by Linda Rawson | Apr 9, 2019 | Air Quality, Federal Government Contracting
GSA Schedule 66 Announcement
DynaGrace Enterprises, a WOSB, professional services company has been awarded the GSA Schedule 66 – Scientific Equipment and Services Schedule Contract. The first women-owned firm in Utah to be a vendor on that prestigious GSA schedule.
It’s more than DUST. The employee who works in a dusty environment is exposed to a deadlier form of dust, silica. The average person is also exposed to a massive amount of air pollution that you can see with the human eye. DynaGrace Enterprises helps people breathe cleaner air by providing products and services for monitoring respirable dust particles and visible emissions.
“This federal government contracting vehicle enables us to reach more occupational health and safety managers as well as those agencies concerned with worker safety and air quality regulation and compliance, “ stated Linda Rawson, President, and Founder of DynaGrace Enterprises.
The arduous process of getting the prestigious GSA schedule was made easier by utilizing the State of Utah’s, Governor’s Office of Economic Development program of offering a referral to LSI’s GSA consulting assistance from PTAC. Linda Rawson states, “LSI was another member of our team, and I consulted with them often to ensure I was answering the questions appropriately.”
The respirable dust products surround the Nanozen DustCount 8899, a real-time, wearable, respirable dust monitor. Instantaneous reporting makes compliance with OSHA Respirable Crystalline Silica
Master Sgt. Donnie Bogan saws cutting lines in concrete, licensed under the terms of the United States Government Work.
standard easy. The Nanozen DustCount 8899, a real-time, wearable, respirable dust monitor detects air particulates down to a microscopic level in real-time.
OSHA has recently changed the Respirable Crystalline Silica Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) to 50 mg/m3 for 8 hours and the Action Limit to 25 mg/m3. Employers need to evaluate and control the exposure limit for their employees.
One way to do that is to have a worker wear the DustCount, for 8 hours and obtain the Total Weight Average (TWA). The rugged DustCount fits into a vest pocket or clips on a belt. The results can be analyzed real-time and downloaded at the end of the shift. The filter is then sent to an AIHA approved lab to be analyzed for silica levels.
The second product line surrounds visible emissions and offers a Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) called Digital Opacity Compliance System (DOCS) by Virtual Technology LLC out of Arizona. The system can determine plume opacity from smoke, soot, and visible dust. Some of these are necessary, but the software helps determine how much is too much. The software ensures EPA Method 9 compliance and EPA Method 22 for the frequency of emissions.
Scientific professional services are also available including Data Security Analyst, Software Systems Engineer, Technical Writing and Editing, Technical Support and Visible Emission Consulting.
Linda Rawson passionately says “Let’s face it. We don’t want anybody years from now spitting a piece of their lung on the sidewalk from silicosis. We are deeply concerned about the air quality of the nation. We are concerned with the air people breathe both at work and in their daily lives and want to make sure the air is safer.”
Customers can learn more about DynaGrace Enterprises by visiting the company’s website at DynaGrace.com or by calling the company directly at 888-676-0058. DynaGrace Enterprises will be at the AIHA conference in the Nanozen booth #1502.
Read the official press release here -> DynaGrace Enterprises Awarded the GSA Schedule 66 – Scientific Equipment and Services
by Linda Rawson | Feb 25, 2019 | Business, Industrial Hygiene
DGE Announcement of Nanozen DustCount
DynaGrace Enterprises today announced that they are expanding their product line to include state-of-the-art technology to monitor air quality. The Nanozen DustCount 8899, a real-time, wearable, respirable dust monitor detects air particulates down to a microscopic level in real-time.
OSHA has recently changed the Respirable Crystalline Silica Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) to 50 mg/m3 for 8 hours and the Action Limit to 25 mg/m3.
Employers need to evaluate and control the exposure limit for their employees.
Related article: OSHA Publishes Silica Standard FAQ
One way to do that is to have a worker wear the DustCount, for 8 hours and obtain the Total Weight Average (TWA). The rugged DustCount fits into a vest pocket or clips on a belt. The results can be analyzed real-time and downloaded at the end of the shift. The filter is then sent to an AIHA approved lab to be analyzed for silica levels.
“A problem in the workforce is getting the worker to wear a mask while working in environments heavily laden with dust. The respirator masks are hot and uncomfortable and lower productivity in an industrial environment,” stated Linda Rawson, President, and CEO of DynaGrace Enterprises. “Determining what work processes have high exposure and requiring the worker to wear the mask only during those periods is a win-win scenario for both the employer and the worker.”
