The airborne diffusion of saliva droplets during respiratory activities is one of the major factors in the spread of infections.During the COVID-19 pandemic,the use of protective face masks was essential to reduce the...The airborne diffusion of saliva droplets during respiratory activities is one of the major factors in the spread of infections.During the COVID-19 pandemic,the use of protective face masks was essential to reduce the risk of infection and spread of SARS-CoV-2.The face mask is able to significantly reduce the saliva droplet emission in front of the person.However,the use of masks also produces a particle leakage towards the back of the person,which could increase the infection risk of people behind the subject.Most of the experimental investigations applied invasive and/or complex experimental techniques to evaluate the face masks leakage.The primary objective of this study is to develop a novel,non-invasive methodology for assessing rearward droplet emission associated with the use of protective face masks.Specifically,a thermographic analysis of the thermal footprint released during ordinary and extraordinary respiratory activities is presented,evaluating the maximum temperature,the detection time,and the spread area of the thermal footprint.Both surgical and FFP2 face masks were tested.Two different subjects were involved in the experimentation to evaluate the influence of face conformation.The findings indicate that the area influenced by droplet dispersion is larger when wearing a surgical mask compared to an FFP2 mask,with the highest recorded temperatures observed for the surgical mask.The thermal footprint was found to be strongly dependent on individual facial morphology and mask fit.Notably,the FFP2 mask also altered the position of the thermal footprint,which was primarily confined to the region near the neck.展开更多
The Nuo mask is the core visual vehicle within China’s Nuo culture and constitutes a complex symbolic system through facial features(icons),patterns(indexes),and colors(symbols).Within the context of intangible cultu...The Nuo mask is the core visual vehicle within China’s Nuo culture and constitutes a complex symbolic system through facial features(icons),patterns(indexes),and colors(symbols).Within the context of intangible cultural heritage(ICH)preservation,its value lies in the continuation and revitalization of its dynamic symbolic functions.Grounded in semiotic theory,this paper elaborates on three core dimensions of symbolic value manifested by Nuo masks in ICH preservation:a ritual symbol for living transmission,a symbol of identity for collective memory,and an aesthetic symbol as a source of creativity.展开更多
In the context of global COVID-19 epidemic preparedness,the extensive use of disposable surgical masks(DSM)may lead to its emergence as a main new source of microplastics in the environment.Nowadays,DSMs have become a...In the context of global COVID-19 epidemic preparedness,the extensive use of disposable surgical masks(DSM)may lead to its emergence as a main new source of microplastics in the environment.Nowadays,DSMs have become a non-negligible source of plastic waste in aquatic environment,however,less research has been done on DSM after biofilm colonization in freshwater environment.The study investigated the microbial community of DSM-associated biofilms by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Analysis of the microbial community in the middle and inner/outer layers of the DSM showed that the middle layer was different from the remaining two layers and that potential pathogens were enriched only in the middle layer of the DSM.Herein,we focused on the middle layer and explored the characterization properties and extracellular polymeric substances(EPS)components changes during biofilm formation.The results showed that the EPS components varied with the biofilm incubation time.As the formation of biofilm,the protein(PN)and polysaccharide(PS)in EPS showed an overall increasing trend,and the growth of PS was well synchronized with PN.Three fluorescent components of EPS were determined by the three-dimensional excitation emission matrix(3D-EEM),including humic acid-like,fulvic acid-like,and aromatic protein-like components.The percentage of fluorescent components varied with increasing biofilm development time and then stabilized.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)characterization results elucidated the emergence of oxygen-containing functional groups during biofilm formation.Moreover,the hydrophilicity increased with biofilm development.In conclusion,the environmental behavior and ecological risks of DSM in aquatic environment deserve urgent attention in future studies.展开更多
With extensive attention being paid to the potential environmental hazards of discarded face masks,catalytic pyrolysis technologies have been proposed to realize the valorization of wastes.However,recent catalyst sele...With extensive attention being paid to the potential environmental hazards of discarded face masks,catalytic pyrolysis technologies have been proposed to realize the valorization of wastes.However,recent catalyst selection and system design have focused solely on conversion efficiency,ignoring economic cost and potential life-cycle environmental damage.Here,we propose an economic-environmental hybrid pre-assessment method to help identify catalysts and reactors with less environmental impact and high economic returns among various routes to convert discarded face masks into carbon nanotubes(CNTs)and hydrogen.In catalyst selection,it was found that a widely known Fe-Ni catalyst exhibits higher catalytic activity than a cheaper Fe catalyst,potentially increasing the economic viability of the catalytic pyrolysis system by 38%-55%.The use of this catalyst also results in a carbon reduction of 4.12-10.20kilogram CO2 equivalent for 1 kilogram of discarded face masks,compared with the cheaper Fe catalyst.When the price of CNTs exceeds 1.49×104 USD·t-1,microwave-assisted pyrolysis is the optimal choice due to its superior environmental performance(in terms of its life-cycle greenhouse gas reduction potential,eutrophication potential,and human toxicity)and economic benefits.In contrast,conventional heating pyrolysis may be a more economical option due to its good stability over 43 reaction regeneration cycles,as compared with a microwave-assisted pyrolysis catalyst with a higher conversion efficiency.This study connects foundational science with ecological economics to guide emerging technologies in their research stage toward technical efficiency,economic benefits,and environmental sustainability.展开更多
