1,721,024 research outputs found
Regarding “Understanding the ‘Scope’ of the Problem: Why Laparoscopy Is Considered Safe during the COVID-19 Pandemic”
Full text linkSARS-CoV-2 range in size from 0.06 to 0.125 μm, falling squarely within the particle-size range that HEPA filters capture with extraordinary efficiency: 0.01 micron and above. It is incorrect to state that HEPA filters are not able to catch particles below 0.3 micron, like SARS-CoV-2 virus.
This belief is based on a misunderstanding of how HEPA filters work. The particles size of 0.3 micron is used as a standard to measure the effectiveness of HEPA filters, but this does not mean they are not able to catch smaller particles. A paper from the NASA1 well explains that HEPA filters are highly effective in capturing a very high proportion, up to 100%, of nanoparticulate contaminants, ranging in size from 0.1 to 0.001 micron (diffusion regime) because they don’t fly straight, collide with other fast-moving molecules, move around in random pathways and hit the filter fibers remaining stuck in them. This is known as the Brownian movement. The intersecting regime has just a small drop in efficiency that affects the particles of around 0.3 μm, defined as most penetrating particle size (MPPS). This value for a typical HEPA filter varies from 0.2 to 0.3 micron, depending on flow rate, and lowering the flow speed, a simple HEPA will perform as an ULPA filter
Analysis of some renovation projects indoor and outdoor. Case study: Policlinico Umberto I of Rome, Italy
No full textThis paper introducesthe Policlinico Umberto I, historical hospital of Rome, briefly illustrating its constructive history. The description mainly focuses on the original project analyzing, therefore, the pavilion type and the relation between indoor and outdoor spaces, deeply modified over the years. The growth of the hospital highlights its own critical issues and in this assay we propose some sustainable intervention strategies, justifying the theoretical and practical methodologies. In this paper are also analyzed some of the several renovation projects of the hospital, particularly focusing on the one regarding the re-functionalization of Pediatrics and Obstetrics Clinics, in which, actually, the architectural and planning problems are interfering with the healthcare service. Currently, the efficiency of the hospital is severely compromised by the continuous interaction between the two clinics and by the wrong manages of some units. The departments are, therefore, re-designed in every detail, considering the physical and psychological condition of the patients, the interaction between education and healthcare and the needs of the staff. We investigate also the tools for the design of green spaces pertaining to a hospital, in order to satisfy of an high quality of the hospital landscape. The contribution, overcoming the distinction between open and closed space, enters a broader formulation of the outdoor space, which become a place of social interaction and a design object, complementarily to the building
Quantum simulations of macrorealism violation via the quantum nondemolition measurement protocol
No full textThe Leggett-Garg inequalities have been proposed to identify the quantum behavior of a system; specifically, the violation of macrorealism. They are usually implemented by performing two sequential measurements on quantum systems, calculating the correlators of such measurements and then combining them arriving at Leggett-Garg inequalities. However, this approach only provides sufficient conditions for the violation of macrorealism. Recently, an alternative approach was proposed that uses nondemolition measurements and gives both a necessary and sufficient condition for the violation of macrorealism. By storing the information in a quantum detector, it is possible to construct a quasiprobability distribution whose negative regions unequivocally identify the quantum behavior of the system. Here, we perform a detailed comparison between these two approaches. The use of the IBM quantum simulators allows us to evaluate the performance in real-case situations and to include both the statistical and environmental noise. We find that the nondemolition approach is not only able to always identify the quantum features, but it requires fewer resources than the standard Leggett-Garg inequalities. In addition, while the efficiency of the latter is strongly affected by the presence of the noise, the nondemolition approach results incredibly robust and its efficiency remains unchanged by the noise. These results make the nondemolition approach a viable alternative to the Leggett-Garg inequalities to identify the violation of macrorealism
Will the COVID-19 pandemic transform infection prevention and control in surgery? Seeking leverage points for organizational learning
Full text linkAbstract
Background
In response to the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare systems worldwide have stepped up their infection prevention and control efforts in order to reduce the spread of the infection. Behaviours, such as hand hygiene, screening and cohorting of patients, and the appropriate use of antibiotics have long been recommended in surgery, but their implementation has often been patchy.
Methods
The current crisis presents an opportunity to learn about how to improve infection prevention and control and surveillance (IPCS) behaviours. The improvements made were mainly informal, quick and stemming from the frontline rather than originating from formal organizational structures.
The adaptations made and the expertise acquired have the potential for triggering deeper learning and to create enduring improvements in the routine identification and management of infections relating to surgery.
Results
This paper aims to illustrate how adopting a human factors and ergonomics perspective can provide insights into how clinical work systems have been adapted and reconfigured in order to keep patients and staff safe.
Conclusion
For achieving sustainable change in IPCS practices in surgery during COVID-19 and beyond we need to enhance organizational learning potentials
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Effects of salt stress on HSP 70 induction and DNA laddering in barley (Hordeum vulgare) plants
No full textThe Coffy Test: a pilot study on mental representations in school aged children with internalizing disorders.
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