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UrduNew Brunswick, N.J. (Nov. 23, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Donald W. Schaffner, a food microbiologist who has also studied handwashing for more than 20 years, is available for interviews on the science and benefits of handwashing during the COVID-19 pandemic and overall.…
Tag: Pandemic
Rush University System for Health joins national campaign to #MaskUp
100 of the nation’s top health care systems, representing thousands of hospitals in communities across the U.S., have come together with an urgent plea for all Americans — mask up, because wearing a facemask is our best chance at slowing the surging COVID-19 pandemic now.
UCLA Model Identifies Neighborhoods That Should Have Priority for Vaccine, Other COVID-19 Help
To help slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives, UCLA public health and urban planning experts have developed a predictive model that pinpoints which populations in which neighborhoods of Los Angeles County are most at risk of becoming infected.
Thanksgiving travel and hotel safety tips during the COVID-19 pandemic
It’s always a good idea to consider cleanliness and safety when traveling, especially around the holidays. But with COVID-19 cases spiking across the country, these concerns should be top of mind for anyone going anywhere for Thanksgiving. Sheryl Kline, professor…
Loneliness in Parkinson’s disease may lead to worsening of symptoms
Research from UCLA scientists and colleagues from other institutions finds that people with Parkinson’s disease who lack meaningful social interactions may be at an increased risk for severe symptoms related to the disease.
In a Pandemic, Migration Away from Dense Cities More Effective than Closing Borders
During the COVID-19 pandemic, closing national borders and borders between states and regions has been prevalent. But does it help? In a paper in Chaos, researchers decided to put this hypothesis to the test and discover if confinement and travels bans are really effective ways to limit the spread of a pandemic disease. Specifically, they focused on the movement of people from larger cities to smaller ones and tested the results of this one-way migration.
Seeking the Most Effective Polymers for Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment, like face masks and gowns, is generally made of polymers. But not much attention is typically given to the selection of polymers used beyond their physical properties. To help with the identification of materials that will bind to a virus and speed its inactivation for use in PPE, researchers have developed a high-throughput approach for analyzing the interactions between materials and viruslike particles. They report their method in the journal Biointerphases.
People Who Purchased Firearms During Pandemic More Likely to Be Suicidal
People who purchase a firearm during the pandemic are more likely to be suicidal than other firearm owners, according to a Rutgers study.
Exercised Over Nothing: Masks Don’t Impair Lung Function During Physical Activity
A team of American and Canadian researchers report that while they may feel uncomfortable, there is little empirical evidence that wearing a facemask significantly diminishes lung function, even when worn during heavy exercise.
Pfizer, Moderna news is promising, but billions are unlike to get COVID-19 vaccine for years
In just a week, both Moderna and Pfizer have announced that they have developed effective vaccines against COVID-19 — but how long will it be before everyone has access to them? According to Nicole Hassoun, professor of philosophy at Binghamton…
Massive dataset reveals which governments have best responded to COVID-19 pandemic
Are our political institutions up for the task of managing the COVID-19 pandemic and any possible future similar threats? A research team led by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York has compiled an extensive dataset tracking public health government responses to COVID-19 at national and subnational levels of government throughout the world.
Student Medical Records at UC San Diego Make Epic Change and a California First
UC San Diego was the first university in California to connect 40,000 student health records to the electronic health record platform of its top-ranked academic medical center, UC San Diego Health. The experience has created a model for other colleges.
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health-led Research Yields Strategies to Keep Pandemic Under Control With Fewer Restrictions on the Economy
An international team led by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researchers has developed and tested two strategies for sustaining economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic
Simple Cloth Masks Provide Significant Protection Against COVID-19 Transmission
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health research finds that even a simple cloth mask reduces the spread of COVID-19 respiratory droplets by 77 percent.
Dunkin’, March of Dimes Team Up to Bring Joy to Rush Children’s Hospital
Spider-Man made a surprise visit at Rush University Children’s Hospital on Tuesday as it celebrated “Superhero Day” to recognize the strength of young patients and their families.
Plasma Treatments Quickly Kill Coronavirus on Surfaces
Researchers from UCLA believe using plasma could promise a significant breakthrough in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. In Physics of Fluids, modeling conducted showed strains of the coronavirus on surfaces like metal, leather, and plastic were killed in as little as 30 seconds of treatment with argon-fed, cold atmospheric plasma. The researchers used an atmospheric pressure plasma jet they built with a 3D printer to spray surfaces that were treated with SARS-CoV-2 cultures.
Valves on N95 Masks Do Not Filter Exhaled Droplets
Matthew Staymates, fluid dynamicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is studying different mask types to determine which are the most effective at reducing disease transmission. In Physics of Fluids, he describes exploring the basic flow dynamics of N95 masks with or without exhalation valves. To do this, he generates stunning video from his schlieren imaging, a method to visualize the fluid flow away from the surface of an object, and light scattering.
