Tag: aerosol droplets

Nanofiber Face Masks Improve Filtration Efficiency, Need Replacing More Often

sarah JonasResearch Results

Innovations to improve mask efficacy, with increasing focus on nanofiber manufacturing, have resulted in higher filtration efficiency, greater comfort, and easier breathing capacity. However, the effects of microwater droplets on the integrity of nanofibers are relatively unclear. In Physics of Fluids, researchers examine these ambiguities through a visualization of nanofibers interacting with water aerosol exposure. They used high-speed microscopic videos to systematically visualize the evolution of nanofibers with different contact angles, diameters, and mesh sizes under water aerosol exposure.

Normal Breathing Sends Saliva Droplets 7 Feet; Masks Shorten This

sarah JonasResearch Results

The WHO and the CDC recommend keeping a certain distance between people to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These social distancing recommendations are estimated from a variety of studies, but further research about the precise mechanism of virus transport is still needed. In Physics of Fluids, researchers demonstrate normal breathing indoors without a mask can transport saliva droplets capable of carrying virus particles to a distance of 2.2 meters in a matter of 90 seconds.

Women had “alarmingly high rates” of mental health problems during start of the pandemic

sarah JonasResearch Results

With research increasingly showing the COVID-19 virus is transmissible via smaller droplets suspended in air, there is growing concern current guidelines of mask wearing and social distancing are insufficient in indoor environments where people tend to be in close quarters. In AIP Advances, researchers in India show social distancing is equally as important as mask wearing when people indoors are just breathing or participating in normal conversation, even when there is no risk of coughing or sneezing.

Strategic Air Purifier Placement Reduces Virus Spread Within Music Classrooms

sarah JonasResearch Results

The University of Minnesota School of Music was concerned about one-on-one teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and wondered if it should supplement its ventilation system with portable HEPA air purifiers. So, school officials reached out to Suo Yang, a professor within the College of Science and Engineering, and his team to figure it out. In Physics of Fluids, Yang and the researchers describe their work to predict how virus particles spread within a music classroom.

Hand-Held Device Measures Aerosols for Coronavirus Risk Assessment

sarah JonasResearch Results

Understanding aerosol concentrations and persistence in public spaces can help determine infection risks. However, measuring these concentrations is difficult, requiring specialized personnel and equipment. Now, researchers demonstrate that a commercial hand-held particle counter can be used for this purpose and help determine the impacts of risk-reducing measures, like ventilation improvements. They describe the quick and easy, portable process in the journal Physics of Fluids.

The Mask Matters: How Masks Affect Airflow, Protection Effectiveness

sarah JonasResearch Results

Even though it has been widely known that wearing a face mask will help mitigate the community spread of COVID-19, less is known regarding the specific effectiveness of masks in reducing the viral load in the respiratory tracts of those wearing them. In Physics of Fluids, researchers examined the effect of wearing a three-layer surgical mask on inspiratory airflows and the mask’s effects on the inhalation and deposition of ambient particles in the upper respiratory airways.

Aerosol Microdroplets Inefficient Carriers Of COVID-19 Virus

sarah JonasResearch Results

Aerosol microdroplets do not appear to be extremely efficient at spreading the virus that leads to COVID-19. While the lingering microdroplets are certainly not risk-free, due to their small size they contain less virus than the larger droplets that are produced when someone coughs, speaks, or sneezes directly on us, said researchers at the University of Amsterdam’s Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute. The results were published in Physics of Fluids.

Signatory to letter to WHO focused on understanding virus transmission by aerosols

sarah JonasExpert Pitch

On Monday, more than 230 scientists from around the world declared “It’s time to address airborne transmission of COVID-19.”In a letter signed by Washington University in St. Louis faculty and published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, directed toward “Most public health organizations, including the World Health Organization,” the scientists urged that public health organizations need to make recommendations beyond hand washing and mask-wearing.