Non-Woven Materials for Cloth-Based Face Mask Inserts: Relationship Between Material Properties and Sub-Micron Aerosol Filtration

<div>Current guidance by leading public health agencies recommends wearing a 3-layer cloth-based face mask with a middle non-woven material insert to reduce the transmission of infectious respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2. In this work we explore the material characteristics for a range of readily available non-woven materials and their sub-micron particle filtration efficiency (PFE), with the aim of providing evidence-based guidelines for selecting appropriate materials as inserts in cloth-based masks. We observed a wide range of ideal PFE for the tested non-woven materials, with polypropylene, Swiffer and Rayon/polyester blend providing the highest PFE and breathability. Our results suggest that materials comprising loose 3D fibrous webs (e.g. flannel, Swiffer and gauze) exhibited enhanced filtration efficiency compared to compressed counterparts. Common modifications to fabrics, such as water-resistant treatment and a sewn seam were also investigated. Overall, we demonstrate that adding an appropriate non-woven material as an insert filter can significantly improve the performance of cloth-based masks, and there exist suitable cellulose-based alternatives to polypropylene.</div>

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Non-Woven Materials for Cloth-Based Face Mask Inserts: Relationship Between Material Properties and Sub-Micron Aerosol Filtration

10.26434/chemrxiv.13696705.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Leigh R. Crilley ◽

Andrea Angelucci ◽

Brian Malile ◽

Cora J. Young ◽

Trevor C. VandenBoer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Face Mask ◽

Filtration Efficiency ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Public Health Agencies ◽

Wide Range ◽

Aerosol Filtration ◽

Health Agencies ◽

Micron Particle ◽

Current Guidance ◽

Evidence Based Guidelines

<div>Current guidance by leading public health agencies recommends wearing a 3-layer cloth-based face mask with a middle non-woven material insert to reduce the transmission of infectious respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2. In this work we explore the material characteristics for a range of readily available non-woven materials and their sub-micron particle filtration efficiency (PFE), with the aim of providing evidence-based guidelines for selecting appropriate materials as inserts in cloth-based masks. We observed a wide range of ideal PFE for the tested non-woven materials, with polypropylene, Swiffer and Rayon/polyester blend providing the highest PFE and breathability. Our results suggest that materials comprising loose 3D fibrous webs (e.g. flannel, Swiffer and gauze) exhibited enhanced filtration efficiency compared to compressed counterparts. Common modifications to fabrics, such as water-resistant treatment and a sewn seam were also investigated. Overall, we demonstrate that adding an appropriate non-woven material as an insert filter can significantly improve the performance of cloth-based masks, and there exist suitable cellulose-based alternatives to polypropylene.</div>

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Non-woven materials for cloth-based face mask inserts: Relationship between material properties and sub-micron aerosol filtration

Environmental Science Nano ◽

10.1039/d1en00277e ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Leigh Crilley ◽

Brian Malile ◽

Andrea Angelucci ◽

Cora Young ◽

Trevor C. VandenBoer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Material Properties ◽

Face Mask ◽

Respiratory Viruses ◽

Public Health Agencies ◽

Aerosol Filtration ◽

Health Agencies ◽

Current Guidance

Current guidance by leading public health agencies recommends wearing a 3-layer cloth-based face mask with a middle non-woven material insert to reduce the transmission of infectious respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2....

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Online information on face masks in Italian and English websites: deficiencies and responsibilities of search engines

10.1101/2020.10.23.20218271 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shaily Meta ◽

Daria Ghezzi ◽

Alessia Catalani ◽

Tania Vanzolini ◽

Pietro Ghezzi

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mental Health ◽

Search Engines ◽

Information Quality ◽

Quality Criteria ◽

Face Mask ◽

Online Information ◽

Public Health Agencies ◽

Health Agencies ◽

The Usa

AbstractCountries have major differences in the acceptance of face mask use for the prevention of COVID-19. We analyzed 450 webpages returned by searching the string “are face masks dangerous” in Italy, the UK and the USA using three search engines (Bing, Duckduckgo and Google). The majority (64-79%) were pages from news outlets, with few (2-6%) pages from government and public health agencies. Webpages with a positive stance on masks were more frequent in English (50%) than in Italian (36%), and those with a negative stance were more frequent in Italian (28% vs. 19% in English). Google returned the highest number of mask-positive pages and Duckduckgo the lowest. Google also returned the lowest number of pages mentioning conspiracy theories and Duckduckgo the highest. Webpages in Italian scored lower than those in English in transparency (reporting authors, their credentials and backing the information with references). When issues about the use of face masks were analyzed, mask effectiveness was the most discussed followed by hypercapnia (accumulation of carbon dioxide), contraindication in respiratory disease, and hypoxia, with issues related to their contraindications in mental health conditions and disability mentioned by very few pages. This study suggests that: 1) public health agencies should increase their web presence in providing correct information on face masks; 2) search engines should improve the information quality criteria in their ranking; 3) the public should be more informed on issues related to the use of masks and disabilities, mental health and stigma arising for those people who cannot wear masks.