DynaGrace Enterprises accepted the opportunistic challenge from Nanozen because of their passion for Air Quality and the safety of the industrial worker.
Products, like the Nanozen DustCount 8899, are making a difference. In 2017 OSHA reported 45,800 fewer nonfatal injury and illness cases compared to the 2016 statistics reported by the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII). The CDC age-adjusted statistics report that the death rate for Silicosis during the period of 2005-2014, went from 1.65 Male, .03 Female, per million in 2005 down to .69 Male, .01 Female in 2014. The statistics should only get better because of the new OSHA standard.
Linda Rawson passionately says “Let’s face it. We don’t want anybody years from now spitting a piece of their lung on the sidewalk from silicosis.”
Customers can learn more about DynaGrace Enterprises by visiting the company’s website at DynaGrace.com or by calling the company directly at 888-676-0058. DynaGrace Enterprises will be at the AIHA conference in the Nanozen booth #1502.
Read the Press Release here ->DynaGrace Enterprises is Helping People Breathe Cleaner Air
by Linda Rawson | Feb 3, 2019 | General, Industrial Hygiene
For National Women Physician’s day, we choose to commemorate the success of Dr. Alice Hamilton. As consumers, we support a marketplace that allows us to acquire low-cost products quickly. Sometimes production of those consumer products comes at a human health cost. Alice Hamilton was a pioneer in the field of occupational health and safety. There is no individual, male or female, that was much more instrumental in making the worker and employer aware of the occupational health and wellness dangers and prospective dangers of the industrial workplace than Alice Hamilton.
Alice Hamilton in 1893, the year she graduated from medical school. PDH at Smithsonian Institution and en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons.
The Early Years
Alice Hamilton was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1869 into a family with privilege. Privilege did not make Alice Hamilton selfish, and she aspired to provide some type of useful service to the world. She wasn’t always the best student especially in reading and science but she studied hard and made up the deficit.
She earned her medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1893. In the 1890s, according to the census, there were about 4,500 female doctors in the United States. It was extremely unusual for a woman to be a doctor but Alice persevered.
Pioneering Industrial Hygiene
In 1897, Dr. Hamilton took a setting teaching pathology at Northwestern University’s Female’s Medical Institution in Chicago. In the “Windy City,” she came to be associated with Hull House, the world-famous settlement residence founded by Jane Addams in 1889. A settlement house brought the poor and the rich of society together in physical and social proximity. As higher education opened to women, young female graduates brought their energy to the settlement movement. She lived there for 22 years.
Deeply devoted to her work at Hull House, Dr. Hamilton additionally took on investigations of typhoid high temperature, tuberculosis and drug abuse in Chicago. In 1908, she was assigned to the Illinois Compensation of Occupational Diseases as well as, in 1911, to the U.S. Division of Labor. It was then that she began a vigorous search of what she called “exploring the dangerous trades.”
In 1919, Hamilton became the very first woman professor, in ANY field, at Harvard Medical College, albeit on a part-time basis. New York times announced her appointment with the headline: “A Woman on Harvard Faculty—The Last Citadel Has Fallen—The Sex Has Come into Its Own.” Her rebuttal to this headline was:
“Yes, I am the first woman on the Harvard faculty—but not the first one who should have been appointed!”
Hamilton faced gender discrimination. She was continually excluded from social activities, could not enter the Harvard Union, could not attend the Faculty Club, and did not receive football tickets. The worst thing was Hamilton was not allowed to march in the university’s commencement ceremonies with her male faculty counterparts.
In 1925, Hamilton testified at a Public Health Service conference on the use of lead in gasoline. She warned of the danger it posed to people and the environment and especially children. Nevertheless, at the prompting of big business, leaded gasoline was allowed. By 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that 68 million children suffered toxic exposure from lead in leaded fuels over the previous 60 years.
Dr. Alice Hamilton, pioneer of occupational medicine in the United States. PDH at Smithsonian Institution and en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons.
Hamilton was the pioneer of occupational epidemiology and industrial hygiene. She created the specialized field of industrial medicine in the United States. Her findings from her research were well written and scientifically persuasive. Regarding her research, she influenced massive health reforms that changed laws and improved the health of workers.
