Tag Archives: pandemic

Label-free real-time tracking of individual bacterium

1 Reply

Images from the optical microscope showing the tracks of bacteria interacting with a surfaceAntimicrobial resistant (AMR) infections are already the third leading cause of death in the USA and are predicted to kill 50 million people per year by 2050.  It is the next pandemic starting already.  We have been using our capability to track nanoparticles in an optical microscope [see ‘Slow moving nanoparticles‘ on December 13th, 2017 and ‘Nano biomechanical engineering of agent delivery to cells‘ on December 15th, 2021] to track individual bacterium as they interact with surfaces to form biofilms.  Bacterial biofilms are complex colonies of bacteria that are highly resistant to antimicrobial agents and can cause life-threatening infections.  We have used our label-free, real-time tracking capabilities to explore the dynamics and adhesion of bacteria to surfaces and found that viable bacteria adhered to the surface but continue to move with rotary or sliding motions depending on the mechanics of their attachment to the surface.  Bacteria that were killed by contact with the surface did not move once they were attached to the surface.  The image shows examples of these motions from our paper published last month.  Our ability to detect these differences in the dynamics of bacteria will allow us to detect the onset of the formation of biofilms and to quantify the efficacy of antimicrobial surfaces and coatings.

Image: Figure 4 – Tracks (yellow lines) of the sections (purple circles) of four E. coli bacteria experiencing: (a) random diffusion above the surface; (b) rotary attachment; (c) lateral attachment; (d) static attachment. The dynamics of the four bacteria was monitored for approximately 20 s. The length of the scale bars is 5 μm. From Scientific Reports, 12:18146, 2022.

Source:

Giorgi F, Curran JM & Patterson EA, Real-time monitoring of the dynamics and interactions of bacteria and the early-stage formation of biofilms, Scientific Reports, 12:18146, 2022.

A sign of normality returning

Leave a reply

I am in the midst of marking examination scripts.  I have about two weeks to award a maximum of about 26,000 marks which is a huge number of decisions to make in a relatively short time [see ‘Depressed by exams‘ on January 31st 2018].  Although the pile of examination scripts is tall and the task can feel overwhelming, it represents a return to normality following the pandemic when we conducted on-line, open-book examinations [see ‘Limited bandwidth’ on June 2nd, 2021].  We have been teaching 100% on-campus for the whole semester and all of our examinations have returned to their pre-pandemic format, i.e., the majority have been in-person, closed-book and invigilated.  I have enjoyed teaching thermodynamics in a huge lecture-theatre filled with students and it is relief that I do not have to set examination questions whose answers cannot be found using a search engine or solved using a programme.  Anyway I need to pick up my red pen and return to my marking so only a brief post this week.

It is hard to remain positive

4 Replies

Frequent readers of this blog will have noticed that I am regular reader of the FT Weekend pages.  I particularly like the ‘Life & Arts’ section for its balance of opinion and reviews.  However, one weekend last month I was depressed by two articles I read in quick succession.  Shannon Vallor described life as an ageing roller coaster with failed brakes and ‘accelerating climate change, a deadly pandemic and unravelling global supply chains’.  While on the facing page Nilanjana Roy wrote that the ‘past few decades have brought humankind and most other species on Earth to the brink of destruction’.  I was depressed because I agree with their analysis and our leaders seem either unaware of the impending crash of the roller coaster or unable to construct a global strategy to avert the looming destruction.  However, spiralling into negativity does not help because negativity tends to promote fight-or-flight survival mechanisms that can lead to narrow-mindedness, a lack of creativity and limiting one’s options to the tried and tested actions which are unlikely to avert destruction.  Whereas a positive outlook broadens your repertoire of options and builds physical, social and psychological resources.  Positive psychological capital, associated with hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, leads to higher positive outcomes including commitment, successful outcomes, satisfaction and well-being.  In the face of apparently insurmountable challenges it is difficult to remain positive whether you are leading a small team, a department, an organisation or a country; nevertheless it is important to remain positive because research shows that the ‘happier and smarter’ approach works better than the ‘sadder but wiser’ style of leadership.  Of course, extreme positivity is usually delusional or irresponsible and can lead to complacency; so, you need to dodge that too.

Sources

Kelloway EK, Weigand H, McKee MC & Das H, 2013. Positive leadership and employee well-being. J. Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20(1), pp.107-117.

Nel T, Stander MW & Latif J. 2015, Investigating positive leadership, psychological empowerment, work engagement and satisfaction with life in a chemical industry. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 41(1):1243.

Nilanjana Roy, Lessons from 1971 for eco-activists today, in FT Weekend 9 October / 10 October 2021.

Shannon Vallor, Tech’s future shocks, in FT Weekend 9 October / 10 October 2021.

Youssef-Morgan CM, Luthans F. Positive leadership: Meaning and application across cultures. Organizational Dynamics 42:3:198–208, 2013

Too much of a good thing?

Leave a reply

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about ‘Our last DIMES’ meetings (on September 22nd, 2021).  They were hybrid meetings with about half the participants attending in person and the remainder on-line.  When the pandemic started we had to master the skill of conducting discussions via our laptops while sitting on our own.  Now, we are learning how to include everyone in a discussion when only half of the participants are in the physical room.  One of our first steps was to re-equip our meeting rooms with higher quality video conferencing facilities so that we can see and hear one another more clearly.  Unfortunately, our new equipment revealed the poor quality of the video clips we have produced during the DIMES project.  Nevertheless, if you have never been present during a wing-bend test or a fatigue test on a large composite panel then you might find these clips interesting (see also the video of ‘Noisy progressive failure of a composite panel’ on June 30th 2021).  We also produced an introductory video for the DIMES project which was to be first in a series of video shorts but the pandemic intervened and we have never been in the same place as our camera crew so we have not made anymore.  Maybe that’s a good thing because 500 hours of video are uploaded every minute to YouTube so you will not have time to watch our DIMES videos 😉.

For more short videos from our earlier projects see ‘Archive video footage from EU projects’ on June 5th, 2019.

The University of Liverpool is the coordinator of the DIMES project and the other partners are Empa, Dantec Dynamics GmbH and Strain Solutions Ltd.  Airbus is the topic manager on behalf of the Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking.

Logos of Clean Sky 2 and EUThe DIMES project has received funding from the Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 820951.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog post reflect only the author’s view and the Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.