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Perspective: Measuring Sweetness in Foods, Beverages, and Diets: Toward Understanding the Role of Sweetness in Health

Advances in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/advances/nmaa151 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Paula R Trumbo ◽

Katherine M Appleton ◽

Kees de Graaf ◽

John E Hayes ◽

David J Baer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Caloric Intake ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Added Sugar ◽

Public Health Agencies ◽

Health Agencies ◽

Future Direction ◽

Optimal Approach ◽

Support Evidence

ABSTRACT Various global public health agencies recommend minimizing exposure to sweet-tasting foods or beverages. The underlying rationale is that reducing exposure to the perception of sweet tastes, without regard to the source of sweetness, may reduce preferences for sweetness, added sugar intake, caloric intake, and body weight. However, the veracity of this sequence of outcomes has yet to be documented, as revealed by findings from recent systematic reviews on the topic. Efforts to examine and document the effects of sweetness exposure are needed to support evidence-based recommendations. They require a generally agreed-upon methodology for measuring sweetness in foods, beverages, and the overall diet. Although well-established sensory evaluation techniques exist for individual foods in laboratory settings, they are expensive and time-consuming, and agreement on the optimal approach for measuring the sweetness of the total diet is lacking. If such a measure could be developed, it would permit researchers to combine data from different studies and populations and facilitate the design and conduct of new studies to address unresolved research questions about dietary sweetness. This narrative review includes an overview of available sensory techniques, their strengths and limitations, recent efforts to measure the sweetness of foods and diets across countries and cultures, and a proposed future direction for improving methods for measuring sweetness toward developing the data required to support evidence-based recommendations around dietary sweetness.

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Media, Health & Health Promotion in Nepal

Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences ◽

10.3126/jmmihs.v2i0.15799 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 70-75

Author(s):

Edwin Van Teijlingen ◽

Padam Simkhada ◽

Ann Luce ◽

Vanora Hundley

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Public Health Agencies ◽

Wide Range ◽

Health Agencies ◽

Health Practitioners ◽

Key Issues ◽

The Media ◽

Public Health Practitioners

It has been recognised that the media can affect our perceptions, views and tastes on a wide-range of issues. The mass media in it various forms (newspapers, television & radio, the internet and Twitter) and formats, have a far reaching influence through, for example news programmes, documentaries, advertising and entertainment. At the same time the media can also be seen as a channel for agencies responsible for public health to get their messages across to the population. Public health agencies are always searching for ways to disseminate health information and messages to their intended audiences. These are, of course, global concerns, but as both public health and the media are part of the society in which they operate there will be locally specific issues and considerations. To date most of the research into the media and public health has been conducted in high-income countries, and there has been very little research in Nepal on the interaction of public health and health promotion with the media.This overview paper highlights some of the key issues that public health practitioners, media editors and journalists, health policy-makers and researchers could consider.Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences Vol. 2 2016 p.70-75

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Treatment of Warts in Children With Focus on Recalcitrant Warts: A Narrative Review

Journal of Pediatrics Review ◽

10.32598/jpr.8.4.148.2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 237-246

Author(s):

Armaghan Kazeminejad ◽

◽

Mohammad Jafar Ghahari ◽

Zohreh Hajheydari ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Unsolved Problem ◽

Skin Diseases ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Prefer Treatment ◽

Parents And Children ◽

Wide Range ◽

Common Skin ◽

Evidence Based Guidelines ◽

The Ideal

Context: Warts are benign cutaneous and mucosal growths caused by human papillomavirus. Warts are the most common skin diseases seen by pediatric dermatologists. Warts are often self-limited, especially in children, but some lesions are not resolved despite repeated treatments and referred to as recalcitrant warts. Evidence acquisition: Electronic databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus were searched during 2000-2018 and a review was conducted for articles published in English on pediatric warts by focusing on recalcitrant warts. Results: If warts are asymptomatic and being in a location that causes no cosmetic or other problems, observation is the ideal management course. Most parents and children prefer treatment for their warts. There are three modalities of treatment: medical, surgical, and immunotherapy. Conclusions: Treatment of warts is a therapeutic challenge that depends on the patient’s age and the type of warts. Despite treatment according to evidence-based guidelines, a significant proportion of warts are failed to respond. This condition is an unsolved problem in practice. The management for treating these lesions has remained unclear and a wide range of the second line of treatments has been developed.

