ORALS

SESSION: covid19WedPM2-R11	Guerrant International Symposium (2nd Intl Symp. on COVID-19/Infectious Diseases & their implications on Sustainable Development)
Wed. 29 Nov. 2023 / Room: DiscoRoom
Session Chairs: Hossein Khalili; Ranjan Ramasamy; Session Monitor: TBA

16:25: [covid19WedPM210] OS
AIR-CLENZ NOVEL EXHALED-AIR-CAPTURE-AND-PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR MULTI-OCCUPANT INDOOR VENUES
Anita Trajkovska-Broach¹ ; Ronald Blum² ; Stu Sheldon³ ; ¹Scientist/Consultant, CSI: Create. Solve. Innovate. LLC, Blacksburg, United States; ²Chairman/President, Atlanta, United States; ³CEO, Atlanta, United States;
Paper Id: 286 [Abstract]

HVAC systems and air purifiers in classrooms, offices, and most other indoor spaces have an inherent design flaw when tackling the challenge of capturing airborne pathogens, such as COVID, Influenza, RSV, common cold and others, that can spread airborne-transmitted diseases [1,2]. Both technologies pull the air from one location to another within the indoor space: depending on whether it is an HVAC system or an air purifier, the air is pulled to either an HVAC air return or that of an air intake of an air purifier, thus potentially infecting others [3]. This study presents a proprietary, multiple patent-protected Air-Clenz™ technology platform that efficiently and quickly captures and purifies the exhaled air from each indoor occupant (in the form of a breath, cough, sneeze), before it disperses in the room atmosphere, and releases the purified air back into the venue, all within 5 seconds. Air-Clenz™ technology can be either built into a computer monitor or laptop, or can be attached as a retrofit, aftermarket peripheral, to existing monitors and laptops. Moreover, Air-Clenz™ system for classroom desks has been developed, which permits seated students to easily see and correspond with their teachers, while the system quickly captures and cleans air exhaled by the students and the surrounding general room air and releases it back as clean air as 99%+ free of pathogens, dust, smoke and other pollutants. The Clean Air Changes per Hour (ACH) is increased over 300 % depending on the number of Air-Clenz™ units utilized in the indoor venue. For a classroom of 20 students and a teacher, for instance, the ACH increases from 3 (assumed this is provided with the existing classroom HVAC) to ACH ~ 10, which is well-above than the recommended ideal ACH ~ 6 by Harvard T.H. Chan Public School of Health. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model study proved that more than 95% of aerosols and droplets exhaled by the indoor occupants are being captured by the Air-Clenz™-enabled computer monitors, laptops or desks while the room noise level is below 35 dB. Air-Clenz™ technology is a versatile cost-effective platform that can lead to a significant reduction of the cross-infection risk in the current COVID-19 pandemic, but also a solution for minimizing any future airborne-transmitted diseases in confined multi-occupant indoor venues. Moreover, the exhaled-air-capturing-and-purification system enables better indoor air quality, which will result in better cognitive functions, performance, productivity, and happiness of the indoor occupants [4].

References:
[1] Wang C.C., Pratner K.A., Sznitman J., Jimenez J.L., Lakdawala S.S., Tufekci Z. and Marr L.C. 2021. Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses, Science 373, eabd9149.
[2] Allen J.G., and Ibrahim A.M. 2021. Indoor Air Changes and Potential Implications for SARS-CoV-2 Transmission, JAMA, 325(20): 2112-2113.
[3] Walkinshaw DS and Horstman RH (2023), Covid 19 and beyond: a procedure for HVAC systems to address infectious aerosol illness transmission. Front. Built Environ. 9:999126.
[4] Allen J. G., MacNaughton P., Satish U., Santanam S., Vallarino J., and Spengler J.D. 2015. Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers: A Controlled Exposure Study of Green and Conventional Office Environments, Environmental Health Perspectives, volume 124, number 6, 805.

