PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Investing in an HEPA air purifier might not be a bad idea

University of Cincinnati ear, nose and throat specialist says several studies show HEPA air purifier reduce airborne COVID-19 particles

Investing in an HEPA air purifier might not be a bad idea
2021-06-10
(Press-News.org) As COVID-19 restrictions ease nationwide and more people host indoor gatherings, investing in a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifier might not be a bad idea, says a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researcher.

Several published studies evaluating aerosols and submicron particles similar in size to the SARS-CoV-2 virion have shown that portable HEPA purifiers are able to significantly reduce airborne COVID-19 particles, says Ahmad Sedaghat, MD, PhD, director of the UC Division of Rhinology, Allergy and Anterior Skull Base Surgery.

Sedaghat identified the medical literature showing published studies on the effectiveness of HEPA purifiers. His review is available online in the scholarly journal of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.

Air purifiers could benefit hospitals and physician offices where aerosol-generating procedures occur, but they are also useful for reducing COVID transmission anywhere that large groups of individuals congregate.

"One of the issues with COVID-19, is when physicians perform an aersol-generating medical procedure any asymptomatic COVID-19 positive patient may release SARS-CoV-2 laden aersols into the air," explains Sedaghat. "Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control indicates that we can rely on our HVAC systems to slowly decontaminate the air during an hour timeframe. Studies in the medical literature are showing us that we can use portable air purifiers to do a better and faster job of decominating these airborne particles to keep our patients and staff safe."

"Air purifiers with HEPA filters can be used as very effective means to decontaminate the air above and beyond what many HVAC systems may offer," says Sedaghat who also published studies documenting COVID-19 infection leading to reduced taste and smell in patients and possibly attacking the central nervous system.

"If people are walking around coughing or sneezing because it is allergy season and by chance they happen to be one of these asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19, there is a danger of transmission in individuals not vaccinated," says Sedaghat. "People are catching the disease from asymptomatic carriers."

"The results of this study can be applied to our daily lives outside of a physician's office," says Sedaghat. "If you want to host larger gatherings you should consider putting the air purifiers into your living room to help decontaminate anything that is released into the air. HEPA based air purifiers work the best. HEPA based air purifiers decontaminate these airborne particles much faster and more effectively than non HEPA filters."

"They aren't terribly expensive and you can buy these at any home improvement or department store to help decontaminate air borne coronavirus," says Sedaghat. "This may be more important for controlling the spread of COVID-19 for people who are still not vaccinated."

Air purifiers offer added protection but UC researchers also found that better-fitting facemasks greatly improve protection against COVID-19 as well.

INFORMATION:


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Investing in an HEPA air purifier might not be a bad idea

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Novel materials: Sound waves traveling backwards

Novel materials: Sound waves traveling backwards
2021-06-10
Acoustic waves in gases, liquids, and solids usually travel at an almost constant speed of sound. So-called rotons are an exception: their speed of sound changes significantly with the wavelength, and it is also possible that the waves travel backwards. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are studying the possibilities of using rotons in artificial materials. These computer-designed metamaterials, produced by ultra-precise 3D laser printing, might be used in the future to manipulate or direct sound in ways that have never been possible before. A report on the researchers' work has been published in Nature Communications. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23574-2) Rotons are quasiparticles, which means that they behave ...

LSU Health New Orleans study reports compound blocks SARS-CoV-2 and protects lung cells

2021-06-10
New Orleans, LA - Research conducted at LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence reports that Elovanoids, bioactive chemical messengers made from omega-3 very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids discovered by the Bazan lab in 2017, may block the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering cells and protect the air cells (alveoli) of the lung. Their findings are published online in Scientific Reports, available here. "Because the compounds are protective against damage in the brain and retina of the eye and the COVID-19 virus clearly damages the lung, ...

Economic crime is going uninvestgated as Police hide behind the veil of Action Fraud

2021-06-10
Fraud is going uninvestigated by police who are "hiding behind the veil" of the Action Fraud national crime reporting agency. In his paper published this week in Policing, Professor Mark Button, director of the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies at the University of Portsmouth argues that, Action Fraud, which has been widely derided, has become a useful veil from which the police can hide their inadequate response. Figures from Action Fraud, the arm of the police responsible for recording scams and fraud, show that between 2019 and 2020, over 800,000 people reported being a victim of fraud, with £2.3bn finding its way into criminal hands. However, Professor Button calculated just 0.6 per cent of police officers ...

Researchers test model to predict drug overdose deaths in US

Researchers test model to predict drug overdose deaths in US
2021-06-10
For two decades, the number of Americans who die each year from drug overdoses has steadily risen, from less than 20,000 in 1999 to more than 80,000 in 2020. By studying patterns of these drug-related fatalities, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego State University (SDSU), and international collaborators have designed and validated a prediction model to signal counties at risk of future overdose death outbreaks. The goal of the open-source tool is to predict and prevent deaths through early deployment of public health resources. Findings were published June 9, 2021 by Lancet Public Health. "A big challenge for public health experts is figuring out which parts of the country are at greatest risk of ...