Over 950 billion(about 3.8 million tons)masks have been consumed in the last four years around the world to protect human beings from COVID-19 and air pollution.However,very few of these used masks are being recycled,...Over 950 billion(about 3.8 million tons)masks have been consumed in the last four years around the world to protect human beings from COVID-19 and air pollution.However,very few of these used masks are being recycled,with the majority of them being landfilled or incinerated.To address this issue,we propose a repurposing upcycling strategy by converting these polypropylene(PP)-based waste masks to highperformance thermally conductive nanocomposites(PP@G,where G refers to graphene)with exceptional electromagnetic interference shielding property.The PP@G is fabricated by loading tannic acid onto PP fibers via electrostatic self-assembling,followed by mixing with graphene nanoplatelets(GNPs).Because this strategy enables the GNPs to form efficient thermal and electrical conduction pathways along the PP fiber surface,the PP@G shows a high thermal conductivity of 87 W m-1K-1and exhibits an electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of 88 dB(1100 dB cm−1),making it potentially applicable for heat dissipation and electromagnetic shielding in advanced electronic devices.Life cycle assessment and techno-economic assessment results show that our repurposing strategy has significant advantages over existing methods in reducing environmental impacts and economic benefits.This strategy offers a facile and promising approach to upcyclingepurposing of fibrous waste plastics.展开更多
Since COVID-19 has emerged and become a global health issue,an awareness of wearing face masks has been attentive to prevent the spread of the disease.Face masks that have become a part of daily life,may be encountere...Since COVID-19 has emerged and become a global health issue,an awareness of wearing face masks has been attentive to prevent the spread of the disease.Face masks that have become a part of daily life,may be encountered at crime scenes and serve as a potential source of DNA for human identification.This study developed a rapid method for obtaining abundant DNA from 3-layer disposable face masks.Ten healthy volunteers were recruited to wear the masks for a period of 2 h.The optimal method for retrieving DNA was determined to be direct cutting of the middle section of the mask’s inner layer.The average DNA concentrations from males and females were 0.1270±0.2337 ng/μL and 0.0699±0.1074 ng/μL,respectively,with no significant difference observed between the sexes(P=0.286).Furthermore,testing a smaller area(28 cm2)from the mouth-covering region still yielded sufficient DNA for STR genotyping(average 0.0255±0.0218 ng/μL).Comparison of the inner and the filter layers revealed that the filter layer contained significantly less DNA(average 0.0213±0.0203 ng/μL,P19 autosomal STR loci.This suggests that the method was suitable in DNA analysis when a face mask is found as forensic DNA evidence.展开更多
Silk fibroin is the main component of silkworm silk.A single silk filament is formed by bonding two parallel silk fibroin monofilament fibers,and the substance in the middle and outer periphery of the fibers that play...Silk fibroin is the main component of silkworm silk.A single silk filament is formed by bonding two parallel silk fibroin monofilament fibers,and the substance in the middle and outer periphery of the fibers that plays a role in bonding and wrapping is sericin.The content of silk fibroin protein accounts for 70-80% of silk,while sericin protein accounts for 20–30%.The silk fibroin obtained by removing sericin from silk contains 18 types of amino acids,including 8 essentials for the human body.Among them,amino acids such as glycine,alanine,serine,tyrosine,which have moisturizing and radiation protection functions,account for more than 80% of the total 18 types of amino acids.This high content of amino acids endows silk fibroin with excellent biological properties and diverse application potential.展开更多
Influenced by recent COVID-19,wearing face masks to block the spread of the epidemic has become the simplest and most effective way.However,after the people wear masks,thousands of tons of medical waste by used dis-po...Influenced by recent COVID-19,wearing face masks to block the spread of the epidemic has become the simplest and most effective way.However,after the people wear masks,thousands of tons of medical waste by used dis-posable masks will be generated every day in the world,causing great pressure on the environment.Herein,con-ductive polymer composites are fabricated by simple melt blending of mask fragments(mask polypropylene,short for mPP)and multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWNTs).MWNTs were used as modifiers for composites because of their high strength and high conductivity.The crystalline structure,mechanical,electrical and thermal enhancement effect of the composites were investigated.MWNTs with high thermal stability acted the role of promoting the crystallisation of mPP by expediting the crystalline nucleation,leading to the improvement of amount for crystalline nucleus.MWNTs fibers interpenetrate with each other in mPP matrix to form conducting network.With 2.0 wt% MWNTs loading,the tensile strength and electrical conductivity of the composites were increased by 809% and 7 orders of magnitude.MWNTs fibers interpenetrate with each other in mPP matrix to form conducting network.Thus,more conducting paths were constructed to transport carriers.The findings may open a way for high value utilization of the disposable masks.展开更多
Notwithstanding the end of 2009 H1N1 pandemic,the threat for its revisit still persists and WHO has warned to remain vigilant.During that lime the situation was more panicky than fatal.In this article,a suggestion to ...Notwithstanding the end of 2009 H1N1 pandemic,the threat for its revisit still persists and WHO has warned to remain vigilant.During that lime the situation was more panicky than fatal.In this article,a suggestion to minimize the panic is provided by the usage of colour-coded masks and is proposed hereby as a "population segregation" approach in case of the revisit of HlNl or similar threatening respiratory viral infections.展开更多
