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Lymphoscintigraphy
Published in Michael Ljungberg, Handbook of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging for Physicists, 2022
Rimma Axelsson, Maria Holstensson, Ulrika Estenberg
During an SLN surgery procedure, certain equipment used in the handling of radioactive tissues and materials such as absorptive surgical sponges might present measurable contamination. The probability of material becoming contaminated is higher in the vicinity of the injection site. It is advisable to monitor surgery equipment and materials for contamination. Although the material presents a negligible contamination hazard, they constitute radioactive clinical waste and need to be handled as such as per institutional radiation safety procedures. The waste will also be a biohazard and should be handled accordingly. Personnel not accustomed to dealing with radioactive materials should undergo education as to safe handling and disposal of radioactive waste. Educating surgical and pathologist staff in radiation safety can also reassure concerned individuals and ensure appropriate processing of radioactive tissues [31, 33, 34].
Safety in the Laboratory
Published in Niel T. Constantine, Johnny D. Callahan, Douglas M. Watts, Retroviral Testing, 2020
Niel T. Constantine, Johnny D. Callahan, Douglas M. Watts
Common sense safety practices are the principal means by which laboratory personnel can avoid infection from biohazards. Brown and Blackwell may have expressed the current biosafety situation most accurately by saying, “Gloves and skill are all that stand between laboratorians and the viral, bacterial, and infectious agents they handle all day.” A safe working environment in the laboratory can be maintained by instituting biosafety practices that also include careful measures for personal hygiene, for cleanliness in the work space, and for proper handling of biohazardous materials. An understanding of these necessities and an awareness of potential biohazards while performing laboratory duties will help to prevent accidents, injury, and infection.
Case studies (2006–2020)
Published in Stephen Verderber, Ben J. Refuerzo, Innovations in Hospice Architecture, 2019
Stephen Verderber, Ben J. Refuerzo
The hospice is ecologically sustainable, in day to day operations, with renewable energy systems and waste management best practices, minimizing its carbon footprint. It was of high priority to maintain the sanctity of the nearby Ganges River and its mountainous foothills (Figures 6.7.1 and 6.7.2). The hospice teamed with the Rishikesh-based organization Clean Himalaya. Clean Himalaya provides educational guidance in the field of waste management and as a result the hospice segregates its wastes at their source: organic waste is composted with the option of a bio-gas system whereby kitchen waste is converted to fuel for cooking. Biohazard medical waste is remediated on-site as well. To minimize air pollution, no waste, organic or otherwise, is burnt on-site and the use of plastic and deposable plastic is eschewed; the emphasis is on local sourcing of supplies produced from recycled materials. Its wastewater treatment system does not require electrical or chemical intervention, as treated black and grey wastewater feeds the hospice’s therapeutic gardens.
COVID-19: ensuring our medical equipment can meet the challenge
Published in Expert Review of Medical Devices, 2020
Francesco Garzotto, Erica Ceresola, Sofia Panagiotakopoulou, Giovanni Spina, Francesca Menotto, Marco Benozzi, Maurizio Casarotto, Corrado Lanera, Maria Giuseppina Bonavina, Dario Gregori, Gaudenzio Meneghesso, Giuseppe Opocher
The availability of essential medical equipments to support patients affected by Covid-19 is globally limited. Our data on the ICUs load confirms the enormous pressure they will be under. Our review on the measures taken by countries to address this criticality, highlights the limited availability of dedicated actions. Furthermore, there is no link between them, discouraging a wide action. A globally harmonized regulation for the most useful medical devices for coronavirus patients can standardize their production and thus ensure compliance with all national legislation. Furthermore, a guideline on how to handle medical equipments under the Covid-19 emergency, as done by WHO for the management of patients, is of upmost necessary, leaving room for dangerous actions. In this exceptional situation scientist and technology experts in collaboration with medical specialists should work together to re-assess the risks analysis [24] on medical equipment management and their use (and re-use) in a biohazard context with the aim to improve the global health care Every effort must be made to provide the necessary devices at least with the minimum acceptable performances for Covid-19 patients while maintaining a high standard of safety for users. Predicting when and where exactly to allocate these resources with the current knowledge of the disease is a challenge. Demand mitigation can currently only occur when early and appropriate virus containment measures are provided, followed by a rapid and effective response in handling positive cases.
The senseless orphanage of Chagas disease
Published in Expert Opinion on Orphan Drugs, 2019
Cristina Alonso-Vega, Irene Losada-Galván, María-Jesus Pinazo, Javier Sancho Mas, Joaquim Gascón Brustenga, Julio Alonso-Padilla
Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is a systemic parasitic disease caused by the flagellated protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi). The infection is transmitted in the feces of infected hematophagous vectors such as Triatoma infestans, that, upon a bloodmeal, defecate near the bite site or near mucosal tissue [1]. Parasites in the feces will then gain access to the bloodstream through micro-injuries caused by scratching the bite site or through the mucosa [2]. Oral transmission due to the ingestion of parasite-contaminated food or drink has been documented as well [3,4]. Vector-independent transmission routes such as blood transfusion, organ transplant, and congenital have been described too [1]. Another possible route of infection can occur in case of a biohazard incident in the laboratory upon manipulating parasite containing samples [5].
Chemometrics based on the mineral content as a tool for the assessment of the pollution of top soils
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2019
Strahinja Simonović, Dragana Sejmanović, Ružica Micić, Biljana Arsić, Aleksandra Pavlović, Snežana Mitić, Anja Jokić, Aleksandar Valjarević, Aleksandar Micić
Mining and technology of refining ore in the territory of Kosovo, known as Balkan holy land, is dated from Middle Ages, thanks to the wealth of ores of Kosovo, and the advanced processing of silver and gold ore, and trade exchange throughout Western Europe (Blagojevic and Medakovic 2000). The contamination of soil due to heavy metals and health risks of inhabitants are also the consequences of war activities in Kosovo during 1999. Determination of trace metals as well as macro elements is important in toxicology in terms of binding positions at bioligands. The biohazard in soils is attributable to heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni, Cr, Zn, etc.). On the other hand, K, Ca, Mg are displacing metals, weakly bound electrostatistically on organic or inorganic sites. These cations have been widely employed for this purpose, generally at relatively high concentrations (Beckett 1989). In ideal systems, the relative exchangeability of trace metals is determined by the affinity of the exchanging cation for the solid soil phase. This affinity increases with increasing valency and decreasing radius of the hydrated cation. Although heterogeneous soil systems may deviate from this ideal behavior, the selectivity of soils for cations was frequently observed to increase according to Na < K < Mg < Ca. Consequently, under comparable conditions (e.g. concentration, extraction time, soil/solution ratio, the efficiency of cations to exchange trace metals usually increases according to Li < Na < K < Mg < Ca < Ba (Sposito 1989). As Mg is a harder Lewis acid than Ca, it was reported to displace also specifically adsorbed trace metals (Hlavay et al.2004).