Hamilton’s best-known research included studies on:
- Workers getting sick through contact with the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT).
- Steelworkers suffering carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Hatters suffering mercury poisoning which caused mental illness and spawned the phrase “mad as a hatter.”
- Jackhammer operators suffering debilitating hand conditions.
- Limestone cutters suffering spastic anemia also is known as “dead fingers.”
- Tombstone carvers suffering a high incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis.
- Matchstick factory workers suffering phosphorus necrosis of the jaw commonly called “phossy jaw.”
She uncovered the dangers in unsafe factories and workplaces with unconventional methods and fearlessly acting to become an advocate for a safe workplace in the industrial revolution. Up until her death in 1970, Hamilton continued to campaign for the health of all Americans, leaving an enduring, positive and long lasting mark on the public’s wellness.
We should all strive to emulate her talents in listening attentively to those that think they do not have a voice.
References
https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_137.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Hamilton
by Jennifer Remund | Dec 5, 2018 | General
Lego Tree for Morgan’s Hometown Festival of Trees
Year number two on donating a tree for the Annual Morgan’s Hometown Christmas and Festival of Trees. The Event was held on December 1st on the historical Commercial street, in Morgan, Utah. We decided this year to keep our tree Kid friendly. So we came up with some Lego Ideas, and it took off.
Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green were the colors we were looking for. It can be hard to find the correct Lego Yellow, and a plain blue, but we did it.
The Lego Movie and Batman Lego inspired the figurines featured on our tree.
I purchased the tree and started forming ideas on what to do for Lego. Google search brought me to perler beads. Google search also brought me some design ideas as well as I created my own.
Joker, Harley Quinn, and Emmett
Ornaments are hard to find. You can buy lego ornaments for about $20 each. But we did not want to spend that much per ornament. So I created my own. I ordered cube shaped ornaments and painted them yellow on the inside. Then I stuck on vinyl faces from Etsy.
Lego Ornaments Handmade
They turned out way cute!
Next, I wanted something to put around the tree. You cannot find a Tree Garland that is Lego Themed. So I purchase some metallic paper and cut it into strips to make a chain link.
Chain Link
Then I decided to do some lego shaped presents to go until the tree. Found boxes and I purchased ice cream cups and Solid color wrapping paper. Through trial and error created lego presents to go under the tree for a prop.
Presents!
Purchased more ornaments red, yellow, blue, and green and some tree toppers. Placed a Lego storage bin at the top. Here is the final Tree:
Final Tree
Our Tree sold for $160 that went towards families in need in our local Rural Community. The Festival of Trees raised a total 5,300 dollars. The Morgan Area Chamber uses the money to pays off School Lunch Balances, Power Bills, they send money to our local food pantry, as well as the giving tree located at Ridley’s.
We are happy to be a part of such a great community and the Morgan Area Chamber. We love our small rural community and helping those in need when we can.
So Cute!
#ruralcommunity
#supportlocal
#morganshometown
#festivaloftrees
#morganchamber
#legotree
#legochristmastree
#legomovietree
by Payton | Dec 3, 2018 | General
Scientists isolated a new class of antibiotics from the soil bacterial species Eleftheria terra using a new form of technology called an iChip. This discovery opens the doors to many other breakthroughs in healthcare technology. It is highly effective, therefore it is extremely proficient in destroying all resistant strains of bacteria. Furthermore, it can provide an alternative avenue of antibiotics for individuals who are allergic or unable to take the current medication.
Effectiveness
Furthermore, scientists tested Teixobactin has against pathogenic strands of Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, Streptococcus pneumonia, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Clostridium difficile, and Bacillus anthracis. They accomplished this by giving each of the representative strains of bacteria a single dose of the Teixobactin. These experiments concluded that no resistant bacteria remained in every species tested. Additionally, more studies have shown that it also decreased the pathogenic cell density in septic MRSA infections and pneumococcal pneumonia.
How Does it Work?
The chemical antibiotic, termed Teixobactin, inhibits bacterial wall formation by inhibiting the synthesis of its main component, peptidoglycan. Teixobactin does this by binding to specific molecules called lipid I and lipid II. These molecules serve as precursors to peptidoglycan and teichoic acid respectively. It is therefore primarily active against Gram-positive strains of bacteria and is projected to not affect Gram-negative strains because of their different exterior anatomy.