SESSION: AdvancedMaterialsThuAM-R5	7th Intl Symposium on New & Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy, Environment, Health and Sustainable Development
Thu. 30 Nov. 2023 / Room: Heliconia
Session Chairs: Fernand Marquis; Session Monitor: TBA

12:00: [AdvancedMaterialsThuAM02] OS
SUSTAINABLE AND BIODEGRADABLE ADSORBENT MATERIALS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS
Anita Trajkovska-Broach¹ ; Anka Trajkovska Petkoska² ; ¹Scientist/Consultant, CSI: Create. Solve. Innovate. LLC, Blacksburg, United States; ²Full Professor, Veles, Macedonia (North Macedonia);
Paper Id: 239 [Abstract]

Air pollution is one of the largest health and environmental problems in the world. It is a treat for the human and animal health and is one of the leading risk factors for death. In fact, the air pollution is responsible for more than 6.5 million deaths each year globally [1].In this study, we are presenting sustainable and biodegradable materials, which can be used as sorbents for air pollutants, such as CO2, CO, CH4, NOx, SOx, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and others. The presented sorbent materials are composed of agricultural by-products in a network of fungal threads (mycelia), named My-Com™. My-Com™ composites can be easily made in any shape, form and size. Preliminary life-cycle assessments show negative CO2 emissions for the composite production, i.e. the material production uses CO2 from the environment to produce the “mycelium-wrapped” agricultural by-product composites [2]. My-Com™ composites in their original state, as well as the amine-functionalized My-Com™ composites efficiently adsorb the small-molecule environmental pollutants, viz. CO, CO2, CH4 and others [3]. The studies of the VOC-adsorption on My-Com™ materials are in progress. Overall, My-Com™ composites are promising sustainable materials for removing pollutants from the environment, and at the end of their use, when disposed, they are completely biodegradable. 

References:
[1] Air Pollution and Your Health (nih.gov)
[2] Achiya Livne et al., Fungal Mycelium Bio-Composite Acts as a CO2-Sink Building Material with Low Embodied Energy, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2022, 10, 37, 12099–12106
[3] Taekyoung Lee, Jaeyun Choi, Mycelium-composite panels for atmospheric particulate matter adsorption, Results in Materials 11 (2021) 100208

SESSION: AdvancedMaterialsThuAM-R5	7th Intl Symposium on New & Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy, Environment, Health and Sustainable Development
Thu. 30 Nov. 2023 / Room: Heliconia
Session Chairs: Fernand Marquis; Session Monitor: TBA

12:50: [AdvancedMaterialsThuAM04] OS
RECYCLABLE LEAD-FREE RADIATION SHIELDING MATERIALS WITH SUPERIOR PROTECTION AGAINST MEDICAL DIAGNOSTIC X RAYS
Anita Trajkovska-Broach¹ ; Melissa Agguini² ; Dave Arnold³ ; Leeann Fachko⁴ ; Andrew Skaggs⁵ ; ¹Scientist/Consultant, CSI: Create. Solve. Innovate. LLC, Blacksburg, United States; ²Vice President Marketing and Product Management, Newport News, United States; ³Product Development, Newport News, United States; ⁴CEO, Newport News, United States; ⁵VP Operations, Newport News, United States;
Paper Id: 285 [Abstract]

X rays are high-energy ionizing rays, which can cause severe damage to the human body if the proper protection is not in place. Traditionally, lead-containing radiation shielding materials have been used for protection of both, the patients and the operators, in medical X ray diagnostic and interventional settings. Lead is known to be a good X ray attenuation metal due to its high atomic number (Z), high density and low cost, but its weight and toxicity have prompted the search for light-weight and lead-free shielding materials [1, 2]. In this study, recyclable non-lead radiation shielding materials with superior protection in an extended range of diagnostic X ray energies from 50 to 150 kV are presented. The radiation protective materials consist of optimized elastomeric matrix filled with non-lead protective metal particles, such as antimony, bismuth, tungsten, barium, etc. Light-weight radiation shielding materials were made by selecting the proper combination of metals with certain Z, density and K-adsorption edge, and by optimizing their loading level, particle sizes and particle size distributions. The materials showed a superior attenuation level against primary and scatter X rays compared to competitive materials, as tested in a modified broad beam geometry (BBG*) according to the IEC 61331-1: 2014 standard [3]. The attenuation level of the presented lead-free materials is comparable to that of lead-containing shielding materials [4]. Moreover, the materials have improved mechanical properties, viz. tensile strength, toughness and elongation, which enable applications in various medical settings, such as protective aprons, caps, sleeves, vests, thyroid shields, drapes, blankets, and other protective garments. Lastly, but not least, the presented lead-free protective materials are recyclable and can be re-processed in the same manufacturing processes used for their original production.

