Field blanks (bQF) and backup filters (quartzfiber behind quartz-fiber filter; QBQ) have been adopted by US long-term air quality monitoring networks to estimate PM2.5 organic carbon (OC) sampling artifacts. This study documents bQF and QBQ carbon levels for the: 1) Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE); 2) Speciation Trends Network (STN; part of the Chemical Speciat...

BACKGROUND Since air can play a central role as a reservoir for microorganisms, in controlled environments such as operating theatres regular microbial monitoring is useful to measure air quality and identify critical situations. The aim of this study is to assess microbial contamination levels in operating theatres using both an active and a passive sampling method and then to assess if there ...

A passive air sampler, using 4-amino-3-hydrazino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole, was evaluated for the determination of formaldehyde in indoor environments. Chromatography paper cleaned using a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution was experimentally determined as being the optimum absorption filter for the collection of formaldehyde (0.05 microg cm(-2) formaldehyde). From a linear-regression analysis betwe...

INTRODUCTION This study aimed to survey a total of five common human and veterinary antibiotics based on SPE-LC-MS-MS technology in a water treatment plant at central plateau of Iran. Also two sampling techniques, passive and grab samplings, were compared in the detection of selected antibiotics. MATERIALS AND METHODS In January to March 2012, grab and passive samples were taken from the infl...

The overall hypothesis of this research is that the use of passive samplers is an effective method to measure spatial and seasonal trends of atmospheric PCBs in an urban environment. In support of this, I extracted, analyzed and quantified congener specific concentrations from over 200 passive samples and over 200 active sampler, or Hi-Vols. I studied best practices for the use of methods to de...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to assess the level of air contamination with bacteria after surgical hydrodebridement and to determine the effectiveness of hydro surgery on bacterial reduction of a simulated infected wound. METHODS Four porcine samples were scored then infected with a broth culture containing a variety of organisms and incubated at 37 degrees C for 24 hours. The inf...

A passive sampler device for the kinetic accumulation of nitrate (NO3(-)) and phosphate (HPO4(2-)) in water was developed and calibrated. The sampler incorporates an ion-exchange disk as the receiving phase and selectively collects nitrate and phosphate at sampling rates of 197 ± 43 and 75 ± 12 mL per day, respectively. Minimum exposure times under nutrient rich and nutrient poor conditions wer...