Antibiotics
In addition, antibiotics have been a significant concern in the medical community for years. The increased frequency of antibiotic use has led to the development of resistant bacteria strains and diminished the efficacy of the antibiotic. Therefore, researchers are always in search of new antibiotic agents, such as Teixobactin, that could potentially be effective against pathogenic bacterial strains without creating more resistant strains. They addressed this by isolating the antibacterial chemical, Teixobactin, and placing it in growths of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria species. It proved ineffective against the Gram-negative strains. However, the antimicrobial proved effective against all Gram-positive strains. Moreover, further testing found this approach to be valid with conclusive data that showed that diminished resistant strains in any of the original bacterial cultures.
Potential
Furthermore, Teixobactin introduces a new possibility of antibiotic medication into the healthcare system. Penicillin is the most commonly used antibiotic today. The frequent use of it not only creates resistant strains, but it also inhibits those who are allergic to it because they are unable to take advantage of the antibiotic when they suffer from an infection from common pathogenic bacterial species. The introduction of a new antimicrobial would allow people who are allergic to Penicillin to have alternative medicines that are effective against common pathogens.
For more information, visit our website https://dynagrace.com/.
Resources: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14098/figures/11, https://academic.oup.com/jac/article/70/10/2679/830198, https://newatlas.com/new-novel-antibiotic-success-animal-testing/53943/, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28770988, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171106112241.htm, https://phys.org/news/2017-06-scientists-closer-defeating-superbugs-teixobactin.html, https://aac.asm.org/content/60/11/6510
Picture Resources: Featured Image: https://pixabay.com/en/addiction-antibiotic-capsule-care-71574/, https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/File:Gram_Stain_Anthrax.jpg, https://pixabay.com/en/thermometer-headache-pain-pills-1539191/, https://pixabay.com/en/antibiotics-asia-baby-the-bacteria-1782433/
by Payton | Nov 25, 2018 | General
Have you ever given up on love and resorted to getting a dog because they understand you best? We’ve all been there. What’s impressive is that the compatibility between man and dog goes beyond puppy eyes. Scientists have sequenced the dog genome and found a large number of genetic similarities to the human genome.
What is a Genome?
A genome is all the DNA sequences in an organism. The DNA serves as a blueprint that creates a specific organism. Essentially, your DNA and my DNA specify that we are humans; while my pet dog’s DNA makes him a dog. With the large variety of species on earth, one would think that the DNA would vary significantly from one species to another. That is not the case. Many species DNA is more than 90% identical! For example, chimpanzees are 98% identical to humans and mice are 93% identical to humans.
Exons and Introns
With a so much identical DNA, why don’t we look more similar? This phenomenon occurs because, even though we have a lot of similar DNA, it is not all used. There are large portions of DNA that do not code for anything that we know of yet. These portions are called introns. The parts that are used are called exons. These exons are used to make proteins that compose the entire body. Therefore, a lot of genetic similarities are found in the intron regions, while the exons make us all look different.
Recent Studies
Scientists have successfully sequenced the entire dog genome through a method called shotgun sequencing. This method involves blasting the DNA into small parts, much like how a shotgun blasts things apart, then sequencing each fragment. Afterward, they use the overlapping regions to put the pieces back together much like how you would put together a puzzle. Scientists commonly utilize this method because it is a quick and efficient solution to sequencing large genomes. Through this, they found that the dog genome is 93% identical to the human genome. This discovery is important because it allows us to see the genetic differences and similarities between different dog species as well as in humans. It also allows us to identify specific parts in DNA that are responsible for specific traits and diseases that are common in both species.
For more information, visit our website https://dynagrace.com/.
Resources: https://research.nhgri.nih.gov/dog_genome/, https://genetics.thetech.org/ask-a-geneticist/dog-vs-human-dna, https://genome.cshlp.org/content/15/12/1706.full, https://www.genome.gov/25019917/the-power-of-comparison-unleashing-the-dog-genome/, https://education.seattlepi.com/animals-share-human-dna-sequences-6693.html
Image Resources: Featured Image: https://pixabay.com/en/dog-friendship-nature-trust-1861839/, https://pixabay.com/en/puppy-dog-pet-animal-cute-white-1903313/, https://pixabay.com/en/dna-string-biology-3d-1811955/, https://pixabay.com/en/dog-trainer-silhouettes-sunset-659856/