BACKGROUND Paediatric supraglottic airway devices(SGAs)are widely used in routine anaesthesia and serve as primary or back-up devices for difficult airway management.The inflatable Ambu laryngeal masks and non-inflata...BACKGROUND Paediatric supraglottic airway devices(SGAs)are widely used in routine anaesthesia and serve as primary or back-up devices for difficult airway management.The inflatable Ambu laryngeal masks and non-inflatable i-gel are two improvements of SGAs based on classic laryngeal masks.The clinical performance and safety of these two devices in paediatric patients are still unclear and warrant further investigation.AIM To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the clinical performance and safety of Ambu laryngeal masks and i-gel in anaesthetised paediatric patients.METHODS MEDLINE,Embase,Web of Science and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception dates to April 2020.We identified published randomised controlled trials(RCTs)in which the intervention involved the use of Ambu laryngeal masks and i-gel in anaesthetised paediatric patients(age<18 years).We assessed the oropharyngeal leak pressure(OLP)as the primary outcome.The secondary outcomes were insertion time,success rate of insertion on the first attempt,and incidence of adverse events.RESULTS After searching for all relevant trials published up to April 2020,data from seven RCTs with a total of 667 paediatric patients(323 and 344 participants in the i-gel and Ambu groups,respectively)were evaluated.The mean OLP in anaesthetised paediatric patients was lower in the Ambu group[21.82 cmH2O for Ambu vs 23.98 cmH2O for i-gel,P=0.003,95%confidence interval(CI):-3.58 to-0.75,I2=68%,Mantel-Haenszel random model].We did not find any clear evidence of differences between the devices in terms of insertion time,success rate of insertion,and incidence of adverse events except for blood staining(risk ratio 5.86,95%CI:1.76 to 19.46,P=0.004,I2=0,fixed-effect model).CONCLUSION The i-gel airway may provide a better seal and is therefore probably more suitable than the Ambu laryngeal mask airway in anaesthetised paediatric patients.However,the evidence is insufficient to allow making firm conclusions or to guide clinical practice,owing to the small number of relevant published studies.展开更多
The objective was to measure the effect of various face masks on speech recognition threshold and the word recognition score in the presence of varying background noise levels.20 normal-hearing adult subjects(a total ...The objective was to measure the effect of various face masks on speech recognition threshold and the word recognition score in the presence of varying background noise levels.20 normal-hearing adult subjects(a total of 40 ears)participated.Pure tone audiometry followed by speech recognition threshold and word recognition score at the most comfortable level in varying signal-to-noise ratios(SNR0,SNR10,and SNR15)using surgical,pleated cloth,and N95 masks.Using surgical,cloth,and N95 masks,speech recognition thresholds increased by 1.8 dB,4.4 dB,and 5.05 dB,respectively.Word recognition scores decreased by 32%without a mask,43.7%in a surgical mask,46.3%in a cloth mask,and 46.7%in N95 mask conditions,between SNR15 and SNR0.The speech recognition threshold was negatively affected with cloth and N95 masks.Surgical masks do not affect the word recognition scores at lower background noise levels.However,as the signal-to-noise ratio decreased,even the surgical,cloth,and N95 masks significantly impacted the word recognition score even in normal-hearing individuals.展开更多
This paper proposes a simple method to achieve the optical transfer function of a circular pupil wavefront coding system with a separable phase mask in Cartesian coordinates. Based on the stationary phase method, the ...This paper proposes a simple method to achieve the optical transfer function of a circular pupil wavefront coding system with a separable phase mask in Cartesian coordinates. Based on the stationary phase method, the optical transfer function of the circular pupil system can be easily obtained from the optical transfer function of the rectangular pupil system by modifying the cut-off frequency and the on-axial modulation transfer function. Finally, a system with a cubic phase mask is used as an example to illustrate the way to achieve the optical transfer function of the circular pupil system from the rectangular pupil system.展开更多
Since the fi rst cases of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coro-navirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)were reported at the end of 2019,this infection has spread around the globe,becoming a ...Since the fi rst cases of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coro-navirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)were reported at the end of 2019,this infection has spread around the globe,becoming a pandemic.The use of face masks and respirators is an important public health measure to reduce or prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2.Here we discuss the hypothetical mechanisms by which exercise with face masks or respirators can induce detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system,potentially explaining adverse events such as cardiac arrhythmias and spontaneous pneumothorax.Although sudden death associated with the wearing of a face mask during running is a rare event,the risk is higher especially in those with existing cardiac comorbidities.In such cases,a mask designed specifi cally for runners with no or few side effects of oxygen defi ciency should be considered instead.展开更多
Owing to the significant increase in air pollutants and the spread of infectious diseases,it seems that the use of face masks will become an essential item in human societies.Therefore,there is a need to conduct more ...Owing to the significant increase in air pollutants and the spread of infectious diseases,it seems that the use of face masks will become an essential item in human societies.Therefore,there is a need to conduct more research to develop novel types of respirators utilizing upto-date science such as nanotechnology.In this study,we fabricated a nanocomposite fibrous filter containing modified graphene oxide(GO)and zinc oxide(ZnO)nanoparticles.This layer was used as an active filter for absorbing and removing air pollutants,such as suspended submicron particles(below 2.5 microns)and CO2,NO2,and SO2gases.The synthesized nanostructures and fibrous filters were characterized by different analysis(FTIR,XRD,TGA,and FESEM),and the performance of the filters was surveyed by tests such as pressure drop,CO2,NO2,SO2gas rejection,and particulate removal.The results showed that the stabilization of the modified GO and ZnO nanostructures on the fibrous filter improved the effectiveness of this filter as a mask for removing toxic particles and gases,and the filter containing nanoparticles had the best performance.展开更多