If COVID-19 can’t foster political unity, what can?
Bitter fighting continues in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, even as President-elect Joe Biden urged unity in his victory speech Saturday night. Michael Macy, professor of sociology and information science at Cornell University and director of the Social…
Study: Remote learning adds pressure for teachers who work second shift as mothers
The transition to remote learning coupled with an unequal distribution of second-shift responsibilities has placed teachers who are also mothers under immense stress, according to new University at Buffalo research.
Alcohol Use Increases among People Living with HIV during Stay-at-home Order
Researchers at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans honed in on one population particularly at risk during the pandemic: people living with HIV with at-risk alcohol use. They surveyed 80 people living with HIV in Louisiana during that state’s stay-at-home order, recruiting participants from the ongoing longitudinal Aging in Louisiana: Immunosenescence, HIV and Socioenvironmental Factors-Exercise (ALIVE-Ex) study.
How the Pandemic Has Changed Our Exercise Habits in (Sometimes) Positive Ways
The health disruptions caused by COVID-19 reverberate even beyond those who have contracted SARS-CoV-2. As the pandemic triggers moves to limit contact and thus transmission, many have found their daily routines, including their exercise habits, changing. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends adults between 18 and 64 get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week. WHO identifies physical inactivity as the “fourth leading risk factor for global mortality” and attributes approximately 3.2 million deaths a year to insufficient physical activity.
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Stress Reduction Benefits of Exercise and Being Outdoors Following Election
New Brunswick, N.J. (Nov. 6, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Brandon L. Alderman is available for interviews on how being outdoors and exercise can reduce stress following the 2020 election and during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Time spent outdoors and…
Carbon pricing could prompt greener, smarter post-COVID recovery
As economies “build back better”, it may be an opportune time to introduce carbon pricing to tackle climate change while generating socioeconomic benefits.
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Experts Available for Media Inquiries on Election 2020 and Major Public Policy Issues
Professor Richard J. Jackson Dr. Richard Jackson serves as professor emeritus in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Jackson has held numerous leadership roles, including as the head of the California Department…
Mammoth “big memory” computing cluster to aid in COVID-19 research
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and its partners AMD, Supermicro and Cornelis Networks have installed a new high performance computing (HPC) cluster with memory and data storage capabilities optimized for data-intensive COVID-19 research and pandemic response.
Tracking Flight Trajectory of Evaporating Cough Droplets
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led many to study airborne droplet transmission in different conditions and environments, and in Physics of Fluids, researchers from A*STAR conducted a numerical study on droplet dispersion using high fidelity air flow simulation. The scientists found a single 100-micrometer cough droplet under wind speed of 2 meters per second can travel up to 6.6 meters and even further under dry air conditions due to droplet evaporation.
NEJM Features University of Miami Expertise in Handling Elective Surgeries during Pandemic Surges
Three medical authors published a clinical decisions article in the New England Journal of Medicine documenting three approaches to managing elective surgery during COVID-19 given the same scenario.
Excessive Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Study Highlights
• The full impact of COVID-19 on alcohol use is not yet known, but rates have been rising during the first few months of the pandemic
• There’s an urgent need for public health and medical responses to address harmful alcohol use
Surgeon General expects COVID-19 vaccine to be available by year’s end
In a wide-ranging talk with UCLA Health physicians, Wednesday, Oct. 28, United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, addressed the politicization of the pandemic and the means of containing the spread of COVID-19. He also offered hope that a vaccine for the virus will be available by year’s end.
Infection by Confection: COVID-19 and the Risk of Trick-or-Treating
Researchers determined that COVID-19 transmission risk via Halloween candies is low, even when they are handled by infected people, but handwashing and disinfecting collected sweets reduces risk even further.
Remdesivir for COVID-19: FDA Approved but Still Unproven
In a review of evidence from the most reliable data from randomized trials to find likely small-to-moderate effects of remdesivir, researchers say that totality of evidence compiled before the WHO trial results justifies compassionate use of remdesivir for severely ill patients. A smaller trial in China showed significantly decreased mean recovery time but no suggestion of a mortality benefit. ACTT-1 found the same mean recovery time and a suggestion of a mortality benefit that did not achieve statistical significance.
Nova Southeastern University Researchers Receive $4 Million From CDC for ‘COVID Long Haulers’ Study
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, health care providers are finding more and more patients are experiencing lingering symptoms after recovering from the virus. While the medical community is still working hard to address the virus itself and racing toward a vaccine, there is very little known or being done to address these residual health issues being experienced by those now called “COVID long haulers.” But all of that is about to change, thanks to research scientists at Nova Southeastern University (NSU.)
