Running out of time

I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz as she watches the red sand spill through the gigantic hour glass. Dorothy of course was in fear for her life if she didn't give up the ruby slippers. I, on the other hand, am lying in wait for the first contraction to start the whole process of labor and (finally) bring this child into the world.

In the meantime, I am driving myself and everyone else crazy (not purposefully of course) with my nesting stage. Everywhere I look I seem to find dust, something I never do. I mean I like things tidy but I am not a cleaning fanatic by any means. But now I'm washing clothes that I just put in the hamper (some of them don't even make it to the hamper) because I'm losing my mind! Unfortunately I cannot DO everything that I see that needs to be done and that is where I have to ask (or rather nag) my husband to help me. My sister has been a huge help as she is the cleaning fanatic in the family (and God bless her for it!).

I woke up quite a few times last night in pain and thought for sure today would be "D" day. I was wrong however so now I just get to wait some more! :P I am finding it more and more difficult to do everyday things. I can't stand up for too long so complicated meals are not an option.

My daughter has been teething for the past week and so the nights for me have been long as I try to comfort her through the pain. I recently tried teething tablets which seem to help but there are some doctors who don't agree with using them so I'm not sure yet if I'll continue. Thankfully she only complains of the pain at night which may be irritating to me but it's better than her complaining all day and being cranky. She has a great disposition so I would hate to see her in pain during the day as well.

Great news! My blog has been nominated for the Liebster Award by Bonnie Vesely! This award is for bloggers who have fewer than 200 subscribers, and one of the responsibilities for award recipients is to nominate five more bloggers, for each nomination received. I will post my nominees in my next blog.

Still no news on queries. I am waiting patiently as some of the agents have response times of 6 and 8 weeks. We will see soon enough.

As for the My Name is Not Bob April Platform Challenge... it is over! Yay! And although I wasn't able to complete every task it was a total win-win situation. I learned so much about social media platforms and made some wonderful and valuable friendships in the process. Since it's a continual learning process I will be posting anything new that I am working on in regards to platform building... including my web page... under construction at the moment but definitely in the works.

And now for the science portion of my blog... We are looking at a "plasma flashlight" that can destroy bacteria on the skin in seconds.

This type of portable device, created by a team of Australian and Chinese researchers, would be of use in hospitals, ambulances and on the battle field. It allows for penetration through layers of bacteria called biofilms that can be impenetrable at times. Biofilms are thick layers of bacteria, like what is normally found as plaque on our teeth, but these layers can also form in wounds halting the healing process.

The design is essentially a handheld plasma jet. The device was tested on one of the most antibiotic- and heat-resistant bacteria. The bacteria was grown in an incubator until it was approximately 25 micrometers thick (that's about 1/4th the thickness of a human hair) and 17 layers deep. Normally biofilms at this thickness are highly resistant and the high temperatures needed to kill them would burn our skin. The temperature of the plasma jet however is between 68-73 degrees F (20-23 degrees C), which is right around room temperature. Resistors on the device keep it from overheating so it is safe for use. After 5 minutes of flashing the biofilm from a 5 millimeter distance the very bottom layers of the biofilm had been penetrated. For smaller colonies or individual bacterium it could take less than a second.

The researchers are not quite sure how the antibacterial effect works using this device. They hypothesize that the plasma jet combined with the surrounding air could possibly create an environment much like our own immune system. The cost per unit will be around $100.

For more information:

link to the abstract in the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics http://iopscience.iop.org/0022-3727/45/16/165205

link to article in ScienceNow

Well that is all for now... I'll catch you next time on Fiction, Family and Science (maybe with an added member to the family!!).

Find and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Like me on my Facebook FanPage!