Since COVID-19 was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), wearing of protective equipment, hand washing using soap and frequent use of antiseptic solution are being applied globally to reduce the transmissio...Since COVID-19 was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), wearing of protective equipment, hand washing using soap and frequent use of antiseptic solution are being applied globally to reduce the transmission rate. This study was intended to investigate handling of after wash waste water and masks among Tanzanian residents on the COVID-19 pandemic after it has been, declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) that, wearing of protective equipment, hand washing using soap and frequent use of antiseptic solution should be applied globally to reduce the transmission rate. The assessment of health care waste management in the facilities was conducted in all the 26 regions of Tanzania Mainland. A standardized checklist and tools were used to assess and monitor various aspects related to healthcare waste using open source software for collection (ODK). Data were analyzed using SPSS computer software. It has been indicated that before disposing the used mask, the best protocol is to spray 0.5% (5000 ppm) of chlorine disinfectant on the surface. In this study, about 46% consider used mask as normal municipal waste and 3% do not care they throw away the face masks in the street. Only 18% and 5% of reported to disposal as infectious and highly hazardous waste respectively. It is well documented that due to potential infectious disease like SARS-CoV-2, wastewater should be treated either on-site or conveyed off-site and treated in well-designed method or technology to kill the micro-organisms. The analysis revealed that majority of respondents (74.7%, 73.8%, 48.1% and 65% for healthcare center, district hospitals, regional hospitals and consultant hospitals respectively);dispose the waste in the open space. Continuous awareness creation programs about the negative impact of contaminated face masks and waste water on the health of individuals and introducing laws that can prohibit improper disposal are among the solutions that could help reduce the problem.展开更多
Physiological signals indicate a person’s physical and mental state at any given time.Accordingly,many studies extract physiological signals from the human body with non-contact methods,and most of them require facia...Physiological signals indicate a person’s physical and mental state at any given time.Accordingly,many studies extract physiological signals from the human body with non-contact methods,and most of them require facial feature points.However,under COVID-19,wearing a mask has become a must in many places,so how non-contact physiological information measurements can still be performed correctly even when a mask covers the facial information has become a focus of research.In this study,RGB and thermal infrared cameras were used to execute non-contact physiological information measurement systems for heart rate,blood pressure,respiratory rate,and forehead temperature for peoplewearing masks due to the pandemic.Using the green(G)minus red(R)signal in the RGB image,the region of interest(ROI)is established in the forehead and nose bridge regions.The photoplethysmography(PPG)waveforms of the two regions are obtained after the acquired PPG signal is subjected to the optical flow method,baseline drift calibration,normalization,and bandpass filtering.The relevant parameters in Deep Neural Networks(DNN)for the regression model can correctly predict the heartbeat and blood pressure.In addition,the temperature change in the ROI of the mask after thermal image processing and filtering can be used to correctly determine the number of breaths.Meanwhile,the thermal image can be used to read the temperature average of the ROI of the forehead,and the forehead temperature can be obtained smoothly.The experimental results show that the above-mentioned physiological signals of a subject can be obtained in 6-s images with the error for both heart rate and blood pressure within 2%∼3%and the error of forehead temperature within±0.5°C.展开更多
Several approaches to fabricate micro optical elements by use of half tone masks are studied and compared. It is shown that half tone masks employed in filtering image systems can obtain gray patterns with considerabl...Several approaches to fabricate micro optical elements by use of half tone masks are studied and compared. It is shown that half tone masks employed in filtering image systems can obtain gray patterns with considerably high precision, but it is hard to operate from the viewpoint of operation. The method using contacting lithography technology or laser ablation can be easily operated with the cost of reducing fabrication precision and the trouble of choosing appropriate materials. For all of these methods, the coding of half tone masks with corrections for the nonlinear characteristics of coding, imaging and photoresist is recommended.展开更多
By using two PM2.5 automatic monitors,the protective effects of five common masks against PM2.5 were synchronously tested under actual ambient air conditions for a whole day. The results showed that not all masks had ...By using two PM2.5 automatic monitors,the protective effects of five common masks against PM2.5 were synchronously tested under actual ambient air conditions for a whole day. The results showed that not all masks had protective effects on PM2.5,and the protective effects of masks N95 and N90,which were designed specially for dust-proof,were superior among the five tested masks.展开更多
In a letter to Vita Sackville-West dated 8 August 1931, eight years after Katherine Mansfield's death, Virginia Woolf confides that she "gave up" reading her literary rival's stories "because of their cheap sharp...In a letter to Vita Sackville-West dated 8 August 1931, eight years after Katherine Mansfield's death, Virginia Woolf confides that she "gave up" reading her literary rival's stories "because of their cheap sharp sentimentality". Woolf's observation invites us to question: is Mansfield a mere sentimentalist or is her characterisation technique misunderstood? The first section of this paper demonstrates that attributing Mansfield' works as "sentimental" is erroneous since Mansfield's strategy is to change the masks of her characters within her stories, revealed in her letters and journal entries. Following the first section of this paper, I aim to explore how Mansfield extends this strategy of changing masks in daily life to her fictional characters in "Je ne parle pas fran^ais" (1918) by equipping them with different types of masks--speech and facial expressions, gender, and animality--to respond to changes in their situations and toward the characters around them. Particularly important to this exploration are Joan Riviere's insights into gender in her article, "Womanliness as Masquerade", Michael Goldman's theory of masks in acting in his The Actor's Freedom: Toward a Theory of Drama and Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's concept of "becoming-animal" in KaJka." Towards a Minor Literature.展开更多
