, and this effect was better with iMSC-exo treatment. Only iMSC-exo increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-1/2. Our results indicate that iMSC-exo promote the proliferation of skin cells by stimulating ERK1/2 and highlight the application of iMSCs for producing exosomes.
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