Researchers use transoceanic fiber link for geophysical sensing

Researchers use transoceanic fiber link for geophysical sensing
2021-06-10
WASHINGTON -- In a new study, researchers show that the fiber optic cables that carry data across the world's oceans can also be used to sense geophysical events and monitor ocean and seafloor conditions. Although buoys and cabled observatories can be used to monitor parts of the ocean, the information they provide is limited to their immediate surroundings. The new approach could offer a way to use the global network of subsea fiber optic cables to study otherwise inaccessible parts of the ocean. "Once perfected, this new technique will allow geophysical sensing in the ocean depths, which are largely unexplored because of a lack of instrumentation that works in this environment," said Zhongwen Zhan, assistant professor of geophysics at Caltech. ...

New methods needed to boost success of Classical Biological Control to fight insect pests

New methods needed to boost success of Classical Biological Control to fight insect pests
2021-06-10
A CABI-led study has revealed that the success of Classical Biological Control (CBC) in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East is only rarely dependent on the released biological control agent, but more often on other factors, such as the target pest, its host plant, or the circumstances of the releases. The research - published in the journal NeoBiota - suggests that the overall success of biological control introductions of insect predators and parasitoids against herbivorous insects in the Western Paleartic ecozone is comparable to the success of CBC worldwide. However, over 100 years of CBC in this region, has resulted in no overall rise in success in the fight against insect pests - including those of crops such as citrus, olive, potato, ...

Changing community networks impact disease spread

Changing community networks impact disease spread
2021-06-10
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the importance of understanding precisely how diseases spread throughout networks of transportation. However, rigorously determining the connection between disease risk and changing networks--which either humans or the environment may alter--is challenging due to the complexity of these systems. In a paper publishing on Thursday in the END ...

Observing quantum coherence from photons scattered in free-space

Observing quantum coherence from photons scattered in free-space
2021-06-10
Quantum coherence is a key ingredient in many fundamental tests and applications of quantum technology including quantum communication, imaging, computing, sensing and metrology. However, the transfer of quantum coherence in free-space has so far been limited to direct line-of-sight channels as atmospheric turbulence and scattering degrade the quality of coherence severely. In a new paper published in Light: Science & Applications, researchers from the University of Waterloo have successfully demonstrated the transfer and recovery of quantum coherence using photons scattered in free-space ...

New method eliminates interference of nicotine in detection of methamphetamine

New method eliminates interference of nicotine in detection of methamphetamine
2021-06-10
Recently, a research group led by CHU Yannan and HUANG Chaoqun from the Institute of Health & Medical Technology of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) developed an effective method for on-site detection of methamphetamine (MA) in the presence of nicotine by a homemade ion mobility spectrometry. Relevant results were published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. MA is a highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. The on-site rapid detection of trace amounts of MA and screening illicit drugs in clandestine laboratories are important for drug enforcement agencies and the forensic community in general. However, detecting MA in the ...

Improved climate resilience through better seasonal forecasts

Improved climate resilience through better seasonal forecasts
2021-06-10
Lack of water, floods, or crop losses: As a result of climate change, pronounced periods of drought and rainfall are occurring more frequently and more intensively all around the world, causing human suffering and major economic damage. The more precise seasonal forecasts for the coming months are, the more effectively these consequences can be mitigated. A research team from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has now been able to improve global forecasts using statistical methods so that they can be used on the regional level. The researchers describe the new approach and the economic benefits of ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Andrew E. Place, MD, PhD appointed as Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center Vice President, Pediatric Chief Medical Officer

COVID-19 antibody discovery could explain long COVID

Wild plants face viral surprise

Storing electrons from hydrogen for clean chemical reactions

Unlocking how to use mRNA to target Alzheimer’s disease

Kessler Foundation secures $770,000 in grants to advance leading-edge spinal cord research

Going ‘back to the future’ to forecast the fate of a dead Florida coral reef

How extratropical ocean-atmosphere interactions can contribute to the variability of jet streams in the Northern Hemisphere

MSK Research Highlights, March 28, 2024

USDA, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College collaborate to support Indigenous Seed Sovereignty

For younger women, mental health now may predict heart health later

Missed opportunity: AEDs near cardiac arrests rarely used by bystanders

Eggs may not be bad for your heart after all

Alcohol raises heart disease risk, particularly among women

TTUHSC announces new center for nursing research

Adding just enough fuel to the fire

Impact of synbiotic supplements on the gut microbiome and overall health of penguins

Promising advances in organosilica membranes for separating organic liquid mixtures

Cell phone video technology unveils new method for analyzing walking and gait

Ancient isolation’s impact on modern ecology

Synaptic protein change during development offers clues on evolution and disease

How commercial rooftop solar power could bring affordable clean energy to low-income homes

Taking a closer look at pulmonary fibrosis genetics

Cats with MDR1 mutation at risk of severe reactions to popular medication

IOP Publishing and IPEM mandate reporting of sex and gender in research 

Dogs trained to detect trauma stress by smelling humans’ breath

Electronic device thermal management made simpler and slightly better!

Study: Dangerous surgical site infections can be reduced with simple prevention protocol

Genetic testing of patients with atrial fibrillation can alert clinicians to potential development of life-threatening conditions

Artificial Intelligence tool successfully predicts fatal heart rhythm

[Press-News.org] Investing in an HEPA air purifier might not be a bad idea
University of Cincinnati ear, nose and throat specialist says several studies show HEPA air purifier reduce airborne COVID-19 particles