Corrosion control engineer: In the wilderness of the vast desert, accompanied by blowing sand, Chang Shuqiang has spent 14 of his youthful years along with the colorful paint that mirrors his splendid and sparkling li...Corrosion control engineer: In the wilderness of the vast desert, accompanied by blowing sand, Chang Shuqiang has spent 14 of his youthful years along with the colorful paint that mirrors his splendid and sparkling life. With the spray gun as his "weapon" and the brush as his "painting brush", he applies warm and anti-aging "masks" on field facilities with wisdom and effort.展开更多
摘要The airborne diffusion of saliva droplets during respiratory activities is one of the major factors in the spread of infections.During the COVID-19 pandemic,the use of protective face masks was essential to reduce the risk of infection and spread of SARS-CoV-2.The face mask is able to significantly reduce the saliva droplet emission in front of the person.However,the use of masks also produces a particle leakage towards the back of the person,which could increase the infection risk of people behind the subject.Most of the experimental investigations applied invasive and/or complex experimental techniques to evaluate the face masks leakage.The primary objective of this study is to develop a novel,non-invasive methodology for assessing rearward droplet emission associated with the use of protective face masks.Specifically,a thermographic analysis of the thermal footprint released during ordinary and extraordinary respiratory activities is presented,evaluating the maximum temperature,the detection time,and the spread area of the thermal footprint.Both surgical and FFP2 face masks were tested.Two different subjects were involved in the experimentation to evaluate the influence of face conformation.The findings indicate that the area influenced by droplet dispersion is larger when wearing a surgical mask compared to an FFP2 mask,with the highest recorded temperatures observed for the surgical mask.The thermal footprint was found to be strongly dependent on individual facial morphology and mask fit.Notably,the FFP2 mask also altered the position of the thermal footprint,which was primarily confined to the region near the neck.
基金National Social Science Fund project“Research on the Narrative of the Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation in Southwest Nuo Opera”(24XMZ063).
摘要The Nuo mask is the core visual vehicle within China’s Nuo culture and constitutes a complex symbolic system through facial features(icons),patterns(indexes),and colors(symbols).Within the context of intangible cultural heritage(ICH)preservation,its value lies in the continuation and revitalization of its dynamic symbolic functions.Grounded in semiotic theory,this paper elaborates on three core dimensions of symbolic value manifested by Nuo masks in ICH preservation:a ritual symbol for living transmission,a symbol of identity for collective memory,and an aesthetic symbol as a source of creativity.
基金Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(Nos.ZR2022MD115,ZR202111160067)。
摘要In the context of global COVID-19 epidemic preparedness,the extensive use of disposable surgical masks(DSM)may lead to its emergence as a main new source of microplastics in the environment.Nowadays,DSMs have become a non-negligible source of plastic waste in aquatic environment,however,less research has been done on DSM after biofilm colonization in freshwater environment.The study investigated the microbial community of DSM-associated biofilms by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Analysis of the microbial community in the middle and inner/outer layers of the DSM showed that the middle layer was different from the remaining two layers and that potential pathogens were enriched only in the middle layer of the DSM.Herein,we focused on the middle layer and explored the characterization properties and extracellular polymeric substances(EPS)components changes during biofilm formation.The results showed that the EPS components varied with the biofilm incubation time.As the formation of biofilm,the protein(PN)and polysaccharide(PS)in EPS showed an overall increasing trend,and the growth of PS was well synchronized with PN.Three fluorescent components of EPS were determined by the three-dimensional excitation emission matrix(3D-EEM),including humic acid-like,fulvic acid-like,and aromatic protein-like components.The percentage of fluorescent components varied with increasing biofilm development time and then stabilized.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)characterization results elucidated the emergence of oxygen-containing functional groups during biofilm formation.Moreover,the hydrophilicity increased with biofilm development.In conclusion,the environmental behavior and ecological risks of DSM in aquatic environment deserve urgent attention in future studies.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52076099,52306257,and 72293601)。
摘要With extensive attention being paid to the potential environmental hazards of discarded face masks,catalytic pyrolysis technologies have been proposed to realize the valorization of wastes.However,recent catalyst selection and system design have focused solely on conversion efficiency,ignoring economic cost and potential life-cycle environmental damage.Here,we propose an economic-environmental hybrid pre-assessment method to help identify catalysts and reactors with less environmental impact and high economic returns among various routes to convert discarded face masks into carbon nanotubes(CNTs)and hydrogen.In catalyst selection,it was found that a widely known Fe-Ni catalyst exhibits higher catalytic activity than a cheaper Fe catalyst,potentially increasing the economic viability of the catalytic pyrolysis system by 38%-55%.The use of this catalyst also results in a carbon reduction of 4.12-10.20kilogram CO2 equivalent for 1 kilogram of discarded face masks,compared with the cheaper Fe catalyst.When the price of CNTs exceeds 1.49×104 USD·t-1,microwave-assisted pyrolysis is the optimal choice due to its superior environmental performance(in terms of its life-cycle greenhouse gas reduction potential,eutrophication potential,and human toxicity)and economic benefits.In contrast,conventional heating pyrolysis may be a more economical option due to its good stability over 43 reaction regeneration cycles,as compared with a microwave-assisted pyrolysis catalyst with a higher conversion efficiency.This study connects foundational science with ecological economics to guide emerging technologies in their research stage toward technical efficiency,economic benefits,and environmental sustainability.