References:
[1] Shahzad, K.; Kausar, A.; Manzoor, S.; Rakha, S.A.; Uzair, A.; Sajid, M.; Arif, A.; Khan, A.F.; Diallo, A.; Ahmad, I. Views on Radiation Shielding Efficiency of Polymeric Composites/ Nano-composites and Multi-Layered Materials: Current State and Advancements. Radiation 2023, 3, 1–20.
[2] Gilys, L.; Griškonis, E.; Griškevicius, P.; Adlien˙ e, D. Lead Free Multilayered Polymer Composites for Radiation Shielding. Polymers 2022, 14, 1696.
[3] H. Eder, H.; Schlattl, H. IEC 61331-1: A new setup for testing lead free X-ray protective clothing, Physica Medica 45 (2018) 6–11.
[4] Trajkovska-Petkoska, A. Assessment of the Protective Efficiency of Commercial Lead-Free Protective Materials Against Diagnostic X Rays, Materials (MDPI), 2023, in progress.

SESSION: MineralWedPM3-R7	Torem International Symposium (8th Intl. Symp. on Sustainable Mineral Processing)
Wed. 29 Nov. 2023 / Room: Sunflower
Session Chairs: Fernando Jose Gomes; Session Monitor: TBA

18:20: [MineralWedPM314] OS Keynote
RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEMS AND HEALTHY DIETARY PATTERNS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD - THE CASE OF MEDITERRANEAN DIET
Anka Trajkovska Petkoska¹ ; Anita Trajkovska-Broach² ; ¹Full Professor, Veles, Macedonia (North Macedonia); ²Scientist/Consultant, CSI: Create. Solve. Innovate. LLC, Blacksburg, United States;
Paper Id: 238 [Abstract]

The industrial development, globalization and increased population in the world have significantly affected the food production and food consumption in such ways that negatively impact the ecosystem and the health of the people. Most of the current food systems are not sustainable, nor resilient. Many households in the developed world do not cook their food, traditional cooking practices are vanishing from the family kitchens, and people are shifting towards ultra-processed ready-to-eat food choices with poor nutritional profiles. Regardless of the fact that there is plenty of food for consumption, these nutrient-poor food choices have become the number one cause of health issues in the modern world, such as obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic syndrome problems, as well as cancers and cardiovascular diseases, which is an enormous health and economic burden for every society. The developing countries are also facing the problem of “double burden” – a combination of under-nutrition and non-communicable diseases.Sustainable and resilient food systems can be the key factors towards a more sustainable planet and the well-being of all people. Such food systems offer not only reduced environmental pollution, but have the potential to end the hunger and yield healthier nations. A good representative of a resilient food system is the Mediterranean diet – an affordable diet with numerous science-backed health benefits, which is easily transferable to regions outside the Mediterranean basin. Mediterranean diet (MD) refers to the dietary patterns and the lifestyle habits of the people living around the Mediterranean Sea. MD is mainly a plant-based diet, which emphasizes abundant consumption of seasonal and local unprocessed (or minimally processed) fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, seeds, herbs and spices, followed by moderate consumption of fish, poultry, eggs, dairy and fermented products. Extra virgin olive oil is the main source of healthy fats, while the consumption of red meat products and products with refined sugars is low. The food is consumed together with family and friends, which along with the other social aspects and the sense of community are integral parts of the Mediterranean way of living. Numerous studies have associated the MD with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and others, but also have linked it to improved longevity and quality of life of the people who adhere to this diet.Due to its importance, MD was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010, where it is defined as “a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, and particularly the sharing and consumption of food”.In this study, different aspects of the MD will be considered with an emphasis on the nutrient-dense, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory character of the diet, which are responsible for the diet’s health benefits. The resiliency of the diet, which originally was “a diet of the poor”, its environmental impact and the potential this diet holds for the future of the mankind and the planet will be discussed, too.

References:
[1] 1. Trajkovska Petkoska and A. Trajkovska-Broach, Mediterranean Diet: A Nutrient-Packed Diet and a Healthy Lifestyle for a Sustainable World, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2020. DOI: 10.1002/JSFA.10907.
[2] 2. Trajkovska Petkoska, A.T. Broach, Sustainable food systems and healthy diets: the case of mediterranean diet, Acta hort regiotec, 24, (2): 110–118. 2021.
[3] 3. Trajkovska-Broach A. and Trajkovska Petkoska A. Mediterranean Diet Ingredients: Their Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Potential. Austin J Biotechnol Bioeng. 2021; 8(2): 1114.
[4] 4. Trajkovska-Broach A. and Trajkovska Petkoska A. Mediterranean Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants – Natural Therapeutics and Rich Sources of Bioactive Compounds, JSFA Reports, 2023.
[5] 5. Trajkovska Petkoska, Can We Solve the Problem of Global Syndemic? Mediterranean Diet as a Potential Solution, Acta Scientific Nutritional Health, 5.2 (2021): 137-145.