Life and Livelihood as the Pandemic Drags On
When we started on our COVID-19 interview series, no one knew how long the pandemic would last or the long-term impact it would have on our community. As we approach the end of a year of living in the shadow of COVID-19, we thought it useful to follow up with some of our interviewees. We learned that research, collaboration, teaching, and learning are continuing to evolve—along with the challenges of distance learning, meeting, and life.
Aerosol Microdroplets Inefficient Carriers Of COVID-19 Virus
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.
COVID-19’s effect on Halloween is more trick than treat
Let’s not sugarcoat it: the coronavirus (COVID-19) is hurting our holidays, even if it is, possibly, helping our teeth. A new University of Delaware study shows 42% of American households plan to consume less candy this year, and trick-or-treating could be down 41%.
Estimating Risk of Airborne COVID-19 with Mask Usage, Social Distancing
In Physics of Fluids, researchers used a model to understand airborne transmission that is designed to be accessible to a wide range of people, including nonscientists. Employing concepts of fluid dynamics and factors in airborne transmission, they propose the Contagion Airborne Transmission inequality model. While not all factors may be known, it can still be used to assess relative risks. The researchers determined protection from transmission increases with physical distancing in an approximately linear proportion.
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Coronavirus Risk from Surfaces, Groceries, Food, Airborne Exposures
New Brunswick, N.J. (Oct. 26, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Donald W. Schaffner is available for interviews on the likelihood of getting infected by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus via surfaces, groceries, eating food and airborne/aerosol transmission. “Current evidence still indicates that risk from surfaces remains…
Nearly a Quarter of New York City Transit Workers Report Having Had COVID-19
A survey of New York City’s bus and subway workers finds that 24 percent report having contracted COVID-19 and 90 percent fear getting sick at work. The pilot study, conducted by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health, in coordination with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100, helps document the toll the pandemic has taken on the physical and mental health of essential workers.
COVID-19 Cough Clouds in Closed Spaces
As the pandemic continues, researchers have increasingly focused on the extent to which respiratory droplets carrying the coronavirus travel and contaminate the air after an infected person coughs. While scientists have studied the properties of air at the mouth, less is known about how these properties change as the cough cloud travels. In Physics of Fluids, researchers estimate the evolving volume of the cough cloud and quantify the reduction in its volume in the presence of a face mask.
Keeping COVID-19 Out of Classrooms: Open Windows, Use Glass Screens In Front of Desks
Flow velocity distribution and particle size are key in aerosol transport, which is one of the main ways COVID-19 spreads, when aerosol particles are released during exhalation, talking, coughing, or sneezing. In Physics of Fluids, University of New Mexico researchers used computational fluid-particle dynamics to explore aerosol transport within an air-conditioned classroom model. They discovered opening windows increases the fraction of particles that exit the system by nearly 40%, while also reducing aerosol transmission between people within.
Study reveals why some blame Asian Americans for COVID-19
A blend of racial prejudice, poor coping and partisan media viewing were found in Americans who stigmatized people of Asian descent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study.
Patients Who Had More Severe Covid-19 May Be the Best Donors for Convalescent Plasma Therapy
Sex, age, and severity of disease may be useful in identifying COVID-19 survivors who are likely to have high levels of antibodies that can protect against the disease.
How to have a safe and fun Halloween during the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr. Poj Lysouvakon, pediatric director of the Mother-Baby Unit at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital, says it’s still possible to have a safe and fun Halloween this year. Here’s how.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Awards and Appointments
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announces its most recent awards and appointments for the institution’s physicians, scientists, nurses, and staff.
Why I Want to Be a Doctor Now: Med Students Discuss What Makes Them Want to Help and Heal
Why become a doctor now, in a pandemic, when providing care can be potentially life-threatening to the clinician? Incoming students describe what makes them want to help and heal, and the oath they have written together—at this unprecedented time in the history of American medicine—as a guide to their future careers as physicians.
December 2020 highlights from AJPH
Highlights from AJPH December Issue
How to stay safe from flu during the COVID-19 pandemic
University of Chicago Medicine infectious diseases expert Dr. Allison Bartlett explains what to know to stay safe this winter from both influenza and COVID-19.
Tips for voting safely during a pandemic
Voting is one of the most important things citizens get to do. University of Chicago Medicine Infectious Diseases Specialist Dr. Mai Tuyet Pho explains how to vote safely amid a global pandemic.
Eviction was a problem long before the pandemic’s arrival
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Although sweeping eviction bans issued during the COVID-19 pandemic by the federal and many state governments have temporarily halted the removal of unemployed tenants from their homes, the current public health crisis has actually amplified, rather than…
William F. Tate IV, National Expert on the Intersections Between Education, Society, and Public Health, to Examine the “Segregation Pandemic” at 2020 AERA Brown Lecture
The American Educational Research Association is holding the 17th Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research on October 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EDT. The event, which will be held virtually, is free and open to the public. ASL and closed captioning will be provided.