基金the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2023YFD2201404)the National Natural Science Foundation of China Youth Fund(No.52103072)+2 种基金Beijing Natural Science Foundation(No.2222068)5·5 Engineering Research&Innovation Team Project of Beijing Forestry University(No:BLRC2023A02)the Regional Research Collaboration(RRC)Program-“Sustainable Industry Manufacturing Planning for Long‑term Ecosystems(SIMPLE)Hub”.
摘要Over 950 billion(about 3.8 million tons)masks have been consumed in the last four years around the world to protect human beings from COVID-19 and air pollution.However,very few of these used masks are being recycled,with the majority of them being landfilled or incinerated.To address this issue,we propose a repurposing upcycling strategy by converting these polypropylene(PP)-based waste masks to highperformance thermally conductive nanocomposites(PP@G,where G refers to graphene)with exceptional electromagnetic interference shielding property.The PP@G is fabricated by loading tannic acid onto PP fibers via electrostatic self-assembling,followed by mixing with graphene nanoplatelets(GNPs).Because this strategy enables the GNPs to form efficient thermal and electrical conduction pathways along the PP fiber surface,the PP@G shows a high thermal conductivity of 87 W m-1K-1and exhibits an electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of 88 dB(1100 dB cm−1),making it potentially applicable for heat dissipation and electromagnetic shielding in advanced electronic devices.Life cycle assessment and techno-economic assessment results show that our repurposing strategy has significant advantages over existing methods in reducing environmental impacts and economic benefits.This strategy offers a facile and promising approach to upcyclingepurposing of fibrous waste plastics.
摘要Since COVID-19 has emerged and become a global health issue,an awareness of wearing face masks has been attentive to prevent the spread of the disease.Face masks that have become a part of daily life,may be encountered at crime scenes and serve as a potential source of DNA for human identification.This study developed a rapid method for obtaining abundant DNA from 3-layer disposable face masks.Ten healthy volunteers were recruited to wear the masks for a period of 2 h.The optimal method for retrieving DNA was determined to be direct cutting of the middle section of the mask’s inner layer.The average DNA concentrations from males and females were 0.1270±0.2337 ng/μL and 0.0699±0.1074 ng/μL,respectively,with no significant difference observed between the sexes(P=0.286).Furthermore,testing a smaller area(28 cm2)from the mouth-covering region still yielded sufficient DNA for STR genotyping(average 0.0255±0.0218 ng/μL).Comparison of the inner and the filter layers revealed that the filter layer contained significantly less DNA(average 0.0213±0.0203 ng/μL,P19 autosomal STR loci.This suggests that the method was suitable in DNA analysis when a face mask is found as forensic DNA evidence.
摘要Silk fibroin is the main component of silkworm silk.A single silk filament is formed by bonding two parallel silk fibroin monofilament fibers,and the substance in the middle and outer periphery of the fibers that plays a role in bonding and wrapping is sericin.The content of silk fibroin protein accounts for 70-80% of silk,while sericin protein accounts for 20–30%.The silk fibroin obtained by removing sericin from silk contains 18 types of amino acids,including 8 essentials for the human body.Among them,amino acids such as glycine,alanine,serine,tyrosine,which have moisturizing and radiation protection functions,account for more than 80% of the total 18 types of amino acids.This high content of amino acids endows silk fibroin with excellent biological properties and diverse application potential.
基金M.Xiang and S.Dong wishes to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21908086 and 51801083)Changzhou Sci&Tech Program(CJ20190035)+1 种基金Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions in China(19KJB610011)Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(BK20181044).
摘要Influenced by recent COVID-19,wearing face masks to block the spread of the epidemic has become the simplest and most effective way.However,after the people wear masks,thousands of tons of medical waste by used dis-posable masks will be generated every day in the world,causing great pressure on the environment.Herein,con-ductive polymer composites are fabricated by simple melt blending of mask fragments(mask polypropylene,short for mPP)and multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWNTs).MWNTs were used as modifiers for composites because of their high strength and high conductivity.The crystalline structure,mechanical,electrical and thermal enhancement effect of the composites were investigated.MWNTs with high thermal stability acted the role of promoting the crystallisation of mPP by expediting the crystalline nucleation,leading to the improvement of amount for crystalline nucleus.MWNTs fibers interpenetrate with each other in mPP matrix to form conducting network.With 2.0 wt% MWNTs loading,the tensile strength and electrical conductivity of the composites were increased by 809% and 7 orders of magnitude.MWNTs fibers interpenetrate with each other in mPP matrix to form conducting network.Thus,more conducting paths were constructed to transport carriers.The findings may open a way for high value utilization of the disposable masks.
摘要Notwithstanding the end of 2009 H1N1 pandemic,the threat for its revisit still persists and WHO has warned to remain vigilant.During that lime the situation was more panicky than fatal.In this article,a suggestion to minimize the panic is provided by the usage of colour-coded masks and is proposed hereby as a "population segregation" approach in case of the revisit of HlNl or similar threatening respiratory viral infections.