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Management of treatment resistant depression: A comparison between French expert consensus guidelines and international evidence based guidelines

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.702 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S525-S525

Author(s):

T. Charpeaud ◽

A. Yrondi ◽

W. El-Hage ◽

M. Leboyer ◽

E. Haffen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Depressive Disorders ◽

Previous Treatment ◽

Biological Psychiatry ◽

Expert Consensus ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Consensus Guidelines ◽

Wide Range ◽

Competing Interest ◽

Specialized Experts ◽

Evidence Based Guidelines

Expert consensus guidelines rely on a relevant methodological procedure complementary to based-evidence recommendations. They aim at offering support strategies derived from expert consensus for clinical situations where the levels of evidence are either absent or insufficient. Recommendations for resistant depressive disorders proposed by french association for biological psychiatry and fondamental foundation, were based on responses from 36 highly specialized experts in this field. They were invited to complete a comprehensive questionnaire with 118 issues. The questions raised covered a wide range of aspects from the evaluation of therapeutic resistance and clinical conditions increasing the risk for treatment failure to the adopted therapeutic strategies organized according the effects of previous treatment lines. Specific populations/situations especially including elderly, comorbidities (anxiety disorders, personality disorders and addictions) were also been studied through specific questions. Such recommendations are intended to substantially help the decision and therapeutic choice of clinician implied in the management of resistant depressive disorders in everyday clinical practice. We propose in this communication to compare the results of these recommendations with the various data from the evidence-based guidelines in order to demonstrate their complementarity for the management of resistant depressive disorders.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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A survey tool for measuring evidence-based decision making capacity in public health agencies

BMC Health Services Research ◽

10.1186/1472-6963-12-57 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Julie A Jacobs ◽

Paula F Clayton ◽

Cassandra Dove ◽

Tanya Funchess ◽

Ellen Jones ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Decision Making ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Survey Tool ◽

Public Health Agencies ◽

Decision Making Capacity ◽

Health Agencies ◽

Evidence Based Decision Making

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Online information on face masks: analysis of websites in Italian and English returned by different search engines

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046364 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. e046364

Author(s):

Shaily Mehta ◽

Daria Ghezzi ◽

Alessia Catalani ◽

Tania Vanzolini ◽

Pietro Ghezzi

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mental Health ◽

Search Engines ◽

Information Quality ◽

Quality Criteria ◽

Face Mask ◽

Online Information ◽

Public Health Agencies ◽

Health Agencies ◽

The Usa

ObjectiveCountries have major differences in the acceptance of face mask use for the prevention of COVID-19. This work aims at studying the information online in different countries in terms of information quality and content.DesignContent analysis.MethodWe analysed 450 webpages returned by searching the string ‘are face masks dangerous’ in Italy, the UK and the USA using three search engines (Bing, Duckduckgo and Google) in August 2020. The type of website and the stance about masks were assessed by two raters for each language and inter-rater agreement reported as Cohen’s kappa. The text of the webpages was collected from the web using WebBootCaT and analysed using a corpus analysis software to identify issues mentioned.ResultsMost pages were news outlets, and few (2%–6%) from public health agencies. Webpages with a negative stance on masks were more frequent in Italian (28%) than English (19%). Google returned the highest number of mask-positive pages and Duckduckgo the lowest. Google also returned the lowest number of pages mentioning conspiracy theories and Duckduckgo the highest. Webpages in Italian scored lower than those in English in transparency (reporting authors, their credentials and backing the information with references). When issues about the use of face masks were analysed, mask effectiveness was the most discussed followed by hypercapnia (accumulation of carbon dioxide), contraindication in respiratory disease and hypoxia, with issues related to their contraindications in mental health conditions and disability mentioned by very few pages.ConclusionsThis study suggests that: (1) public health agencies should increase their web presence in providing correct information on face masks; (2) search engines should improve the information quality criteria in their ranking; (3) the public should be more informed on issues related to the use of masks and disabilities, mental health and stigma arising for those people who cannot wear masks.

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