• Title/Summary/Keyword: science laboratory practices

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BSL2 Audit and Certification Program: An Effort to Harmonize and to Raise Standards in Both Laboratory Infrastructure and Biosafety Practices in Singapore

  • Tin, Tun;Lee, Kien Wah
    • Biomedical Science Letters
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    • v.22 no.3
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    • pp.65-74
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    • 2016
  • The critical aspects of biosafety and bio-containment have been increasingly important in recent years. Biological agents involved in biological research projects at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore are usually those with low risks. Biosafety level 2 or BSL 2 laboratories are widely used. However, biosafety measures which refer to the implementation of laboratory practices and procedures, specific construction features of laboratory facilities and safety equipment must be in place to reduce the exposure of laboratory personnel, the public or the environment to potentially infectious agents or other biological hazards. It is also required to pay more attention to laboratory-acquired infections (LAIs) which may occur in research laboratories, clinical laboratories or animal facilities. BSL 2 audit and certification program is implemented as an internal exercise covering laboratories in the university where biological agents are handled or biological research works are carried out. We have put some efforts to raise biosafety standards university-wide in both laboratory infrastructure and laboratory practices to a higher level. Common audit findings are briefly discussed in this presentation.

The Grey Box of Technoscientific Practices: Laboratory as a Heterotopic Space where In/visible Collaborations Take Place (과학적 실행의 회색상자(grey box): 비/가시적 협력의 헤테로토피아(heterotopia)로서의 실험실 공간)

  • Lee, June Seok
    • Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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    • v.13 no.1
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    • pp.1-39
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    • 2013
  • How would technoscientists collaborate in their technoscientific practices? Based on the ethnographic research done at NRI(Neuroscience Research Institute), this research shows how collaboration occurs in/outside the interdisciplinary laboratory. As previous studies show, collaboration makes researches possible that otherwise would have been impossible. Korean technoscientists who are situated in the scientific periphery, practice contextualized collaboration in their labs. These collaborations are invisible before opening the black box of the lab. But it acquires visibility after certain incidents such as collaborations, debates and discussions, malfunctioning of the instruments, and networking with other actors occur. These networks again become invisible after the certain incidents end. However these blackboxing and whiteboxing (opening the blackbox) processes occur simultaneously in various levels, it is almost impossible to identify them separately. In real technoscientific practices, blackboxing and whiteboxing do not occur distinctively. They almost always occur at the same time on multi-layered levels, hence forming the 'grey box' of technoscientific practices. Lastly, collaborations inside laboratory have in/visible features, because laboratories function as Foucauldian heterotopias.

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Poultry Coccidiosis-A Concurrent Overview on Etiology, Diagnostic Practices, and Preventive Measures

  • Nawarathne, Shan Randima;Yu, Myunghwan;Heo, Jung Min
    • Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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    • v.48 no.4
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    • pp.297-318
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    • 2021
  • Coccidiosis is a major parasitic disease in the poultry industry, with great economic implications worldwide. It is a ubiquitous protozoan infection caused by several species of the genus Eimeria (host-specific) that colonize and reproduce in the intestine of birds, ultimately altering the health and performance of the flock. At present, several methods are used to diagnose coccidiosis in poultry, including field and laboratory techniques (intestinal lesion scoring, oocyst counting in feces, and biochemical and molecular diagnosis). Traditionally, diagnosed flocks have been treated either by vaccination to improve the active immunity of the birds against coccidiosis or supplementation of prophylactic anticoccidials to ameliorate the deleterious effects of coccidiosis. However, these methods has certain drawbacks such as vaccine-induced coccidiosis, drug resistance, and residual drug accumulation in the host. Consequently, alternative safe anti-coccidial agents, including the use of phytogenic compounds, have been explored for preventing coccidiosis. Here, we provide a simple overview of the literature on poultry coccidiosis by focusing on the etiology, diagnostic practices, and preventive measures.