基金Supported by the Beijing Municipal Hospital Scientific Research Training Program,No.PX2017011。
摘要BACKGROUND Paediatric supraglottic airway devices(SGAs)are widely used in routine anaesthesia and serve as primary or back-up devices for difficult airway management.The inflatable Ambu laryngeal masks and non-inflatable i-gel are two improvements of SGAs based on classic laryngeal masks.The clinical performance and safety of these two devices in paediatric patients are still unclear and warrant further investigation.AIM To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the clinical performance and safety of Ambu laryngeal masks and i-gel in anaesthetised paediatric patients.METHODS MEDLINE,Embase,Web of Science and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception dates to April 2020.We identified published randomised controlled trials(RCTs)in which the intervention involved the use of Ambu laryngeal masks and i-gel in anaesthetised paediatric patients(age<18 years).We assessed the oropharyngeal leak pressure(OLP)as the primary outcome.The secondary outcomes were insertion time,success rate of insertion on the first attempt,and incidence of adverse events.RESULTS After searching for all relevant trials published up to April 2020,data from seven RCTs with a total of 667 paediatric patients(323 and 344 participants in the i-gel and Ambu groups,respectively)were evaluated.The mean OLP in anaesthetised paediatric patients was lower in the Ambu group[21.82 cmH2O for Ambu vs 23.98 cmH2O for i-gel,P=0.003,95%confidence interval(CI):-3.58 to-0.75,I2=68%,Mantel-Haenszel random model].We did not find any clear evidence of differences between the devices in terms of insertion time,success rate of insertion,and incidence of adverse events except for blood staining(risk ratio 5.86,95%CI:1.76 to 19.46,P=0.004,I2=0,fixed-effect model).CONCLUSION The i-gel airway may provide a better seal and is therefore probably more suitable than the Ambu laryngeal mask airway in anaesthetised paediatric patients.However,the evidence is insufficient to allow making firm conclusions or to guide clinical practice,owing to the small number of relevant published studies.
摘要The objective was to measure the effect of various face masks on speech recognition threshold and the word recognition score in the presence of varying background noise levels.20 normal-hearing adult subjects(a total of 40 ears)participated.Pure tone audiometry followed by speech recognition threshold and word recognition score at the most comfortable level in varying signal-to-noise ratios(SNR0,SNR10,and SNR15)using surgical,pleated cloth,and N95 masks.Using surgical,cloth,and N95 masks,speech recognition thresholds increased by 1.8 dB,4.4 dB,and 5.05 dB,respectively.Word recognition scores decreased by 32%without a mask,43.7%in a surgical mask,46.3%in a cloth mask,and 46.7%in N95 mask conditions,between SNR15 and SNR0.The speech recognition threshold was negatively affected with cloth and N95 masks.Surgical masks do not affect the word recognition scores at lower background noise levels.However,as the signal-to-noise ratio decreased,even the surgical,cloth,and N95 masks significantly impacted the word recognition score even in normal-hearing individuals.
基金Project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province,China (Grant No. Y1110455)the Scientific Research Fund of Educational Department of Zhejiang Province,China (Grant No. Y200909691)the Science Foundation of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (Grant No. 0913849-Y)
摘要This paper proposes a simple method to achieve the optical transfer function of a circular pupil wavefront coding system with a separable phase mask in Cartesian coordinates. Based on the stationary phase method, the optical transfer function of the circular pupil system can be easily obtained from the optical transfer function of the rectangular pupil system by modifying the cut-off frequency and the on-axial modulation transfer function. Finally, a system with a cubic phase mask is used as an example to illustrate the way to achieve the optical transfer function of the circular pupil system from the rectangular pupil system.
摘要Since the fi rst cases of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coro-navirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)were reported at the end of 2019,this infection has spread around the globe,becoming a pandemic.The use of face masks and respirators is an important public health measure to reduce or prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2.Here we discuss the hypothetical mechanisms by which exercise with face masks or respirators can induce detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system,potentially explaining adverse events such as cardiac arrhythmias and spontaneous pneumothorax.Although sudden death associated with the wearing of a face mask during running is a rare event,the risk is higher especially in those with existing cardiac comorbidities.In such cases,a mask designed specifi cally for runners with no or few side effects of oxygen defi ciency should be considered instead.
摘要Owing to the significant increase in air pollutants and the spread of infectious diseases,it seems that the use of face masks will become an essential item in human societies.Therefore,there is a need to conduct more research to develop novel types of respirators utilizing upto-date science such as nanotechnology.In this study,we fabricated a nanocomposite fibrous filter containing modified graphene oxide(GO)and zinc oxide(ZnO)nanoparticles.This layer was used as an active filter for absorbing and removing air pollutants,such as suspended submicron particles(below 2.5 microns)and CO2,NO2,and SO2gases.The synthesized nanostructures and fibrous filters were characterized by different analysis(FTIR,XRD,TGA,and FESEM),and the performance of the filters was surveyed by tests such as pressure drop,CO2,NO2,SO2gas rejection,and particulate removal.The results showed that the stabilization of the modified GO and ZnO nanostructures on the fibrous filter improved the effectiveness of this filter as a mask for removing toxic particles and gases,and the filter containing nanoparticles had the best performance.
摘要Since COVID-19 was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), wearing of protective equipment, hand washing using soap and frequent use of antiseptic solution are being applied globally to reduce the transmission rate. This study was intended to investigate handling of after wash waste water and masks among Tanzanian residents on the COVID-19 pandemic after it has been, declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) that, wearing of protective equipment, hand washing using soap and frequent use of antiseptic solution should be applied globally to reduce the transmission rate. The assessment of health care waste management in the facilities was conducted in all the 26 regions of Tanzania Mainland. A standardized checklist and tools were used to assess and monitor various aspects related to healthcare waste using open source software for collection (ODK). Data were analyzed using SPSS computer software. It has been indicated that before disposing the used mask, the best protocol is to spray 0.5% (5000 ppm) of chlorine disinfectant on the surface. In this study, about 46% consider used mask as normal municipal waste and 3% do not care they throw away the face masks in the street. Only 18% and 5% of reported to disposal as infectious and highly hazardous waste respectively. It is well documented that due to potential infectious disease like SARS-CoV-2, wastewater should be treated either on-site or conveyed off-site and treated in well-designed method or technology to kill the micro-organisms. The analysis revealed that majority of respondents (74.7%, 73.8%, 48.1% and 65% for healthcare center, district hospitals, regional hospitals and consultant hospitals respectively);dispose the waste in the open space. Continuous awareness creation programs about the negative impact of contaminated face masks and waste water on the health of individuals and introducing laws that can prohibit improper disposal are among the solutions that could help reduce the problem.
基金supported by the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan under Grant MOST 109-2221-E-130-014 and MOST 111-2221-E-130-011.
摘要Physiological signals indicate a person’s physical and mental state at any given time.Accordingly,many studies extract physiological signals from the human body with non-contact methods,and most of them require facial feature points.However,under COVID-19,wearing a mask has become a must in many places,so how non-contact physiological information measurements can still be performed correctly even when a mask covers the facial information has become a focus of research.In this study,RGB and thermal infrared cameras were used to execute non-contact physiological information measurement systems for heart rate,blood pressure,respiratory rate,and forehead temperature for peoplewearing masks due to the pandemic.Using the green(G)minus red(R)signal in the RGB image,the region of interest(ROI)is established in the forehead and nose bridge regions.The photoplethysmography(PPG)waveforms of the two regions are obtained after the acquired PPG signal is subjected to the optical flow method,baseline drift calibration,normalization,and bandpass filtering.The relevant parameters in Deep Neural Networks(DNN)for the regression model can correctly predict the heartbeat and blood pressure.In addition,the temperature change in the ROI of the mask after thermal image processing and filtering can be used to correctly determine the number of breaths.Meanwhile,the thermal image can be used to read the temperature average of the ROI of the forehead,and the forehead temperature can be obtained smoothly.The experimental results show that the above-mentioned physiological signals of a subject can be obtained in 6-s images with the error for both heart rate and blood pressure within 2%∼3%and the error of forehead temperature within±0.5°C.
基金supported by 973 Program of China under Grant No.2006CB302900part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.60825405 and No.60778018
摘要Several approaches to fabricate micro optical elements by use of half tone masks are studied and compared. It is shown that half tone masks employed in filtering image systems can obtain gray patterns with considerably high precision, but it is hard to operate from the viewpoint of operation. The method using contacting lithography technology or laser ablation can be easily operated with the cost of reducing fabrication precision and the trouble of choosing appropriate materials. For all of these methods, the coding of half tone masks with corrections for the nonlinear characteristics of coding, imaging and photoresist is recommended.
基金Supported by the Monitoring Scientific Research Foundation of Jiangsu Province,China in 2013(1321)
摘要By using two PM2.5 automatic monitors,the protective effects of five common masks against PM2.5 were synchronously tested under actual ambient air conditions for a whole day. The results showed that not all masks had protective effects on PM2.5,and the protective effects of masks N95 and N90,which were designed specially for dust-proof,were superior among the five tested masks.
摘要In a letter to Vita Sackville-West dated 8 August 1931, eight years after Katherine Mansfield's death, Virginia Woolf confides that she "gave up" reading her literary rival's stories "because of their cheap sharp sentimentality". Woolf's observation invites us to question: is Mansfield a mere sentimentalist or is her characterisation technique misunderstood? The first section of this paper demonstrates that attributing Mansfield' works as "sentimental" is erroneous since Mansfield's strategy is to change the masks of her characters within her stories, revealed in her letters and journal entries. Following the first section of this paper, I aim to explore how Mansfield extends this strategy of changing masks in daily life to her fictional characters in "Je ne parle pas fran^ais" (1918) by equipping them with different types of masks--speech and facial expressions, gender, and animality--to respond to changes in their situations and toward the characters around them. Particularly important to this exploration are Joan Riviere's insights into gender in her article, "Womanliness as Masquerade", Michael Goldman's theory of masks in acting in his The Actor's Freedom: Toward a Theory of Drama and Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's concept of "becoming-animal" in KaJka." Towards a Minor Literature.
摘要Corrosion control engineer: In the wilderness of the vast desert, accompanied by blowing sand, Chang Shuqiang has spent 14 of his youthful years along with the colorful paint that mirrors his splendid and sparkling life. With the spray gun as his "weapon" and the brush as his "painting brush", he applies warm and anti-aging "masks" on field facilities with wisdom and effort.