Uncertified Facility (BSL 2 plus): Its Journey through Life for Preparations and Setting up, Compliance with Biosafety Regulations, Implementation, and Registration of the Facility with the Ministry of Health, Singapore

  • Tun, Tin;Sim, Xander
    • Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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    • v.53 no.1
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    • pp.68-80
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    • 2021
  • An uncertified facility is a facility not certified, as defined in the Biological Agents and Toxins Act (BATA) in Singapore, but has met the requirements of the Ministry of Health to possess First and Fifth Schedule biological agents and toxins. This type of facility is also known as a Biosafety Level 2 Plus (BSL 2+) facility. Registration as an uncertified facility or a BSL 2+ facility requires a certain process and procedure to be sought with the Biosafety Branch of the ministry. This review, shares first-hand knowledge on the journey to achieving registration of the authors' facility. The procedure involved considerable preparation, setting up facility requirements, biosafety precautions, procedures and practices, and training and competence of laboratory users. The ministry conducted a thorough onsite facility audit to ensure that the facility requirements and biosafety procedures and practices were in place. It then issued an approval letter of possession for the first-time use of biological agents and registered the laboratory as an uncertified facility. The expectation is that the comprehensive information shared may be of great benefit to other facilities with similar interests.

Incidence and Causes of Sub-Clinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows on Smallholder and Large Scale Farms in Tropical Areas of Tanzania

  • Shem, M.N.;Malole, J.M.L.;Machangu, R.;Kurwijila, L.R.;Fujihara, T.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.372-377
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    • 2001
  • A study on the prevalence and causes of sub-clinical mastitis was conducted on ten smallholder and large-scale dairy farms in Morogoro urban and peri-urban areas. A total of 65 lactating cows were screened using the California Mastitis Test (CMT). Confirmatory tests used included; the direct microscopic somatic cell count (DMSCC), culture, bacteriological and biochemical tests. Structured questionnaires were used to collect information on management aspects. Results showed 62% and 4% cows as sub- clinical and clinical mastitis cases respectively. Levels of infection were higher on smallholder farms (75%) than on large-scale farms (25%). All tested cows had high cell counts (>500,000) per ml of milk. Incidences of mastitis were significantly (p<0.05) related to milking practices. The dominant bacterial isolates in the same order were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp, and Escherichia coli. Other organisms isolated included Pseudomonas spp and Klebsiella spp. It was concluded that the high rates of sub-clinical mastitis in the research area were mainly due to poor management and unhygienic milking practices.

Residues of Diazinon in Growing Chinese cabbage: A study Under Greenhouse Conditions

  • Khay, Sathya;El-Aty, A.M. Abd;Lim, Kye-Taek;Shim, Jae-Han
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.25 no.2
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    • pp.174-179
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    • 2006
  • Chinese cabbage, Braccica campestris has long been consumed as a staple food for Koreans in various forms of fresh, salted, and fermented Kimchi. Cultivation of the crop under greenhouse has become a general practices to fulfill its off-seasonal consumer's demand. However, agricultural practices of the crop have always accompanied with heavy applications of pesticides caused by severe outbreaks of diseases and pose under warm and humid circumferences. Since dissipation patterns of pesticide residues in/on the crop under greenhouse conditions ate quite different from those in the open-air, changes of diazinon, O,O-diethyl O-2-isopropyl-6-methylpyrimidin-4-yl phosphornthioate, in/on the Chinese cabbage applied by foliar spraying under greenhouse were studied. Diazinon 34% EC was applied with dilution of recommended and double dose to the crop. The shoots of crop were harvested immediately after this application and at regular intervals over a 10-day. After sample preparations, the diazinon residue was analyzed using gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector (GC/ECD). Initially deposited amount of the chemical in/on the crop right after applications with recommended and double doses were 8.3 and 15.2 mg/kg, respectively. The residue levels after 10 days of application were 0.03 and 0.09 mg/kg with 1.3 and 1.5 days of half-life in/on the crop, respectively. In consequent 10 days of pre-harvest interval (PHI) for diazinon EC formulation in/on Chinese cabbage under greenhouse condition was fulfill maximum residue level set by Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA, 0.1 mg/kg).

Biosafety Challenges for the Microbiology Laboratory

  • Montville, Thomas J.
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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    • 2005.06a
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    • pp.66-70
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    • 2005
  • Microbiology research must be conducted in a fashion that assures the health and well being of the researcher and the safety of the community. This lecture raises awareness of biosafety issues and discusses how the interaction of the pathogen being studied, the person conducting the research, and the practices being used can be manipulated to assure safety. The characterization of pathogens into Risk Groups, how these relate to Biosafety Levels, and the personal practices and laboratory design criteria associated with each Biosafety Level are explained. The importance of preventing or containing aerosols, limiting opportunities for cross-contamination, and taking a flexible multi-component approach to biosafety are emphasized.

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Biomedical Laboratory: Its Safety and Risk Management

  • Tun, Tin
    • Biomedical Science Letters
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    • v.23 no.3
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    • pp.155-160
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    • 2017
  • Biomedical laboratory is full of risks. Risk could be biological, chemical, radioactive, mechanical, physical, fire and electrical. All possible risks need to be identified, evaluated and controlled. A risk management system must be in place to prevent accident or loss of lives and to improve overall workplace safety and productivity. Safety in laboratory is a combination of appropriate risk management system, engineering controls and technical facilities, administrative controls and safety procedures and practices. Laboratory safety culture must be developed so that exposure to hazards for laboratory personnel, community and environment will be minimized or eliminated. In this review, importance of safety in a biomedical laboratory and risk management will be discussed.

Bovine Mastitis in Zebu and Crossbred Cattle under the Extensive Management System in Tanzania

  • Shem, M.N.;Mosha, F.A.;Machangu, R.;Kambarage, D.;Fujihara, T.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.15 no.5
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    • pp.751-756
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    • 2002
  • A study was carried out to evaluate the incidences and causes of bovine mastitis in Tanzanian shorthorn zebu (Bos indicus) in the traditional sector and crossbred cows (Bos taurus${\times}$Bos indicus) in the dairy ranching sector, both found under the extensive range management system. Management practices were evaluated through a survey study using structured questionnaires. A total of 120 lactating cows (60 cows from each sector) were screened for the disease using the California Mastitis Test (CMT). Confirmatory tests used for infected cows included; the Direct Microscopic Somatic Cell Count (DMSCC), culture, bacteriological and biochemical laboratory assays. Survey results showed that management practices were generally very poor in both sectors with 84% of the surveyed herds being kept and milked under very unhygienic environmental conditions. The level of infection was higher in the crossbred cows (5% clinical and 38.3% sub-clinical mastitis) and lower in the zebu cows with only sub-clinical mastitis (23.3%). Crossbred cows had (p<0.05) higher somatic cell counts than zebu cows. The four highest-ranking bacterial isolates in order of importance were Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae and Bacillus spp. It was concluded that bovine mastitis under the extensive management system in Tanzania was a result of poor management practices and that zebu cows were more resistant to the diseases than crossbred cows.

S-Nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) Alleviates Lead Toxicity in Soybean by Modulating ROS, Antioxidants and Metal Related Transcripts

  • Methela Nusrat Jahan;Islam Mohammad Shafiqul;Da-Sol Lee;Youn-Ji Woo;Bong-Gyu Mun;Byung-Wook Yun
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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    • 2023.04a
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    • pp.105-105
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    • 2023
  • Heavy metals, including lead (Pb) toxicity, are increasing in soil and are considered toxic in small amounts. Pb contamination is mainly caused by industrialization - smelting, mining. Agricultural practices - sewage sludge, pests and urban practices - lead paint. It can seriously damage and threaten crop growth. Pb can adversely affect plant growth and development by affecting the photosystem, cell membrane integrity, and excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)andsuperoxide(O2.-). NO is produced via enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants to scavenge ROS and lipid peroxidation substrates in terms of protecting cells from oxidative damage. Thus, NO improves ion homeostasis and confers resistance to metal stress. Our results here suggest that exogenous NO may aid in better growth under lead stress. These enhancements may be aided by NO's ability in sensing, signaling and stress tolerance in plants under heavy metal stress in combination with lead stress. Our results show that GSNO has a positive effect on soybean seedling growth in response to axillary pressure and that NO supplementation helps to reduce chlorophyll maturation and relative water content in leaves and roots following strong burst under lead stress. GSNO supplementation (200 µM and 100 µM) reduced compaction and approximated oxidative damage of MDA, proline and H2O2. Under plant tension, a distorted appearance was found in the relief of oxidative damage by ROS scavenging by GSNO application. In summary, modulation of these NO, PCS and prolongation of metal past reversing GSNO application confirms the detoxification of ROS induced by toxic metal rates in soybean. In summary, these NO, PCS and metal traditionally sustained rates of reverse GSNO application confirm the detoxification of ROS induced by toxic metal rates in soybean.

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